Here we are at the end of the first half term of this academic year – it has flown by, so much has happened and this week has been no exception! We have seen an extraordinary amount of learning going on this half term and had the pleasure of observing some amazing lessons – it has been a physical struggle not to join in ourselves, the quality and deliverance of learning has been so high.

This week we have managed to pack in a basketball tournament held at Hollinwood Academy. We were delighted with the behaviour and sportsmanship all our young people displayed and there was some fantastic basketball to enjoy too! Click here to find out more..

On Wednesday our Interactive Bases hosted a class team competition to see whose Halloween party food looked and tasted the best. The food was amazing; it was gruesome affair though, with creepy crawlies, witches and wizards a plenty..

We’re not sure which class were declared the winners – we think it might have been too close to call!

Our Autism Base have been lucky enough to have some ‘Spooky Science’ lessons over the last few weeks, click here to find out more!

Miss Silvester’s class also got in on the Halloween fun with some wonderful ‘Day of the Dead’ decorations and face paints..

On Thursday Oldham Theatre Workshop in conjunction with Positive Steps performed ‘the First Fall of Snow’ for all of Key Stage 4. This was a sensitive piece that delivered information on drug awareness. We mentioned last week that Jo Turner from the local branch of the charity MIND had joined the school site’s assembly to talk about Healthy Young Minds as part of a mental health and well-being initiative. This week Jo visited the Learning Centre to discuss a package of workshops, assemblies and staff training to commence after half term and we are also looking to arrange a meeting for parents and carers. We are delighted to have this opportunity to extend the support we offer our young people and build on our strong pastoral structure which ensures our young people feel safe and always have somewhere to turn if they need support.

At New Bridge we continually endeavour to provide opportunities for our young people to gain work experience and develop their life skills. This is often in the form of external placements (please click here to read the latest news on these), however some students are not always ready for this and internal placements enable them to grow in confidence whilst getting a feel of the world of work in a more protected environment. This week Josh has taken it upon himself to help Lucy on reception and judging from the photo it would appear he is making himself quite at home..

This leads us nicely on to this week’s curriculum focus on Living Skills. Miss Patchett’s group have been working hard on recognising and spelling their names..

They have also been making Halloween pumpkins for their end of half term Halloween party..

..and then cleared away afterwards, doing the laundry..

..and washing the dishes..

Mrs Sarwar’s Year 9 group are working on ‘Healthy Living’ and bravely took part in a blindfolded tasting session where they had to match foods to the correct food group..

Year 12 are working on ‘Personal Safety’ and looking at the safety signs that you can find in buildings and in the community. They had to see if they could match the pairs and understand what the signs mean..

Another Year 12 group have been exploring old technology from the (not so distant!) past. They looked at the history and made smart guesses as to when the different items were made..

Now for our regular cooking feature! We’d again like to thank Mrs Gillett’s class, particularly Shazia, Zanub and Tamzin for our full English fry-up..

It truly was as tasty as it looks! Mr Barker has joined Miss Allison in enjoying the delights produced within the Living Skills lessons and they will both need to engage in an exercise programme if we are to remain trim (they have specifically requested ‘no comments please!’ in response to that….)

During our Learning Centre assembly it was a pleasure to present certificates and badges for those students who have completed their Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. We have become used to our Sports pathway students succeeding on DofE, however it’s truly inspiring to see students from both our Interactive Base and E-Base classes fully involved in the programme and receiving their awards. Well done, all!

On Friday Betty Boswell, our trusted mid-day supervisor and domestic cleaner, was 75 years old. We wish Betty a very Happy Birthday!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support; we work best when we work together. We will be back in on Monday 6th November and you can view the other term dates on our holiday pattern here.

So, enjoy the half term break, and to all our young people who are accessing the holiday club, enjoy the wonderful activities Mrs Bingley has planned for you!

Judith and Dawn

For news on our Key Stage 5 pathway groups at Medtia Square please click here

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Click here to read this week’s news from Graham