NEWSLETTER Issue: 2.08

HEAD'S VIEW
This is the first newsletter after the half term break and an opportunity to welcome back Mr Cumpson after his odyssey to Australia and New Zealand. His family had an unforgettable experience and he returns to us as fresh as a daisy and raring to go! This is also a chance to express my gratitude to Mrs Walsh who taught Mr Cumpson's class while he was away and gave the children in 5C a fantastic start to the year.

There are now copies of the Ofsted Inspection Report available in school or, alternatively, you can access the report on www.ofsted.gov.uk You will be glad to know that there are no surprises. The inspection team were only assessing us on life after September 2006 and as a newly formed primary school. They took no account of the two separate schools and their many strengths and successes. To this end, they agreed with us that we can be no more than satisfactory at this stage in most areas because structures and systems are being put in place which will bear fruit further down the road. The areas they highlighted for development we had already identified and were incorporated in the outline development plan sent out to you in the summer. Of the many positives, the children's personal development and well-being was highlighted with comments such as the 'spiritual, moral, social and cultural provision is strong' and 'good attention is given to encouraging top quality behaviour and this ensures pupils are polite, courteous and safe young people'. One of our parents commented: 'My children do seem to be having the time of their lives. The teachers are helpful and enthusiastic; there are lots of opportunities/events both inside and out of the classroom.' (Please find attached a statutory letter sent by the inspectors to the children.)

To my mind this inspection has come at a good time. It confirms we are very much on the right track and my view that this team of people will move Newbridge Primary School on to great things.

Some Bits And Pieces….
BOOK FAIR
Thanks to everyone who supported the book fair – it was a great success.
Please note that clubs will not now be cancelled due to bad weather. Alternative/indoor activities will be arranged for the children and the club will end at the designated time.
After a meeting with the School Council it has been agreed that packed lunch children in the Upper School can bring bottled water if they so wish. Water will still be available in the dining hall. Other drinks are not permitted.
Please note that next week's Sex Education information evening has been postponed. Details of a new date out shortly.
We are a little concerned about the number of toilet breaks during lesson time, particularly among the older children. We would like to reduce this and would appreciate it if parents & carers could inform the class teacher of any medical reasons or conditions necessitating toilet use above the norm. Thank you.
Congratulations to James (4A) on winning the Bath Firework Poster competition for his age group.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY w/b 12/11/07:
All week – COMMUNITY WEEK
12/11/07 Year 3 to Roman Baths am
13/11/07 NPSA Meeting 7.30pm
15/11/07 Sex Ed. info meeting for parents (POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE)

PRIMARY MATHS CHALLENGE
A group of budding mathematicians from Years 5 and 6 will take part in the highly acclaimed Primary Maths Challenge on Monday 19th November 2007. The National Challenge, where more than 97,000 pupils from 2,570 schools will take part, will see Newbridge pupils tackle a selection of 30 complex maths problems in just 45 minutes. The Mathematical Association (who run the Maths Challenge) will invite any high scoring children to compete in the National finals during February 2008. The enthusiasm and excitement from the children on hearing about the challenge was absolutely phenomenal.
"I'm definitely going for it!" responded pupil Guy.
Best of luck to everyone involved.

YEAR 4 NEWSPAPER DAY
On Friday 12th October Year 4 held a fantastic Newspaper day in the Blue Room and the new ICT Suite. To make this day memorable the children dressed up as journalists. In the morning we had a conference with our Editor – Chloe and our two Deputy Editors – Oscar and James.
We enjoyed everything on the day. The hardest jobs were Illustrators, Photographers, Editors and Deputy Editors. The most annoying part was the printer, because Charlie made it print about 115 copies! Natasha and Martha were having a hard time as everyone was giving their work in and they didn’t know what to do with it. The people who made the Newspaper also had a hard job and it was really hard to make the deadline.
When 4A spoke about the experience in Assembly they had to do it on their own because Chloe, the Editor, wasn’t there to tell them what to do!Thank you to all the teachers who helped us make the Newspaper and Tom’s mum, Sharon.
By Lily and Rebecca – 4P.
('A great experience. The Blue Room & ICT suite really felt like the offices of a major newspaper, with the hustle and bustle, and pressure of deadlines. This is a very impressive team with a great future ahead of them! Well done and thank you to the Year 4 staff and Mrs Alcock too.' Mr Croker)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING 'STARS OF THE WEEK'
Years 1 and 2
Miya, Lucy, Abigail, Leon
Years 3 and 4
Archie, Kate, Olivia, Natasha
Years 5 and 6
Helen, Rosie, Bryony, Max, Aaron
PPA Music
Adnan
PPA Art
Tom, Georgia
PPA PE
Charlotte, Callum

AUCTION OF PROMISES – FRIDAY 23RD NOVEMBER
Promise deadline has been extended to Tuesday 13th November.
The latest exciting promises made this week include -
* Chauffeur for 4 for one night
* Sunday lunch for 6 in your home
* Wine tasting evening with a wine expert
* Rugby coaching by ex Bath and England player
* Greek lessons
* Professional pianist in your home

To make a promise –
Ø Put the details onto paper and return to school
Ø Email – lucy.hanney@virgin.net
Ø Telephone Lucy on 333389

Don't forget you can also contribute to your Year Group's Hamper –
· Reception – Children’s Art and Craft
· Year 1 – New Baby
· Year 2 – Children's Christmas
· Year 3 – Fairtrade
· Year 4 – Indian Food
· Year 5 – Christmas
· Year 6 – Ladies Pamper Yourselves

YEAR 5 GREEK DAY REPORT
On Tuesday 6th November, Year 5 had a Greek day. We all looked a little silly that morning … we all dressed up in Greek costumes!
We started the day with a Greek lady who taught us a few words of her native language. Then we split up into groups and went off to do different subjects such as cookery, sewing, creating a newspaper, Olympics, Greek writing and pots.
Greek Writing
Greek writing was difficult for some people because the alphabet didn't have all the letters we have in our alphabet. We wrote a word or our names on a rough sheet of paper and then we wrote it out neatly on a second sheet. We also used quill pens so it was even harder. Next we did the pots. Mr Cumpson smashed some pots into broken pieces so that it looked like they had been dug out of the ground and we then we painted them and let them dry.
Olympics
In the Ancient Greek Olympics women would wrestle and men would throw javelins, discus, jump and run. So we had a go at all we could, for our Ancient Greek Olympics. Of course we couldn’t really wrestle, but had fun looking like a wrestler. We did discus and javelin and ran around the picnic benches twice in two minutes and jumped over four sets of bean bags. We earned up to five points for one challenge, and at the end of the day the team that won were awarded a gold medal each. Our winning city state was Sparta, and the person who earned the most points out of the year group was Alex who earned 25 points!!
Cooking
On Monday, groups of six went out to cook and made some yummy spinach and feta cheese samoas . On Tuesday we made sweet pitta bread and ordinary pitta bread. It was yummy!
Sewing
In Sewing we were making patterns with pieces of canvas. We had lots of brightly coloured thread. We sewed through the holes in the canvas and made patterns. We were very pleased with our patterns when we had finished.
Newspaper
All of Year five made their own Greek newspaper. We researched what happened in Greek times and put it in a news paper. When we were finished the paper looked great.

We would like to thank Mrs Hanney, Mrs Callan, Mrs Aldridge and Mrs Tovey for all their help with our Greek Day.
By Emma, Joda, Thea, Isabella, Katherine and Grace.
('A great day and what a privilege it was to be surrounded by so many gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines. Even Zeus turned up! I am sure our children will always remember the day and I would like to thank all the staff, parents and children for making learning come alive.' Mr Croker)

BOOK FAIR
Thanks to everyone who supported the book fair – it was a great success.

FOUND – Red Newbridge coat left behind at Prior Park (not named). Please contact the office.

REMINDER –
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Appeal. Any contributions for this need to be in school by Tuesday 13th November, at the latest. Many thanks.