NEWSLETTER Issue: 3.01

HEAD’S VIEW
Is it my age or does time fly ever faster? It seems only a short while ago when we were celebrating the millennium and here we are in 2009! I hope you all had a memorable Christmas with family and friends and I wish you all a very happy new year.

There were some very bleary eyes on Monday and Tuesday of this week but now we are back in full swing. We welcome two new members of staff to our team. They are Helen Horobin who will be teaching French for one day a week in Key Stage 2 until July and Marjan Van Gelderen who has joined our excellent team of teaching assistants. Our best wishes go to both of them.

At the end of last term we were very sorry to say farewell to Ross (5C) who flies out to Brisbane with his family very shortly for at least a year. We hope to see him return to Newbridge in Year 6 as it has been a privilege to have Ross, and his brother Arron before him, at our school. We wish the Drennan family all the very best for what should be a fabulous chapter in their lives. Our very best wishes also go to Debbie Butterton who leaves next Wednesday. Mrs Butterton has been at Newbridge for fifteen years, as an assistant in the kitchens and two spells as a School Meals Supervisory Assistant. She will be remembered very fondly by both children and staff.

With a new year in mind, I look forward to seeing this wonderful school continue to grow and flourish in 2009. We all have huge ambitions for what we can enable our children to achieve.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY W/B 12/01/09
Monday 12/01/09
- NPSA coffee morning: 9.00 -10.00am (open to all parents and carers)
- NPSA Meeting @ 7.00pm
Thursday 15/01/09
- High 5 netball team in finals at University: 1.00 – 4.00pm
Saturday 17/01/09
- Year 3 / 4 football tournament at Monkton Combe: 9.30 - 12.30pm
Monday 19/01/09
- Clubs start

COMING HOME THIS WEEKEND ARE ...
‘My Learning’ folders for all children in Year 1 to Year 6. These folders are about the skills and attitudes of learning. One of the purposes of these folders is to connect learning between home and school. If your child has shown particular strengths in any of the skills and attitudes over the holidays or in the recent past, we would love to hear about them. Just make a brief note in the appropriate place. Thank you for your support. Please can these folders be sent back with the children this coming Monday so that they can be used in school.
The termly ‘Curriculum Overview’ which will give our parents and carers an outline of what their child will be learning this coming term.

PLEASE NOTE
The Curriculum Information evening for parents, scheduled for Thursday 22nd January will now be held on Thursday 5th March

BREAKFAST CLUB
Has anyone got a small chest freezer that they no longer need? If so, please contact Jane or Sam in the kitchen.

FRUIT SCHEME
Help is needed to get fruit to the children in the mornings and to clear away the leftovers in the afternoons. It only takes a few minutes. If you can help please sign up in the Lower School Children’s Kitchen.

(‘Our fruit scheme helpers are among our unsung heroes and heroines. Every day for several years so many have played their part in ensuring our younger children receive their healthy breaktime snack. It is greatly appreciated.’ Mr Croker)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING ‘STARS OF THE WEEK’
Years 3 and 4
Jenny, Mimi, Charlie, William
Years 5 and 6
Angus, Guy, Harrison, Emma, Sydney
PPA Drama
Alex
PPA Art
Sam
PPA PE
William, Darcie
PPA Music
Molly, Tom

BLACK AND ETHNIC-MINORITY SUPPORT GROUP
We are in the process of forming a support group for Black and Minority-Ethnic (BME) parents (eg dual-heritage, African, Asian, East European etc) at Newbridge School. The group is intended to be a forum for the discussion of any relevant issues that parents/carers might have about their children at the school or in the wider community. Everyone is welcome!

If you are interested and can come, please join us for our first meeting on Monday 19th January at 2.45pm in the Library or contact Anne Shiner on 07595034383 or Carol Renton on 07810506852. We look forward to meeting you.

NPSA COFFEE MORNING
Monday 12th January - Blue Room - 9.00 –10.00am

Come and join us for a coffee and a cake after drop-off on Monday morning and get your week off to a fun start! Remember that toddlers and babies are welcome and there will be a toy box to keep them occupied! Come along and meet new faces and exchange ideas on what you think the NPSA should be doing. Maybe you have a fund raising idea for a future event – or maybe you just want to catch up with friends! Everyone is welcome and tea and coffee are a very reasonable 50 pence and so is a piece of cake!

NPSA NEWS
Nearly New Uniform
From Monday there will be a box in the Main Reception Area ready to gratefully accept any pieces of uniform you no longer need. All items donated will be sold on at future coffee mornings and other school events and all the money raised will go towards projects to advance the education of our children.
If you are planning on coming to Monday’s coffee morning why not bring your out-grown uniform items with you, where we will gratefully collect them for you.
Next week we will give you more information on how you can purchase nearly-new uniform! Watch this space!

NPSA Committee Meeting – Monday January 12th - 7.30pm Blue Room
All parents and carers of children at Newbridge School are members of the NPSA and as such very welcome at the committee meetings! So, this is your invitation to Monday’s meeting. Come along and see how we allocate the money we raise at events such as the Christmas Fair and the profits from the calendar and also how we plan future events. Or perhaps you have a great idea of how to raise some money for our school and you would like to present it.

So, if you can come along, it will be great to see you. However, if you can’t, don’t worry - you can find out what happened in next week’s newsletter.