NEWSLETTER Issue: 5.01

HEAD’S VIEW
Welcome back after what I hope was a fantastic Easter break. Our start to the term has matched the weather with children with sparkling attitudes and so much to look forward to.

We welcome back Mrs Skinner as SENCo from maternity leave and we are so pleased to hear that her baby, Nancy, is thriving. We also welcome Reuben into 2C and wish him and his family all the very best at our school. On a sad note, we say farewell to Carin (1R) who, at very short notice, leaves us today to be with her family in Cardiff. Our best wishes go with her.

Next Friday we will be advertising in the immediate vicinity of the school for an Assistant Site Supervisor. This move is a key part of our plan to ensure an ongoing strengthening of links between the school and the local and wider community. We are looking for a person who can come on to the site after school hours; open up, lock up and secure the site for outside organisations and groups to use / hire our school facilities. Please see the advert in next Friday’s newsletter for further details.

Also please look out next week for news of the ‘Golden Boot’ award ………………

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY W/B 27/04/09
Monday 27/04/09
- School Council meeting @ 1.30pm
- NPSA Meeting @ 7.30pm in the Blue Room
Tuesday 28/04/09
- 1R Assembly @ 2.45pm
Wednesday 29/04/09
- SATs Meeting @ 6.30pm
Thursday 30/04/09
- Football v Combe Down: 3.30pm @ home
- Joint Newbridge and Combe Down Concert at the Pavilion @ 7.30pm
Friday 01/05/09
- NPSA coffee morning from 9 – 10am
- 3B Assembly @ 2.45pm
Saturday 02/05/09
- Newbridge teams in the BANES Tag Rugby summer league @9.30am
Monday 04/05/09
- Bank Holiday – school closed

FAMILY USE OF THE SCHOOL PREMISES AFTER HOURS
For a number of years there has been a tradition of families staying on after school for a while to play on the field. This has continued as an amalgamated school and I see this as one of those many customs which make our school special. It warms the heart to see our families enjoying the space and freedom together.

With the fine weather, it has come to my attention that families are using parts of the school grounds other than the field, such as the lower school playground and adventure trail, as well as the grassy areas with steep slopes above the Year 2 and 3 classrooms. The school cannot provide supervision after school and it has become apparent that while most parents and carers are supervising their children properly, a number of children are not being appropriately supervised and are using apparatus or playing in ways or areas where an accident is waiting to happen. As a school it is our responsibility to ensure safe and proper use of the school grounds at all times and, therefore, I must ask that the field beyond the line of bushes and trees is the only area to be used after school. There is plenty of space there and if footballers can stay on the top part of the field where the goals are then there is the bottom half for other activities and for the younger children to play safely. Thank you for your support in this matter.
Mr Croker

PLEASE NOTE IMPORTANT DATE CHANGES ………….
- The Isle of Wight residential trip meeting for Year 6 parents and children has been changed to Tuesday 5th May at 6.30pm (not Friday 1st May as printed on the original calendar)
- The third Groundforce Day has been changed to Saturday 20th June (not 27th June as previously advertised).
- The SATs information evening for Year 6 parents & carers is next Wednesday 29th April at 6.30pm in the Upper School.

WANTED!
Help with reading - Can you spare 10-15 minutes at the start of a school day to read with children in Year 1? If so please see Ms Rhodes. Thank you.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING ‘STARS OF THE WEEK’
Years 3 and 4
Daniel, Joshua, Nathan
Years 5 and 6
Austen, Ellie, Eryk, Marlena
PPA Art
William, Alayna
PPA PE
Megananne, John
PPA Music
Grace, Megan

LOST
Georgia in 1R has lost her school cardigan. Please can you check to see if your child has taken it by mistake. Please return to Ms Rhodes (Lower School) if you find it. Thank you.

RECYCLING MOBILE PHONES
Do you have any old mobile phones? We have teamed up with Foneclub (www.foneclub.org.uk) and are collecting unwanted mobile phones to raise money for the Conservation Area. Please see letter attached. Many thanks.

MEND PROGRAMME
Free fun programme for kids to become fitter, healthier and happier. Do you have children aged 7 – 13 years old? Are you worried they might be unhealthy or even overweight? For more information, please see attached flyer.

NPSA NEWS
We are now collecting Box Tops Free Books for Schools tokens which can be found on Nestle cereal boxes and cereal bar packs. This scheme allows us to exchange vouchers for free educational books, so please bring them into school. Anyone requiring further information can look at www.boxtops4education.co.uk

NPSA Meeting
Just to remind you that the next NPSA meeting is next Monday 27th April at 7.30 pm in the Blue Room!

Thank you!
A big thank you to all those who baked cakes, served cakes and bought cakes at the last cake sale. And a special thank you goes to the children in Year 6 who helped organise it! I am thrilled to announce that we made an impressive £200! Half of that went to the Make a Wish Campaign and the rest has gone towards our fund for the Upper School Playground Equipment!

Nearly New Uniform
The good news is the next sale will be held on Friday 1st May during our Coffee Morning. The bad news is our stocks are running rather low! So, please, please, please, if your children have grown out of any of their uniform bring it to reception where it will be gratefully received! If we can get this service up and running with a good selection of items, we will all have access to very reasonably priced uniform and the school will receive some very useful funds! So, scour those closets and bring it all in!


Coffee Morning – Friday 1st May in the Blue Room: 9.00am – 10.00am
This term’s coffee morning is on a Friday so hopefully some of you who have been unable to come to the Monday events will be able to pop in and join the fun! As usual, there will be a good selection of homemade biscuits on sale and coffee and tea is a reasonable credit-crunching 50 pence! We will also be doing a book exchange this time – so please bring in any book you have recently read and enjoyed, pay a pound and go home with another one! Everyone is welcome and the more the merrier! Toys are provided for the babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.

A Night to remember! Friday 15th May: 8.00pm – 11.30pm
Collect your cash together and bring it to school because the tickets are now available for the much awaited, not-to-be-missed School Disco! This will be an absolutely brilliant night out and much cheaper than going into town! Tickets are £5 and include a free drink from our very reasonably priced bar, nibbles and free entry into our prize draw! Not into dancing? Then why not relax in the chill out chat room! Enjoyed the quiz but not sure about a disco? Then why not tackle the musical quiz sheet while enjoying a quiet drink in the chill out room! Something you really want to dance to? Then email your request to DJ Paulo at speaktomegabriel@googlemail.com . Wondering how to get your hands on these exclusive tickets? They are on sale from your class rep or at the coffee morning or just complete and return the form below to reception. All proceeds will go towards the playground equipment for the Upper School, so come along and let’s dance our way to our target!