Welcome back! I am pleased to hand you over to Mrs Halkyard for a first hand account of the wonderful residential her class went on this week:

“This week has been very exciting for our Year 5/6 class as we have been on our first trip and first residential to Kingswood Dearne Valley! The children were all very excited on Monday, as were the adults..

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When we arrived we took part in indoor climbing. Although some of the children were not too keen on the idea of climbing, they all had a go which was fantastic and we were incredibly proud of their attitude. When they were struggling, the rest of the class showed excellent support by cheering them on..

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After tea and some free time where the children all played in their bedrooms brilliantly together, we went to a laser session which was great – the indoor area was made up like a jungle so the children had lots of fun running around trying to shoot and win points..

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Bedtime went more smoothly than we thought! Although all the children were missing their families, they went straight to bed to get some rest after all the excitement – just as well because we had a very busy day on Tuesday! We started off with problem solving and the children worked really well together, helping and supporting each other, once again stepping out of their comfort zone in certain tasks..

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Fencing was our next activity and the children were shown how to stand and fence correctly. They all listened well to our group leader, Max, and did exactly as he asked which was great to see..

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The afternoon was more of a challenge for the children. ‘Nightline’ is a tricky activity where the children are blindfolded whilst following a line around the woods. Most of them didn’t like the idea of being blindfolded but they all joined in..

As well as having to concentrate on where they were going, we encouraged them to talk to each other to explain what they were stepping over so they didn’t trip over or bump into anything..

This was hard for the children and most were glad to take their blindfolds off!

Our last activity of the day was ‘Crate Stack’. Each pair had harnesses on and had to keep stepping up the stack as we built it. Caitlin and Kyle were very confident and when we couldn’t get any higher Caitlin jumped off. We knocked the stack over for Kyle and he was lowered to the ground which was great fun. Charlie and Ollie showed some lovely team work. As Ollie wasn’t so keen on being high up, Charlie reassured him all the way by holding onto him and telling him he was ok. Raihan, Karl, Ryan and Ciara also overcame their fears by having a go at Crate Stack. All 4 were extremely nervous but through support and encouragement they got to at least 5 crates before getting down which is a great achievement and one I hope they will be very proud of..

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After tea and a shower we then had a campfire where we told jokes, sang songs and listened to stories which was a lovely end to the day..

After all the activities it’s safe to say we all slept well. We woke up on Wednesday to blue skies and sunshine for our low ropes session. Again, there was lots of excellent team work and encouragement. The course took a lot of strength and endurance so we felt really proud of how they all threw themselves into it..

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Our final activity was archery, another tough one which required a lot of different skills and strength. Mr Savage and Miss Mistry could have been part of Robin Hood’s Merry Men but unfortunately Miss Holland and I didn’t quite make the cut..

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After our final lunch we got back on the mini bus and the children were very excited to see their families. The trip was most definitely a success, a rewarding experience to say the least. Being away from home for 2 days was a great obstacle for the children to overcome but the way they all jumped into the activities made us all feel extremely proud. We have collected some great memories which I hope the children will cherish from their time in our class – I know we definitely will.”

Wonderful!! I would like to say a huge ‘thank you!’ to Mrs Halkyard, Miss Mistry, Miss Holland and Mr Savage for all their care and hard work supporting the children on the residential this week. That just leaves time for me to share this week’s ‘Star of the Week’ Awards with you:

Mrs Dunsdon’s class – Charlie for having a very calm and settled week..

Mrs Lomax’ class – Nimra for trying hard with all her learning..

Mr Corrigan’s class – Mariam for working hard on her rhyming and sounding out in phonics..

Miss Parkinson’s class – Donte for getting full points all week and showing brilliant behaviour..

Mrs Halkyard’s class – the whole class! For the majority this was in recognition of excellent behaviour and attitude whilst away on the residential and for trying new things.  Ryan P and Chrissy received the award in recognition of their wonderful help in supporting the new class group to settle in..

Mrs Mayall’s class – again the whole class, for settling in superbly in their first week..

 

And my ‘Head Teacher’s Awards’ go to:

All of Mrs Halkyard’s class – again for outstanding behaviour and attitude whilst away at Kingswood..

..and Mariam from Mr Corrigan’s class, not only for the lovely phonics work she has been doing this week but also for tremendous progress all round..

Well done, everyone!!

The New Bridge Future Finders are making the most of the facilities in their new town centre base and are setting up a weekly drop-in for former pupils – if any of your friends or family know a young person who used to go to New Bridge, please feel free to share details of the new ‘Medtia Meet Ups’ with them:

Finally, a quick reminder that Holiday Club letters have gone home to families tonight – if you would like to book a place on our May Half Term Holiday Club, please return the forms by next Friday 22nd April.

Have a lovely weekend,

Sarah

• You can find Graham’s  blog here