: News items
A taste of Spain, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 30th Apr 2025 @ 9:44am
In Year 6 we have had an afternoon of Tapas! We tried Serrano ham, chorizo, Spanish olives, Spanish cheese, Spanish tortilla, patatas bravas and paella rice! We loved it!
Netball league, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 30th Apr 2025 @ 9:43am
A huge well done to our amazing Y5/6 Netball team who played their first match against St James C of E
Science visit to Dean's Trust, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 30th Apr 2025 @ 9:41am
Get into Teaching!, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 29th Apr 2025 @ 11:50am
Get into Teaching
We offer a full Initial Teacher Training programme with the Wigan Institute of Education, in partnership with the University of Cumbria (accredited by the University of Warwick). Providing teacher training across all phases from primary through to secondary and post-16; the the opportunity for placements at special schools with an SEND focus.
For more information, please visit www.wiganinstitute.education
Newsletter 25.4.25, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 28th Apr 2025 @ 9:51am
Dear Parents/Carers,
It has been lovely welcoming the children back after the Easter break, catching up with them and seeing them get back into the school groove! Children will be encountering new topics and experiences, whilst hopefully enjoying some sunshine too!
VE Day
Thursday 8th May commemorates the 80th anniversary of VE Day. We have activities planned as well as a drink and snack donated kindly by FOMBA. Children are invited to wear red, white and blue for the day. (If it is PE day, please bear this in mind for outfits.)
Cyclists Dismount
A recurring request that children dismount their bikes on school grounds (including the path in front of the school office). This is for everyone's safety. If we can see this as a shared responsibility, hopefully it will become culture. If you can remind friends of this too, then that would be great. Following on from this, please encourage children to wear helmets, again for their safety. I will, of course, ask staff to support this message in school too.
Wigan Institute of Teaching
Interested in a career in teaching with a localised training offer? Visit the WIE website below for further information or give Mrs Atkinson or Miss Johnstone a call in school.
School dates:
- 28/04/2025 – Air Ambulance Assemblies
- 05/05/2025 - Bank holiday
- 08/05/2025 - VE Day Celebrations (see details above and on socials)
- 12–15/05/2025 - Y6 SATS week
- 19–21/05/2025 - Y6 Boreatton Park Residential
- 19/05/2025 - Y5 Parent Afternoon
- 20/05/2025 - Reception New Starter meeting (6pm)
- 22/05/2025 - Y2 Parent Afternoon
- 23/05/2025 - School closes for half term
- 02/06/2025 - INSET Day – School closed
- 03/06/2025 - School opens for Summer 2
- - Y4 Times Table Check begins (2 week window)
- 05–06/06/25 - Y5 Trip to London
- 09/06/2025 - Graduation Photo’s Reception and Y6
- 13/06/2025 - Reception Father’s Day Afternoon
- 14/06/2025 - Marus Bridge Summer Fest
- 25/06/2025 - Sports Day Reception AM and KS1 PM
- 26/06/2025 - Sports Day UKS2 AM and LKS2 PM
- 20/06/2025 - Y6 Group Photograph (**change of date)
- 10/07/2025 - Y3 Trip to Chester
- 14/07/2025 - Transition Morning (new class taster morning)
- - Reports Sent Out
- 15/07/2025 - Reception Assembly - (approx 9am)
- 16/07/2025 - Y6 Leavers Disco
- 18/07/2025 - Leavers Assembly - End of Term
Have a lovely weekend,
Mr Aldridge
Newsletter 28.3.25, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 31st Mar 2025 @ 12:35pm
- 22/04/2025 – School reopens for summer term 1
- 24/04/2025 – Y4 Trip to Tatton Park
- 28/04/2025 – Air Ambulance Assemblies
- 08/05/2025 – VE Day Celebrations (details to follow)
- 12–15/05/2025 – Y6 SATS
- 19–21/05/2025 – Y6 Boreatton Park Residential
- 19/05/2025 – Y5 Parent Afternoon
- 20/05/2025 - Reception New Starter meeting (6pm)
- 22/05/2025 – Y2 Parent Afternoon
- 23/05/2025 – School closes for half term
- 02/06/2025 – INSET Day – School closed
- 03/06/2025 – School opens for Summer 2
- – Y4 Times Table Check begins (2 week window)
- 05–06/06/25 – Y5 Trip to London
- 09/06/2025 – Graduation Photo’s Reception and Y6
- 13/06/2025 – Reception Father’s Day Afternoon
- 14/06/2025 - Marus Bridge Summer Fest
- 25/06/2025 – Sports Day Reception AM and KS1 PM
- 26/06/2025 – Sports Day UKS2 AM and LKS2 PM
- 27/06/2025 – Y6 Group Photograph
- 10/07/2025 - Y3 Trip to Chester
- 14/07/2025 - Transition Morning (new class taster morning)
- - Reports Sent Out
- 15/07/2025 - Reception Assembly - (approx 9am)
- 16/07/2025 - Y6 Leavers Disco
- 18/07/2025 - Leavers Assembly - End of Term
New Family HUb, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 28th Mar 2025 @ 11:40am
SAVE THE DATE!
Just 3 weeks to go until our Family Hub at Clifton Street Community Centre officially launches! 
This will be our fourth Family Hub!
Join us to celebrate! All families are welcome to come along to meet the team and our wide range of partners and to join in lots of fun, FREE activities.
Saturday 12th April
12.00-3.00pm
Family Hub at Clifton Street, Wigan, WN3 5HN
Walk and Wheel Week, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 27th Mar 2025 @ 12:48pm
We have some exciting news for you! Next week, we are taking part in Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel, the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting challenge. Encourage your child(ren) to walk, use a wheelchair, scoot or cycle to school on as many days as possible during the week. Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel is a great way to build physical activity in children’s daily routine which is important for their physical health and mental wellbeing.
Easter Competition, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 26th Mar 2025 @ 3:33pm
Newsletter 14.3.25, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 17th Mar 2025 @ 1:56pm
Dear Parents/Carers,
We were proud to welcome one of His Majesty's School Inspectors to Marus Bridge this week. She conducted an 'ungraded' school inspection, with the aim of ensuring standards of education for our children remain high. Although I cannot disclose the details until the report is published, I can say that we are pleased and immeasurably proud of our children and staff. In her debrief with myself, school and Rowan Learning Trust leaders, she highlighted how kind, responsible and determined our pupils are and how well supported they are by our staff.
Please can I say thank you for the positivity, kind words and treats that you shared over the past few days. We are also touched by some of the comments left on OFSTED Parent View, something that HMI made reference to. The report now needs to be quality assured, therefore it will be 3-4 weeks before publication, which could take us into next term. As soon as it is made available, I will share.
It is an absolute privilege to serve the children and families in this thriving community.
In Other News...
More to celebrate as we have been awarded the SMSC Silver Award. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development is the over-arching umbrella that encompasses personal development across the whole curriculum. This award is recognition of the work we have done on our curriculum and enrichment activities to improve pupil understanding and prepare them for citizenship and future life in a modern, diverse world. Thanks to Mrs Heaton for her dedication to this.
Young Carers
Please see attached information about and for young carers. We will share in school and endeavour to support any young people and families of whom this affects.
Midday Supervisor Role
If you are interested in the role of midday supervisor at Marus Bridge, please could you call or drop into the office to discuss further.
Wigan Institute of Teaching
Interested in a career in teaching with a localised training offer? Visit the WIE website below for further information or give Mrs Atkinson or Miss Johnstone a call in school.
I will share summer term dates (sports day etc) soon.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mr Aldridge
SMSC SILVER MARK AWARED TODAY, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 11th Mar 2025 @ 4:55pm
Young Carers, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 6th Mar 2025 @ 12:10pm
FREE Tickets for Wigan Athletic!, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 4th Mar 2025 @ 3:59pm
WOWs networking - Schools working together, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 27th Feb 2025 @ 1:20pm
We are working closely with the schools in our consortia to enahnce our already amazing science, art and geography curriculums and bring it to life for every child. We are loving sharing great practice and planning great opportunities for our pupils.
Grandparents Afternoon, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 12th Feb 2025 @ 3:56pm
EYFS had a lovely afternoon with their grandparents looking and playing with toys over the years. We love inviting our community into school.
Spa Day, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 7th Feb 2025 @ 5:55pm
Children in EYFS took time out for a full on Pyjama & Pamper day today! We think they enjoyed it ☺️ Watch our video to see what we got up to.
Newsletter 7.2.24, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 10th Feb 2025 @ 12:20pm
Dear Parents/Carers,
It's been spa day in EYFS today, with a focus on well-being and some spa treatments too! Added to the Wonderdome visit, road safety and Greek day, we've had another busy week in classes across school! Please see new and upcoming diary dates at the bottom of the newsletter.
A huge thank you to parents, friends and family members who came into school to read to our children for national storytelling week, which the children loved! With World Book Day on the horizon, there’s more reading fun on the way. Thanks to Mrs Holden for organising. I can recommend the website below, great for finding books appropriate to children of different ages with activities and suggestions for parents should you need them.
https://www.lovemybooks.co.uk/
Wigan Institute of Education
We are proud to have been selected to be a lead primary school for a new and local teacher training provider - the Wigan Institute of Education. The core aim is to train local teachers to work in local schools, bringing their expertise and knowledge of the community with them. If you know of anyone who may be interested in getting into teaching, please share the website below, or give school a call.
Parents' Evening - Monday 3rd and Wednesday 5th March
Please look out on ParentMail for booking which will go live next week. The Book Fair will be there as usual too!
Bikes/Scooters
Please will you encourage your children to park up in the scooter/bike parks straight away and not ride around the playground first thing in the morning. Just to help avoid any accidents. Thankyou for your support with this.
Mrs Boffey
A reminder that we will be welcoming our assistant headteacher Mrs Boffey back from maternity leave after February half term. She will be returning to teaching in Y5, following handover from Mrs Stanley, of whom will remain teaching in the class one day per week until summer.
Wigan Today/Wigan Observer - EYFS
And finally, look out for EYFS in the news this week - Wigan Today Online (Monday) and the Wigan Observer (Tuesday) - with photographs from the grandparent games afternoon last month. :-)
Dates
- 14/02/25 - School closes for half term
- 24/02/25 - School reopens
- 24/02/25 - Canal and Rivers Trust - School visit
- 03/03/25 and 5/3/2025 - Parents' Evenings (with Book Fair)
- 06/03/25 - World Book Day
- 07/03/25 - Careers Day - Further info to follow
- 27/03/25 - Around the UK in 90 Minutes! Y1 Parent/Carer afternoon
- 28/03/25 - Mothers’ Day Afternoon EYFS
- 04/04/25 - School closes for Easter
- 22/04/25 - School reopens for Summer Term
Have a great weekend,
Mr Aldridge
PE uniform reminder, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 29th Jan 2025 @ 11:06am
Dear Parents/Carers,
At Marus Bridge, we place a high importance on Physical Education within our curriculum. It is equally important that pupils are properly prepared for their P.E lessons in the appropriate kit. Please see below for a summary of this.
Children come to school wearing their PE Kit on their PE days. This includes:
- MBPS logo or plain white t-shirt
- MBPS logo or plain black shorts (on warmer days)
- MBPS logo or plain navy tracksuit bottoms/leggings/tracksuit top
- Black Trainers (not platform Converse/high-top style pumps)
Additionally, children will be welcome to wear their school sweatshirts, school cardigans or school fleeces over their PE t-shirts. As always, please can we ask that all uniform and PE uniform is labelled clearly, helping to reduce lost property or need to replace items.
Pupils are not permitted to wear:
- Coloured footwear other than black
- Platform Converse/high-top style pumps
- Branded sportswear
- Jeans
- Jewellery
On PE and Games days please refrain from setting your child in any form of jewellery including stud earrings, if your child usually wears them. Children cannot take part in PE lessons with earrings in even if they have safety caps and we are not able to use plasters to cover earrings. It is easier to avoid wearing them on these days especially if they cannot remove them independently.
Hairstyles
- Hair should be worn neat and tidy without any colouring or shaved in patterns.
- If a pupil has long hair, it should be worn tied back. (Exceptions to these hairstyles include hair that is worn because of cultural, family and social customs and can be part of a pupil’s ethnic origin and therefore fall under the protected characteristics set out in the equality act 2010.)
Parents will be contacted, initially through the child’s planner or Seesaw, if the incorrect kit is worn, and a telephone call will follow if this is persistent to ensure we remain consistent with uniform policy. Due to our policy on earrings, it would be better if pupils refrained from getting ears pierced until summer holidays if possible.
If pupils are unable to join in with their PE lesson, they will be given an alternative task linked strongly the lesson, to ensure that they are still able to meet the learning objectives.
As always, we thank you for your co-operation with this.
Newsletter 24.01.2025, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 24th Jan 2025 @ 11:47am
Dear Parents/Carers,
We are looking forward to the Community Coffee Morning on Monday, an opportunity to chat, make contact or seek advice from each other and series of local services, from the health advisor, tenant voice, school nurse, family hub, Let's Get Movin' amongst others. Please join us - everyone welcome. See socials and posters for further info.
FOMBA
Thankyou to FOMBA are continuing their great support of school and families. They are subsiding the cost of school trips and visits across all year groups, have approved purchasing of play equipments for breaktimes, buddy benches and another shed to provide cover and quiet on the junior yard. Your help and input is needed and welcome at the next meeting this Monday in school at 6pm.
Mrs Boffey
We will be welcoming our assistant headteacher Mrs Boffey back from maternity leave after February Half Term. She will be returning to teaching in Y5, following handover from Mrs Stanley, of whom will remain teaching in the class one day per week until summer.
If You were an engineer what would you do?
Y2 and Y5 will be embarking on 'If you were an engineer, what would you do?' projects shortly, following a visit and inspire session from Ian Bannister a local engineer. We would love to hear from any other engineers in our community, if you may have time to speak to our children about things you do.
Parking
Please be mindful and consider safety when parking, especially on corners or over driveways, such as those on Jupiter Grove. Really appreciate your help with this.
Healthy Schools
Healthy school news attached. Wigan Healthy Living Team are currently delivering sessions to our Y6 cohort. Our website also offers further ideas and resources via Marus Bridge Primary School: Wellbeing, Healthy Schools & Mental Health Information
Dates
Teachers will share pertinent dates in their year groups, however here are some key dates to look out for:
30/1/25 Engineer Visit Y2 and Y4
5/2/25 Greek Day Y5
7/2/25 Wonderdome Visit EYFS/Y1/Y2/Y5
14/2/25 School Closes for halt term
24/2/25 School Reopens
24/2/25 Canal and Rivers Trust - School visit
3/2/25 National Storytelling Week - Traditional Tales
3/3/25 and 5/3/2025 Parents' Evenings
6/3/25 World Book Day
28/3/25 Mothers’ Day Afternoon EYFSW
4/4/25 School Closes for Easter
22/4/25 School Reopens
Have a great weekend,
Mr Aldridge
