: News items
17th February Newsletter, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 17th Feb 2023 @ 5:32pm
Dear Parents/Carers,
Yesterday we enjoyed Mrs Riley's superb class assembly about the great fire of London. It was a fitting way to end the term and a chance to wish Mrs Riley all the best before beginning her maternity leave next week. Miss Kelly will be taking over in her class fully after half-term. I know everyone will make her feel welcome over the coming weeks and months. Mrs Fisher will take over as Key Stage One leader during Mrs Riley’s absence.
Diversity Day
Diversity Day was a real hit with all our pupils. Through our curriculum we continually aim to broaden our children's understanding of our multicultural society and celebrate the differences between us. As well as taking part in a variety of activities, pupils have also enjoyed visits from a number of inspirational members of our community. More to follow on our social media pages.
Disco
The Valentine's Disco's went down a storm on Wednesday. The children looked great and had lots of fun. It takes time and effort to put on such events, therefore I would like to thank the FOMBA members and teachers who went out of their way to plan, organise and volunteer. These events simply cannot happen without you.
Playground
Over the coming weeks you will notice more fixed play and climbing equipment being fitted on both the infant and junior yards. This has been part funded by the money raised in last year’s healthy living week. This is an example of how your generosity and help in fundraising for/with our school can have such an impact for our pupils and lasting legacy for the school.
Parents' Evening
This term's parents' evenings will take place on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st March. Booking forms will be sent out by the office in due course. If, in the meantime, there is something you wish to discuss with your child's teacher, then do get in touch. We look forward to sharing their great work with you.
World Book Day
World Book Day for Marus Bridge is on Friday 3rd March. Lots of exciting activities will be going on. Please refer to Mrs Holden’s parent mail earlier this week. To kick start Book Day celebrations we welcome the Pop Project to do a special musical assembly on Tuesday 28th February – kindly funded by FOMBA. The theme is seven decades of books and should be great fun.
Finally, as the half-term comes to an end, I would like to say well-done to our pupils and thankyou to our staff, helpers and parents/carers – you make our school the special place it is.
Mr Aldridge
Our visit to Jodrell Bank, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 15th Feb 2023 @ 5:41pm
We have had a fantatsic day at Jodrell Bank to help us understand more about out topic on Space. It was an amazing day!
Newsletter, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 20th Jan 2023 @ 3:54pm
Dear Parents /Carers,
Well done to Miss Draper’s Y4 Class on an entertaining and informative assembly – great singing and amateur theatrics too! It certainly reflected the enthusiasm for reading that is instilled in our pupils, as well as the progress in writing they are making all of the time. Thank you therefore for your support with home reading – it really does have an ongoing and long-lasting impact.
Industrial Action
You will likely be aware from media coverage of the upcoming industrial action by members in the National Education Union (NEU) and the reasoning behind it. There are four proposed dates for strike action, which are as follows:
- Wednesday 1 February 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.
- Tuesday 28 February 2023: all eligible members in the following English regions: Northern, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber.
- Wednesday 15 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.
- Thursday 16 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.
On this occasion, I do not expect the action to affect our school, however I will inform you ASAP next week should that situation change.
Online Safety – National College
This week Y5 enjoyed a workshop from Wigan Safeguarding Team all about staying safe, particularly when online. The landscape is always changing online and sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with what is current and what safety measures we should be putting into place online for our children. The link below is for the National Online Safety platform that we use in school and that you can have free access to. You can create your own account by going to the following website and using the school name. https://nationalonlinesafety.com/ Once registered, you will have free access to all the parent resources, including short videos and guides to support you at home with things such as online gaming, social media and online safety.
Attendance
With so many bugs around at the moment, attendance has naturally dipped over the past few weeks. Please can I ask that family holidays are booked in school holiday periods and not during term time. I really appreciate your support with this.
PCSO Visit
We had a visit from our new local Police Community Support Officer this week, who introduced himself to our children (who were very excited!) and briefly spoke about his role in the community. He will be visiting again to answer further questions about his job and career in the coming weeks.
Snow
A reminder that should we need to close school due to snow, we will communicate via parentmail as soon as a decision has been made. (There isn’t any forecast by the way – at least I hope not!)
Dates:
Friday 3rd February - Mrs Capstick’s Class Assembly
Tuesday 14th February – Safer Internet Day
Thursday 16th February – Miss Riley’s Class Assembly
Friday 17th February – Diversity Day 2023. School closes for February half term
Monday 27th February School re-opens.
It has been great seeing you on the gate and around school this week. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Mr Aldridge
Headteacher, by Marus Bridge Primary School
Date: 12th Oct 2022 @ 11:09am
Dear Parents/Carers,
A huge thankyou to all who donated to/attended the MacMillan Coffee Morning here today, raising money for a charity that is so dear to our hearts. The Y6 pupils in Miss Fox’s class and teachers did a great job organising and coordinating the morning, making brews, serving cakes and helping me decide which one to have for breakfast! Thanks also for donating money so that your child could have a cake too – they went down very well as you can imagine!
Primary Admissions 2023
I mentioned earlier in the week that we are beginning school tours for prospective new school starters (2023) from next week. All tours commence at 9.30 – giving a real flavour of our wonderful school, pupils and staff! Please email enquiries@marusbridge.co.uk or give the office a call on 01942 248129 to book on your preferred date J.The dates are as follows:
- Monday 3rd October
- Tuesday 11th October
- Tuesday 18th October
- Monday 31st October
- Tuesday 15th October
- Tuesday 29th October
Primary admissions for next year is now open.
If your child was born between 1st September 2018 and 31st August 2019, they will start school next year in 2023. If you need any support filling out the form, please contact the school office
https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Education/Schools/School-Admissions/Primary-schools.aspx
Walk To School – WOW!
Please get behind the children in support of walk to school month in October. As we know, there are multiple health and well-being benefits to walking to school. One of the best bits is the badge they are rewarded with at the end of each month! Please see Mrs Bower’s PM for further details.
Planet Protectors
Our planet protectors are on a mission to help us look after our local and global environment. They are passionate and committed, meeting every other Friday to discuss priorities in school. A group of our planet protectors attended the Wigan ECO Conference this week, sharing their ideas on how we can better use the resources on our planet and ideas around sustainability. More to follow on this later this term.
Coats
As the weather turns more autumnal (i.e. cold and wet!), can I ask that all children have a coat with them in school every day. Thankyou. Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you next week, Mr Aldridge
Bank Holiday Monday 19th September, by Marus Bridge Primary School
Date: 12th Oct 2022 @ 11:08am
Dear Parents/Carers, School will be closed on Monday 19th September for Queen Elizabeth’s State Funeral, which has been declared a national bank holiday. In school this week, teachers will continue to celebrate the life of the Queen and reflect on the broader historical and cultural importance too. Kind regards, Mr Aldridge
Headteacher, by Marus Bridge Primary School
Date: 12th Oct 2022 @ 11:06am
Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome back to the new academic year and a huge Marus Bridge welcome to our new families. I hope you enjoyed some rest in the warm weather over the summer and that your children have enjoyed their first week back in school with their new teachers. They look very smart and settled in class and have set a high standard from the first day, for which we (and I know you) will feel very proud!
Today I spoke to the children in assembly about the passing of Queen Elizabeth and ascension to the throne of King Charles. Teachers have followed this up in class, to reassure, answer any questions and discuss/celebrate the Queen’s life together. As a whole school community, we offer our deepest condolences and respect to the royal family in this period of mourning. If I receive any updates from the Department for Education that may impact school in any way, I will communicate them to you immediately.
Reminders for the start of the school year:
Attendance
Excellent attendance impacts greatly on pupil outcomes. We are aiming to return to the high levels of attendance we had pre-pandemic and thank you for your support on this. The pastoral team have been working on some exciting ways of rewarding strong attendance – check out the PM post from earlier today!
Meet the Teacher
Please join your child’s teacher next week for their meet the teacher session. As well as a chance to find out key information, it’s a chance to ask any questions too. Details shared from teachers via SeeSaw.
School Lunches
Don’t forget that from Early Years to Year 2 school lunches are free and from Y3 onwards extremely good value! They are tasty, well-balanced and save a bit of time for us parents too. They are definitely worth giving a try - if you have any questions, give the office a call. J
Plea for Parking
Please do not park across local residents’ driveways. A neighbour of ours was unable to leave his house in an emergency this week due to his car being blocked in on the drive. I completely understand that it can be tight around the roads, but please be considerate and don’t forget that Sainsbury’s is also an option and a very short walk away. Our 'Walk to School' badges are an incentive for children to walk, which they love to collect.
Marus Bridge PTA
The next meeting is on Monday at 5pm. A big thanks to those parents who have stepped forward to join us on the comittee - it means a lot. If you think you can help or just want to find out a bit more, bob in for a brew and a biscuit next week!
Looking forward to catching up with you all on the gate and around school over the coming weeks,
Mr Aldridge
Ross Aldridge| Headteacher
Marus Bridge Primary School | RLT | WN3 6SP
01942 248129 | r.aldridge@marusbridge.co.uk
