Year 6: News items
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
Christmas Newsletter, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 20th Dec 2024 @ 12:04pm
Dear Parents/Carers,
As the final week of the term comes to a close, I would like to congratulate our pupils for being the best that they can be each and every day. Thank you to our parents/carers and community for your generosity this week - appreciated by all of us. Thank you to all our wonderful staff for their hard work and commitment. Finally, my gratitude also goes out to our army of volunteers in school and those who make FOMBA the dynamic PTA that they are - we are truly blessed.
Christmas Fun!
Christmas at primary school really is special. I am sure parents/carers of our Early Years pupils were bursting with pride watching the nativity performance, which had all the ingredients required to serve up an absolute festive treat. Similarly, KS1's 'Colours of Christmas' really did put a smile on our faces and get us truly into the Christmas spirit!
Christmas Fair
We enjoyed welcoming you to the Christmas Fair last week, which was very popular and raised funds that will contribute to your child's ongoing experiences at our school in the coming year. The choir were great, and I was particularly proud of the Craft Club, who made and sold their Christmas wares too! Thank you again to the FOMBA team and our staff for making it all happen (and for the Christmas tree given to every child this week!)
Bike Shed/Scooters on Yard
The bike shed is up and in action on the junior playground. This was enabled via grant funding accessed by FOMBA 🙂. Please can I ask bikes and scooters are put away straight away (including on the infant yard), this is simply to avoid any accidents before school on the yard. Thanks for your help with this.
Reading for Pleasure
As always, the focus is on reading for pleasure at Marus Bridge and the attached reading newsletter gives a taste of what goes on to encourage a lifelong love of reading. Thanks in advance for reading with your children over Christmas 🙂.
Reading Newsletter Autumn 2 Dec 24.pdf
Primary School Place Applications for September 2025
If you have not already done so and have a child starting school next year, please remember to apply for your child's place (even if you already have a child at our school). If you need any help, then please just call into the office. Please remind friends and family too 🙂. The closing date for applications is 15th January 2025.
Primary school admissions (wigan.gov.uk)
School reopens on Tuesday 7th January
Sending all our very best wishes from the whole team at Marus Bridge - see you in 2025!
Mr Aldridge
Naughty Elves at Marus Bridge, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 13th Dec 2024 @ 10:33am
Look who came to Marus Bridge - Those naughty naughty elves getting up to mischief!!!
Christmas Card Winner for our local MP, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 6th Dec 2024 @ 12:23pm
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We had a very special visitor in school today - our member of parliament - Josh Simons. He came to announce the winner of a Christmas card competition he has been running across his constituency. Our very own Nancy in Year 5 was the winner, alongside the two runners up - Sophie from Bryn St Peters and Isla from Nicol Mere. They each received a prize of gift vouchers and copies of Hacker books signed by the pooch himself! Congratulations to you all.🤩👏 @joshsimonsmp @hackertdog
The Brick Appeal, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 6th Dec 2024 @ 12:08pm
Well doen to all our UKS2 depeartment who today have donated wonderful toys and vouchers to support the local charity The Brick Wigan.
Our school community are amazing. Year 6 say thankyou for your support and have ticked off one of their Bridge Buidler objectives to support local community projects.
Newsletter 22.11.24, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 22nd Nov 2024 @ 2:29pm
After a cold and wintery week, you’ll be warmed by the feedback from a group of headteachers who visited the school from York this week. They commented on how lovely, focussed and knowledgeable our children are – something I couldn’t agree with more. Over the week I have been priviliged to observe some great activities, one of my favourites being a taste tester for Year 4 biscuit baking in DT! (I gave a few handshakes out too!)
When I ask my children what they did at school... I sometimes get quite a limited response! Marus Bridge has SeeSaw, which helps to share learning and achievements, but here are a few question stems/ideas that might spark some discussion from this week!
Reception: Tell me about Humpty Dumpty's friends and the characters in nursery rhymes.
Y1: Tell me about Space Tortoise!
Y2: Can you name the continents? (And even sing the continent song?!)
Y3: What was invented in the Bronze Age? What stitches have we learned in our DT lessons?
Y4: How do we stay safe online?
Y5: What were children's lives like during the industrial revolution?
Y6: Tell me about Oliver Twist!
Online Safety
We are much obliged to Joe Hurst (aka Mr Hurst), for visiting the Y4s to discuss e-safety (his background is in IT). In an ever-changing digital and online environment, education about online safety remains one of our priorities. As a parent myself, I am trying to stay as informed as possible - which can be hard at times! Resources like our online safety hub do really help - please take a look.
Online Safety Hub - Marus Bridge Primary School
ParentKind/Cash Pot for Schools
Thankyou for giving your support to this – we have just surpassed the £1000 mark! ParenKind are the charity that provide support for PTAs like the wonderful FOMBA, who are finalising details of this year's Christmas fair.
Mini ducks etc
On Friday's moving forward, children can bring mini-ducks etc to swap on the playground at lunchtime. A few parents and the school council spoke to me about providing a way of doing this, especially in the lead up to Christmas. If brought to school, please send in a labelled container or bag.
Parent Partnerships
Recently, we have had visits from Youth Connect and Wigan Warriors, who have been providing varied workshops for parents - you may have seen fliers for these.
Please see the lovely letter attached from Wigan Warriors that sums up the impact of the work they do with our school and about our outward facing approach to community partnerships.
Message from office regarding Christmas toys for sale:
Further to the previous message, please be advised that the school office are not permitted to accept cash payments for the Christmas toys. Kindly place the money in an envelope with your child's name clearly written on it, and hand it to their class teacher upon arrival at school. The toys will be available to purchase all next week.
Support at Christmas
This year, we are again supporting families who maybe struggling with financial hardship and would otherwise be unable to provide gifts for the family and enjoy festive food and treats. If you or someone you know are struggling and feel this would help, please contact Mrs Bish Pastoral Manager either by phone 01942 248129 or email k.bish@marusbridge.co.uk. who can make the referral. This is a confidential service and is not means tested.
Dates for the diary:
Friday 6th December 2024 Non-Uniform Day (for Christmas Fair and The Brick) and Christmas Craft Afternoon for EYFS 2-3pm
Tuesday 10th December 2024 KS1 Christmas Dinner Day
Wednesday 11th December 2024 KS2 Christmas Dinner Day
Thursday 12th December 2024 Year 4 Brass concert & Christmas quiz 10.00-11.30am / FOMBA Christmas Fair
Friday 13th December 2024 Year 5 Christmas Quiz afternoon 1.45-3.15pm
Monday 16th December 2024 Pantomime day (Whole School - departing at 9.15am and back for a later lunch)
Tuesday 17th December 2024 Year 6 Christmas Quiz 1.45-3.15pm
Wednesday 18th December 2024 KS1 (Y1 and Y2 together) Christmas performances 9.30am and 2.15pm
Thursday 19th December 2024 EYFS Christmas performance 9.30am / Year 3 Christmas Quiz afternoon 1.45-3.15pm
Friday 20th December School Closes at 1pm
School reopens Tuesday 7th January
Take care and have a lovely weekend,
Mr Aldridge
World Kindness Day, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 15th Nov 2024 @ 3:14pm
We have celebrated World Kondness Day in school. We linked this to one of our core values of Kindness & Respect.
We were so lucky to recieve a lovley gift off one of our pupils to celebrate the day and the kindness of all the staff team at Marus Bridge from Oliver and his family.
Thankyou
FOMBA DISCO TIME!!!!!!, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 18th Oct 2024 @ 11:18am
The children had an amazing time at this weeks 'School's Out' discos. Each disco was well attended and all the children enjoyed singing and dancing along with the DJ as well as creating colouring pics. We can't wait for the next event.
Thankyou to everyone who purchased a tocket and came along.
Officially - A Healthy School, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 18th Oct 2024 @ 11:15am
Its Official - We are a Healthy School! The PSHE ambassadors, Ellie, Grace, James & Jamie accompanied Mrs Heaton to the Wigan Healthy Schools Celebration event to receive our Healthy Schools accreditation certificate for this year. What a wonderful morning sharing the successes of all the schools taking part and meeting all the people who deliver the wonderful workshops across the borough and beyond. From cycling smoothie making to exploring mental health it was an entertaining, engaging and very informative morning.
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Youth Connect 5 Parent Course, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 16th Oct 2024 @ 1:30pm
We are pleased to announce that we are working in partnership with Wigan Council to deliver a parent course in our school. The course runs for 5 weeks and starts on 31st October. Join us from 9.00am for a coffee before the course starts at 9.30 lasting approx until 11.30am. We would love to see as many of our families as possible attending. Please see the attached flyer for more information and email Mrs Bish at k.bish@marusbridge.co.uk to book a place.
Y6 Girls Football Tournament, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 16th Oct 2024 @ 8:17am
Our Y6 Girls took part in a Football Competition today, They cheered on rival teams, encouraged their own team mates when faced with challenging situations and truly portrayed the Marus Bridge values throughout the whole day!
They came 6th overall - we are so proud of you girls - well done 👏
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Y6 Football Team, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 16th Oct 2024 @ 8:14am
The Y6 Footballers had a fantastic day representing our school at the Y6 Competitive Football Event! Out of a total of 35 schools, our team finished in 4th place, which is an outstanding achievement. We are so proud of you all!
FOMBA PTA Notices, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 14th Oct 2024 @ 11:05am
Dear Parents/ Carers,
SCHOOLS OUT DISCO!
Please note this is not a Halloween themed disco, so children do not need to dress up. But they can do if they wish!
CHRISTMAS ART WORK
The children’s Christmas Artwork that came home on Friday, has to be ordered via the website and by 26th October.
This is not organised by school, so please don’t contact the school office.
If you have any queries please message the FOMBA team.
Many Thanks
The FOMBA Team 😊
'Empathy for the Elderly', by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 12:47pm
Youth Connect Parent Workshop, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 2nd Oct 2024 @ 12:17pm
We have a Youth Connect Parent workshop over 5 weeks. This is a great opportunity for our parents and the community. These sessions start at Marus Bridge Primary School 31st October. Welcome and Coffee 9:00am and the course runs 9:30-11:30. We are hoping lots of the Marus Bridge community will be able to attend. Please email k.bish@marusbridge.co.uk to book a place.
Pupil Leadership Team 2024-2025, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 20th Sep 2024 @ 1:11pm
Say Hello to our New Head boy - Freddie & Head Girl - Scarlett accompanied by their deputies - Daniel & Evie. Congratulations!! The pupils were chosen through a whole school vote as part of our work on SMSC and democracy.
Importance of reading, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 12th Sep 2024 @ 12:55pm
Please see the attached information from our English leads.
Visit our school - Open day, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 11th Sep 2024 @ 10:41am
Is your child starting school in September 2025 or know someone who is?
Come to Marus Bridge tour day, it will give the opportunity to look around the school, absorb the atmosphere and meet the Headteacher, staff and pupils. It will provide you with an insight into the interaction of staff and pupils and also the relationship between the pupils and their peers at our fabulous school and help you decide that you want your child to start their journey through education with us. We look forward to seeing you.
Support for young people in Wigan, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 11th Sep 2024 @ 9:51am
Wigan has lots available for young people regarding emotional health and wellbeing for all and support for neuro diverse young people. Please see the attached leaflet below with QR codes to scan to find out what is available to you.
This can also be found in the SEND section of the website.
New and Improved Bridge Builders - Exclusive to Marus Bridge, by Mrs Atkinson
Date: 11th Sep 2024 @ 9:36am
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