July 2012 Newsletter

Website A Newton Leys community website has been launched www.newtonleyscommunity.co.uk. Here you can find more details about some of the topics discussed in this newsletter, as well as other things affecting the community of Newton Leys. If you would like to see something specific on the website, want to contribute to it, or are interested in advertising your business on there, contact the Editor by email, at emma@emmahughesjournalism.com. Litter Pick A litter pick has been arranged for 2nd September. Anyone interested in coming along should meet us at 11am outside the phase two show homes. Sky ride If you are female, looking to keep fit, and have a bike, then there are regular bike rides from Newton Leys around the local area, which take place every Friday evening. Check out the Facebook group for postings from Laila for more information. Residents event If you would like to meet other Newton Leys residents, then why not join a gathering near the phase two sales offices on Sunday 26th August, the bank holiday weekend, at 1pm? Everyone is welcome, but please bring your own picnic, games and entertainment. Newton Leys Residents Association The AGM of the Newton Leys Residents Association has been set for 7pm on Wednesday 12 th September, in the meeting room at the WRG landfill site. Please feel free to come along if you would like to be a part of the group. The group will be setting a constitution and discussing what we would like to achieve, so this is a great time to get involved. There will also be an opportunity for those that are interested to stand as chair, treasurer or secretary. More details will be on the website soon. Walking Group A casual walking group meets on Tuesdays at 6pm outside the sales offices on phase two. Feel free to join if you fancy a relaxed evening walk. Schools It came up at the last residents meeting that many families have moved here from outside of Milton Keynes, and therefore arent aware of some of the local schools. As parents who have recently gone through the transfer to secondary school, and teachers and governors of local schools, we thought wed write a little bit about some of the local schools and the options available to you.

Primary schools: There are four local primary school in increasing distance from Newton Leys Water Hall, Drayton Park, Bishop Parker Catholic and The Premier Academy. Water Hall is a large (450 students) primary school in the southern end of the Lakes estate, and the closest school to Newton Leys. It encourages high achievements in sport and the arts. Water Halls last Ofsted inspection was carried out in December 2009 when Water Hall was rated as satisfactory. The next closest is Drayton Park, which is an expanding and increasingly popular school in the central area of the Lakes estate. The school currently has places for 300 students, and in June 2012 it underwent its most recent Ofsted inspection, where it improved to its current good rating. The Premier Academy (TPA) was rated as an outstanding school in July 2009 and currently has around 450 students. Finally there is Bishop Parker Catholic school, which caters for around 250 Catholic students and was rated satisfactory by Ofsted in April 2012. Bishop Parker has strong links with St Thomas Aquinas and All Saints churches, and admissions preference is given to children attending these churches or other catholic churches. Secondary School: Leon School is our local Secondary school and we are within its catchment area. Leon has specialisms in sport and art and students can study a range of courses to suit them, up to the end of their formal education. Leon is part of the Milton Keynes South Sixth Form along with Lord Grey School, which allows students to choose from a wide range of options post-16. Whatever age your children are, the Milton Keynes school website has lots of information about the processes for applying for school places as well as all the deadlines and procedures for making an application. Although we are outside of the Buckingham grammar school catchment area, you could apply for an out of area place. However, these are low priority and you may have to pay for and make your own arrangements for your child to get to school. A guide to waste and recycling in Milton Keynes Please put your sacks, bin and boxes at the edge of your property by 7am on a Thursday morning. There is no need to place bags at the end of your road or anywhere other than the boundary of your own property. This is a very brief guide to the items you should put in your pink sack, blue box, yellow bag, black sack and green bin. If you dont have a green bin, you can call 01908 252570 where the delivery of one can be arranged. Each property should have a green garden and food waste bin. In this closed bin you can put all food waste, which helps reduce littering, as animals cannot get into the bins like they can with plastic sacks. Pink sacks are for general recycling. If you need more, you can get extra pink sacks from stockists around town (see the see the council website for a full list). Blue boxes are for recycling glass bottles and jars of any colour. Metal lids from bottles and jars can be recycled in your pink sack. The yellow bags are quite new to Milton Keynes and are for all types of batteries this includes laptop and mobile phone batteries. Black sacks should only be used for anything that cannot be put anywhere else. If you run out of black sacks you will need to purchase your own. However, with the many options when it comes to getting rid of rubbish, there shouldnt be much that goes in black sacks anymore!