MGCE Newsletter  - November 2008

Dear Parents, Friends and Gymnasts

 Mr Ian Bradshaw and his wife Chris first started teaching gymnastics in a local High school over 21 years ago and now we are very close to opening a brand new fully equipped extension that will enable even more gymnasts to reach levels they never dreamed possible. Over the years our gymnasts have competed in competitions worldwide and in 2011 we look forward to hosting the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics element of the Common Wealth Youth Games at our club.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has made this possible, including sponsors; fundraisers; coaches; gymnasts; parents; workmen and friends – this facility will be used and appreciated by many more generations to come.

On December 14 we will be hosting a ‘Thank You / Celebratory’ evening for our sponsors, coaches and former leading gymnasts and a number of our current gymnasts will also be invited to demonstrate how their funding has been put to use. Please note that attendance at this event will be by invitation only but a further event is being held that will be open to all our current school age gymnasts:

On 21 December all our school age gymnasts are invited to join us for a party at the gym from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. As well as being a Christmas party, we will also be celebrating our Birthday/Anniversary and the opening of the extension. ‘Partytime Entertainers’ will be coming along to lead the games and disco and apply temporary tattoos to those who want them. Every child will be given a small party bag and birthday cake to take home with them (please remind the office if anyone has any allergies to sweets or chocolate) and glow bracelets and necklaces will also be on sale. A further note will be sent home before the day but if anyone can offer their help on the day with setting up/clearing up and ensuring the children all have a good time, please let me know.

Whilst the children are happily partying, parents will also be invited to join Ian Bradshaw and other club members in the New Extension from 6.45pm until 7.15pm for a mince pie and drink and a quick look at the new facilities. 

EARLY STEPS (Pre-school), don’t worry you haven’t been forgotten! Christmas parties will be held for our youngest gymnasts on the following days and times:         

 Monday 15 December 1.30pm to 3.00pm                               

Wednesday 17 December 1.30pm to 3.00pm

Sunday 21 December 10.15am to 11.45am

Lynn will provide you with more details closer to the date but essentially these will be run like a GymTime session with light refreshments being supplied upstairs and a special visitor bringing a gift for each of the children. If anyone can help with these dates, please let me know.              

Please note that the Gym will close for our usual Christmas break after the party on the 21 December and will re-open on Monday 5^th January 2009. Performance/Development/Intermediate gymnasts, please speak to your coaches to check whether any training sessions are going to be arranged during the break.

NOTICES:

AGM – Thursday 4 December from 8.00pm

Please don’t forget to come along to the AGM, three of our current committee members are standing down to allow space for new faces and ideas to take the gym forward into 2009. Meetings are held approximately once a month and this is your opportunity to have an influence on the way things are done. If you are interested in standing for a position, don’t forget to submit your nomination, with your proposer’s name, on or before 1 December to the Club Secretary, Mrs C Bradshaw.

Jewellery Tombola  

We are very lucky to have had some hand made jewellery in a lovely presentation box donated to us by Summerland Jewellery. If you would like the opportunity to win this (it would make a great Xmas present), please add your name to the chart upstairs by the kitchen and put your pound in the tin. The lucky winner will be drawn as soon as all the squares have been sold but no later than 21^st December.

Club Kit – Leotards, Shorts etc etc

It is lovely to see a number of the girls wearing the new club leotard. This has replaced the previous leotard that was worn at last year’s general gymnastics competition and any girls who participate in a general competition in 2009 will need to have one. Please note that as the leotards are handmade they need to be ordered in advance but if you would like one for Xmas, please let me know by 28 November. They are normally £32.00 but if we order enough at a time, we can get them for £30 each. Please let me have your payment and size (26, 28, 30, 32, 34 or 36 – they tend to be slightly smaller than the previous leotard) as soon as possible. For the boys, I still have quite a good stock of t-shirts, leotards, shorts and white stirrups, please come and speak to me in the office if you would like to purchase any.

 Time to show off how good you really are……..

 After Christmas we are hoping to set up a display team that we can take out to shows and events to promote the Club and gymnastics in general. Training times will be advised later but if your son or daughter is interested please let their coach know so that their name can be added to the list. We are hoping to get sponsorship from a local company to provide tracksuits and leotards and we will be asking parents and friends to help us transport gymnasts and equipment to the events. Please contact the office if you would like to assist in any way.

 Awards presentations

Not everyone is lucky enough to have the time to be able to sit and watch their children doing gymnastics classes which means that you don’t always know just what your child is capable of and in particular what they are doing in order to achieve their next certificate. To try and overcome this, in the New Year, we will be inviting you all to attend different sessions in which your children will be presented with their certificates and you will be given the opportunity to see what did to achieve them and also talk to their coach about what they will be doing next.

 You know us but do we know who you are???

One of the problems we sometimes have is that although you all know our names and our connection to your child i.e. coach or club officer, unless you have introduced yourself to us and are regular attendees, we are not always sure whether you are a parent or relative of one of our gymnasts. Apart from the fact that we want to be friendly and be able to chat to you about your child’s progress; we also want to be sure that we know who is collecting children from their sessions. Please make sure your child and their coach know who is going to be collecting them after their sessions and if for any reason you are running late or are arranging for them to go home with someone else, please contact us and let us know (625636) – let’s help each other to keep your child safe.