20th January 2023

Yesterday, saw the first class led worship of the year. Grasshopper class were wonderful and taught us a lot about the value of respect. In preparing for the worship, the children had lots of ideas about what they wanted to share and how they wanted to do it. Thank you to Mrs Browning, Mrs Britnell and the rest of the Year 2 team who helped the children prepare for their special moment!

You will see below the links for the other classes - please do book a place to see your child's class worship.

Today in Reception, they have been learning all about the Lunar and Chinese New Year. The dragon dance that they were learning in the Hall this morning was colourful and energetic and the smell of the spring rolls that they made in the kitchen wafted up to the office and made us all feel very hungry! 

Next week, I am looking forward to seeing the kites that the Year 2s have designed - they will be busy making and decorating them in their design and technology lesson. Once the kites are all completed, I wonder if they will be taking them outside to fly?

As you may be be aware, the National Education Union have announced strike days for their members. These first four dates are 1/2/23; 2/3/23; 15/3/23 and 16/3/23. At this moment in time, I do not know how this will affect Marlow Infants but there is the possibility that there will be class closures. 

Mrs Reynolds

Welly Walk in Reception

Yesterday, the children in Reception took part in their weekly Welly Walk. This week they learned about forces and were treated to a real moment of awe and wonder. 

Mrs Burkitt and Mrs Madziwa, equipped with buckets two thirds full of water, demonstrated how the water could stay in the bucket, even though it was upside down. They spun the buckets around and the speed of the spinning, kept the water in the buckets. The children, who already think there teachers are brilliant, thought that they could perform magic too!. Mrs Burkitt and Mrs Madziwa then used the demonstration to explain that it is the force created by the Earth spinning that keeps us on it.

Vision & Value Leaders

This term we have 2 new Vision and Values leaders. The Senior Leadership team would like to thank Daisy G from Grasshopper and Oliver, from Dragonfly for their service to the school in the autumn term. They were involved in school worship, speaking at a Prospective Parents morning and helping with ideas for the Refection area on the playground.

The Senior Leadership have chosen 2 more children to be Vision and Values leaders, and they will be in 'office' until the end of the spring term. These children are George H in Grassopper and Alice Lewis in Dragonflly

The new leaders were given their badges in school worship this morning, and they took the opportunity to ask the rest of the children 'What do you like best about Collective Worship?'  No one answer was the same and their answers included: the songs, the videos, learning about the bible stories; the refection time and the music!

Next week's 'Learning at a Glance'

Curriculum Information Session - Reception

Wednesday 1st February 7.00pm

This session will be a follow on from the one we held in the autumn term. It is open to all Reception parents who would like to find out more about how and what their children learn in Reception. We will be covering end of year expectations, the next phase in learning in phonics as well as giving further hints on how to support the children at home. We do need to know how many parents will be attending so that we can prepare resources. Please click here if you will be coming along.

Class-Led Worship - All year groups

We will be holding class-led worship over the next few months. Each class will be basing their worship on their class value. We would like to invite parents/carers to join in with the worship. Each class worship will be 9-9.30am. To book your ticket via EventBrite, please click the link below.

Dragonfly Class (Thursday 26th January) Click here

Ladybird Class (Thursday 9th February) Click here

Butterfly Class (Thursday 23rd February) Click here

Bee Class (Thursday 9th March) Click here

Ant Class (Thursday 16th March) Click here

The Big Schools Birdwatch - Whole school

Over the next two weeks,  we will be taking part in the Big Schools Birdwatch. Children will be exploring the school grounds, identifying local birds and collecting data for the RSPB.

At home, you can do your bit too. The Big Garden Birdwatch will be taking place between the 27-29th January. You don't even need a garden, you can count birds and identify them from your balcony or at the park. The information you send the RSPB can help them identify how the bird population is faring and as a result, help them to protect birds. You can sign up here for a free guide and also find out how to attract birds to your garden.

Candlemas: Thursday 2nd February - Whole school

We will have a special school worship to celebrate the feast of Candlemas on Thursday 2nd February.  Candlemas is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Christ and celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the temple, as described in Luke 2:22-40, and is one of the oldest festivals in the Christian church. In many countries it marks the end of the Christmas festivities and is when decorations are taken down. It is called Candlemas as this was traditionally the day when all the church candles for the year were blessed.

We would like to invite parents/carers to join in. Due to the size of our hall, we are limiting tickets to 1 parent/carer per family.

To book your ticket via EventBrite, please click here.

Class Home Pages - Year 1

We seem to be having problems with the Year 1 class home pages at the moment. Many apologies for this, we have contacted the website providers and they are trying to resolve the issue.

School Nursing Scheme - Reception 

Tuesday 7th February

Each year in England, School children in Reception routinely have their height and weight checked at school as part of the National Childhood Measurement Programme. The measurements will be stored in your child's Bucks Healthcare NHS record. The measurements are carried out by our trained team of School Health Assistants, in a space away from other pupils.

All Parents/Carers are being asked to register to an online Parent Portal to find out more information about the NCMP. They can then opt-out if they do not wish their child to be measured. We have sent out an email this afternoon with all the relevant information.

Parent Consultations - All year groups

The Spring Parent Consultations will be on Tuesday 21st (3.30-6.30pm) and Wednesday 22nd (4-7pm) February. These will be in Key Stage 1 end of school. We will open up bookings on 25th January at midday. You will be able to choose and book a 10-minute time slot by logging into your class homepage on the school website.

Childhood infections - All year groups

As you may be aware that we have a child in school who has received long term treatment which has weakened their immune system. In order for us to help them remain as well as possible we will do require your assistance.

Could you please inform us as soon as possible if your child becomes unwell with any infectious illness, such as a vomiting or diarrhoea bug, hand, foot and mouth, slap cheek, scarlet fever and especially chicken pox and measles as these could be very harmful.

This will enable us to contact the parents of the children in question to make them aware and to keep the child away from any infection risk, or to receive the treatment needed if a contact with an infection has been made.

School Drop off & Collection Reminder - All year groups

Arriving late is extremely disruptive for both children and teachers. The child misses out on the early morning routine and information about what is happening that day.

We have a soft start window where you can drop your child/ren off anytime between 8.45-8.55am. After 8.55am, the Year 2 gate and the gates to the field will be locked, and any children arriving after this time will need to enter via the school office and the parent/carer will be required to sign the child in as late. Please do not use the gates to the field after 8.55am.

We would also like to remind parents/carers that if there is a change of collection for your child/ren please email the office your child's name and class before 3pm to avoid missed messages.

Wild World

We are looking for a team of volunteers who can help us maintain a safe outdoor environment for the children, along with updating and improving the school garden ready for summer!

If you have an interest in gardening and would love to help, please register your interest here.

PFA First Aid Fundraising Event: Wednesday 25th January

We still have a few spaces left for our First Aid Fundraising evening on Wednesday 25th January at 7.15pm in the school hall. The session is 2 hours and is being run by the external company Child Matters. It covers a wide range of first aid training with a Certificate of attendance.

Refreshments will also be provided. Tickets £20 available via parent pay.

   Sandygate & Holy Trinity Charity Golf Day 

The inaugural Sandygate and Holy Trinity charity golf day is taking place on the afternoon of Friday 17th March at Harleyford Golf Club. Ladies and gentlemen golfers of all abilities are invited to join in. Entry fee will be £60pp, and you can sign up either as an individual or a team of 4. There will be lots of games and multiple prizes to be won on the day. There are also sponsorship opportunities available for the event.

If you or anyone you know is interested in signing up please contact Patrick Tomnie directly on 07976761616 or patricktomnie@gmail.com (see flyer below).