24th March 2023

We have been very excited to welcome Aris Daryono back to Marlow Infants. He has been working with the Year 1 children this week, and they have been thrilled to be able to have a try at playing his Gamelan instruments and have been engrossed in making shadow puppets too.

Next week we will see all the year groups finishing off their topics and Wednesday has been named Easter Day by the staff as we have the Easter Hat Parade and the Easter Service, we are just praying for dry weather!

Our Great Big School Clean takes place on Tuesday, and we are one of many schools in Marlow taking part in this over the week. As mentioned previously our school is going to be litter picking in Seymour Park Recreation Ground and our school grounds with some Marlow Wombles, but you may see children from the other schools litter picking: Rookery Park (Holy Trinity); Marlow Bottom Playing fields (Burford); School Lane in Little Marlow (Little Marlow School); Riley Park (St Peter’s) and GMS grounds (Great Marlow School); Forces housing area (Danesfield). We are hoping to have a big impact on these areas and encourage others to help keep Marlow tidy.

I look forward to seeing many of you this weekend at All Saints Church for Sandygate Sunday!

Mrs S Reynolds

On Wednesday 22nd March we marked World Water Day by wearing something blue, and we also held a special  school worship to find out more about why we need to have a World Water Day and the aims of the Sustainable Development Goal 6.  (Clean Water and Sanitation for everybody by 2030). We also discussed other ways the children would like to help.

• Save water: Take shorter showers and don’t let the tap run when brushing my teeth, doing dishes and preparing food
• Stop polluting: Don’t put food waste, oils, medicines and chemicals down my toilet or drains
• Eat local: Buy local, seasonal food and look for products made with less water
• Be curious: Find out where my water comes from and how it is shared, and visit a treatment plant to see how my waste is managed
• Protect nature: Plant a tree or create a rain garden – use natural solutions to reduce the risk of flooding and store water
• Build pressure: Write to my elected representatives about budgets for improving water at home and abroad
• Clean up: Take part in clean-ups of my local rivers, lakes, wetlands or beaches

The School Council is pleased to say that we raised over £120! A huge thank you to everyone who donated, this money has been donated to Water Aid.

Next, the School Council are thinking of ways of how to raise money for Toilet Twinning! By donating money to twin our toilet, we will help fund a project in a community that will enable families to build a basic toilet, have access to clean water and learn about hygiene – a vital combination that saves lives.

Next Week's 'Learning at a Glance'

Library books and readers - Whole school

As next week is our last week before the Easter break, please make sure all library books and readers come in to school by next Wednesday, as we need to check what we have in stock. Thank you.

School clubs - Whole school

There will be no internal clubs next week, including Lexia. These clubs will continue next term for the children who are currently signed up. For those who have booked clubs with an external company, please check with them directly.

Next week we will send out a list of the clubs available for the Summer term.

Trip to Bekonscot Model Village - 28th April - Reception

On Friday 28th April, Reception will be taking a trip to Bekonscot Model Village in Beaconsfield. You should have received an email already with more information about the trip.

Please complete the consent form on the ParentPay by Monday 17th April at the latest. The children must have a completed permission form to attend the trip.

For this trip we will be able to take up to 8 parents from each class, please indicate on ParentPay if you are able to help.

Sandygate Sunday - 26th March - Whole school

On Sunday 26th March from 11am-12noon, we would like to invite as many children as possible to come along and sing a song and read prayers at All Saints Church. Children can wear their normal clothes, but we kindly ask them to wear their school jumper over the top.

Easter Competitions - *Deadline Monday* - Whole school

The details for the competition for each year group are shown below. We are planning to have an Easter Hat parade on the 29th at which the Year 2 children can show off their headgear to the rest of the school.

We would like the children to bring their entries in to school on Monday 27th March so that we can judge them on the 28th.

The categories are:

Reception - Easter Basket 

Create an Easter basket using recycled materials and using some of the symbols of Easter that you have been learning about.

Year 1 - Easter Garden 

An Easter garden is a traditional way of remembering what happened on Good Friday and usually includes a hill, as the bible says Jesus was crucified on a hilltop, three crosses, a stone to represent the stone across the entrance to the tomb.

Year 2 - Easter Hat

An Easter bonnet is any new hat worn traditionally on Easter Sunday. It is the tail end of an English tradition of wearing new clothes for Easter and is in keeping with the spirit of renewal and redemption at this time of the year.

For our Easter bonnets, we would like you to take the theme of renewal further by reusing and recycling materials for your hat. 

Great Big School Clean - 28th March - Whole school

During the day, our Tidy Up team and Eco Warriors will be litter picking outside Seymour Park Recreation ground with some of the Marlow Wombles. Other schools in the town will be litter picking other areas and the rest of our children will be litter picking in the school grounds. If the children have litter pickers at home, they can bring them in on 28th March.

We will need some volunteers to help in the afternoon with the litter picking. Please contact the office if you can help.

Easter Service - 29th March - Whole school

On Wednesday 29th March from 2-2.30pm, we would like to invite all families to our Easter Service at All Saints Church.

Thank you to the parents who have volunteered already. We still 3 more Reception parents. We will leave the school at 1.30pm and return by 3pm. If you can help, please click here. Thank you!

A celebration of Indonesian culture - 30th March - Year 1

On Thursday 30th March from 2pm–3pm, the Year 1 children will be inviting their families to come in and taste some Indonesian food whilst being entertained by the children with shadow puppet shows.

The children will be selling tickets for £1 after school on Monday and Tuesday.

Sock donations

We would be grateful for some donations of socks as we seem to be going through a lot at the moment due to the wet weather.

Sandygate PFA Easter Trail  - Whole school

Last chance to buy a pack and join the Sandygate PFA Easter trail. Closing date to purchase the trail is TODAY Friday 24th March. Packs include trail maps (for you to walk/scoot/cycle around Marlow finding the Easter pictures displayed in Sandygate families houses), Easter quiz, some Easter activities to do at home and a sweet treat. Packs available to buy on parentpay (£4 per pack) and will be distributed at the end of term. 

Bingo Night - Saturday 22nd April 3.45-5.45pm

We still have a few tickets available for our Family Bingo event. Come and join us in the school hall on the afternoon of Saturday 22nd April for some family fun! Paper bingo boards, bar, tuck shop and pizza. There are prizes for the winners and a chance to get together with some Sandygate families for fun, games and a catch up. Tickets are now available to purchase on ParentPay (£15 for a family ticket and £5 for additional individual tickets) along with pizzas to pre-order for the night. 

May Fayre - Saturday 13th May 11am-2pm

We are busy pulling together everything for the May Fayre but are looking for some more help please!

1. Stallholders 

Like last year, we are asking for volunteers to take charge of stalls to run on the day (and to find a few friends to help you run it). We have a list of stalls currently still in need of someone to take charge of, but we are also keen and more than happy if anyone has any ideas for different/new stalls or activities to run to make the Fayre even better! If you are interested in helping please can you either let your year reps know or email Rachel on pfa@marlow-infant.bucks.sch.uk

2. Raffle & Silent Auction prizes

We would also be grateful for any prizes you can donate for our raffle (at May Fayre) and Silent Auction (in June alongside our dinner/dance event). We are looking for any prizes you or your company or friends/family can donate; big or small. We will be producing a flyer with company logos on to act as some advertising if you'd like yours to go on this. Please let Lauren King or Rachel Bourdillon know or email PFA on pfa@marlow-infant.bucks.sch.uk

3. Donations - dates for your diary

Leading up to the Fayre we will be asking for your kind and generous donations. These aren't at all compulsory but help significantly and are much appreciated.

• Friday 5th May - tombola donations (wine/chocolates/smellies etc)
• Wednesday 10th May - second hand toys/cuddly toys
• Friday 12th May - cakes/biscuits/tray bakes (edible goodies) and homemade jams/chutneys/pickles