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With the start of Advent today, the countdown to Christmas has started in earnest. The Christmas decorations are up in school, and we are beginning to feel rather festive now! The nativity practices have started, and the children are beginning to get excited - there were huge gasps this morning as the children came through the school hall and saw the Christmas tree up in the hall with its twinkling lights. Thanks to Mrs Higham, Mrs Hawkins and Mrs Green who came back after school to create this surprise!
Today, we will be sending home a Kindness Calendar for the children to work through between now and the end of term (more details below). I am going to start the ball rolling by highlighting and showing my appreciation for a group of people who do so much to help the school:
Last night was the PFA wreath making event, which was a great success. There was lots of creativity in the room and everyone went home with a wonderful wreath to hang on their front door. This time of year is an especially busy one for the PFA committee and their volunteers. They have already organised the Lantern trail, the Christmas discos and the Christmas wreath making. There is also the raffle and the silent auction going on at the moment too, not to mention all the support they will be giving me in school with the nativity, Big Sing and Christingle (to name just a few). I really appreciate this help, never mind the impact the fundraising has on the opportunities we are able to give to the children. I know it takes such a lot of time to organise everything and all this time is given for free and out of love for the school and the children.
Mrs Reynolds
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Sandygate Star
- Ant – Arlo for showing a great attitude to his learning
- Bee – Maddie for her enthusiastic singing of new songs
- Butterfly – Luke working so hard to improve his handwriting
- Ladybird – Savannah for working so hard on phonics this week
- Dragonfly – Ida for learning her lines for the nativity and performing them fantastically
- Grasshopper – Persis for growing in confidence in year 2
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Value Award – Respect
- Ant – Mia for offering to help her friends when she sees they need it
- Bee – Caitlyn for listening to other children's ideas
- Butterfly – Martha by taking turns and listening to other children
- Ladybird – Kooper for always being kind and respectful to his peers
- Dragonfly – Ella for helping other children when they are feeling in the 'blue' station
- Grasshopper – James for always being respectful to everyone at school
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A message from the School Councillors...
One Can Trust has made a call for specific Christmas donations as per the list below. The school councillors would like to support the charity with this Christmas collection as much as possible, and we are asking everyone to bring in a donation on Monday or Tuesday next week. We will be putting out collection boxes for you to fill.
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- Whole school – Please bring a donation for One Can Trust on Monday or Tuesday
- Whole school – Join us for our Advent Service at All Saints Church, Tuesday at 9.45am
- Year 2 – Please bring in an empty 2 litre bottle before Thursday
- Year 1 – Please bring in a cardboard box, kitchen rolls etc. before Friday
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.jpeg) | 30 Nov 2023 Wild World Session 3 - Wednesday 29th November |
 | 30 Nov 2023 Joy Morrissey MP, visited our school - Friday 24th November |
 | 30 Nov 2023 Fire & Rescue Service visited Reception during Safety Week - Friday 24th November |
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Next Week's 'Learning at a Glance'
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General news and reminders
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Big Sing! – Whole school
On Friday 15th December at 10am, we will once again be inviting a number of residents from local retirement homes to come to school for our special Big Sing event. The children will be singing Christmas carols in the school hall, there will be tea, coffee and mince pies for everyone, and there will also be a small raffle.
We would also like to invite the grandparents of our pupils, so please complete the form here if you would like your child’s grandparent(s) to come along too, and we will book them in for this year’s Big Sing event.
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Little Muddy Me – Year 2
Little Muddy Me has asked if all Year 2 children can bring in an empty 2 litre plastic bottle by next Thursday. They will be using them to plant some seeds, and will be sent home before the Christmas break.
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Castle building – Year 1
For our D&T project in Year 1, each child will need to bring in at least one cardboard box from their recycling, and empty toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, other boxes etc, anything that would help them to make a castle. Please send into school next Friday.
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Walk to School programme – Whole school
Today we handed out badges to the children who walked, cycled or scooted to school at least 5 times this month. If your child did not receive a badge, we showed them their percentage wheel and explained ways they could improve their score by the end of next month.
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Kindness calendars – Whole school
With Christmas and the season of giving now upon us, we would like children to enjoy spreading a little kindness with Kindness Calendars. All children will be coming home with one today. Please encourage your child(ren) and inspire them with suggested acts of kindness, then colour in a snowflake on the day of doing a kind act. There are some ideas on the back of the calendar.
Then please return the calendars to class by 15th December.
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Elves needed
Santa has delivered some gifts to the school for the children which he will give to them on the last day of term. We require some 'Volunteer Elves' to help us wrap them ready for the last day of term, when Santa will be in school distributing them. If you could help with the wrapping, please let Mrs Wright in the office know.
Thank you!
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Christmas cards – Whole school
As a Green Flag School, and in-line with our School Eco Code, we undertake to find any means we can to help save the planet. With this in mind, we are asking that no Christmas cards be distributed by children in school. Many thanks for your support.
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Singing to the community – Reception
On Monday 11th December, we will be taking our Reception children to Liston Hall to sing to the U3A community group to help them with their festive celebrations. We have supported this event for many years and are excited about taking our Reception children to sing. This will be the first time we have taken 4 and 5-year-olds, and we are proud to be able to do so.
As with all of these visits to the local area, we will require additional help from parents to ensure the safety of the children on the walk down. If you can help on Monday 11th December between 1.30pm and 3pm we would love to hear from you. Please complete the form here. We still need 3 more parents. Thank you to those who have volunteered already.
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Science Week 2024 – Whole school
Are you a Scientist? Do you have a spare hour or two between 26th February – 1st March? We would love to hear from you!
At Marlow Infants, we will be hosting Science Week 2024 so that the children can experience an intense, fun-filled week of hands-on Science. They will be taking part in investigations, hearing from Scientists, such as yourself, about how Science is used in the world and generally having lots of fun honing their scientific skills.
In the past, we have had Engineers showing us how Hydrogen cars work, Geologists sharing slides of volcanic rock formations as seen from a hot air balloon, Botanists helping children to plant seeds and classify plants, Medics demonstrating how to attend to broken limbs and how germs are transmitted, the list goes on...
Children love seeing their parents talking about what they are passionate about and Science Week gives them a great opportunity to become enthused about Science at school. If you can offer any support for Science Week, please complete the form here.
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Christmas Jumper Day 2023
On Friday 15th of December (not the official day), we will be taking part in Christmas Jumper Day to get into the Christmas Spirit, and help raise money for Save The Children. So get your festive jumper ready, and don't forget to make your donation to Save The Children online here or via the QR code we have up at school.
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Reading for pleasure – Whole school
This week's recommendation comes from Tamsyn and Ernie in Ladybird class. Tamsyn recommends 'The Princess and the Wizard' by Julia Donaldson. Tamsyn likes the book because it is all sparkly, and her favourite bit is when the Wizard turns everyone to stone because he hadn't been invited to Princess Eliza's birthday party. Ernie has recommended 'Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam' by Tracey Corderoy. Ernie's favourite part of the book is where they hold a celebration party at the end when they catch the burglar.
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Tissues donations
It's this time of the year when we go through a lot of tissues in school, and we would be most grateful for donations of tissue boxes from parents please. Thank you in advance.
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Christmas wish list
We have made a wish list of books we would like in school as these will really help with our Core Read Aloud programme, and to instil a love of reading in our pupils in the future.
If you would like to purchase a book from our wish list as a Christmas present for the school, please click here. We will label these to show who they were donated by.
Thank you to the families who have donated books already. These have been labelled and are being used throughout the school already!
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Santastic Disco!
We were thrilled to see so many children having a great time at the Christmas disco. Thanks to all our parent helpers who gave their time to make sure everything ran smoothly and all the children were where they were supposed to be, which is no mean feat. A special thank you to our guest, Father Christmas, who delighted the kids with a story, and Jenna Williams, who made a fabulous festive backdrop for the disco. Also, we hope those of you who popped into the Eco Barn for a drink and mince pie enjoyed the opportunity to see the newest addition to the school classrooms. Thank you to Lauren King and Daphne Howarth for organising the festive bar.
Christmas Raffle
 
We have a wonderful raffle this year with plenty of fabulous prizes. Raffle tickets came home in bags last week, stubs can be returned with cash in an envelope provided to the PFA postbox which lives just inside the school building to the left of the office. Thank you to our parents and donors who provided the amazing gifts on offer. The raffle will be drawn on Friday, December 15th at our after-school bake sale.
Silent Auction
If you thought our raffle was good...our Spectacular Silent Auction LAUNCHES TODAY. We have some truly incredible lots this year including a beautiful gold pearl necklace, 4 tickets to Elf! The Musical (with backstage passes!), a Jabra Headset, haircuts, photoshoots, beauty treatments…you are guaranteed to find something to bid on. The auction closes on Sunday December 10th so is the perfect opportunity to try for some truly unique Christmas gifts.
Thank you to everyone who has donated their services and prizes, and to Gabby and Graham Butler and Zara McCarthy who worked their socks off putting the silent auction together. Here is the link (https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/sandygatechristmas2023), get bidding and good luck!
Christmas Activity Packs
Year two parent Jenna Williams has put together Christmas-themed activity packs to help keep the kids entertained in the Christmas break. Packs contain a Christmas card craft, stickers, a map of where to see Sandygate families' Christmas lights, scavenger hunt, puzzles and colourings and a sweet treat. Packs will be available to order on ParentPay early next week and cost £4 each.
Late Night Christmas Shopping
Don't forget that next Thursday is late night shopping in Marlow and Sandygate will join forces with Holy Trinity to sell hot chocolate, mulled wine and decorated cookies. Do pop by and say hello!
Christmas Bake Sale
Just to keep the festive spirit going that little bit longer. Jo Jeremy (Year 2) is kindly organising a spectacular Christmas Bake Sale after school in the Eco Barn on Friday, December 15th. We need your donations of cookies, cakes, muffins, pies, flapjacks, brownies etc! Home-made or shop bought gratefully accepted - extra points for something festive. Jo has set up a Google form where you can add what you will be baking for the sale https://forms.gle/3Ku8RYsaYSKziZ3VA. Bakes can be dropped off on Friday the 15th at drop off or Thursday 14th at pickup.
Coming up…
- Late Night Shopping: Thursday 7th December
- Christmas Bake Sale & Raffle: Friday 15th December
- Wycombe Wanders Football Event: Monday 15th January 2024
- Family Bingo: Saturday 3rd February 2024
- School Disco: Saturday 2nd March
- Wine & Cheese Tasting Evening: Saturday 16th March
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MDSA vacancy
We currently have a vacancy for a Midday Supervisory Assistant (MDSA).
We are looking to appoint a responsible and enthusiastic person who will ensure the safety, welfare and good conduct of the children during the lunchtime period. You will be part of a friendly and supportive team working with happy and friendly children.
The full job description and details of how to apply can be found on the school website here.
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