26th March 2021

With the end of term apporaching, the children have been finishing a lot of their topic work and the Year 1s have had a great time sharing their 'Mangoes and Bananas stories with each other round the fire pit!.  The children definitely needed their coats and wellies today  for their Forest Friday activities but the fire went some way to warming them.

As you know, we had our Rights Respecting School accreditation yesterday and you will be able to read below what the Ambassadors had to say about  how they felt about the experience. It was a busy and packed morning but the assessors where thrilled with all the positive things we were doing. We had been able to provide them with lots of evidence and they did say how impressed they were. We just need to wait a few weeks for their report. I would like to thank Mrs Howarth for the incredible amount of work she has put into pulling all the evidence together and the parents who volunteered to speak to the assessors too. 

Next week is the last week of term and I would like to remind everyone that school day ends at 1.00pm for Year 1 and at 1.15pm for Year R & 2. Ladybird class will need to be picked up from the Reception playground (as at the end of the autumn term) but parents and carers need to queue in the usual way - a member of the Senior Leadership Team will ensure you go in the right direction. There will be also members of the PFA out and about at the front of school with supplies of Donuts for sale.

Mrs Reynolds

Easter Service

We will be holding our Easter Service next Tuesday afternoon outside in the school grounds. The service will be led by some Year 2 worship leaders and they will be sharing the Story of Holy Week and Easter with all the other children in school.  This will be the first time we are all together as a school since the Harvest Festival back in October so it will definitely be a special time. 

Normally we hold the service in All Saints Church and it is a proper 'family' occasion but unfortunately we will not be able to invite parents. We will take lots of photos though to share with you.

Easter Bonnet Parade

Next Wednesday afternoon, the Year 2 children will be sharing their Easter Bonnets with the rest of the school. We are planning on setting up a catwalk outside so that the children can model and talk about their hats. The Year 1 and Reception children will be watching - obviously we are hoping that the weather forecast stays dry . There will be a prize-giving for all the Easter competitions at the end of the Parade.

All bonnets/hats should be sent into school on Monday and we will send them home after the parade on Wednesday.

Easter Gardens and Easter Baskets

The Reception children's Easter baskets will be displayed as part of our Bonnet Parade on Wednesday and judging of these will happen on Tuesday. The children should bring in their baskets on Monday and we will display them and then send them home on Wednesday

Year 1 Easter garden photos should be sent to the school office email on Monday  and Mrs Beckett will put together a slide show of all the gardens and we will share this with the rest of the school too. 

Once Wednesday is over, we will load a gallery of photos on the school website so that you will be able to see all of the wonderful Easter creations

Next Week's 'Learning at a Glance'

Report from Rights Respecting School Ambassadors

Gold Award Accreditation virtual assessment

Yesterday was a really busy day for us. We met 2 ladies from Bristol who talked to us about our rights and all the articles. We could see them on the big screen in Caterpillar room. Even though their voices were very fuzzy, we could still hear them alright. Mrs Howarth helped us to understand their questions. They asked us lots and lots of questions! We found it an exciting meeting because we were trying to get the Rights Respecting School Gold Award for our school.  As ambassadors we help all the children in the school know about their rights and yesterday was very special day for us.

Clubs after Easter

Multi-sports returns after Easter but I am afraid that there are currently no spaces for Year 1 as the children who had booked for this term have been offered the places first. There are a few spaces on the Year 1 club which can be booked here 

Scrumys have places for both Year 1 and Year 2. This is a fun club to introduce sport to young children focussing on non-contact, tag rugby. Book here

Youth Moves returns for Year 2 before school on a Tuesday from 8am. Details on the attached flyer.

Sandygate Stars will be running on Thursday lunchtime for Year 2. There will be limited places and you can register here  via the form on your child's class homepage.

Churches Together in Marlow - Easter Trail

As the Churches in Marlow will not be able to hold their usual Easter events, they have planned a walk for Holy Week to remain within current government guidelines and still allow them to celebrate Easter. The details can be found here and attached to this newsletter.

'Keep Marlow Tidy' poster competition

Marlow Wombles and local stakeholders are delighted to be running a ‘Keep Marlow Tidy’ poster competition. Litter has become an increasing issue, both locally and nationally, which negatively impacts our parks, wildlife habitats and the use of our outdoor spaces.

Marlow Wombles can regularly be seen litter picking throughout the town with a team of dedicated volunteers. The task is neverending and they are looking to the local community to help tackle this issue by raising awareness in the form of a poster competition which is open to anyone of school age.

We thought it would be an excellent activity for our children to take part in and would give them the opportunity to show off their creative talents!

The posters need to be very clear by following the guidelines below:

• Large text that can be seen from a distance.

• Use bright colours. • Include ‘Keep Marlow Tidy’.

• Name, age and school on the back or front of the poster.

• Posters should be A4 white paper and portrait orientation.

Remember to check spelling and include an e-mail address or contact details as each entry will receive a certificate from the Marlow Wombles.

Please send your entries to office@marlow-tc.gov.uk or alternatively pop your poster in an envelope and drop it into the Marlow Town Council office via the letterbox.

Closing date: Wednesday, 31st March 2021. Winning posters will be chosen by a select panel by Monday, 5th April 2021. There will be a 1st Prize of £50 and second prize of £25 in the form of a voucher for each age category donated by Globe Business Park BID.

Age Categories:

Junior – primary school age

Senior – secondary school age

Posters will be displayed in and around Marlow.

Attendance for Learning - Illness & Medical Appointments

Our Attendance for Learning policy aims to ensure regular attendance at school for all children. 

Absence due to illness

If your child is absent, for whatever reason, the school office must be informed before 9.30am by phone or email. If we have not heard from you on the morning of the first day of absence then the office staff will contact you to gain an understanding of why your child is not in school. If the absence is likely to continue for longer than three days then you should stay in contact with us to give regular updates.

If your child has any one of the three main symptoms of coronavirus: raised temperature, continuous cough or loss of sens of smell or taste then you MUST arrange for your child to have a COVID test. Your child cannot return to school until you receive the results of that test. 

Additionally, at present there may be circumstances related to coronavirus which mean your child cannot attend. If this is the case please inform us as soon as you can if your child is self-isolating for any reason.

Absence due to medical appointments

When making medical appointments, every effort must be made to ensure appointments are outside school hours but we acknowledge that this is not always possible when the medical need is urgent. Notice of absence should be given at least a week before and must be accompanied by an appointment card or other written confirmation. Absence for routine dental/medical/optical appointments during school time will not be authorised. By 'routine' we mean check-up appointments that can be planned for out of school hours (not ones that are allocated by the medical profession such as hospital appointments with a consultant)

Unauthorised absence

An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without permission of the school. This means that the absence is unauthorised if a child is absent from school without a valid reason, even with the support of the parent. It is only the school that can authorise an absence.