18th March 2022

Science Week has been a resounding success and has really sparked the children's curiosity. We have been able to welcome scientists into school to inspire the children and there have been lots of hands on, practical activities and investigations around the theme of growth. Thank you to Mrs Thirlway, for coordinating the week and to the teachers for planning such an exciting week.

Our cake sale to support the Ukraine has been another highlight of the week - I was bowled over by the creativity and generosity of our school families. The total amount raised was amazing - scroll further down to find out how much we raised. The PFA committee did a great job coordinating and manning the cake stall, even moving the sale to different places, so they could reach new 'audiences'.

Ant class school worship was a delight to watch - their school value of kindness was beautifully portrayed - the image of small bits of a paper heart being torn off each time somebody said or did something unkind was a powerful one!  My thanks go to Mrs Thirlway and Mr Richardson for helping the children prepare for their worship.

Over the next week we will be preparing for Sandygate Sunday on 27th March at All Saints. I do hope to see lots of school families there - so if you can make it, please sign up below.

Mrs Reynolds

Next Week's 'Learning at a Glance'

Walk and Wheel Week 

The Travel Plan Committee are pleased to announce that for this term's walk to school event we are taking part in the Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel event. This takes place between 21st March - 1st April, and everyone is encouraged to try to walk, scoot or cycle to school next week. 

As part of the week we are launching our walking buses and are excited to have 3 routes running. Please do continue to sign up to these here or if you have suggestions for any further routes do let us know.

We do understand that it is not possible for everyone to walk or scoot to school but if you are driving maybe consider parking a little further away from school, the map below shows some walk time zones to school.

By the end of the fortnight we will be sharing our Travel Plan with you. This document will set out why we believe increasing sustainable travel at school is so important, what each of us can do to help as part of the Sandygate family and the goals we have for the future. 

Many thanks the Travel Plan Committee

Grasshopper Class Worship

We would ask that parents register if they would like to attend Grasshopper class worship using the link below. Not only does this make it much quicker for you to sign in on the morning it also ensures that we put out enough chairs for everyone.

We also ask that you wear a mask when on school premises and if you are able to take a LFD test before attending that would be appreciated. 

• Grasshopper Class Friday 25th March https://forms.gle/EHiAfV2q4TAhq5zv6

For class worships our COVID risk assessment applies and we would ask that:

• face coverings are worn at all times on school premises
• attendees take a lateral flow test before attending if possible
• you do not attend if you have any COVID symptoms

Sandygate Sunday

All Saints Church Sunday 27th March

On Sunday 27th March we have been invited to take part in the @10.59 service at All Saints Church. The children will be singing one of our worship songs and we would like some of the children to read some prayers and we would like to invite all Sandygate families to come to the service. If your family are able to come to the service then could you please register here https://forms.gle/Cgr2ZCs9mHRmQQ3MA so that we know which children will be attending and are able to take a part in the service. 

On the day we would ask that any Sandygate children come in their school cardigan/sweatshirt but they do not need to be in full uniform. They should remain seated with you during the service and we will call them up at the relevant time. 

History Day

Friday 1st April

On the 1st April we will be holding a History Day in school. Volunteers from Marlow Museum will be coming in to talk about the history of Marlow and show the children some local artifacts. 

We would also like the children to dress as a historical figure, this can be anyone from any period that interests them.

If there are any grandparents, or family friends, who would like to come in and share with the children any interesting stories from their past then please get in touch to let us know as we would love to have them come in and share their history with the children. 

More details about the day will follow. 

End of Day Collection

We would like to remind parents and carers to make sure that they do not encourage their child(ren) to leave the pickup line before the child reaches the front of the line. The adult leading the line is responsible for handing over the child to the adult picking them up. If the child leaves the line without the adult knowing this can cause confusion and distress. We have these procedures in place to make sure that the children go to the correct adults and these are important safety procedures.

Lost Property

Our Lost Property is overflowing and, sadly, we have 18 jumpers, 8 cardigans and 7 PE hoodies which are not named and so cannot be returned to their owners. Please check that your child's uniform is named and that labels have not worn off or dropped out.

We also have a large number of hats, gloves and scarves which are unnamed and these will be put outside the front entrance of school at pick-up/drop-off next week. Please check to see if there is anything that belongs to your family. 

Any unclaimed items will be donated to charity at the end of the week

Easter Competitions

The details for the competition for each year group are shown below. We are planning to have an Easter bonnet/hat parade on the last day of term at which the Year 2 children can show off their headgear.

We would like the children to bring their entries in to school on Wednesday 6th April so that we can judge them and then they will be sent home on Friday 8th April

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. Some simple instructions for a garden are shown below or can be found here. 

Year 2 - Easter Bonnets 

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. 

Christ Church URC collection for Ukrainian Refugees

Some of you may be aware that Christ Church URC Marlow on Oxford Road are partnering with Aid for Ukraine based in Maidenhead. The project is working with people in the town of Susiec in Poland near to the Ukrainian border. They are very close to the city of Elviv and the project is run by a small group who are receiving refugees from Ukraine who are not receiving any help from any other charities.  Some of the items are given directly to the refugees in Poland but others, such as baby milk, are being driven by Polish volunteers into the Ukraine for those still there.

URC are open to receive donations on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 to 12 and on Sundays from 4.15 to 6pm and they are looking for volunteers to help receive and sort at those times. If you are able to offer any help please contact them via their Facebook page or their website https://www.christchurch-marlow.org.uk/

If you have items to donate but cannot get to URC at the times shown above then please bring these to school and leave them in the barn, and we will arrange for them to be taken to URC.

Current needs: 

• Detergents, washing liquids, rinsing liquids
• toiletries inc antiperspirants, shampoos, bath/shower gel
• creams for nappy rash
• baby wipes
• bath liquid for babies & baby lotion
• nappies sizes 4-6
• baby milk and food pouches
• instant food eg noodles, pot noodles, porridge etc
• instant hot drinks; tea/coffee/chocolate
• crayons, notebooks, pens, markers, school backpacks
• quilts, pillows, small blankets
• basic first aid items inc pain killers for adults & children
• candles: tea light & small pillar

Cake sale feedback.

Thank you all for the generosity shown to the Ukrainian appeal with both your cake donations and purchasing of items.  We raised £1000 which is incredible, this will be donated to the Save the Children DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. A big shout out to Louise Clarke for her amazing cake which we raffled.  This added £97 to the total funds raised.  Robert McFarlane was the lucky winner of the cake. We hope the McFarlane family enjoyed sharing it. 

If you wish to have your cake tin returned, they have been placed on the table under the barn for collection.

Quiz Night

We have 1 table of 8 left for Quiz Night on 2^nd April if anyone is still wanting to purchase tickets. These are available on ParentPay.  The quiz organisers have lots of exciting rounds planned and you may hear your children talking about their contributions as they have been helping with the planning this week.  Let's hope they don’t give too much away!!

Summer Fayre

The Summer Fayre on 21^st May is starting to look great but we do need a few more stall volunteers if possible.  We have vacant roles for the entrance gate, which is a nice easy one to run as we don’t usually charge a fee but have a raffle on entrance in the form of the 100 number board, and we also need someone to take charge of the children’s tombola, a really fun stall to be on.  If you can help, please WhatsApp your year group.

PFA Committee Roles

Following on from the last PFA meeting it was suggested that a description of the roles the PFA hold may be beneficial to help others understand how they may be able to assist. These have been uploaded to the school website 

https://www.marlow-infant.bucks.sch.uk/page/?title=PFA+Roles&pid=351