15^th March 2024

This week, the Year 1 children have welcomed Aris back to school. We have enjoyed hearing the Ladybirds and Butterflies playing the Gamelan instruments, and we are all excited about seeing their 'Celebration of Javanese Culture' next week!

Yesterday was an exceptionally busy day. Bee class treated us to their class-led worship about the value of thankfulness. They spoke confidently and had lots of ideas about the importance of the value. My thanks go to Mr Creese and the rest of the Bee class team for their work in preparing the children for their worship. 

Following on from Bee class worship was the Eco Conference at Great Marlow School. The Eco Warriors were treated to lots of learning about a variety of Eco issues, and they were keen to share all that they had seen and heard with their classes. 

Thinking about all things 'Eco', we are looking forward to our Water Day next Friday. Not only are we raising money for Water Aid, but the children will also be learning about Sustainable Development Goal 6, which involves working towards clean water and sanitation for all people by 2030. You can find more about Sustainable Development Goals here.

Mrs Reynolds

Bats 

A few weeks ago, the owl reading group in Ladybird class was reading a book about bats in their guided reading lesson. They became fascinated by the contents of the book and became concerned about the plight of bats. They read that bats were under threat because their habitats were being destroyed and insecticides were destroying their food sources.

The owl reading group decided they wanted to do something about it, and so they went to see Mrs Reynolds and explained their concerns. They decided that they wanted to tell the rest of the school about bats and ask for their help. When they were talking with Mrs Reynolds they thought of some ideas about what they could do.

Last Friday, the group talked to the rest of the school about their worries and their ideas and this is what was decided:

• Make bat boxes to put up in the Wild World and on school buildings
• Adopt a bat through the Bat Conservation Society
• Write to the Town Council; the Department for the Environment; The Bat Conservation Society and Wild Marlow
• Raise some money through a Bat Cookie Sale at the end of a school day - the money will be used to adopt a bat.

They hope to hold the cookie sale at the beginning of the next term, but their letter writing will happen over the next 2 weeks.

Next Week's 'Learning at a Glance'

Science Week feedback – Whole school

We would like to gather some feedback from your children regarding our Science Week. Please chat with your children and answer the five questions here.

World Water Day – Whole school

Next Friday we would like to invite the children to come to school wearing something blue. We don't want you to buy anything special, so it could be blue socks, blue ribbons, blue jeans, blue leggings, blue shoes etc, along with the rest of their school uniform. We kindly ask for no football kits to be worn.

In return, we are asking for a donation of £1 which should either be brought to school on the day or paid for through JustGiving. The school councillors will be collecting the donations or the link to the World Water Day JustGiving page is here.

Easter Competitions – Whole school

We would like the children to bring their entries in to school on Friday 22^nd March so that we can judge them on Monday 25^th March. Please don't bring them in before this date as we don't have enough space to store them.

We are planning to have an Easter Hat parade on Monday 25^th March at which the Year 2 children can show off their Easter Hat's to the rest of the school.

The details for the competition for each year group's are shown below.

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

Easter Service – Whole school

On Tuesday 26^th March from 9.45am-10.15, we would like to invite all families to our Easter Service at All Saints Church.

We still need 20 more parents to help walk to the church with the children. We will leave school at 9.15am and return by 10.45am. If you can help, please let us know here. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered already.

Great Big School Clean – Whole school

On Tuesday 26^th March, our Tidy Up Team will be litter picking outside Seymour Park Recreation ground with some of the Marlow Wombles. Other schools in the town will be litter picking in 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 the 26^th March.

Lending litter pickers

We would also like to lend our litter pickers to families to use over the Easter break. A limited number of pickers will be available to take home at the end of the day on Tuesday 26^th March. Please collect these from the office.

Stay & Play – Reception

The Reception team would like to invite parents/carers to school on Wednesday 27^th March between 2.30pm – 3pm for a Stay & Play session. This session will give you a chance to see what your child is learning and to get involved within your child's learning environment, as well as meet other parents and chat informally to the teaching staff. There will also be a cake sale at the end of the session.

If you would like to come, please click here.

Developing healthy sleep patterns – Whole school

For children and young people, low-quality sleep can become a serious issue. It has been theorised that poor sleep can have a significant impact on children’s brain development, affecting them for the rest of their lives. A healthy – and consistent – sleeping pattern, therefore, is incredibly important for children and young people’s wellbeing.

The guide below has some practical tips on helping them to achieve exactly that.

Sandygate Easter Scavenger Hunt

For a change this Easter, the trail is getting a makeover. Join us for the Sandygate Easter Holiday Scavenger Hunt! Follow the clues down Marlow High Street into Higginson Park, learn cool facts and solve a puzzle. Packs are £4 each and include clues and answer sheets, a map, a pencil and a sweet treat. Please purchase your pack(s) on ParentPay before Friday 22^nd March.

Easter Raffle

Thank you to the local businesses and the generous Sandygate families who donated prizes for our amazing Easter Raffle. Look out for tickets on sale all next week; tickets are £1 each, cash and card welcome. The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday, 27^th March.

Dates for your diary

• Second Hand Uniform: Friday 22^nd March
• Golf Day: Friday 26^th April
• May Fayre: Saturday 11^th May
• Parents Summer Ball: Saturday 22^nd June
• School Camp Night: Saturday & Sunday 13-14^th July