28^th March 2024

This week in school has been, as expected, all about Easter. You will see details below of all the Easter competitions, Easter service and learning about Easter that has been happening in school.

The Reception children worked with great excitement and enthusiasm to create a wonderful Easter garden, and I was thrilled to see them working together so well. It has helped them to retell and remember the Easter Story that they have been learning in RE.

On Tuesday, the Year 2 worship leaders led us in a superb Easter service at All Saints Church. I was proud of how confidently they spoke and remembered what to do and when. They didn't really need me there at all!

As always, our staff team have been amazing this term. They have not only made sure that the children are able to have inspiring and challenging learning opportunities, but they have been true to the school vision, making sure that all children are included and have been incredible in the support they have been given.

I am excited to share with you that Mrs Mitchell (and Mr Mitchell) are expecting their first child! The baby is due in September, so Mrs Mitchell will be with us for the rest of the academic year. I am sure that you will join with me in wishing many congratulations to Mr & Mrs Mitchell.

As we take a break from school for a couple of weeks, I hope that all our school families enjoy the time away from the school routine and are able to have a good rest. I would like to wish you all a very happy Easter.

Mrs Reynolds

Easter competitions – Whole school

A huge thank you to the whole school for all your amazing Easter entries. Every child did a fantastic job. We were so impressed with all the creations. It made our job of judging VERY hard. Thank you to all the parents and carers who supported the children at home with the hat, garden and basket making!

The winners of each category were:

Reception – Easter Basket 

1^st Place: Arlo S

2^nd Place: Martina O

3^rd Place: Lily T

Highly Commended: Luca C

Year 1 – Easter Garden 

1^st Place: Eira E

2^nd Place: Kooper S

3^rd Place: Maya G

Highly Commended: Teddy T & Harrison P

Year 2 – Easter Hat

1^st Place: Rinnah S

2^nd Place: James R

3^rd Place: Joey W

Highly Commended: Jessica S & Ella M

Easter garden – Reception

After reading the Easter Story and as part of their Religious Education lessons, the Reception children discussed ways they could remember the story. They decided to create an Easter display in the garden by planting flowers in the shape of a cross.

They also made Jesus and an Angel out of clay and added them both to their lovely display.

Trip to Bekonscot – Reception

We have sent a letter to confirm our Reception school trip to Bekonscot Model Village on Friday 26^th April. We must have a completed consent via ParentPay for your child to be allowed to take part in this trip. 

We are looking for 9 parent volunteers to accompany us on the trip. We will be out for the entire school day, leaving around 9.15am and returning before the end of the school day. If you would like to volunteer, please let us know on ParentPay. There will be a parents' briefing on Wednesday 24^th April at 9am for all volunteers.

Class Home Pages – Whole school

The class home pages for the summer term are now live. You can use your login to the school website to access the home page for your child's class. On each class home page are details of the curriculum that your child will be covering for the next half-term.

Facebook & Instagram – Whole school

Please don't forget to follow us on social media! We will be using these platforms to share some of the wonderful things we do and achieve at school, so please 'like' and 'follow' us!

• Facebook: Marlow C of E Infant School
• Instagram: marlowinfants

Summer term club sign-up – Whole school

If your child wishes to take part in any of the following school-run clubs during the summer term, please register here. Spaces are limited, so we will let you know if your child is given a place.

• Please note that Maypole & Sandygate Singers will continue with their existing members
• Tidy Up Team will also continue with our existing members, but they still have a few places left
• All school-run clubs will start week commencing 22^nd April

Year 1 & 2 only: Sandygate Stars (Monday lunchtime)

Year 2 only: Tidy Up Team (Monday lunchtime)

Year 1 & 2 only: Mindful Colouring (Wednesday lunchtime)

Year 1 & 2 only: Book Club (Wednesday lunchtime)

Year 1 & 2 only: Bible Bricks (Thursday lunchtime)

Reception only: Art Club (Thursday lunchtime)

Year 1 & 2 only: Science Club (Friday lunchtime)

Footsteps Training Programme – Year 2

Footsteps is a practical pedestrian training scheme for children up to the age of 7, developed by Buckinghamshire Council. It involves taking children to the roadside and teaching them how to behave around traffic, what to look for, how to find safe places to cross the road and how to cross roads safely with an adult.

We are looking for Year 2 parents to help with this programme after May half-term.

We can run the programme 1 afternoon for 6 weeks or 2 afternoons for 3 weeks or 3 afternoons for 2 weeks over the summer term. Each session will be from 1.30pm to 3pm. We will provide a 1-hour training session towards the end of the summer 1 term. 

If you would like to help, please click here.

Parent Survey 2024 – Whole school

In pursuit of improving your children's education, the environment and raising standards each year, the Governing Body seeks the views of parents on certain aspects of the school. We would be very grateful if you could complete this questionnaire with as much detail as possible, so we can continue to provide the best and most effective education for your children. The results will be shared with the school leadership and parents and will directly inform our school development plan for the coming academic year.

The survey will close on Friday 19 April 2024. Thank you in advance for your time; it should only take about 10 minutes. We're very lucky to have such an engaged parent body and would really appreciate a high level of response.

Please click here to complete the survey.

Stay safe, get active – Whole school

Now the weather is improving, please consider walking to school at least once a week. This will help your children to earn their walk to school badge but more importantly, reduce their impact on the environment.

It's been another busy half-term for the PFA. The Readathon, Disco, Cheese & Wine Tasting and Raffle were all a massive success and raised over £2,500 for the school.  We are extremely grateful to every parent who has donated their time to help raise funds. There are lots of fun activities and events coming up next term and there's always space for more. We'd love to hear from you if you would like to help. Our next meeting is at 8pm on 17^th April at school. EVERYONE is welcome!

May Fair

The May Fair is coming, we have lots of fun stuff planned. As always, we need your help. We will be asking for volunteers to man stalls after the Easter holidays. Please look out for a link to an online sign-up system.

We would love your donations:

• Second Hand Toys – we would welcome your toys for our children's tombola; please bring in donations on Wednesday 1^st May
• Tombola Gifts – we need your gifts; wine, fizz, smellies, chocolates. Please bring donations on Friday 3^rd May
• Cakes – we would love your cakes, bakes and biscuits, homemade or shop-bought. Please bring to school on Friday 10^th May

As a thank you, we would love to invite children to come into school in their own clothes on Friday May 3rd.

Where did you get that hat?

For an extra bit of fun, we will be running a hat decorating competition, with a Knights and Maidens theme. We would love to see your children using their imaginations (and craft supplies) to decorate one of our felt hats. Create a hat fit for a damsel in distress or a knight, a wizard or a princess. We can't wait to see what they come up with. Hats will be available on ParentPay for £3 after the Easter break and entries will be judged at the May Fair.

Sandygate Summer Ball

Don't forget that Earlybird tickets are on sale for the summer ball until 30^th April.

Dates for your diary

• 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

Little Muddy Me

The after-school forest school booking system is now live ready for parents to book for the summer term. Please see the link below. Please note that the club may not be able to go ahead if there are not enough bookings. 

https://bookwhen.com/littlemeandmuddyme