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19th July 2024

In school this week

Who can believe that this time last week, we were on our way back from Kew Gardens?

I would like to welcome our new Reception parents and carers who are receiving the school newsletter for the first time this week.

Our Creative Week has been a great success and there have been so many different activities taking place each afternoon. The children have been exploring the arts through dance, drama, role play, painting and drawing. They have also created a collage which will be going up in the school hall next week. Some children have even made bat boxes and all have had a go at designing a poster to advertise the circus that is coming to school in September. (Please see below for more details about the circus). All this wouldn't have been possible without the organisational skills of Mrs Mitchell. So my thanks go to her for pulling everything together. The children have learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. You can see some photos below.

Last night, the PFA AGM was held here at school. Our co-chairs, Rachel Bourdillon and Claire Robinson, stepped down from the role, as did one of the PFA secretaries, Mandy Rooney and one of the treasurers, Caro Robinson. Lauren King, will continue as treasurer and Charlotte Thompson will continue as secretary. This means, however, that at the moment there is no chair of the PFA for the next academic year. I would like to thank Rachel and Claire for the tremendous amount of work they have put into chairing the PFA, and to Claire, who is leaving the PFA completely, the contribution she has made during her time as a member of the PFA committee is incredible - she will be missed. Thank you also to Mandy and Caro for their contribution to the school through the important roles that they have held on the committee. You can see more details below.

Today, we had our whole school celebration worship outside and Maypole club performed one last time for us. The children from Maypole were presented certificates for their hard work and dedication this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems incredible that there are only 2 days left of the academic year. The year has really flown by.

Mrs S Reynolds

Weekly awards

Sandygate Star

  • Ant – Zaynah for her wonderful focus on creating beautiful artwork during Creative Week
  • Bee – Arthur for showing everyone how to use their manners
  • Butterfly – Rayan for being brave and bold with his ideas
  • Ladybird – Zakariya for demonstrating such great comprehension skills
  • Dragonfly – Miller for always offering to help peers and adults
  • Grasshopper – Joey W for always being the first to help others when they are upset

Value Award – Service

  • Ant – Eddie for always being willing to help grown-ups in school
  • Bee – Zoe for always tidying up and packing away without being asked
  • Butterfly – Jamie for thinking ahead to help others
  • Ladybird – Ada for always being incredibly helpful and kind to her friends
  • Dragonfly – James for offering to give out the books for the class
  • Grasshopper – Lara for always tidying up without being asked
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Habits of Mind – Finding Humour

  • Ant – Mila
  • Bee – Benjamin
  • Butterfly – Nora
  • Ladybird – Harriet
  • Dragonfly – Jemimah
  • Grasshopper – Alexa

At a glance

Whole school

  • Please could you check that all reading books have been returned to school

Latest news

19 Jul 2024
Creative Week
Creative Week: 15th - 19th July
Read more
19 Jul 2024
Fine Diners - Year 2
Year 2 Fine Diner Winners - Thursday 18th July
Read more
18 Jul 2024
Kew Gardens
Whole school trip to Kew Gardens - Friday 12th July
Read more

School calendar

Year 2 Leavers Service
9:00am – 10:00am
23
July
End of Summer Term
1:15pm – 1:15pm
23
July
INSET
All Day
From 03 Sep until 04 Sep
03
September
Autumn Term starts
All Day
05
September
First day for Reception
All Day
09
September
Reception Curriculum Session
7:00pm – 8:30pm
18
September
FGB Meeting
7:00pm – 9:00pm
19
September
PFA Happy Circus
7:00am – 6:00pm
22
September

To see the full calendar click here

General news & reminders

Whole school news

 

Pupil reports

On Wednesday, we emailed out the end of school reports for all the children. They are a real celebration of what has been achieved over the last academic year. All pupils have made good progress from their starting points and once more our end of Key Stage 1 outcomes are significantly above the National Average. You can find more information on the school website here.

Returning school books

Even though the reading books will not be coming home next week, we encourage you to continue to read with your children to keep up their reading skills. Books from home can be used or a visit to the Marlow Library over the summer will provide an alternative source of reading material!

Please check bookshelves at home to see if there are any stray school books there too and return them to school before the end of term.

PE/Library days for 2024-25

Below are details of the PE and library days for each year group for the new academic year. On PE days, the children come dressed in their PE clothes (please see details on the school website of what the school PE uniform is). On library days, children should bring in their library bags with their library book in them that they have taken home the previous week.

PE days

  • Reception: Monday
  • Year 1: Wednesday & Thursday          
  • Year 2: Tuesday & Friday

Library days

  • Reception: Friday
  • Year 1: Thursday
  • Year 2: Wednesday

Outdoor Learning days

  • Reception: Wednesday
  • Year 1: Thursday
  • Year 2: Tuesday

Year 2 news

 

Legacy books

A huge thank you for all the gorgeous books that have started coming in. We've been labelling them ready for children to enjoy from September.

If you would like to purchase a legacy book (or more than one) in memory of your child's time at our school, please click the link below.

Purchase a book from our wish list

Year 1 news

 

Nothing this week

Reception news

 

Nothing this week

PFA news

Happy's Circus

 

We're so excited that Happy's Circus is coming back to Marlow Infants on Sunday 22nd September. It's certain to be a fun-filled afternoon with food, games and activities beforehand and the circus show starting at 2pm. Enjoy a wonderful performance whilst helping the school raise much needed funds. Watch this short video to get a taster of the show, it's really amazing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ipGpGKTIEI

What

A professional family-friendly circus show. Be mesmerised by the trapeze artists, amazed by the clowns' cheeky tricks whilst enjoying the breathtaking atmosphere inside the Big Top Tent.  

When

  • Sunday 22nd September
  • 12:45pm gates open for food, drinks, family games
  • 2pm–4pm Circus show 

Where

The full-sized big top is being set up on the school field!

How much

  • Family ticket (4 people): £40 (+ booking fee) 
  • Individual ticket (adult or child): £12 (+ booking fee)

How do I book

Purchase your ticket here

First day of school memento for Year 2 Leavers

 

There is still time (just) to order a JPEG of your child's first day in Reception. JPEGs cost £3 and are available on ParentPay until Monday.

Thank you to Katie Fallows who has organised this lovely little fundraiser for the second year running.

Please note: if your child wasn’t there on the first day / started later during the school year, unfortunately there won’t be a photo - thank you for your understanding.

Camp Night

 

Thank you to all who came to last weekend's camp night. We hope you had a fantastic time. We're all really grateful to the Year 2 parents who organised the event, raising £1500 for school; thank you to Jo Jeremy & Helen Gallop and their team, Claire Andrews, Sarah Seabrook and Jenna Williams. A big thank you to all the volunteers. We could not run these events without your involvement and the camping kids, who were really well-behaved.

PFA AGM

 

The PFA AGM took place yesterday evening at school. With our 2 co-chairs and 2 committee members stepping down following the meeting, the PFA is in need of some fresh volunteers. Key roles in the PFA committee are now as follows:

  • Chair / Co-Chair: UNFILLED
  • Treasurer / Co-Treasurer: Lauren King
  • Secretary: Charlotte Thomson
Volunteering for the PFA is an opportunity to give back to the school and provides a rewarding experience. If you would like to take part, please speak to one of the PFA members.
 
The target for fundraising next year is £170 per pupil, which will only be possible through volunteers giving up some time to help out. We've all seen the funny posts on social media about how annoying the PFA and year reps are, but without them our children's school experience would be far poorer, and you wouldn't know when library day was.
 
Some of your children's best memories from last year will have been because of the PFA, either through fundraising to pay for trips and experiences or events such as Brickies, discos, bingo, camp night, bake sales & treat days. Dwindling numbers of parents willing to help the PFA mean that we will not be able to provide the community-enriching events that we all enjoy and will have to rely on financial donations.

Thank You to our departing committee 

Four of our current committee stood down after serving 15 years between them. We would like to say an enormous thank you to Rachel Bourdillon who has co-chaired the committee for the last two years and been an active member of the PFA for another 2 years on top of that.  Rachel has been a driving force in the PFA and has made an incredible contribution over the last 4 years. From organising events to fostering a supportive environment, her efforts have enriched the lives of our students, parents, and staff. Rachel's leadership and passion have been truly inspiring. No one chairs a meeting quite like Rachel.
 
Also, Mandy Rooney, who has stepped down as secretary. Mandy is as unflappable as she is fun. If you enjoyed the last Christmas & May Fairs, they're largely down to Mandy and her ability to organise a storm.
And finally, to Caro Robinson who has spent an unbelievable 6 years on the Sandygate PFA, including a year when she didn't even have a child at the school. She has been a treasurer extraordinaire and is the reason why our kitchen drawers are filled with the familiar red and white tea towels.
 
Thankfully, Rachel, Mandy & Caro have another year at Sandygate, unlike Claire Robinson who is standing down from her role as her daughter moves on to Holy Trinity in September. Claire is looking forward to a very, very large cup of tea and a sit down.
 

 

 

 

Dates for your diary

 
Event Date
End of Term Treats Tuesday 23rd July
Happy's Circus Sunday 22nd September

Other news

Softcat team

We donated some of our sunflowers to the community yesterday and one of those was the Softcat team who helped paint the Cocoon Outside Classroom and the fence around Reception.


Did you know?

Once published, the school newsletter and news stories are automatically saved on the school website. You can also refer back to previous newsletters too, as they are all stored there. Links to the newsletters and news stories can be found on the landing page here, you will just need to scroll down the page until you come to News/Events/Our Newsletters. You can access the school calendar from here as well.


Wild Marlow competition

  • Closing date: 31st August

Are you looking for something a bit different to do in the holidays? Why not enter Wild Marlow’s wildlife photo competition? With a closing date of 31st August, there’s still plenty of time to get creative with your cameras and mobile devices!

The competition is open to everyone, of all ages and abilities (except professional photographers), and you can use your phone, a camera or a tablet.

The judges are looking forward to seeing some fabulous pictures of Marlow’s wide range of wildlife, from ducks and swans, bees and moths, to otters and hedgehogs. You can even choose to take a picture of your local wildflower patch, hedgerow or landscape: it’s all wildlife!

The judges are looking for still photos – colour or black and white — and the pictures must be taken within the Marlow area (SL7).

There are three categories, with prizes for the winners:

  1. Primary school age
  2. Secondary school age
  3. Adult

The best photos in each category will be featured at the 2024 Wild Marlow photo exhibition and in the Wild Marlow 2025 calendar.

Go to https://www.wildmarlow.org.uk/competition.php for terms and conditions and email your entries to wildmarlowphoto@gmail.com.


Marlow Movers

A series of FREE family friendly themed walks for the local community to get moving, boost their wellbeing and create connections through enjoying a healthy outdoor activity. Young people under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Eco Walk Litter Pick: Monday 22 July, 14:00 – 15:00

Wild Walk at Model Farm: Monday 29 July, 15:00 – 16:00

Eco Walk Litter Pick: Monday 5 August, 10:30 – 11:30

Glow Worm Hunt: Monday 12 August, 22:00 – 23:00

Mindfulness Walk: Monday 19 August, 08:00 – 09:00

Midday Mile with Angie: Monday 2 September, 12:00 – 13:00

To book and for more information, visit Marlow Movers (goodhub.com)


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