This week in school, there has been an even bigger focus on kindness than usual. This ties in with our Anti-Bullying week activities, about which you can read more below.
On Tuesday, we held our Remembrance Service in school, where we talked about respect and learned about the different types of poppy wreaths that are often laid at war memorials. The Year 2 children did a wonderfully moving rendition of the poem, 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae.
Next week in school, there will be Parliament Week, when children will learn some facts about Parliament and also about voting and representation.
Mrs Reynolds
At a glance
Year 2
Apply for your Year 3 place – Junior Admissions Application Portal is now open (see last week's newsletter for details)
Whole school
Book your Nativity tickets
Flu vaccinations on Friday 21st November
Weekly Awards
Sandygate Star
Ant - Isabelle for creating beautiful poppy artwork for Remembrance Day
Bee – Benjamin for working independently to whittle in outdoor learning
Butterfly –Ronnie for trying hard to write his numbers correctly
Ladybird – Lachlan for working hard in maths this week
Dragonfly – Isaac for excellent contributions towards the storytelling of 'Where the Poppies Now Grow'
Grasshopper – Teddy for working so hard on his cursive writing
Value Award – Kindness
Ant – Lila for using kind words to encourage her friends
Bee – Muhammad for using kind words with all in Reception
Butterfly – Leo for taking care of his friends
Ladybird – Otis for always showing kindness towards others in class
Dragonfly – Frieda for always being kind and caring with her thoughts and actions
Each week we will provide parents and carers with a summary of the learning that is planned in each year group for the following week. You can find this information in 'Learning at a Glance'.
Pupil Voice
Rights Respecting Ambassadors - Anti Bullying Week
As you know, we have been marking Anti-Bullying Week in school and on Wednesday, the Rights Respecting Ambassadors led school worship and spoke to the rest of the school about kindness, our playground charter and who to talk to if they feel sad or unsafe. On Thursday we had a wonderful array of colourful odd socks to raise awareness for Anti-Bullying week – even the teachers joined in!
RRS Ambassadors leading Anti-Bullying Week school worship
When they were planning what they wanted to talk about in school worship, the Rights Respecting Ambassadors were keen to involve the school in learning more about kindness. They are excited to send home today a Kindness Calendar which encourages children to think and carry out an act of kindness every day for the next month.
By joining in at home, you’ll help reinforce the message that kindness matters—not just in school, but everywhere. Together, we can empower our children to choose respect, empathy, and compassion every day.
Please use the calendar at home over the coming weeks (you don’t need to wait until 1st December, you can count Day 1 as tomorrow, for example) and tick off the days when your child has completed an act of kindness. At the end of the 31 days, your child can bring the completed calendar into school to share with their teacher and the rest of the class.
General news & reminders
Christmas
Nativity Plays
This year the Reception children will be performing The Wriggly Nativity and Key Stage 1 children will be performing Born in the Barn.
Each play will be performed twice due to the limited capacity of the school hall. This means that parents & carers can book a maximum of 2 tickets for only one performance. (If you have a child in Reception and in KS1, you can book tickets for one of each of the Reception and KS1 performances)
Please only book 2 tickets if both parents/carers can attend the performance. This will allow every family to be able to attend their child's nativity.
The performances are as follows:
Reception children:
Reception Performance 1: Monday 15th December at 9.30am SOLD OUT
Reception Performance 2: Tuesday 16th December at 2.00pm Please note the start time of this performance – some tickets say 2.30pm start
Years 1 & 2 children:
KS1 Performance 1: Monday 15th December at 2pm
KS1 Performance 2: Wednesday 17th December at 9.30am
This year, we will once again be inviting grandparents and residents from local retirement homes to come to school for our special Big Sing event.
The children will be singing Christmas carols in the school hall, there will be tea, coffee and mince pies for everyone, and there will also be a small raffle to raise money for Christian Aid.
There are a limited number of places, and we would like to offer some of them to grandparents of our pupils. If you would like your child’s grandparent(s) to come along, please sign them up below.
On Friday 12th December, we will be taking part in Christmas Jumper Day to get into the Christmas Spirit, and help raise money for Save The Children.
On Christmas Jumper Day, children can come into school wearing a Christmas Jumper instead of their normal school jumper. This jumper doesn't have to be bought specially, it can be an existing jumper decorated so that it looks Christmassy.
We will be raising money for Save the Children and details of how you can donate will be shared in future newsletters.
Baxter said, ' Our favourite book is Oi Puppies and I like the rhymes, ' while Oliver preferred the bit in the book where the cat and the frog didn't know what all the doggies were called. Aidan said, 'I like the cat. My brither likes the cat too.'
We hope you have enjoyed the book recommendations this half term.
Whole School News
Advent Service at All Saints Church
Date: Tuesday 2nd December
The whole school will be walking to All Saints Church on Tuesday 2nd December for our Advent Service from 9.45am-10.15am. We will leave school at 9am and return by 11am.
The service will be led by some Year 2 pupils in the role of worship leaders. Members of the school community are invited to attend the service.
We will require at least 6 volunteers per class to walk with the children. If you are able to help walk with us and join us for the service, please sign up below.
There are still a few places if anyone would like to join the tidy-up team this term. Mr Creese, working with these eco-minded children, clears litter on and around the school grounds every Monday for 15 minutes.
Please contact the school office (office@marlowinfant.uk), if your child would like to join this club,
Parking near school
Please could parents make sure that they don't park in front of neighbours' drives at the beginning and end of the school day. We have heard from some neighbours that this has been happening more frequently recently, which is frustrating for them as it restricts access to their houses/flats.
Active Journey Week
Date: w/c 24th November
Each term we hold an Active Journey week (formerly known as 'Walk to School Week'), the aim of which is to raise awareness for and encourage more sustainable journeys to school.
During active journey week, we encourage parents/carers and children to walk, cycle, scoot to school. If you live further away from school, you can park your car further away from school than usual so that part of the journey can be walked (Park & Stride).
Every day, we ask the children to log how they came to school and during this week we will be trying to increase the number of active journeys. In Celebration Worship on Friday, there will be a trophy awarded to the class with the most active journeys during the week.
Safety Day
Date: Tuesday 25th November
As part of our Active Journey week (formerly known as 'Walk to School Week') which takes place during the week of 24th November, we will be holding our annual Safety Day.
As part of the Safety Day, the children will be taking part in a range of activities which principally focus on safety around transport and roads. During the day, the children will all have a Scootability session which will teach them how to ride and use their scooters safely. There is no need to send children's scooters into school. Each child will be provided with a scooter and the necessary safety equipment for their session.
Other sessions include:
First Aid (provided by Dr McGurran)
Road Safety (provided by teachers)
Reception News
Nativity Programme
The Reception team are holding a colouring competition for the front cover of the nativity programme. In your child's school bag today you will find the colouring-in sheet. If your child would like to take part, the deadline for the return of the completed sheet is next Friday, 21st November.
Year 2 News
Outdoor Learning
Date: w/c 1st December
As we will be holding our Advent Service at All Saints on Tuesday 2nd December, we have moved the Year 2 Outdoor Learning day from 2nd December to Friday 5th December. This means that we will need all Year 2s to wear their full uniform on Tuesday 2nd December and their PE kits on Friday 5th December.
Playground Leaders
This half-term, the full training of the Year 2 Playground Leaders kicks off. All children in Year 2 will be developing their leadership skills over the next 4 weeks. Working with staff, the Playground Leaders will support other children to use a range of resources in the playground during lunchtimes. This will be happening on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays. Once the training has been completed, groups of Year 2 students will lead the activities following a rota which will give them the chance to lead different areas at different points in the year.
Wycombe Museum Visit
Date: Thursday 25th November
Year 2 children will have a visit from Wycombe Museum to help them deepen their historical knowledge about the World Wars. Each class will have a 1-hour session which will focus on exploring artefacts, learning about primary and secondary sources and using these to find out more about the era.
PFA news
Dates for your Diary
Preloved School Uniform sale: Tuesday 25th November @ Pick Up
Christmas disco!: Saturday 29th November @ 1pm or 3pm
Wreath Making: Thursday 4th December @ 7pm
Buy a bauble for Sandygate!: Mon 8th to Fri 12th December
Christmas Cake Sale: Friday 12th December @ Pick Up (cake donations to be received 11th December)
PFA Meeting: Wednesday 14th January
Family Bingo: Saturday 7th February
PFA Annual Calendars
PFA Annual Calendars - now available to order!
This week, your child will have brought home a thumbnail image and order details for our annual PFA calendar fundraiser.
These A4 laminated calendars feature a personalised photo of your child along with all the school term dates – perfect for keeping organised throughout the year. They’re not only useful at home, but also make wonderful Christmas gifts for family and friends!
You can also order your child’s photo as a digital image or a printed photo.
Available Items:
A4 Laminated annual Calendar – £4 each
Digital JPEG of Image – £5 each
7x5 Colour Photo Print – £3 each
How to Order:
Please place all orders via ParentPay by Friday 21 November. If your child was absent on Friday 3 October (photo day) or you didn’t receive a thumbnail, you can still order a calendar using your own photo. Just email a high-quality JPEG to pfa@marlowinfant.uk and complete your order via ParentPay by the same deadline.
Thank you for supporting our school through this festive fundraiser!
Christmas Disco
Christmas Disco
Date: Saturday 29th November @ 1-2.30pm or 3-4.30pm
On Saturday 29th November our Christmas disco is back. What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to boogie with your friends!
Tickets are £15 which includes a disco, games, face painting, a snack and a small gift from Father Christmas!
We will be holding two discos at 1–2.30pm and 3–4.30pm with a limited number of tickets for each, so we suggest that you discuss with your child's friends which disco they will be going to so they don't miss out.
Tickets are available now on ParentPay!
We don't want any child to miss out on this experience, so if it is financially difficult for you, please contact the school office.
Unfortunately, we can only accommodate pupils at Sandygate to ensure everyone at the school can be included.
Christmas Wreath Making
Christmas Wreath Making
Date: Thursday 4th December 7.00pm -9.00pm
One for the grown-ups, our wreath making workshop returns!!
Ease yourself into the festive season for a cosy, fun evening of mulled wine, mince pies and wreath making using locally foraged materials by some Sandygate elves!
All materials needed will be provided for, and tickets include two glasses of mulled wine.
Tickets on sale via ParentPay from now!
Silent Auction 2025
Silent Auction
This year we have some amazing prizes lined up on our auction page, and there are plenty of stocking fillers to choose from!
The auction has gone live today! To have a look at the prizes and bid on any that take your fancy, you can follow the link here.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to bid on some unique experiences, luxury goods or a fine dining lunch for your child and their friends with their teacher!
We'd like to thank you for your generous donations and ideas that you put forward for this auction, without you we wouldn't be able to offer such a wonderful range of prizes.
Have fun!
Buy a Bauble for Sandygate
Buy a Bauble for Sandygate!
Date: Monday 8th to Friday 12th December
Help us decorate the Sandygate Christmas Tree!
From Monday 8th December, we invite you to pick an item that you would like to gift to the school. In return, choose a bauble to add to the tree! You can also add your child's name to your bauble!
To help us with this fundraiser, we would love any unwanted Christmas baubles!
Donations can be dropped into reception over the next few weeks.
Thank you for your continued support and festive spirit!
PFA Meeting
We had a very productive meeting on Wednesday, and after a short technical hiccup, we were also able to go online for the first time this year which saw more people able to join us, so thank you!
If you have any ideas for fundraising events, or even how to make your PFA more effective in the future, then please come to the next meeting where we can discuss and support these ideas. If you are unable to join us there, you can join us on online, or why not join the PFA WhatsApp group here?
We rely solely on whatever time people can generously give, however small, it makes a big difference in what we are able to achieve towards our fundraising goals and more! So if you think you could offer something that might help us grow, we'd love to hear from you.
If you would like to see the minutes from the meeting on Wednesday, which covers everything we discussed, please email us on pfa@marlowinfant.uk.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 14th January at 7.30pm.
Santa Fun Run
Date: Sunday 7th December 9.20am
Are you entering the Marlow Santa Fun Run this year? Did you know you could raise money for the school dressed as Father Christmas?
As a registered charity, the PFA can be nominated as your chosen charity; if you raise £50 in sponsorship money, the Rotary club will match it!
Read everything you need to know, and how to register here!
Charity name: Marlow C of E Infant School Parents & Friends Association
