8th April 2022

The last week of term has been such a blessing as not only have we seen the culmination of the term's topics for all year groups but also all our Easter activities. The Easter Service yesterday was a really joyful occasion and the worship leaders were so brave, telling the story io Easter in front of a large congregation in what must seem like a huge building to them. The All Saints team gave us a warm welcome and were impressed by the worship leaders and how confidently they spoke.  

Easter competition entries were shared with everybody today, and you can see the results below. We were astounded by the range of different ideas for recycling and repurposing materials to make the bonnets, gardens and baskets. The Year 2 children were very enthusiastic as they shared their hats in the parade this morning.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and restful Easter. I hope that you enjoy the break from routine, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon when we return for the summer term!

Mrs Reynolds

Easter Bonnet Parade

This morning we had our Easter Bonnet parade on the playground. Even though it was a little chilly the bonnets looked wonderful and Year 2 enjoyed showing them off to us. The winners of the Easter Competitions were announced and the are: 

Reception Easter Basket

• 1st Jessica (Bee)
• 2nd Iris (Bee)
• 3rd Joey (Ant)

Year 1 Easter Garden

• 1st Harry (Butterfly)
• 2nd Arabella (Butterfly)
• 3rd Jack (Ladybird)

Year 2 Easter Bonnet

• 1st Jensen (Dragonfly)
• 2nd Poppy (Grasshopper)
• 3rd Ottilie (Dragonfly)

You can see some pictures of the wonderful, creative entries here  Thank you to everyone who took part, it was incredibly difficult to pick just three winners!

Bird Box Live Feed

We have been all 'a twitter' in school this week as a pair of blue tits have been building a nest in our birdbox and we have a camera in the box. You may have seen the video we shared earlier in the week.

We are now able to live stream the camera and this can be found on the school website here

The live feed will not run continuously but we aim to have it up for several hours each day between the times of 8am and 8pm (apologies that the camera is out of focus but we can't re-focus now the birds are in situ!)

Peace Rainbows for Ukraine

You may remember that we mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we were going to work on 'Peace Rainbows' as part of our discussions in school about the situation in Ukraine. We have completed these this week and they are now displayed on the front gates to school. If you are passing during the holidays (maybe on your Easter Egg Hunt) be sure to take a look. 

Also, a big thank you from URC for the donations from Sandygate families today. Christ Church URC continue to collect and they are open for donations Wednesday & Friday 10-12 and Sunday 4.15pm-6pm

Wanted - Grandparents!

Next term Year 1 are going to be looking at cars and how they have changed over the years. If there are any Grandparents who would like to come in and share a story and some pictures of their first car we would love to hear from them.

We would need them to come in on Wednesday 18th May. If you know someone who would like to come in please email the school office. 

Summer Term Clubs

Please remember to register for all clubs before the start of the new term even those your child has already been attending this term

Most of the clubs that were runnning this term will continue during the summer term, however you will need to register for the term with the relevant provider. Some of the clubs have changed or added sessions so please check. 

There are a number of lunchtime clubs run by school staff  for Year 1  and 2 - Recorders, Mindful Colouring, Book Club, Sandygate Stars and new 'Lego Church' club. To register for any of these please log in to the Class Home Pages on the school website and complete the Summer Term Club Form

Existing Maypole members and Tidy Up Team will continue until the end of the summer term.

All of the information and flyers are also available on the school website /page/?title=Clubs+%26amp%3B+Activities&pid=26

Youth Moves - Dance & Fitness Classes for Year 1 & 2. Monday 3.15pm - 4.00pm. 10 week term. Flyer is here

Playball - multi-sport and movement Reception & Year 1. Monday lunchtime (Year 1), Wednesday after school (Reception - full), Thursday after school (Reception). Flyer here

Smart Raspberry - cookery club for Year 1 & Year 2. Wednesday and Thursday 3.15pm - 4.15pm. Flyer is here

First Soccer - football for Year 1 & Year 2. Wednesday lunchtime. Book online here https://firstsoccer.class4kids.co.uk/info/171

USports - multisports for Year 2 (Tuesday 3.20pm to 4.20pm) and Year 1 (Wednesday 3.20pm to 4.20pm) Flyer here

Scrumys - tag rugby fitness for all year groups. Monday 3.15pm - 4.15pm. Flyer here and letter about Scrumys here

Bilingua Sing - Spanish language club for Reception on Thursday lunchtime and Year 1 & 2 on Friday lunchtime. Flyer for Reception here and for Year 1 & 2 here

Sandygate Stars - 'Messy Church' style club run by volunteers from All Saints Church for Year 1 & Year 2. Sign up via the class home pages on the school website here

French will continue on the same days Flyer can be downloaded here

Headlice

There have been some cases of head lice in school over the past week. Can we remind parents to check their children's hair regularly and treat as soon as any head lice are found. Children do not need to be excluded from school if they have been treated for head lice. As a reminder there are some tips on checking your child's hair in the attached leaflet here

Where to check

• close to the scalp
• behind the ears
• the back of the neck
• under the fringe

What to look for

• Adult lice are 2-4mm long, immature lice are even smaller
• Live lice remain close to the scalp
• Nits are dead or empty egg shells - simply remove these by hand or by combing

How to check

• It is best to check using a comb made for the purpose ideally white so they can be easily seen
• Comb through hair when wet, or after applying conditioner
• Good lighting is important

Treat

If you find live lice, dont worry - head lice are a normal part of life and nothing to be embarrassedm panicked or ashamed about. Go to the pharmacist who can advise which treatment best suits you and your family. Treatments should only be applied if a living, moving louse is found - never 'just in case'

Footsteps Training

It is an alarming fact that in 2020 around 7,000 pedestrians were killed in Great Britain and around 1,500 of those were children aged between 0 and 15 years. As a school we have tried to reduce this over the years by teaching Road Safety to our children through a programme called Footsteps.

Footsteps is a practical pedestrian training scheme aimed at children aged between 4 and 7.  It involves taking the 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. 

This programme had been delivered to children in Year 2 for many years up until 2020 when the pandemic hit. We would like to start delivering the programme again this year but in order to do so we need some parents to volunteer as Footsteps Trainers.

To be a Footsteps Trainer you will not need to commit much of your time. Afteran initial training session (online) which will take about an hour and a half you will then be involved in training the children once a week for 1 hour. In total you should only have to come into school 5 or 6 times during the summer term - obviously the more volunteers we have the less time it will take for each of you. 

If you are interested in finding out more about being a Footsteps Trainer then please register here  https://forms.gle/GN2kusmnMo5dRhjy6 and then we will contact you to explain in more detail and let you know when the training will take place. 

The PFA team would like to send Happy Easter wishes to all of our school families and friends.  Thank you to everyone for the support you have given to the school and we hope you have enjoyed the events we have been able to run to date.

Quiz Night

A Quiz-tastic time was had by all on Saturday night and we are so very thankful to Pete, Nicky, Charlotte, Simon and Becca for all their efforts in organising and delivering such a great night.  The quiz raised £1000 which is a phenomenal amount of money to be able to pledge to school. 

Summer Fayre

The Summer Fayre is set for 21^st May 11am-2pm.  We are keen to run an online silent auction to coincide with the event.  If you are able to offer a prize that can be auctioned, maybe an hour of your time should you have a skill that can be shared or an item you are willing to donate, we would love to hear from you.  We are also still keen to have any of your unwanted toys, party bag fillers and small packets of sweets that we can use as prizes on the stalls at the Faye.  The collection box remains outside the main school reception.

Thank you to all who volunteered to co-ordinate a stall at the Fayre.  We will be in contact with you very soon to confirm plans for the day.

Easter Egg Trail

Packs will be in your child’s book bag today and we hope you enjoy the excuse to walk, cycle and/or scoot around Marlow and look at all the windows that have been wonderfully decorated for the trail. There are many houses participating and so you may wish to break up the adventure and complete it over a few days.

Camp Night

Scheduled for the 9^th July, Sandygate Camp Night returns.  An opportunity to pitch your tent, share a few drinks and sleep under the stars with your children and their friends.  Bookings will go live on ParentPay after Easter holidays but please be advised that we will have to limit pitch numbers due to the size of the school field.

PFA meet

The next PFA meeting is scheduled for 3^rd May at 8pm.