Embedded Files
Principal's Message
Principal's Message
The last newsletter of 2022 and what a year it has been. It has been my first full calendar year as Principal of Marden Primary Academy and the improvement and development is clear to see from every facet of school life. I want to take a moment to thank you all for your engagement in the journey and your support for school led events such as summer fair, Christmas fair and Christmas concert. We are a community school; we are here to serve the village of Marden.
A huge congratulations to EYFS and KS1 for their Christmas Performance. It was incredibly well attended by families and loved ones and I know all children enjoyed the dress rehearsals. Today we went to the church for our Christmas assembly and it was lovely to hear a couple of the songs, followed up with the staff song of course.
But Christmas is not just for the little ones, Year 5 went on a Trip to Cornwallis to watch 'Nativity: The Musical' and they really enjoyed the experience. The whole school also enjoyed Christmas Jumper Day although this would normally be on the same day as Christmas Lunch, it was fun to play out the festivities the following day!
Thank you for your patience with the chaos caused by the snow. We worked incredibly hard to get open on the Tuesday and remain so. A big thank you to Mrs Rye's husband who came and gritted the car park and the front of the school to make access a little safer. Although wonderfully festive, I am pleased the snow is behind us!
This impacted clubs, after school club and parent's evening. I want you to know that cancelling or postponing events is the last thing I ever want to do. I want to have all of these things, and that is why they are planned. But I always have to put the safety of children and staff first and although you didn't get parents consultations this term they will be held on Wednesday 11th January 2023, the first full week back. You can, however, access your child's current grades via the Assessment module of MCAS, which will at least give you a starting point for your discussions in the new year. At present, the Assessment module can only be viewed in the web version of MCAS so it will not show up in the mobile app. If you are unable to log in to MCAS on a web browser, laptop or desktop please let the school office know and they will share your child's current progress with you.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of the Marden Primary Academy family.
Mr N Dosad
Wednesday 4th January 2023 - Staff INSET Day (No pupils in school)
Thursday 5th January 2023 - First Day of Term 3
Monday 9th January 2023 3.30-4.30pm - KS1 Football Marden v Tiger (Away)
Tuesday 10th January 2023 - Year 5 Swimming Lessons @ Tonbridge Pool
Thursday 12th January 2023 3-4pm - KS2 Girls Football Marden v Langley (Away)
Monday 16th January 2023 3.30-4.30pm - KS1 Football Marden v Barming (Home)
Tuesday 17th January 2023 - Year R & 6 Height & Weight Check
Tuesday 17th January 2023 - Year R Vision Screening
Thursday 19th January 2023 - Sports for Schools Athlete Visit
Monday 23rd January 2023 - Young Voices Concert @ The O2 (Choir only)
EYFS & KS1 Christmas Performance
A huge well done to the children in Reception and KS1 for their outstanding performances in 'Angel Express' yesterday. The children have been practising for weeks and performed in great style with two lovely shows for parents. They sang beautifully with big strong voices and showed off their acting skills - we definitely have some budding West End stars in the school!
Many thanks to the staff for all their hard work, and to everyone involved in the production.
Superstars @ Marden
Reading Raffle
Reading Raffle
Congratulations to Ken D in Year 5 and Darcie W in Year 2 for winning the Reading Raffle this term. They will each receive a £10 Amazon voucher to spend on books.
Eloise & Oscar
Eloise & Oscar
Congratulations to Eloise and Oscar who have received their first Kung Fu belts. Their next grading will be with weapons.
IMG_0999.MOVDamian D
Damian D
For composing his own piano piece influenced by the Suffragettes. This is a piece of music Damian has written to accompany a video of the Suffragettes. Well Done, this is so impressive!
Office Messages
Free School Meals & Energy Vouchers for Vulnerable Families
Free School Meals & Energy Vouchers for Vulnerable Families
Children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals will once again be provided with food vouchers over the forthcoming Christmas break. Funding has been set at £10 per week per eligible child for the 2-week holiday so parents will receive 1 x £20 voucher.
Vouchers were issued to parents on: Friday 16th December.
In addition, arrangements are in hand for the distribution of £50 energy vouchers to families with children receiving benefits-related free school meals. The method of distribution is still to be agreed but KCC has confirmed they will notify schools of the precise details when available.
We appreciate there will be other families who will also need cost of living support. The access route for any family needing help is via Kent Together - Kent County Council. The site provides a variety of support options, including the potential for supermarket or energy vouchers via Kent Support and Assistance Service (KSAS).
If your circumstances have recently changed and you think you might be entitled to benefits-related free school meals for your child(ren), you can apply here:
https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/kent/
The school office will automatically be notified if your child's eligibility to benefits-related free school meals is confirmed.
Christmas HAF Programme for Vulnerable Families
Christmas HAF Programme for Vulnerable Families
The Christmas break is the next Holiday Activities and Food Programme delivery point. This will enable children receiving benefits-related free school meals to access free holiday provision for 16 hours a week, for one week.
Vouchers were issued to parents on Monday 21st November 2022 via the usual online EVoucher system.
If you did not receive a voucher, please let Miss Holness in the office know as soon as possible.
Kooth - The Online Mental Wellbeing Community
Kooth - The Online Mental Wellbeing Community
A reminder to parents that Kooth.com is available right throughout the Christmas & New Year holidays to provide emotional health and wellbeing support to all 10 - 25 yr olds across Kent.
There are online support tools and features (such as the daily journal, mini activities, magazine, discussion boards etc) available at any time, 356 days a year.
Their live chat (text-based online counselling) is available 12pm-10pm during the week and at the weekend from 6pm to 10pm (slight variation over Christmas/New Year).
Visit kooth.com today for further information.
National Online Safety
National Online Safety
A free online safety guide on setting up apps, games and software.
Millions of new phones, tablets, laptops and games consoles will be nestling under Christmas trees this year. However, even if parents and carers have gone to the trouble of setting up these new devices and enabling the safety features, there are still potential hazards in the apps, games and software that children will want to install and use. Knowing what to look for and discussing those risks with your child may help avoid any nasty surprises this Christmas. Here are our top tips for ensuring that unwrapping this year’s presents doesn’t unleash any unexpected dangers.
In the guide, you'll find tips such as disabling in-app purchasing, take note of age ratings and watching out for imitators.
High scores league table
High scores league table
Each week we will be celebrate the class and individuals who achieve the highest scores throughout the week. Make sure that you practise regularly.
Class league table: A big congratulations goes to the winning class: 3Beech
The individual class winners are:
3Beech: Vera D
3/4Cedar: Kacey T
4Chestnut: Adam B
5Aspen: Amelia A
6Elm: Sahara O
6MonkeyPuzzle: Betsy N
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