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