27.01.23 Principal's Message

This week, I had the pleasure of accompanying our wonderful choir to the O2 for Young Voices. It was such an excellent experience and one that left me brimming with pride. It was such a feel-good day but what really stuck out to me was how kind, courteous and exemplary our children were. It was a very long day but it did not deter their energy and enthusiasm. A huge well done to Mrs Williams, who has seen this through from start to finish.

It was a pleasure to see the Year 2 parents today in the hall to discuss KS1 SATS. We have come a long way here at Marden in terms of academic success and I know the KS1 team are doing everything they can to enable your children to achieve their utmost potential. Our results are around 15% higher than in 2019 and above National expectations across reading, writing and maths. With close collaboration with you at home, I know we can keep our upward trajectory.

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and I wanted to note that many members of our Marden Primary Academy community will be deeply affected. On 26 February 1943, the first transport of Roma and Sinti men, women and children arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Of the 23,000 Gypsies imprisoned within the camp, it is estimated that over 20,000 were murdered. We should remember these historical atrocities and educate our children about how these events have changed the world.

Mr N Dosad

Tuesday 31st January 2023 3.30-4.30pm KS2 Girls Football Marden v Greenfields (Away)

Wednesday 1st February 2023 - Teachers' Strike Action (Virtual learning for all pupils except keyworker & vulnerable children)

Thursday 2nd February 2023 3.15-4.15pm KS2 Boys Football Marden v Brunswick (Away)

Monday 6th February - Thursday 9th February Mental Health Awareness Week

Monday 6th February 2023 3.30-4.30pm UKS2 Girls Football Marden v Langley Park (Away)

Tuesday 7th February 2023 - EYFS & KS1 Road Safety Workshops

Wednesday 8th February 2023 Table Cricket Festival

Thursday 9th February 2023 - PTA Valentine's Disco

Friday 10th February 2023 - INSET Day (No children in school)

Monday 20th February 2023 - First Day of Term 4

PTA Messages

PTA Meeting

Thursday 2nd February 2023 7.30pm

West End Tavern

Why not come along to our next meeting?

Get involved and find out about what we do or how you could help. Marden is a thriving school; let's make sure our PTA continues to thrive too!

Contact Kate/Kirstie on mardenpta@outlook.com

Office Messages

Year 6 Leavers' Hoodies

We are delighted to offer Year 6 parents the opportunity to purchase a Class of 2023 Leavers’ Hoody for their child. We are working with Fizz Hoodies, the UK's premier supplier of Leavers’ Hoodies, and are eagerly anticipating what is sure to be a wonderful keepsake to celebrate their time at the school.

The Hoodies will have a large ‘23’ print on the back, containing the names of all students in Year 6, and will also feature an embroidered logo on the front.

All of the students have the opportunity to purchase a Hoody. It is essential that orders are placed in plenty of time so the cut-off date will be 9th April 2023.

To place an order, please visit the following website:

https://shop.fizz-group.co.uk/

Our School Unique ID is: J08476YR6

Year 6 SATs Booster Sessions

We would like to invite all Year Six pupils to the additional learning sessions we are offering this term. The sessions will be running throughout term four in the lead-up to the end of Key Stage 2 SATs taken in May.

The sessions are designed to provide additional learning opportunities for children in smaller groups, revising and recalling their previous learning and supporting children in developing test techniques. These sessions should be seen as an extra learning opportunity, on top of regular class work, for your child to further their knowledge and understanding whilst benefiting from additional, tailored support.

The sessions will cover a variety of areas, including:

*reading

*writing

*grammar and punctuation

*maths

The sessions will be run on Thursdays from 3.15pm-4.15pm, beginning Thursday 23rd February 2023 and will continue until the SATs tests. The children will be provided with a drink and a snack to keep them going.

PE Kits

Please can we remind all parents that children should have a full PE kit in school at all times.

This should consist of the following items:

1. a Marden PE Top in their house colour

2. shorts, leggings or jogging bottoms

3. trainers.

We would recommend bringing PE kits in on a Monday and then taking them home again on a Friday.

National Online Safety

A free online safety guide on Cyber Resilience.

In the last couple of decades, the volume of online traffic has increased exponentially – but, by and large, people’s awareness of the accompanying risks hasn’t grown along with it. To illustrate the scale of the issue, consider this: a report by the Internet Crime Complaint Centre found that, in the US during 2020, there was a successful cyber-attack every second. Yes: every second.

Criminals continue to find new and devious ways to attempt to hijack our online transactions and harvest our private information. To them, the smart devices that many of us now use as standard at home are simply a convenient back door into our lives – and our networks. Check out our #WakeUpWednesday guide for advice on beefing up your household’s cyber resilience. In the guide you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as how to use a password manager, how to back up your data and how to check for breaches.