Newsletter
02.02.24
Principal's Message
We have had another busy and exciting week at Marden. Year 5 had a visit from Mr Macmillan who works for Cognassist, a company who develop software to map the brain. The children were fascinated by the talk and had lots of questions to ask. On Wednesday, Year 3 had a trip to the Heritage Centre to learn more about the Stone Age. The children really enjoyed being able to look at real artefacts and to further develop their understanding of this time period. Year 4 went on the train this week to Staplehurst village for a trip where they took part in some map reading skills and on Thursday the whole school took part in some Karate workshops.
This week we have celebrated National Storytelling week in school. The children across the school have had the opportunity to listen to and share a range of exciting stories. Next week, we will be supporting Mental Health Week. The theme this year is 'my voice matters'. The children will have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities to support their wellbeing and mental health.
Please remember next week Friday is an INSET day for all children, so Thursday 8th February will be the last day of term.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Mrs H Penning
Monday 5th February - Friday 9th February 2024 - Mental Health Week
Tuesday 6th February 2024 - Safer Internet Day
Thursday 8th February 2024 - Valentine's Disco EYFS/KS1 3:30-4:30PM KS2 4:45-5:45pm
Thursday 8th February 2024 - Last Day of Term 3
Friday 9th February 2024 - Staff INSET Day (no pupils in school)
Thursday 22nd February 2024 - Year 6 SATs Parent Meeting 5:00-5:30pm
Thursday 22nd February 2024 - Girl Guiding World Thinking Day. Any members of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides or Scouts are invited to wear their uniform to school.
Office Messages
National Storytelling Week
Children across the school have been sharing stories and taking part in fun literacy activities this week as part of National Storytelling Week.
These activities have inspired the children and enabled them to experiment, create and develop confidence in their own writing abilities.
National Online Safety
For many companies who operate in the online space, attention and engagement are the holy grail. Social media sites in particular make deliberate creative choices to keep people scrolling, reading, watching and clicking. This phenomenon is known as ‘persuasive design’ and it’s being employed in the vast majority of the digital world’s most popular destinations.
A study by the charity 5Rights Foundation concluded that “…the brain's response to rewards and punishments can be leveraged through persuasive design to keep children online.” To tie in with Safer Internet Day 2024, our #WakeUpWednesday guide can help to educate youngsters on the effects of persuasive design – and suggests ways to insulate themselves from its influence.
