Year 1 and 2
We are Ash Class, Bay Class and Beech class
ASH CLASS
Ash Class is taught by Mr Sampson.
Mr Sampson’s favourite animal is a binturong… have you ever seen one? His favourite flavour of ice cream is rum and raisin although he is also partial to a blackcurrant sorbet, yum! Mr Sampson’s hobbies include rock climbing, playing golf (trying to) and getting out and about in nature. He loves exploring the Purbecks and the New Forest with his family and he can often be found climbing trees, looking for interesting flora and fauna or rolling down a hill. 
Mr Sampson has been teaching for 14 years and his favourite thing about school is helping children to be the best they can be (whilst having lots of fun in the process).
Our support staff member in Ash Class is Miss Wessely. The best word to describe her is ‘Artistic’. She is passionate about arts and crafts and leads the incredibly popular sketching club. She is also a bit of a Forest School whizz!
Ash Class have decided to describe themselves using an acrostic poem…
A – Always awesome and amazing
S – Superstar learners, Supportive, Sometimes silly 😊
H – Happy, hardworking, helping each other
In Ash Class we really enjoy having fun while we learn about all the curriculum subjects. If we can sneak a few minutes of free time and free choice to learn, love or laugh together you will find us doing some colouring (often while singing one of our assembly songs or a song from our Christmas performance).
Our class novel is currently The Jolley-Rogers and the Cave of Doom. We are reading this because adventure stories are always exciting. There is also some wonderful description and vocabulary in this book that really captures our imaginations.
The thing we love best about Sandford St Martin's is … learning and having fun! We really do follow the school’s motto of ‘Learn, Love and Laugh’.
BAY CLASS
Bay Class is taught by Miss Walker.
Miss Walker loves to dance and trained as a dancer in London before she became a primary school teacher. She has been teaching now for 6 years and is known for her infectious laugh! She has two dogs in her life, Parker and Obi. She loves spending time with her family and exploring new places. Her favourite thing about Sandford is learning all about the children and watching them flourish as they progress through our school.
Bay Class really enjoy praising one another! Our class motto is 'Every mistake you make, teaches you a better way forward' (Neil Armstrong 👨🚀). If we can sneak a few minutes of free time and free choice to learn, love or laugh together you will find us throwing some shapes and getting our groove on in the classroom!
Our class novel is currently The Naughtiest Unicorn. It is hysterically funny and we can't wait for the next chapter.
The thing we love best about Sandford St Martin's is the sheer enthusiasm we give every individual, as well as providing varied opportunities for children to achieve their full potential.
BEECH CLASS
Beech Class is taught by Mrs Dowthwaite (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and Mrs Hudson (Friday).
Mrs Dowthwaite’s favourite animal is a sheep - they are rather like clouds with legs. Her favourite season is Spring as there is simply nothing more lovely than seeing little lambs being born and springing around! She is also very fond of dogs, which is a good job as she has four - three beagles and a bocker puppy named Bailey Bailey Bailey (yes, he needs to hear his name three times before he answers!)
Her fave ice cream flavour is pistachio, and hobbies include cold sea swimming (followed by a sauna and hot chocolate!), travel and reading two or more books at once if possible!
Mrs Dowthwaite loves teaching in Year 1 and 2 in Beech and her favourite subjects to teach are science, Art and French. She has been teaching for 28 years - starting in 1996 when blackboards were real!
Mrs D says, “The best thing about teaching at Sandford is that I learn as much from the children as I teach (possibly more). Every day children surprise and delight me with their young wisdoms - everyone cares for each other and it’s a lot of fun too!”
Mrs Hudson loves musical theatre and going for beach walks with her family. She has been teaching for 9 years after running her own musical theatre school in Surrey for children aged 6-18. She loves any opportunity to put on a show at school! Her favourite thing about school is the supportive environment amongst staff and children here at Sandford.
The best words to describe us as a team are friendly and approachable.
In Beech Class we really enjoy celebrating each others achievments. If we can sneak a few minutes of free time and free choice to learn, love or laugh together you will find us involved with listening to music and having a boogie!
Our class novel is currently Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. We are reading this because we are working our way through novels by Roald Dahl .