Author: Jeremy
As I write this I can hear the squeals of excitement of our reception age children in our woodland as they search for signs of the changing seasons with Sarah as part of our whole school outdoor learning provision. A sound we can never grow tired of.
Thank you for all the red and and donations last Friday for Comic Relief. You raised an impressive £225. Thank you.
A link to the Class photos has been emailed out today and please contact us if you haven’t received it.
School diary dates:
- Spring disco Friday 21st April. Tickets available on sale on Friday 24th and Friday 31st on the bottom playground by Friends of Appledore School. Please click here for more information
- Cake sale Friday 31st April on bottom playground after school. Donations on the day please
- Sports day for Reception and years 1-6 is Tuesday 23rd May
- Keep an eye out for pop up ice pop sales on the bottom playground. Details to follow prior to each one
Outside school diary dates:
- Appledore library Easter Lego & crafts session and egg hunt during the school holidays. Please click here
- Traditional gig rowing taster sessions taster sessions in Appledore in April (year 6 upwards). Please click here
- Years 1-6 Bude Lifeboat Junior Run fundraising for RNLI run is Wednesday evening 14th June 2023. For more information click here
- Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and don’t forgot the clocks change this weekend and to click more to find out what has been happening in the classes!
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
A visit from the fire engine, but don’t panic! It was part of Year 1 learning about how the fire service has changed over the years. Please click on ‘more’ to find out what has been happening in and around all the classes.
St Mary’s church, Appledore, have a Craft Workshop for children to make Mothering Sunday cards and gifts for their mums, in church this coming Saturday morning, and then a special Family Church service on Sunday morning. For more information, please click here
Chivenor Soccer School, near Braunton, are offering two fun-filled days of footballing fun for boys and girls aged 5-12 during the Easter school holiday. Please click here for more information.
It’s a sea of red here and thank you for supporting Comic Relief Red Nose Day.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Another week draws to a close and my how time flies by!
For information on cricket coaching at Kingsley School, Bideford, over the Easter holidays please click here.
The children have created designs for a total renovation of the pond and pond area. The final design includes increasing the area of the pond, improving the quality of the liner, building decking for safe access, wildlife-friendly planting and purpose-built habitats around the pond, a solar-powered fountain, re-fencing the area (with hedgehog highways included) and planting hedging around the pond enclosure and the outdoor classroom.
We have already started the work and on Monday Jack Woolfenden from the N D Biosphere and local councillors and maintenance staff of Northam Town Council visited to help children from years 1-6 plant mixed native hedging plants, sharing with the children their knowledge on maintaining our local parks and other green and wild spaces.
Our thanks to our hedging advisers and volunteers from Northam Town Council: Guy Langton, Deputy Town Clerk, who organised the event and sourced the hedging plants through a Tree Council Branching Out grant, Ivan Heuze and Dominic Callebaut, maintenance team, Heather McCarthy, Northam Ward Member and Peter Hames, member for Appledore. Plus our thanks to other members of the council to visited the school on a previous occasion to see the work the children are doing on establishing the school grounds as a micro reserve. The ND Biosphere and AONB have also supplied valuable funding and support.
We will be digging the pond out by hand during a weekend this term, and completing other jobs around the woods, so if you feel you need to get a bit of exercise to blow away the winter blues, and would enjoy a barbecue in the woods as a reward, please contact Jon Walton, Chair of the Friends of Appledore School (FOAS) on 07816 087609.
Work continues on our biosphere and we made the Biosphere North Devon newsletter
A busy week and you can find out what the week has entailed for each class by clicking on more.
Well done Minty and William who both have won a prize at The Schools art Exhibition at The Burton Gallery and we hope you like the winning entries to our photography competition om the previous post.
Safeguarding training this week included a rehearsal of our safety procedures should we ever need to secure the school at short notice.
For information on free Learn Devon maths improvement courses for adults, please click here.
Wishing you all a super weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
There were some amazing photos sent in for our House Photography competition and thank you very much to everyone who joined in. The judges found it very difficult to choose their winners! These are the top four: 1st place Eben (Y5); 2nd place Barney (Y1); 3rd place Gabriel (Y2) and 4th place Rosie (Y6)
Welcome back everybody and please find out what has been happening in the classes the week by reading the Around the Classes section of this newsletter.
Wishing you all a happy weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Lot’s of messages today, before we break for half term, and please remember to click on more to find out what has been happening in and around each classroom. What is Torridge Junior Parkrun? A free, fun, and friendly weekly 2k event for juniors (4 to 14 year olds). When is it? It is held every Sunday at 09:00am. Where is it? The event takes place in Victoria Park, Bideford and for more information click here.
This week, staff have received safeguarding training on radicalisation: what to look for and what to do if there are concerns. For more information please click here. The previous system of sending home paper head bump letters has been replaced with an email to your first priority contact to ensure it does reach you. Getting an email does not mean it is any more severe a bump than would previously require just a letter to inform and we will continue to call immediately if we have concerns. In short, email is to let you know and a call is if we have immediate concerns.
Further to our email communication this regarding our Healthy Value next half term, please click here to find out more. And well done to Nancy for winning our Values Cup for our whole school half term theme of being Positive.
Out House Captains have devised a photo competition for completion over half term. All children are invited to send in (physically or by email to admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk) their photos on the theme of nature. All submissions to school by the end of Monday 20th February so they can be judged by the panel of ‘experts’. Please click here for their expertly designed poster.
Please be considerate of our neighbours living on the roads close to our school when parking you cars. We have received complaints of blocked drives and verbal abuse of residents when they have asked for cars to be removed. We continue to provide free parking permits for you to use the Oden Road car park and these can be obtained from the school office.
It’s been quite a week! From bewildered nurses in Year 1 (I’m not sure they were fully prepared for 30 very excited children) to a visiting theatre group entertaining the whole school yesterday (thank you Friends of Appledore School (renamed PTA) for making that happen), and not forgetting squeezed in between such events was our Year 5&6 girls football team winning a local tournament. That’s just a taster of what has been happening all week, so please read the whole post to see what has been happening Around the Classes.
Have a lovely weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
there has been lot’s going on in and around the classes, so please click on ‘more’ to find out more…
Diary Dates:
- Bag2School will be collecting from Appledore School on 21st February 2023. Please bring your bag (or bags!) to the School Car park by 9am and help us have a really good collection. Not only helping to safe the planet bur raising money for the school too!
- Sports Dayfor Dolphins and years 1-6 is scheduled for Tuesday 23rd May
AROUND THE CLASSES
Year 6, Rose the Ranger from the burrows and Jack from North Devon Biosphere have been working with Sarah on improving the area for wildlife and accessibility for the children to use as an outdoor learning resource. Northam Town council have also given money along with the original funding from the ANOB to re-line the pond, create a decked dipping platform and viewing area and lots of tree planting to include and enhance for a traditional Devon bank hedgerow. Big thanks to all involved, the PTFA and the amazing plans and designs from Year 6 which will be displayed in the hall and on the Apple Tree Initiative website. https://www.
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have continued to learn about Chinese New Year. We have looked at how people celebrate the festival. We have also looked at where China is in the world and what is unique to China, we then compared this to Appledore. On Tuesday we made Chinese dumplings and they were delicious. Today we visited the library in Appledore to change our library books.
In Sea Lions (Year 1) this week we have carried on our Science experiment and found that the bread that grew the most mould was the bread that we touched with dirty hands. We have been thinking about why this is and have come to the conclusion it’s because of all the germs we had on our hands. Now we are being extra careful to clean our hands! In Maths this week we have been ordering numbers to 20 from smallest to greatest as well as greatest to smallest. In Writing we have started a new book: No-bot the Robot with no Bottom. So far we have read the book and thought of actions to help us remember it. We have also thought of other animals that might have found his bottom and what they could have used it for!
This week, Year 2 have been learning about multiplication in Maths. They have been making equal groups and learning to use the multiplication symbol: x. In Year 2, children need to know the 2, 5 and 10 times tables by heart, so please look out for some games coming soon on Google Classroom to help you practise at home. In English, they have been working hard to improve their handwriting and sentence writing. Well done everyone for the effort you are putting in. In their topic work, they learned a bit more about Grace Darling and tried to answer the question: Why did she carry out the rescue? In Science, they found out about the different stages of the human lifecycle: baby, toddler, child, teenager, adult and talked about what humans are able to do at each stage. This will link to their outdoor learning session on Monday where they will find out about some animal life cycles. At the time of writing, they are looking forward to their outdoor learning session on Friday morning, where they will be taking part in activities inspired by the Big Garden Birdwatch taking place this weekend. If you’d like to take part at home or find out more information, please take a look here: https://www.rspb.org.uk/
Seahunter (Year 3) have had a fantastic week. In English, we finished writing our biographies on different famous people. All of the children worked so hard to research their chosen person, and then we thought carefully about how we were going to order all of the facts and then focused on using exciting sentence starters to make our biographies interesting to read. In guided reading, we have started reading an adventure book called ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’. To help us understand some of the vocabulary in this book, this week we learned all about Norse mythology and read about some of the Viking gods. In science, we have continued learning all about the bones in our bodies and we made our own bionic hands to show how the muscles and bones work together to enable us to move.
Year 3 performed their tableaux which dramatically retold the story of Noah and the Ark. In music, they finalized their graphic scores and chose appropriate musical instruments on which to play the piece. In French, they updated their phrasebooks with the latest vocabulary – the days of the week. Year 4 designed happy Eid cards and looked at the festival of Eid ul Adha. They continued with their whole class ensemble teaching in music and are beginning to recognize G, A and B on the stave. Year 5 looked at Christian songs and found hymns that reference God being Holy and Loving. Year 6 explored the Big Bang theory and contrasted this scientific explanation of creation with the version in the Bible. They also continued with their whole class ensemble teaching and can now play a range of notes on the recorder and follow a simple score accurately. In French years 4, 5 and 6 matched descriptions of the weather to symbols representing that weather condition.
This week in HMS Echo (Year 4) we have been learning all about the different roles and jobs people had in 1918, and how people came together to help with rationing. We’ve also been working on our Values work – we had a live session on Tuesday about “What makes me ME?” which made the children reflect on what makes them unique and how being unique is great. In English, the children have done a fantastic job at writing a story about ‘Jack and the Daydream’ or something similar, now the children need to plan their very own story in the style of the book we’re reading – I’m looking forward to reading them! In Maths, we’ve been looking at division this week, and what it means to have a remainder. Towards the end of the week, in Science, we are going to look at pictures of animals, particularly their teeth, and see if we can identify whether they’re a carnivore, herbivore, or even an omnivore.
Year 5 in literacy have been learning about the key features of explanation texts in preparation for children writing an explanation text about their inventions. In maths we have been securing our multiplication strategies. We joined the live Winter Watch live lesson and found out about food chains and bird feeders in preparation for today’s RSPB schools big bird count to enter the data on a national database.
Year 6 have learnt about adaption in science this week; studying the way animal and plants change in some way (over a long period of time) to be better suited to the environment in which they live. We have begun to learn about a man who is credited for saving more lives than anyone else with a major medical discovery. We are continuing to read ‘Pig Heart Boy’ by Malorie Blackman and are writing a balanced argument about xenotransplantation in literacy. It has been interesting to think about both sides of the argument and have heard some fascinating facts and opinions. We have started an algebra topic in maths and have formed our own expressions and formulae.
Please be aware that on the days scheduled by teacher unions for strike action (1st February and 2nd, 15th and 16th March) school will be open for business as per usual with all the usual staff.
Devon County Council have offered advice on how to stay safe during very cold weather that can be found here.
Thank you Friends of Appledore School (rebranded and reformed PTA) for funding a travelling theatre visit on the 2nd of February from the proceeds of the disco and Christmas Fair, performing to the lower school and upper school two different performances.
Please click on ‘more’ to find out what has been happening in and around the classes.
Wishing you all a peaceful weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
First five day week completed in 2023 and there has been so much going on – much of it outside whatever the weather as our outdoor learning provision continues to expand! Please click on more to find out what has been happening in and around the classes this week.
During February half term Carol Anne Netball Club (Barnstaple) are holding a netball camp for girls in Years 3&4 (click here) and Chivenor Soccer School are holding football camps (click here).
If your child is playing Roblox please continue to monitor it closely because children are being encouraged to self harm on this gaming platform. This week the staff have received safeguarding training on recognising the different types of abuse and how to respond. For more information please click here.
If you are feeling stressed, anxious, are experiencing ongoing low mood, or are having difficulty sleeping, the NHS can help. TALKWORKS is a free and confidential NHS talking therapy service, here to help anyone over the age of 18 living in Devon, improve their mental and physical wellbeing. TALKWORKS therapists will work with you, by providing a variety of tools and techniques, to help get your life back on track, so that you can feel like yourself once again. Treatment and support includes: one-to-one sessions with a therapist; group therapy sessions; wellbeing workshops and access to online self-help. You do not need a referral from a GP to access TALKWORKS’ services, you can refer yourself online or over the phone. For more information on the different treatment options and therapy services, please visit the TALKWORKS website or call 0300 555 3344.
Have a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Welcome back and a very happy New year to you all. We hope you had an enjoyable break, free from all the illnesses circulating, and you have kept to your New Year’s resolutions! In assembly earlier this week we discussed New Year’s resolutions and this link has some interesting suggestions for children.
This week staff have safeguarding training related to contextual safeguarding and the staff training focus of Tuesday’s non-pupil day was further curriculum improvement and development.
Any early posting of the newsletter this week because tomorrow involves a trip to the Roman baths in Bath. Please click on more to find out what has been happening in your children’s classes and for class specific information.
Wishing you all a super weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
What a week, what a term and what an amazing run of nativity performances with the curtain coming down on our term curtesy of Key Stage 2 (years 3-6) and Miss Carr performing Squeak at St Mary’s Church today! Thank you to everybody involved.
Last week we gave you a digital parenting guide and this week we have a comprehensive go to one page document with advice and warnings. Please take a look here before your children have more time on their hands to be safe online this holiday. The following links are for interactive activities for children aged 4-7, 8-10 and 11-18 to do to support them being safe whilst online this Christmas and beyond. They are from a reputable organisation called CEOPS and there is a section dedicated to parents.
If you have any concerns about the safety of a child contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0345 155 1071 or email mashsecure@devon.gov.uk with as much information as you can. If the child is at immediate risk call the police on 999.
Please click on ‘more’ to find out what has been happening in all the classes this week. Happy Christmas to you all and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Wednesday 4th January
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
First prize goes to Roaslie and Fran, second to Ella and third to Alice
