News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 12th December
This week it was our Foundation Stage nativity and Key Stage 1 nativity performances and what a show they put on…and to a packed all each time!. They were great and thank you for your support.
There is a public consultation underway regarding the future of many Devon libraries. The proposed new hours for Appledore Library reduces the opening hours to just 6 per week, with only 3 hours during school hours. This impacts the visits to the library for Appledore pupils as well as the wider community. You have an opportunity to have your say via this link to the consultation can be found here and takes about 10 minutes.
Dates for the diary
- Christmas fair Friday 12th December 3-5pm
- Christmas dinner for pupils and wear your Christmas jumper day Wednesday 17th December
- Years 3-6 Christmas celebration at St Mary’s church, Appledore, 2pm Friday 19th December
- Please ensure you are parking responsibly on the roads around school and not on the private road Kingsley Avenue. If you require a parking permit for the Oden Road car park, please contact the school.
- Have a super weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have been learning about Advent and Christmas. We talked about the meaning of advent and that some people will be celebrating this with a Christingle service. We found out about Christingles and had a go at making our own. We have read The Christmas Story and related this to our Nativity. We have made paper chains and snowflakes to decorate our classroom. We have also been busy making decorations to take home.
Year 1 have carried on their learning using the Three Little Pigs story this week. We have been sequencing the story and learnt about adjectives. We’ve had a go at spotting adjectives in sentences and then wrote our own and underlined the adjective. In Maths we have been recapping some of our previous learning including number bonds to 10, doubling and odd and even numbers. Year 1 have also been busy this week with their Nativity performances. Thank you to all the family and friends who came to watch and support the children after they had worked so hard!
Well done Year 2 for an amazing Christmas Nativity performance! Everyone sang beautifully and spoke clearly. Thank you to all your grown ups for helping you to learn your lines. In Maths, they have continued to learn about 2D shape and have been looking at lines of symmetry. In English, they have watched a film clip called ‘Baboon on the Moon’ and compared this to the ‘Man on the Moon’. On Thursday afternoon, they enjoyed a session in the Art Studio.
It has been a busy week for Year 3 completing all our end of term assessments and units of work. It was lovely to watch the dress rehearsals of Foundation Stage and KS1 nativity plays; we talked about the parts that we played when we did these performances. We have been working hard on the dance for the KS2 nativity next week and learning the song words. We hope you are able to joins us at the end of next work for the performance. Please bring in your Christmas jumper and grey leggings/tights/trousers in a named bag for Tuesday.
In Year 4 this week, the children had a great trip to the Roman Baths in Bath where they spent the morning taking part in some Roman activities, including visiting the basement underneath the Roman Baths to do some archaeological digging and many more activities. We then had a tour around the Roman Baths before we headed home. Apart from the trip, the children have been busy doing a range of assessments this week to consolidate their learning so far. In English, we have been exploring different poems and in Maths, we have looked at division and multiplying three numbers. In Computing, we created a Roman mosaic using programming codes and in PE we took part in a mini game of Netball. In History, the children created a Roman legacy mind map to summarise their learning of the topic.
As we move towards the end of term the Year 5 children are definitely feeling the effects of a long and hardworking half-term. We’ve spent time this week talking about positive relationships, making good choices, and how we can support each other as a class community. Thank you for your support at home with reinforcing these messages. We have also revisited our expectations for behaviour and kindness, and the children have responded well to the reminders. We’re proud of the pupils who have shown resilience and made thoughtful choices as the week has gone on. In our learning this week, children have completed their autumn term assessments in maths and reading. In maths lessons, we have been focusing on division, including some particularly tricky word problems that required careful working out. In science, we explored irreversible reactions, and the children learned how materials can change in ways that can’t be undone. We have enjoyed watching the younger children during their nativity dress rehearsals. We finished off the week with a trip to Rosemoor where we took part in a festive workshop. As we head into the final stretch before the holidays, a good rest, plenty of sleep, and continued encouragement will really help the children finish the term positively. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.
Year 6 have been completing end of term assessments this week. They have also watched the Foundation Stage and KS1 Nativity Plays. In maths they have been solving problems with fractions and applying all their skills. In Literacy, they are almost ready to publish their work on Harry Clement’s biography and in reading they were able to compare the book and the film of Skellig. In Science, they have been looking at the effects of drugs and alcohol on the body.
