News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 13th June
Inspirational is our value for this half term and in our launch assembly Fran and Dan Mapp, Appledore School parents, came in to tell us all about representing GB in the Aquathlon and Duathlon World Championships very soon. To follow their progress, visit mrandmrsmapp on Instagram. Thank you Fran and dan for your visit and quiz prizes for the children!
It’s sports day next week and FOAS are attending to sell refreshments such as bacon rolls and cream teas. Please see here for more information.
Do you know what the emojis children use mean? Are you sure? Please see here to find out more and here for a podcast about emojis. For our most recent attendance newsletter please see here
Dates for the diary
- Girls cricket @Bideford Cricket Club free turn up and play sessions information see here
- Sports Day is next week, Tuesday 17th June, and the reserve date is Tuesday 24th June please see here for information
- North Devon BioBlitz Friday 27th and Saturday 28th June is free to all. Please see here and here for information.
Wishing you all a great weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have been finding out about under the sea. We have talked about what we know about sea creatures and we have tried to name as many as possible. We have read the story ‘Commotion in the Ocean’. We have added instruments to some of the verses to create songs and we have also written an extra verse for a couple of the sea creatures. We have made moving fish and created dolphins from paper plates.
Year 1 were very excited this week when we found that our dragon egg had grown! They have been looking after it very well and have enjoyed writing about different dragons. We have been really focusing on capital letters and full stops. On Tuesday we had a sports day practice with Year 2 where we had a go at some of the activities we will be doing next week. Year 1 showed great listening and were amazing at the activities, we can’t wait for sports day now! We’ve also had our house cross country competition this week and despite some children feeling a little anxious, everyone took part, showed great perseverance and had lots of fun!
Year 2 have had another good week. In English, they have been learning about different types of sentences using the book: Outdoor Wonderland. They then were able to have a gp at writing the different types of sentences: statements, questions, commands and exclamations, trying hard to remember the punctuation for each. In Maths, they are starting a new topic: Data Handling which includes looking at tables, tally charts and pictogram. On Tuesday, they enjoyed multiskills activities with year 1 for PE. There were lots of running and jumping activities for them to practise their skills in preparation for Sports Day next week. On Wednesday they took part in House Cross Country with the rest of the school. Everyone showed amazing determination to finish the course. Well done!
Year 3, researched a range of inspirational Christians to see how their faith inspired them to make the world a better place. Year 5 were introduced to Humanism preparation for a visit from a guest speaker. Year 6 explored the benefits of expressing gratitude and appreciating everything we have. Both Year 3 and Year 6 had time to continue with whole class ensemble teaching. Year 3 are making great progress and Year 6 now know how to play all the sharps and flats on a recorder – you will be delighted to know!
Seahunter Class (Year 3) have had a fantastic week! In maths, we explored how to combine different coins to make specific amounts and practised converting pounds and pence into pence, using our understanding that £1 is equal to 100p. In English, we wrote our own versions of Cinderella of the Nile, challenging ourselves to use powerful adjectives, verbs and adverbs, while experimenting with a variety of sentence openers to enhance our writing. During guided reading, we continued reading The Story of Tutankhamun and used a range of strategies to help us understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. To begin our history topic on Ancient Egypt, we created timelines to see where Ancient Egypt fits within the broader context of ancient civilisations. We discovered that many ancient civilisations existed at the same time, just in different parts of the world. In PE, we enjoyed another fun-filled tennis lesson with Lottie, where we played games and practised rallying with a partner.
It’s been a very busy week in Year 4 this week. The children took part in a Design and Technology day where they designed and created their own Victorian toy by using levers and linkages and a variety of mechanisms. They also took part in a whole school cross country event where they ran two laps around the school which was fun! In preparation for Sports Day next week, we have been practising some of the races too! For our Values, we had a parent volunteer visit us to do some inspirational Maths with us which was really inspirational and fun! The children also took part in their multiplication tables check where they all tried really hard – thank you so much for your hard work with this! We should get the results in a few weeks’ time. Aside from these events, we have been busy perfecting our time skills by solving problems with hours, minutes, seconds and other durations of time. In English, we have polished our skills with using speech and punctuating speech perfectly. In History, we studied why lots of Victorians moved from rural to urban areas despite the urban areas being dangerous and unhealthy. In Science, the children explored how sound is made by visiting a variety of stations and exploring how to make sound, such as elastic bands on a tub, rice on a drum and more.
It has been yet another busy week for Year 5. Well done to all of those who took part in the house cross country and completed the distance of 3 laps. The class sorted themselves in events for sports day next week and made sure that everyone had an equal amount of races. In our writing we have been working on writing a story about how an animal got its special characteristics; this has involved working in a group, listening to each other’s ideas, and then writing the story. Our maths has involved translating shapes, using coordinates and then finding lines of symmetry. We have started a new history unit of work which focuses on the Ancient Greeks. This week we have listened to the story of the Trojan Horse.
Year 6 have used the stage this week to start rehearsals in the hall. It’s really important for them to learn their lines so that they can deliver them without their scripts. In History, they have started to find out about the Mayan Civilisation – looking at maps and resources. In Geography, they have been continuing their work on islands and completing some work before the trip on Saturday. They have been lucky to have the Author Joffre White visit and complete a writing workshop with them: he has asked that the children use their ideas to complete a short story, and 6 of them will be published on his website. They also had a great talk from The Lundy Ambassador on Tuesday, who gave them lots of fascinating information about the island. Children need a cardboard box (shoe box size if possible) for our Design and Technology work next Thursday – thank you for those who have already brought a box in.
