News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 19th September
FOAS (Friends of Appledore School) is our parents association that play a vital role in fundraising for projects and activities that benefit the school. A small group of kind parents run various activities throughout the year and new faces are required to help with the current programme of events and to bring new ideas. There will be a meeting to discuss the year ahead at 7pm on October 2nd at the school. See here for more information.
Further to the email sent out about the annual nasal flu vaccination, available for all children from reception to Year 6, please be aware NHS nurses will be in school to administering the vaccination for in school on Thursday 13th November 2025 to those who have been given consent for. If you want your child to be vaccinated and have not already completed the consent form it is available here along with information about the vaccination. Please note that consent is required by midday Tuesday 11th November 2025.
Dates for the diary
- To find out how you can help hedgehogs as part of a big project underway in North Devon and Appledore, see here for more information on 20th September
- Friends of Appledore School meeting at 7pm, October 2nd at the school and all are very welcome to attend.
- Harvest festival years 3-6, 2pm 8th October, St Mary’s Church (please see around the classes section for more details)
Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have continued learning about ourselves. We have focused on healthy eating and the importance of it. On Tuesday Asda Man came in and he brought a range of fruit for us to try. We also talked about how we use our senses to explore the world around us and today we went to the park to explore it with our senses. We have also drawn pictures and painted our self portraits.
Year 1 are settling into their new routine well this week. In writing we have been looking at the book Naughty Bus and have been thinking about some of the naughty things the bus might do if he came to our class! In Maths we have been finding one more and one less of a number to 10 and have shown that we are really confident with our numbers. In our topic lessons we have loved learning about penguins, we have been so impressed with the facts the children knew already!
Another great week for Year 2. They have been reading Traction Man and writing sentences in the style of the book. In Maths they have been using equipment to partition 2-digit numbers in different ways. In their Geography work, they have been finding out about the United Kingdom and making maps. Their Science work involved them looking at different habitats and then making a home for a toy animal. For computing, they were answering the question ‘What is information technology?’ Everyone now should have a reading book and a bedtime story book to take home. We are very excited to have an author visiting us on Monday morning as part of Appledore Book Festival – Petr Horacek. Here is his website: https://www.petrhoracek.co.uk/
Years 4 and 5 had the opportunity to bring together their dances. It was quite something. The children were incredibly patient and sensible which meant that it was possible to have 60 children performing a technically challenging routine. They have been sworn to secrecy about the content of the dance so I hope they have not revealed too much about it. I know they are excited to present it in the church. The songs are sounding beautiful. Keep learning those words. The choir has grown in size and these children do have additional words to learn. Our harvest celebration provides a valuable performance opportunity for the children as part of their music provision. In RE, the children have been continuing their studies. Year 3 have looked at Genesis and how it relates creation. Year 4 considered how Muslims pray and Year 5 began to explore why Hindus want to be good by thinking about Karma.
It’s been a very productive week for Year 3. We have been writing sentences, based on Lord of the Forest, using fronted adverbials and using the correct punctuation or showing dialogue. In maths we have continued to use numbers up 1000; finding 1, 10 and 100 more or less. We explored which materials were best for reflecting light in science and used climate graphs to find out more about more about climates around the world. We listened to the author Mike Please who told us about his book ‘The Cave’. Lots of events are happening next week so please check the events list which has been sent home. The details about Y3 homework can be found inside the front cover of the yellow homework book but any questions please call into the classroom.
In Year 4 this week, the children have been partitioning 4 digit numbers in Maths and solving some problems related to this where they have been introduced to thousands for the first time. In English, the children learnt about the different apostrophe rules and we are beginning to plan a story together like Meerkat Mail which we will write together as a class in preparation for the children’s own stories. In Geography, we learnt where different electricity is generated in the UK and why, for example there are more solar farms in the south as there is more sunlight. In PE, we worked on our coordination and footwork. In Computing, we learnt what the internet is and the different parts e.g. servers, routers. In Science, we looked at how water can change state.
What a busy week it’s been in Year 5! In Maths, we tackled rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1,000 with confidence. In English, we’ve been getting creative with adverbial phrases and expanded noun phrases as we prepare to write our own imaginative versions of The Tear Thief. In Science, we explored the differences between transparent, translucent and opaque materials, and thought carefully about why these properties are useful in everyday life. Our Geography lessons took us on a journey along the ancient Silk Road, where we sharpened our map skills using Google Earth. In PE, we’ve been developing our handball skills, focusing on teamwork, passing and movement. Our Values lesson involved watching the short film “Dangle.” We then reflected on choices and responsibilities and how these impact our daily lives. In Computing we explored vector drawings, learning how to create and manipulate digital images using shapes and layers. On Friday, we enjoyed a trip to Skern Lodge, where we met author Gareth P. Jones, followed by an afternoon of outdoor learning.
Year 6 have had a very busy week on Residential in Simonsbath. They have had amazing resilience and have worked hard to overcome personal challenges as well as working well in team challenges. They have had varied weather – some of it very wet: on Wednesday, the warmest activity was when they were in the stream! They will be bringing home some very dirty and soggy clothes! They should all be really proud of their achievements and will hopefully have a few stories to share with you.
