Category: General
Welcome back everybody and happy New Year to you all! We hope you all had a really enjoyable Christmas and it is wonderful to have the children back so full of energy and ready to go again. For the children (and fingers crossed I don’t jinx it by saying this now!) it appears to have been a healthy Christmas break because this week we have not had a single Covid case reported amongst the children. Thank you for everything you have done for this to happen. We are suffering from staff absence though and thank you for your patience as we manage this challenge.
We welcome Miss Gray to Year 1 and the children in her class have been very keen to tell me what they have been up to with her this busy week. It has been a busy week for all the classes, so please do click on the (more…) text below to find out what has been going on in each class.
Congratulations to Indian House (yellow) for winning the Coffee Cabin House Cup for last term.
We wish you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Such an exciting week for all and the highlight has to be the return of Father Christmas circling the school in the ‘Big Yellow Bird’. We hope you enjoyed the recordings of the various nativities and carols. Coordination of these with fluctuating attendance was not without its challenges, so in the true spirit of the show must go on the children and staff launched themselves into it with great gusto!
This week we say goodbye and thank you to Mr Lewis as he leaves us for promotion at another school and welcome Miss Gray who will be our new year 1 teacher in the new year.
The Department for Education has asked that we signpost parents to a publication by Children’s Commissioner regarding online sexual harassment, particularly with many children getting a new phone or other internet devices for Christmas. Please click here to access the link to the parent guide.
Please be aware of the following guidance regarding contact and isolation: From 14 December, a new national approach to daily testing for contacts of COVID-19 has been introduced. All adults who are fully vaccinated and children aged 5 to18 years and 6 months, identified as a contact of someone with COVID-19 – whether Omicron or not – should take an LFD test every day for 7 days instead of self-isolating. Children under five years old do not need to take part in daily testing for contacts of COVID-19 and do not need to isolate. Once notified by Test and Trace as a close contact, all eligible staff, pupils and students are strongly recommended to take a LFD each day for 7 days and report the results through the online reporting system and to their setting. If they test negative, they can continue to attend their education setting. Outside of the education setting, they should continue to follow national guidance. This approach should also be adopted over the Christmas holiday and on return in January.
Thank you for all of your support as we try our very best to keep all the children and staff safe. We wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas and look forward to welcoming you all back on Wednesday 5th January, 2022
From Jeremy Cooper and all of the children and staff
A very busy week with the chidlren rehearsing and performing their nativities to the camera. A big thank you to all the teachers with organising these and also Mr Fitzgerald for giving up much of his time (and expertise) recording the pieces in the church.
To support teachers with achieving a sustainable work life balance we ask that any emails you want to send to a class teacher is sent to admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk. Teachers receive a copy of this email and will respond if required. Please be aware that emails sent direct to staff from parents will not be answered.
Whilst Covid is reported to be more widespread in our local area than on average across the country and that we currently have larger than usual pupil absence, relatively few of those absent have tested positive for Covid. There are lots of other bugs going around at present and a huge thank you for your vigilance and willingness to LFT and PCR test your children when they present as unwell. Of those who have tested positive some have presented coldlike symptoms and not the symptoms typically and previously associated with Covid, so please comtinue to be cautious and test your child if you are unwell.
Wishing you all a super weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
Christmas has ‘landed’ in school with rehearsals underway everywhere and our Christmas hoops up the corridor. As per previous years, children can wear a Christmas jumper for the remaining Fridays this term for a small donation. The children and staff are working hard rehearsing their nativities and carols and thank you for supporting the learning of their words. We are working hard to ensure this can continue under challenging and shifting circumstances and with the help of technology we hope you will be able to enjoy them too.
We have had a few more cases of Covid in school and sent a letter to parents about this. The numbers are relatively small and in classes where the number of cases meet a trigger point of 10% of the class we are required to inform the DfE and follow their guidance. Any additional measures we are required to take will be communicated to you. We are finding that some of the symptms of the children testing positive are very similar to a cold, so if your child displays cold like symptoms please try to lateral flow test as frequently as possible to rule out Covid.
Earlier in the week we sent to you the details for the nasal flu vaccination for children at our school. If you missed the letter, please click here to view the letter.
If you want to book your child to attend our before and after school club, please ensure they are booked in first because we must know in advance numbers attending for staffing. On many occasions sessions are fully booked and we will have to turn away childrne not booked in. If you need to cancel so we can offer the place to another, please do so before 3.30pm the day before to avoid being charged. Please be aware that we will not be running a holiday club for the foreseeable future and that we will review future provision again after the Easter period.
Various funds are available through local or central government to help households financially at Christmas. For more information, please click here.
Our best wishes to you all for an enjoyable weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
Thank you for your support of Children in Need last week and we raised over £200.
This week a very wide range of learning has been going on in and around the classes and this has included: Boudicca and the Romans; Diwali; performing Charles Darwin’s A Christmas Carol; Tobago; being engineers as apart of STEM project linked to SS Freshbring, moored in Bideford and a visit from Barnstaple Museum. To find out the full details, please do read the main text of this article.
For information about St Mary’s Church, Appledore, Christingle Service on Sunday 28th November at 4pm please click here.
For a small donation each Friday your child can wear a Christmas jumper every Friday until the end of term.
We wish you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
A day of spots and stripes and various items of Children in Need regalia. Thank you for supporting the children with this worthy cause.
Please read on to find out what has been happenin in and around the classes…
Wishing you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
Next Friday (19th) is Children and Need and we invite the children to wear spots, stripes and any other Children in Need regalia for a donation that we will collect on the day.
We are currently planning the when and how surrounding the children’s celebrations of Christmas and will communicate these to you as soon as possible. We are planning for there to be a Foundation Stage (Turtles and Dolphins) nativity, a Key Stage 1 (years 1 & 2) nativity and a singing of carols by Key Stage 2 (years 3-6 and possibly more year groups). Sadly, due to the prevalence of Covid in our community, it is highly unlikely these will be performed to audiences consisting of parents, carers and the wider family and for this we are hugely dissapointed. We will ensure they are recorded for you to view and hope you understand and support this decision aimed at keeping families and staff safe immediately prior to us all breaking-up for Christmas break.
We wish you all a lovely weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
A very full week following half term and the children have responded with their usual high levels of energy and enthusiasm. Please do read the main section of this post to find out what has been happening in each of the classes this week.
We have been given a date of Wednesday 17th December for the nasal flu vaccination of pupils in Dophins to Year 6. We will be sending out further details (including consent forms) when we receive them.
We wish you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
As mentioned last week, trips have continued this week for various classes and have included the Year 5 residential trip to Georgeham House, Year 1 to Exmoor Zoo and Year 3 to the Eden Project. Despite rain, rain and more rain all trips were a real success.
Please click on the title to find out about local events that may interest you, information regarding outdoor afterschool clubs, the pending flu nasal spray and what has been happening in and around the classes this week.
We wish you all an ejoyable half term and look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 1st November.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
This week and next week include numerous trips linked to various aspects of the children’s learning and we wish Year 5 a fun residential trip at the beginning of next week.
Please read the main section of this article to find out what has been happening around the school and of other local events and activities that may be of interest to you and your children.
We wish you a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
A week of visitors and trips. Please read on to find out what has been happening in and around the classes and for some interesting village events…
Have a great weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all of the children and staff
It’s been another busy week for the children at school and on for our Year 6 on their residential trip on Dartmoor – lots of water and mud I understand! Please read the main section of this article to find out what has been happening in all of the classes.
Over the coming days, please keep and eye our for email and text notifications inviting you to book a time for parents’ evenings. These appointments will be face-to-face in school and over the last two weeks of this half term. Please wear a mask to the appointment.
We wish you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
it seems a long time since we were able to take the children on trips, so it was a pleasure for us to take some of our younger children to a honey farm this week as part of their eco topic on bees. Next week brings another feeling of normality for our Year 6 children who are looking forward to attending a residental week on Dartmoor.
As ever, the school has been a hive (see what I did there?) of activity this week and please read on to find out what has been happening in and around all of the classes.
A small number of children are arriving very early to school unsupervised. Please be aware that pupils should not be entering the site before 8.40pm and the breakfast club is available should you need support.
We wish you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
A super week with a lot going on around teh school.
After school clubs are up and running now and we have a few remaing spaces in Tuesday art club and Wednesday eco club. Please contact admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk if you are interested in one of these clubs.
This week has proved that Covid 19 remains in our community with cases in school. Thank you for our support with testing your children and your prompt information regarding test results. We are in colds season and the number of children coughing will be higher than usual, so your support of us erring on the side of caution and getting tests for new and persistent coughs is really appreciated. Thank you. Please remain extra vigilant to possible Covid 19 symptoms and advise us of any test results, including em,ailing test results received over the weekend to admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk.
Please click on the headline to read all of this article to find out what has been going on in and around the classes…
We wish you all a lovely weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
This week has been a most enjoyable week for us all. To have all the children back and with greater freedoms is a real pleasure and it looks like they are enjoying it to.
Welcome back to all of you who are returning this year and a very warm welcome to those of you new to us. We hope all of your children have enjoyed their first week of this academic year and if you have questions or concerns, please speak with any of us and we are here to help.
Please take a look at the News section of the school website every Friday. Unless it has been just one of those Fridays, this newsletter will be avaialble before the end of the school day. If it’s not there by then, it soon will be. The newsletter is aimed at providing you with information on what has been happening in all of the classes and other information that we hope is of interest to you.
Please read the main section of this news article and we wish you all a lovely weekend.
Best wishes from
Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
