Dragon eggs, River Nile and writing quest stories is just a sample of what has been happening and is documented in Around the Classes, so please read on to find out more…

To view the Summer 2024 edition of Family First, supporting Department of Health and NHS in improving mental and physical wellbeing of families, please click here 

CCTV is now installed covering the front gates and car park for safety and security and our CCTV policy is available to view here 

Diary date: 3.30pm – 5pm on Friday 5th July the summer fair is on the school field

Wishing you all a super weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Apologies for the late posting of last week’s newsletter (technical hitch) and please do read it, because there is important information on there as is there also below and in the Around the Classes section further on in this post. Not to mention the whole of main school recording their own song..!

Staffing of classes will remain the same next year, which means: Nursery is Steph Olliffe, Lucy Davie-Llewellyn,  Nicky Elphick, Michelle Wilson and Emily Day; Reception is Claire Bannister and Cathy Ley; Year 1 is Sarah Malyn, Fleur Monroe and Helena Grant; Year 2 is Eleanore Stanbury, Jane Halloway and Jillian Harris; Year 3 is Emily Wetz and Sue Hughes-Whiffing; Year 4 is Olivia Avery and Kellie Evans; Year 5 is Julie McMorine, Lisa Evans and Sue Evans and Year 6 is Kathryn Mitchell, Lisa Evans and Kay Carstairs.  Teacher release time in Years 3-6 will be covered by Jo Carr.  Children will meet their new teachers next Thursday morning.

Wishing you all super weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all of the children and staff (more…)

Please ensure all jumpers and cardigans are named, because after each lunchtime we are putting numerous in the lost property box.

https://nationalcollege.com/guideshttps://nationalcollege.com/guides

Atlantic Racquet Centre, Bideford, is holding on Saturday 6th July a  free family open day. No booking required, simply come along and enjoy guaranteed fun whatever the weather! For more information click here

The age children can be involved in receiving and attempting to send photos or videos containing nudity is falling and is not uncommon for children at primary school age. Settings on Apple devices can provide protection for children using Apple services (eg iMessage and FaceTime) and more information can be found here. for further advice on setting restrictions, including for android devices, please click here.

Players needed for a new u10s girls team at Bideford Blues and Appledore JFC. For more info, please click here

Appledore Carnival is on 11th August and last year Appledore School won various categories. If you would like to take part, please contact me. Tel 07813183467.
It’s on 11th August. We won our category last year!!

AROUND THE CLASSES

This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have been finding out about summer and where that fits in with the seasons. We have talked about the things that we enjoy doing in the summer and painted pictures of them. We also made a moving sea picture. On Tuesday we had our annual Turtle and Dolphin Sports Day.

We have had a busy week in Year 1. The children have written their own versions of Jack and the Beanstalk. There have been some really imaginative ideas and they have designed their own front cover for their stories. We will hopefully be sharing their stories with the Reception children very soon. In Maths, we have completed our unit on position and direction which has been great fun. We have played lots of games, practised giving directions to each other and created algorithms in computing on ScratchJr app to support this. A new test has been put on Maths.co.uk for the children to complete if they wish. We have also completed our Phonics Screening Check this week and well done everyone!

Year 2 have had another good week. At the end of last week, they enjoyed their outdoor learning session as they were able to carry out an investigation to see if bulbs could be planted upside down. In Maths, they looked at pictograms and answered questions about them. In English, they have been writing different types of sentences and had a go at writing some new instructions using their brilliant imaginations. They have been completing end of year assessments this week to show everything they have learned this year and worked really hard on them – well done! They all enjoyed a cricket session at the beginning of the week and were able to play lots of different mini games leading up to a final game of batting and fielding. Everyone has worked so hard to make a sound out of their trombone that they were able to play along to a song! We will try to record it soon and put the video on Google Classroom so you can see how well they have done!

We are all set for recording our song next week. The children have been involved in the creative process and have learnt why we changed the key, why different parts were shifted an octave, why the song is structured a particular way and the have learnt to sing it dynamically. They have also seen why, when being creative in any art form, you sometimes have to let go of your original ideas in favour if something better and that a project needs to be reworked and reworked until you are happy with it. Most importantly they have seen that in order to achieve any measure of success you have to work jolly hard. They have enjoyed the process and I am sure we will have something that we can all be proud of at the end of it. Alongside the song, in music lessons, year 3 have learnt to play a recorder piece in two parts. Year 4 made a recording of their recorder playing. Year 5 continued to practice their fingering for a tricky piece and year 6 added a melody to their drum and bass and chord progression to continue creating their hip hop track.

Year 3 have had a fantastic week! In English, we wrote our own versions of Cinderella of the Nile and then edited our writing for both corrections and improvements. In Maths, we learnt to tell the time on a digital clock and we also learnt the difference between am and pm. In History, we explored some artefacts from ancient Egypt and wrote questions in order to find out what they could tell us about life in ancient Egypt. In Science, we planned and conducted an investigation to find the best surface to help cars stop in an escape lane. In PE, we began learning all about tag rugby and we started by practising passing a ball with a partner. In Guided Reading, we finished reading Earth Shattering Events and read the section on avalanches. We used our retrieval and inference skills to answer questions on avalanches and then we thought of some strategies to help us when we don’t know what a word means.

In HMS Echo (year 3), the children read the story Firebird and we had a class discussion about what the book was about and the different characters. We also discussed what we liked and disliked about the book. In Maths, we have began learning about Shape, where we have started learning about the different angles. In History, we did some research using primary and secondary sources of evidence about a man named Lord Shaftesbury and why he was considered a good Victorian. In Art, the children have made some monster sculptures and they glazed them this week ready to be fired. In our Values session, we looked at what inspiration means and the children made up their own inspirational quotes. In Science, we began learning about sound and how sounds are made. Finally, a HUGE well done to the children in Year 4 who completed their multiplication test. They have worked so hard and I really do think their hard work has paid off. We should get their results in July but thank you so much for your support with this at home.

Well done to the year 5 group who went to Shebbear College this week to take part in the U10 cricket festival. Your excellent behaviour and attitude to learning new skills was observed by the staff there. Thank you Mrs Evans and Jasper for taking the group for the afternoon. In maths this week we have started our unit on decimals; using known facts to add and subtract decimals within 1 and finding complements to 1. In our writing this week we have continued with the dragonology text; writing about different species of our subject. We looked at using chromatography in science and found out what coloured inks were used in felt tip pens. In the outdoor learning session we used our knowledge of habitats to discover what we could find in the school wooded area and pond.

Year 6 has been busy with a Design and Technology project this week. It has taken creativity, skill and patience. They have found out about cams and how they can be used to turn rotary motion into either linear or a different rotary motion. They have created a variety of automata linked to work on Lundy (seascapes). Not all are fully finished, but there are some wonderful creations. Alongside this, they have been rehearsing the play and gathering props – it is not ready yet but we have moved into the larger space of the hall. Many children have mastered their lines , but we really need all children to have learnt them. They have also begun finding out about the Mayan Civilisation in their History and Geography work.

Welcome back and we hope you had an enjoyable half term.

This week we took a squad of swimmers from across keys stage 2 to a swimming gala at the Northam pool and competed against 6 other local schools. We demonstrated our strength as a team, coming second, and individual talent with a number of first, second and third placings for fastest times. Some of our swimmers won multiple individual medals for fastest times. Well done everyone!

NDAC (North Devon Athletics Club) are pleased to let everyone know that entries for the Devon Open 3 fixture in Braunton, North Devon on Sunday 7th July are now open on the Roster Platform. Entry fee is £10 which allows juniors to take part in up to 3 events. Closing date is Wednesday 3rd July (12 noon). The link to entries is here: https://meets.rosterathletics.com/…/details/about

Attendance is always on our radar to ensure children have the best opportunity of reaching their potential. For our May attendance newsletter, please click here.

We wish you all a super weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in, attended and organised a hugely enjoyable and family orientated Sports Day. Congratulations to Pacific (red) House for winning Sports Day and winning the House Cup for Spring Term!  We will arrange a non-uniform day and wear red day for them at some point after half term.

Let’s hope the weather holds for the Appledore Pirates and Friends of Appledore School (FOAS) Picnic in the Park on Saturday 1st June! The day includes a BBQ, Bar, Disco, Stalls, Bubbles, Games, Punch & Judy, Balloon Sculpture, choosing our Carnival Queen, Ceilidh, Tombola – the list goes on – and all profits to go to Appledore School. Thank for organising this and for more information please click here

Details of an open evening at Great Torrington School for Year 5 pupils at 5pm on Friday 5th July are available here

Once again we are participating in the NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. Programme the week commencing 3rd June. This programme is for children aged 5-11 and aims to help children understand and recognise what is unsafe and constitutes abuse. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a safe adult or Childline. This child friendly programme is aligned with the curriculum and consists of age appropriate virtual assemblies and supporting classroom based activities to . The content is delivered in an engaging and interactive way with the help of the NSPCC mascot Buddy. If you would like to know more about the Speak out. Stay safe. programme visit www.nspcc.org.uk/speakout.

Atlantic Racquet Centre (ARC), Bideford, is a disability open day to encourage anyone with a disability to come along and trial different sports & activities holding on Sunday 30th. The day will consist of 3 different sessions: 10am-11am – Kids disability session; 11am-12pm – Adults with physical & learning disabilities and 12pm-1pm – Adults with physical disabilities. During the hour you will get to trial Tennis, Badminton, Squash & a Fitness session. To sign up please click here to take you to their website.

Please remember that school and breakfast club is closed tomorrow (Friday) because it is a non-pupil day and next week is half term. We wish you all an enjoyable half term and we look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 3rd June.

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff

(more…)

A huge thank you for your support of me running the Bideford 10k last Sunday. Your generosity raised a staggering £1,080 (+ £240 gift aid)!  This money will fund the equipment and resources for our new Design and Technology curriculum.

The Government publishes helpful; advice regarding infectious diseases that can be found here. There have been a few cases of impetigo, so please see the relevant section on the link if it applies to your child.

If there is something on your mind about family life, help is available from Action for Children in Bideford. For more information please click here

The field is doing well and we continue to be optimistic that Sports Day will go ahead on Tuesday 21st May.  Things can change, as can the running of the day on the day, so please keep an eye out for texts and emails from us about it. Current weather forecast shows dry in the morning and likelihood of rain in the afternoon, so we should at least be able to complete the morning races. Please be aware, and inform other family members attending, the school gate will close at 9.30am, be open 11.45am-12,15pm and reopen again when Sports Day finishes. Anyone arriving when the gate is closed are likely to have a very long wait at our front door and might not get in, because staff will be supervising the children at Sports Day. Please click here for Sports Day information.

ARC (Atlantic Racquet Centre, Bideford) come to school each week during the summer term to teach the children tennis. They are very good and have asked us to publicise their popular Multi-Sport Holiday Camp, operating this coming half term holiday, which is a fun-filled 4-day activity week that’s overflowing with great games, serious skills, terrific teamwork, and continuous competition!  For more information and too book please click here

Wishing you all a happy (and hopefully dry!) weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff

(more…)

Finally, the children got to use the field this week and it has been lovely to see their joy now the wait is over! We will monitor it’s condition and suitability for us to proceed with sports day on Tuesday 21st May, so fingers crossed! Information regarding the day has been emailed to your priority contact and can also be found by clicking here.

The good weather ensured two year group trips to Northam Burrows went ahead this week for environmental and curriculum activities. See Around the Classes section below for more information…

There are still a few places left for the science party at Appledore Baptist Church on Saturday 18th May. For more information, please click here

Provided there is sufficient demand to make it viable, we are hoping to run an afterschool sports and fitness club on a Wednesday. Further information and how to express interest has been sent to your priority contact and is also available by clicking here

Please click here for our latest attendance newsletter.

Apologies that a wrong date was given in last week’s newsletter for the Picnic in the Park. The correct date is 1st June.

And finally, thank you to all of you who have sponsored me for running the Bideford 10k this weekend. The money raised will pay for tools and equipment for our new design and technology curriculum. I’m close to my hoped target of £1000, so any final contributions are very welcome by clicking here.

Wishing you all a super, sunny (hopefully!) weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Sports Day Arrangements 2024

We are looking forward to Sports Day on Tuesday 21st May. These are the plans for the day and please be aware changes may be required before the day or during the day in response to unforeseen circumstances.

School will open at the normal time and parents can take their places on the field once their child has gone into their classroom.

Please be aware, and inform other family members attending, the school gate will close at 9.30am, be open 11.45am-12,15pm and reopen again when Sports Day finishes. Anyone arriving when the gate is closed are likely to have a very long wait at our front door, and perhaps not be able to get in, because staff will be supervising the children at Sports Day.

9.30am -11.30am: races for children in Years 1-6 will take place and parents and carers of children in these year groups are very welcome to attend. Please sit behind the roped off area. After these races all children will then go back to class for a short period of time.

12pm-12.45pm: Parents and carers are invited to stay to picnic with their children from reception and years 1-6 on the field. Children in years 1&2 can be collected from their classrooms, children in Reception from the Foundation Stage Unit and children in years 3-6 will come out to meet their parents.

Please stay on the field and do not enter the wooded area.

Children in Reception and years 1&2 that do not have parents attending will eat a school dinner in the hall as per usual. Children in years 3-6 who do not have parents attending will eat their packed lunch on the playground.

12.45pm: the children are called back to class for the register

1.15pm the activities for all children from Reception to year 6 will start. Children will be placed into house teams and will take part in a number of different activities. You are welcome to move around with your child’s team and support them in their activities.

Please can children in years 1-6 come to school wearing their PE kit. If possible they can wear a t-shirt in the colour of their house instead of their usual white PE shirt. Children in Reception to wear a house colour t-shirt if possible (please see notice board outside FSU for which house/colour) and trainers.

Please ensure your child has a sun hat, named water bottle and applied sunscreen that lasts for the day.

When the afternoon activities have finished (no later than 2.30pm) all children will return to their classroom. Parents and carers can collect their children soon after as per usual arrangements. Older children who normally walk home will not be released from school until the usual end of day time of 3.30pm

Our intention (and hope) is for Sports Day to be held on 21st May. If it is possible on this date, the likely running of the day will be as follows: races for years 1-6 will happen in the morning from 9.30am; parents and carers of children in year 1-6 are invited to picnic on the field with their children 12-1pm and afternoon activities for children from Reception to year 6 will start at 1.15pm. FOAS (friends of Appledore School) will be selling bacon sandwiches, cream teas and other food and drink on the day. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. All of this, of course, is dependent on the weather and the condition of our field. At present, the slightest rain waterlogs the field and currently it is not draining enough for us to be able to use the field. So whilst it might not be raining ate the time, or even recently, the field can be unusable. We will notify you with as much notice as possible should we have to postpone – hopefully we won’t have to – and will look for an alternative date.

Keeping with the sporting theme, my running of the Bideford 10k to raise money for the school looms frighteningly near (Sunday 12th May!) Thank you everybody who has sponsored so far and the money will fund what we need for the improvements we are making to our Design & Technology curriculum. The target is £1000 and we’re nearly there. If you want to support who can do by clicking here 

Devon Country Council has set aside money to support families on low incomes with food and utility costs through a new round of the Household Support Fund, being administered by Early Help. The scheme runs until 30th September 2024. Funds are limited, so when the allocation is used up, they will close for applications. Schools can apply on behalf of the families they are representing  (the Council do not accept applications direct from families) and if you would like more information please email admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk and mark it for the attention of Mrs Liz Philips.

Staff have received safeguarding training on CPV (Children on Parent Violence) and if you want to understand CPV more and how to manage it please click here

Interested in gaining free qualifications that could lead to a job in a school or other settings, such as teaching assistants, midday supervisors and youth workers to name but a few? If so, free courses fully funded by the ESFA (Education Skills Funding Agency) in levels 1, 2 & 3 are available. For more information, please click here

Diary dates:

• Sports Day Tuesday 21st May
• FOAS (Friends of Appledore School & Appledore Pirates) Picnic in the Park 1st June (details to follow)
• Summer Fair Friday 5th July 3.30pm-5pm
• Appledore Carnival 11th August

Don’t forget it’s a bank holiday, so call will be closed on Monday and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Another of the Covid shackles has been cast aside with the resumption of our weekly visits to a local dementia care home and also us receiving visitors each week from Northam Care Trust, both providing such mutual benefit for our children and the residents and clients of these organisations.

For details of a ‘Crazy Science Praise Part’ being held at the Baptist Church at 4pm on Saturday 18th May, please click here for more information.

This week staff have received safeguarding training on County Lines. For more information on this issue that does affect North Devon and involves primary age children, please click here for a parents guide.

Wishing you all a super weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Welcome back and a warm welcome to our new families who have joined us this term and to new staff too. We hope you all had a good Easter break.

For information about the Northam May Fair medieval and Viking fancy dress and hat competition on Saturday 4th May 2024 and an application form please click here and here

Diary Dates:

• Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow

Wishing you all a very happy weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Whilst a short week, it’s been a busy week once again with much to read in Around the Classes later in this post. the term finished with a wonderful performance by our choir.

The Spring Disco last Friday was a success and raised £499.55p. Thank you to FOAS (Friends of Appledore School) for organising and DJing this and for all the children who were impeccably behaved. Message from the committee: If you would like to be involved with FOAS please do contact one of the committee or email friendsofappledoreschool@outlook.com We are also open to suggestions for fundraising so please do let us know if you have any ideas.

Mr Cooper’s training for the Bideford 10k in May to raise money for the school is progressing.  Notice the absence of comment as to how it is progressing! If you were intending to sponsor and haven’t got round to it yet, the link is here. Obviously, there’s no obligation at all to support. Current total including gift aid is just short of £500!

Diary Dates:

• Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow

Have a lovely Easter weekend and break

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Newsflash – Iris has won the Rotary Club district (ie Devon & Cornwall) photography competition and will go through to the national competition. Iris entered our House photography completion and we forwarded it to the Rotary one. Well done Iris and please click here to see her photo.

Thank you to all of you who have supported my daft running idea. If you don’t know what I’m talking about please click here. Obviously, there’s no obligation at all to support it but if you can in any way it’s very much appreciated.

We are soon to install CCTV covering our school entrance and car park and CCTV use requires a policy. The draft policy is available here and if you have any comments on the policy please submit them to us before Thursday 28th March.

Diary Dates:

• Spring Disco Friday 22nd March. 5pm Reception – Y2, Y3-Y6 6.30pm-7.30pm. Tickets £3 and on sale on the door
• Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow

Have a super weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff

(more…)

Fancy watching something a bit different from football? Click here for professional basketball matches in Plymouth during Easter.  But not forgetting football, here and here are details of Easter football activities run at Pilton School by Chivenor Soccer School and here for more local ones run at Kingsley School.  Please click here to book multi-sport and art Easter course for children aged 5-14. These activities are either £15 a day or free if you are on benefit-related free school meals. Use the discount code EASTHAF24 to redeem the course for free. A free hot lunch is also included.

All children have spent time with visitors from RNLI recently learning about water safety and their ‘Water Safety Passport’ is here.

Did you know that if your child’s attendance drops to 90% this equals over 100 missed lessons! For more information please click here for our monthly attendance letter.  Obviously, children get ill from time to time and if they are too unwell to attend school they should stay home, but if you are unsure please call us to help make your decision. Often children ‘pick-up’ as the day progresses and we call if we feel a child is presenting as too unwell. Useful NHS advice is available here

Do you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development with them struggling with talking and understanding words? If so, please click here for advice and and advice line to contact a speech and language therapist.

Diary Dates:

• Spring Disco, Friday 22nd March. 5pm Reception – Y2, Y3-Y6 6.30pm-7.30pm. Tickets £3 and on sale by Friends of Appledore School on the playground after school
• Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow

Have a good weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)

Thank you for making World Book Day such fun and supporting the children with their outfits. Staff had fun too reading stories to different classes.

This week we resumed our weekly visits to care homes following a Covid enforced break. A huge thank you to Charlie, Alice, Tejah, Peyton, Leon and Dasha for being so kind during the visit and making the residents feel so valued and special.

Diary Dates:

• Class photos Tuesday 12th March
• Spring Disco, Friday 22nd March, after school and more details to follow
• Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow

Have a good weekend

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)