A lovely week that included a magical crow and scarecrow celebration of harvest in St Mary’s church, a trip to the Eden Project and some top 3 finishes (in races with well over 150 runners) at a local cross country event. Next week entails more trips out and about, including year 5 on their residential trip and year 2 to Rosemoor. Please read the Around the Classes section later in this post to find out what has been happening this week.

Most importantly, according to our Year 6 House Captains, there is a cake sale next Friday after school on the bottom playground. Please click here to see the poster made by our (newly appointed) cake sales Director of Marketing and Coms. Cake donation to the school office on Friday 25th please. Thank you.

Dates for the diary:

• Turtles and Dolphins Harvest Festival, 2.45pm Tuesday 22nd October in the school hall
• Years 1&2 harvest festival, 2.30pm Friday 25th October, school hall
• Messy play for children (and siblings of) with SEND, 1.30-2.30pm 30th October, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford
• Two Rivers Forest School Halloween stay and play in the woods 31st October  – see here
• Stories and Fun, 10am-11am Saturday 1st November, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford
• Sport, drama and music scholarship application for year 7 entry into West Buckland School deadline 6th November – see here 
• Halloween Disco, Dolphins-Year 2 5-6pm, Year 3-6 6.30-7.30pm, Friday 8th November, school hall. Tickets on sale in the playground after school on Friday
• School photos 15th of November. If you want a photo to include siblings who don’t attend Appledore School these photos will be taken 8-9am.
• Year 3-6 Christmas Service, afternoon of Friday 20th December, St Mary’s Church (time to be confirmed)
• Christmas fair, after school, Friday 13th December in the car park

Have a lovely weekend everybody

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

Harvest festival rehearsals are fully underway. Please see below for the details. Each year we collect donations of ‘harvest’ that we donate to Harbour ‘hope for homeless’ charity. If you want to make a donation, please hand it in to our school office from Monday 21st October

Do you know anyone who might be interested in the following school vacancies? For more information see here 

School cleaner, term time only, 2 hours per day (3.30-5.30pm or could be later start if required), Monday to Friday. £11.59 per hour (pay increase pending) and to start asap

Meal Time Assistant and Kitchen Assistant, 2 hours per day (12pm-1pm supporting children on the playground and 1pm-2pm clearing the kitchen), Monday to Friday. £11.59 per hour (pay increase pending) and to start Monday 4th November or as soon as possible thereafter.

Flu vaccinations will take place in school on the 4th of November for children in Dolphins/Reception to Year 6. If you haven’t already, please complete the form available here, even if you do not want your child to take part. Our school code is DV113125

Dates for the diary:

• Years 3-6 Harvest Festival, 2.15pm, Wednesday 16th October at St Mary’s Church
• Turtles and Dolphins Harvest Festival, 2.45pm Tuesday 22nd October in the school hall
• Years 1&2 harvest festival, 2.30pm Friday 25th October, school hall
• Messy play for children (and siblings of) with SEND, 1.30-2.30pm 30th October, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford
• Two Rivers Forest School Halloween stay and play in the woods 31st October  – see here
• Stories and Fun, 10am-11am Saturday 1st November, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford
• Halloween Disco, Dolphins-Year 2 5-6pm, Year 3-6 6.30-7.30pm, Friday 8th November, school hall. Tickets on sale in the playground after school on Friday
• School photos 15th of November. If you want a photo to include siblings who don’t attend Appledore School these photos will be taken 8-9am.
• Year 3-6 Christmas Service, afternoon of Friday 20th December, St Mary’s Church (time to be confirmed)
• Christmas fair, after school, Friday 13th December in the car park

Have a lovely weekend everybody

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

The school calendar is filling up, so please take a look at the dates below for various school events.

Some really good attendance percentages this week that can be seen here.

Dates for the diary:

• Messy play for children (and siblings of) with SEND, 1.30-2.30pm 30th October, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford.
• Stories and Fun, 10am-11am Saturday 1st November, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford
• Years 3-6 Harvest Festival, 2.15pm, Wednesday 16th October at St Mary’s Church
• Turtles and Dolphins Harvest Festival, 2.45pm Tuesday 22nd October in the school hall
• Halloween Disco, time to be confirmed, Friday 8th November, school hall
• Year 3-6 Christmas Service, afternoon of Friday 20th December, St Mary’s Church (time to be confirmed)
• Christmas fair, after school, Friday 13th December in the car park

Have a lovely weekend everybody

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

A busy week dodging the rain with lots going on, as reported in Around the Classes below, including book festival author visits, so please read on… 

FOAS (Friends of Appledore School, ie our Parents Association) is holding their annual general meeting this evening at 7pm in our Art Studio. The art studio is the building at ethe bottom, of our front playground. everybody is welcome. 

Please click here for an overview of what your children will be learning each term this year. 

Clarification regarding the 48 hours absence rule regarding diarrhoea and vomiting.
A change in bowel pattern in young children that has resulted in liquid or semi-liquid stools within a 24 hours period necessitates 48 hours absence from school after symptoms have stopped and provided your child is well enough to return. Vomiting on more than one occasion during 24 hours necessitates the same period of absence. If your child is unsure and you are unsure what to do, please call the school when your child is ill for guidance. If your child is able to attend school following such a call, please be reassured that we will keep an eye on your child and if we become aware of further diarrhoea, vomiting or other related symptoms we will notify you for collection of your child.

Dates for the diary:

• Stories and Fun, 10am-11am Saturday 1st November, Bideford Family Centre, Victoria Park, Bideford
• Years 3-6 Harvest Festival, 2.15pm, Wednesday 16th October at St Mary’s Church
• Year 3-6 Christmas Service, afternoon of Friday 20th December, St Mary’s Church (time to be confirmed)

Have a lovely weekend everybody

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

It’s always good to get the minibus on the road, because it means the children are busy enjoy extra curricular activities and this week has seen a tag rugby festival and tennis at ARC, Bideford, with Judy Murray.

Secondary school open days are coming up for year 7 entry are approaching. Typically aimed at pupils currently in Years 5 & 6, please click on the school name for a link to the details and check whether it applies to current Year 5 and/or Year 6 pupils.  For current year 6 pupils Atlantic Academy, Bideford College, Great Torrington School, Kingsley School, Park Community School, Pilton Community College and West Buckland School.

Next Wednesday (25th September) a free community cricket programme starts for children aged 8 years+ ate starting at 6.45pm at Pilton Community College. For more information please see here and here.

Dates for the diary:

• Years 3-6 Harvest Festival, 2.15pm, Wednesday 16th October at St Mary’s Church

Have a great weekend everybody

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff

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The end of the first full week back and the children look like they are ready for the weekend – hopefully you will all get a lie in as a result!

Success at the Appledore Carnival with 1st place for the Junior Float. Thank you and well done everybody involved.

Please click here to view the notification letter regarding the pedestrian crossing that is being installed on Richmond Road. Work is planned to begin on 9th October with a planned duration of four weeks.

Starting at the end of September, and once a month, the North Devon Cross Country league holds a race for both children and adults at a beautiful locations . The children’s races are for u9 and u11 and prove very popular and for more information see here .If your child does participate and wants to do so wearing a school running vest, please let us know and they can borrow one for the season.

For parents and carers of children with additional needs, drop-in mornings are scheduled to meet and socialise with others in similar situations once a month on a Friday morning. For more information, please see here.

Dates for the diary:

• Years 3-6 Harvest Festival, 2.15pm, Wednesday 16th October at St Mary’s Church
• Book Festival Free Family Fun Day, Saturday 14th September, 10.30am-3pm see here for more information

Have a super weekend and see you all on Monday.

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

Welcome back everybody and we hope you had a good summer. A shorter than usual first week and the children have returned full of enthusiasm and ready to go.

We are running after school clubs (Lego – Tuesday, multi-sports – Wednesday, football- Thursday and eco – Friday) during the week in addition to our usual before and after school club (AOOSC) and you should have received an email earlier this week with a letter with more details. There are few spaces in some of the clubs and please contact the office if you are interested. If you didn’t receive the email, here is the letter and please confirm with us that we have your correct contact details.

For any girls in Year 6 interested in rugby, Barnstaple Rugby Club is looking for new players. Just turn up at 6.30pm on a Friday ate Barnstaple Rugby Club. More information here

Our term dates for this academic year and the next are available here.

As part of our art curriculum the children have the opportunity to work towards an art award. Mrs Bannister, our art subject leader, has written a piece about this that was recently published. You can read her article here.

Instilling good attendance habits is very important to ensure children don’t miss a step of their sequenced lessons. Of course children get ill and please only keep them off school if they are unable to come to school. If you are unsure, please call us and be reassured that if we see that your child is unwell and we believe unfit for school we will contact you. For our latest attendance newsletter please see here

Wishing you all a good weekend and see you on Monday

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

The end of another packed year draws to a close and wish all the very best for children and families leaving us this year and ask that they stay in touch. It has been a fun year with so much achieved, so please do read the Around the Classes section one last time for this year to see what has been happening during our last week of term.

A big thank you to FOAS (Friends of Appledore School) for organising last week’s summer fair and other fundraising activities throughout the year. If you are able to volunteer to help the small band of parents who make up FOAS next year, please email admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk and we will pass your details onto them.

Next year, we will be offering the following clubs after school and for more detailed information please click here:

• Tuesday: Lego club – for years 1 to 4 – 3.30pm to 4.30pm – cost £5
  Wednesday: Sports club – for years 3 to 5 – 3.30pm to 5pm – cost £6.25
  Thursday: Football club – for years 2 to 4 – 3.30pm to 4.30pm – cost £5
  Friday: Eco Rangers – for years 1 to 6 – 3.30pm to 5pm – cost £6.25

Holiday events and activities for children:

• For free family events with the Northam Burrows Rangers please see here
• For Torridge Family Hub summer 2024 timetable of activities see here
• For summer rugby camps for all abilities please click here
• For summer tennis camps in Bideford please click here
• For cricket summer clubs in Westward Ho! please click here
• For summer football camps please click here
• Aimed primarily (although not exclusively) at our Year 6 pupils leaving for Bideford College and Atlantic academy is a summer reading challenge. For more info please see here

Wishing you all a great summer holiday and we look forward to seeing you again in September (but if you are in Year 6, please stay in touch!)

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff

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Winding down for summer holidays – no chance!  Please read Around the Classes to see what has been going on in (and outside) the classes that includes trips to Lundy, Appledore Library (including a visit to Hockings ice cream van) and an way football fixture and pond dipping, tennis and talent show and much more back at school.

If England win on Sunday it’s wear red and white for the day on Monday.

And well done to Indian House (yellow) for winning the House Cup for the summer term! So on Thursday, Indian House (yellow) and Pacific (red) can wear their house colours for the day. Pacific won it last term, but didn’t have their day!

For summer rugby camps for all abilities please click here,     For summer tennis camps in Bideford please click here and for cricket summer clubs in Westward Ho! please click here

For children in Years 1-6 their school report is in their Google Drive. If there is anything in the report you would like to discuss with their class teacher please contact the school office to make an appointment.

Wishing you all a good weekend – come on England!

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

A week that is included: Year 6 play – it was very good; talent show auditions; Greek mythology; two football matches against other schools; exploring an ancient Egyptian tomb; members of the choir once again on the road performing; musical workshops at Bridwell  Park and an online safety workshop for upper key stage two are a few examples of the breadth of enriching activities that happen in any given week.

As part of Devon’s work on Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) Devon CC would like to invite parents/carers to co-produce the section of the framework which outlines expectations for Working in Partnership with Parents. They are holding a parent workshop on Tuesday 9th July 9.30-11am at Roundswell Community Primary School open for all parents who have children in any primary or secondary setting to attend. For more information please click here and here.

Matters relating to penalty notices for unauthorised absence have changed and that information can be found here.

Working with Exeter City FC, North Devon Regional Talent Centre are looking for Year 3 Footballers! If you would like to come along for a free coaching session and trial please register here

Wishing you all a good weekend

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

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

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