News
Another packed week of learning that has included for the children: basic first aid training for asthma attacks; online reputation and online information sharing; a trip to China; bird’s eye view mapping using Google Earth; nutrition; everyday materials; inspirational historical women; earthquakes; keeping healthy; lino printing; biekability; outdoor learning and much,, much more. Please read on to our Around the Classes section to find out what each class has been up to…
Thank you to all of the pancake poem entrants. A difficult choice, but the judges decided on Amelia for first place, Bonnie second, Amber third and Iris fourth. Winning poem was:
Pancake Love
I love pancakes with syrup
I love pancakes with jam
I love pancakes with sausages
I love pancakes with ham
I love pancakes in the morning
I love pancakes at night
Please give me pancakes,
So I can take a big… BITE!
For more information on football trials for JPL North Devon Regional Talent Centre (working with Exeter City FC)boys and girls from under 7s upwards on 23rd February (boys) and 1st March (girls) please click here and here.
Diary Dates:
- Tuesday 27th February is Kingsley School Senior School open morning. A number of scholarship opportunities are available and for more information please click here
- World Book Day 7th March. Children in Dolphins, Yr1 & Yr2 can come to school dressed in pyjamas ready for a bedtime story. Children in Yrs 3-6 can choose whether they wear pyjamas or come dressed as a character from a book they have read. There will also be a book sale in the Bay on the day. Books will cost 20p and the money will go towards new books.
- Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow
Have a super weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Hi everybody. This is the last newsletter for the half term and amazingly we are now half way through the year! Such a busy week and so much to tell you about – not least a visit to some classes from paramedics teaching children first aid. Please read the full post to find out what has been happening in all the classes.
Resplendent in our new black and yellow kit kindly provided by Appledore Pirates, a team of Year 3&4 girls competed in a North Devon schools football final this week. An immense effort against some very good teams saw then come away from four matches with two losses and a draw. With just a tiny bit of luck in 3 of the games they would have won three of the matches! Appledore Pirates have also very kindly donated money for us to purchase a very large amount of science and outdoor learning equipment.
Mrs Stanbury has worked really hard to secure a grant for £600 to replenish reading books. Please have a good look around at home for any books your child has borrowed and not returned.
Drop off and collection for AOOSC and school is a very busy and congested time around around school and in the school car park. This can have knock-on effects and I ask that your are considerate, patient and act appropriately with each other and staff to eliminate conflict and stress and to ensure safety for all. The safety of children is paramount and children should not be witness to any rudeness or inappropriate and potentially unsafe actions. We are considering installing CCTV cameras covering the carpark to increase security (and to deter fly tipping in our bins which costs the school money!) and if you have any questions or comments please let us know at admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk
Despite one or two bugs still doing the rounds, attendance as a school is bearing up and comparing favourably with published comparisons. Low school attendance is a recognised national and international concern and thank you for all you are doing getting your children to school. Please click here for information on attendance in January here at Appledore School and here for a letter from UK Health Security Agency South West regarding winter illnesses.
After half term we return to our Healthy value in our curriculum. Further to our email communication this week regarding our Healthy Value next half term, please click here to find out more. This value includes sex education and other aspects relating to growing up and keeping safe. This programme of learning is made up of lessons carefully sequenced and introduced to ensure a progression of learning that meets the DfE statutory requirements. Well done Emmy for winning our Values Cup for our whole school half term theme of being Positive.
With a holiday upon us and the potential for clashes with your children regarding screen time, this BBC bitesize article might be of help. Access it here.
Please continue to keep you eyes open for communication from us into your inbox about parent evenings coming up.
Diary Dates:
- Monday 19th February 5-6pm Libraries Limited Show and Tell at The Beaver Inn run in partnership with Appledore Library Click here for more information
- Tuesday 27th February is Kingsley School Senior School open morning. A number of scholarship opportunities are available and for more information please click here
- World Book Day 7th March. Children in Yr1 & Yr2 can come to school dressed in pyjamas ready for a bedtime story. Children in Yrs 3-6 can choose whether they wear pyjamas or come dressed as a character from a book they have read. There will also be a book sale in the Bay on the day. Books will cost 20p and the money will go towards new books.
- Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow
Wishing you all a super half term
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
A busy week inside and outside classrooms. Please read on to find out much of what has been happening…
Children from Year 3 and 4 competed in a tennis tournament at ARC. Everyone showed great sportsmanship, had lots of fun and huge congratulations to the Year 3 team who won the tournament!
Please keep you eyes open for communication from us into your inbox about parent evenings coming up.
Diary Dates:
- Tuesday 27th February is Kingsley School Senior School open morning. A number of scholarship opportunities are available and for more information please click here
- Sports Day Tuesday 21st May – more details to follow
Wishing you all a happy weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Our wonderfully creative House Captains have come up with a new house competition: pancake poem writing! All poems to the office by Thursday 8th February. For more information, please click here.
Well done to our pupils who danced at the Queen’s Theatre as part of Sarah Anne Westcott Dance Studio! And well done also to our Year 5 girls football team who competed so well and had such fun in a recent tournament. The match stats they would like to share is that for every game they scored in they didn’t lose!
Do you want to know more about autism, including coping strategies and tip on how to support? If so, please click here for information regarding free webinars.
Wishing you all a super weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Well that was a cold week! Thank you for making every effort to get your children to school this week. Despite the challenging circumstances due to the weather attendance was good and learning continued as usual. Please read the section Around the Classes to find our what has been happening in your child’s class this week.
Despite the weather outdoor learning has continued, thank you Sarah, and we now have some spaces in Eco Rangers on a Tuesday. If you are interested, please contact admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk
High wind is forecast for Monday morning, so as a precaution we will not open the Pitt Lane entrance at drop off time in the morning.
Diary Date:
- Bideford Library is celebrating National Storytelling Week with a day of stories on Thursday 1st Feb, including a professional storyteller at the library for all ages over 5 years for free.
We wish you all a very happy weekend
Have a good weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
It has been a busy week once again and teachers noticed how refreshed and ready to learn children have been this week.
At last, a week without ‘wet play’ and children can go outside for every breaktime and lunchtime! With this and the cold weather in mind, please ensure children do come to school with proper clothing (eg coats and jumpers). It is cold and some children are wearing a base layer instead of a jumper. Please ensure this is in addition to a jumper and not as a replacement. Thank you.
Diary Date:
- Bideford Library is celebrating National Storytelling Week with a day of stories on Thursday 1st Feb, including a professional storyteller at the library for all ages over 5 years for free.
We wish you all a very happy weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
Welcome back and a very happy New Year to you all. We hope you had an enjoyable Christmas.
Thank you for respecting our neighbours by parking on the main road and only driving on the privately owned Kingsley Avenue when dropping off or collecting from breakfast and after school club. Please remember, we have parking permits for you for Oden Road car park, only a short walk from the school, available upon request.
This week we welcome new staff Kathy and Clive who will support the children at lunchtime. They have been made to feel very welcome by the children.
Despite being a shorter week back, it has been a very busy week. Please read on to find out what has been going on in and around all the classes this week.
Wishing you all a peaceful weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
It’s the last week of term and a busy one too!
In recognition for taking action for Devon Wildlife (such as our site eco rangers work, out eco ambassadors’ work and our outdoors curriculum) we have been awarded the Devon Community of the Year 2023 School Award by Devon local Nature Partnership. Well done everybody!
This week as the turn of years 1&2 and years 3-6 to put on Christmas celebrations for you. They were tremendous and were skilfully rehearsed by the staff and thank you to those of you who came along to see.
Please be mindful of our neighbours when parking near the school and that Kingsley Avenue is a private road not to be parked on. Entering Kingsley Avenue by parents in a car should only be when dropping at or collecting from after school club. Otherwise, cars using Kingsley Avenue can be quite a safety hazard for the children.
We have a vacancy for a cleaner for two hours a day after school during term time. If you are interested or know someone who might be, please contact admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk and more details can be found by clicking here. Please share this vacancy on any social media you use. Thank you.
For those of you who like data, the DfE has recently published their school performance league tables. Seen as controversial by some, these have now returned following a pause due to Covid. We were ranked 420th out of 22,102 schools and the third highest local authority school in Devon.
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday 2nd January.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
If you thought you could delay the start of Christmas until the children break up next Friday, please think again! This week our Christmas nativity performances started (thank you Turtles and Dolphins) and our main corridor is decked out with Christmas hoops made by each class and the excitement is certainly building. Next week brings Christmas dinner day for the children and please see below for the dates of our remaining Christmas performances.
Sadly, due to weather safety concerns relating to gazebos and stalls, our Christmas Fair scheduled for this afternoon will not go ahead.
The house captains are organising a Christmas cookie competition for Reception- Year 6 to enter. All cookies will need to be handed in to the office by the morning of Friday 15th December ready to be judged by the lucky judges, Mr Cooper, Mrs Stephens and Mrs Wilkins. The cookies should have a Christmas theme and please remember we are a nut free school. The prizes will be house points which could be the deciding factor for which house wins the house cup this term!
Thank you to everyone who turned out on a bitter night to take their child to the Methodist church for the carol service. We feel it is so important to support events like this and do so for as many external events as possible. Their efforts were very much appreciated by the organizers and there were many compliments about their singing. It was particularly lovely to see the children enjoying the experience so much and appreciating the other musical numbers with such enthusiasm. The choir will be singing for the Appledore Pirates next week so thanks in advance for this. Keep up the hard work choir, as you go from strength to strength, and thank you Miss Carr for making all of this happen!
This week, our year 5&6 children participated in an online safety workshop. Also this week, staff safeguarding training has covered suicide ideation. Very worryingly, this and other forms of self harm are now present in primary school age children and our awareness is important. For a parents guide to increase awareness and for advice please click here or here. As highlighted in the media, the internet is an influencer of self harming thought and some seemingly harmless games or apps can have a darker side. Blue Whale is an one example and information about it from Devon CC can be found here.
A few diary dates:
- St Mary’s Church, Appledore, Christingle Service December 10th at 4pm
- Year 1&2 nativity Monday 11th December 2pm and Tuesday 12th December 9.30am, school hall. Due to limited space, please attend only the one performance
- Pupils can wear Christmas jumpers the day of their Christmas meal 14th December for Year 5 and 13th December for all other years
- Christmas service for years 3-6 Friday 15th December, 2pm, St Mary’s church.
Wishing you all a super weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff (more…)
A very full week of learning, trips, more rehearsals and our Christmas hoops are springing up on our main corridor – more to follow… Please come and take a look! Please read around the classes section of this post to find out what has been happening in and around all the classes this week.
Please be aware Christmas Jumpers can be worn by children on Christmas Dinner day (14th for year 5, 13th of December for everyone else).
With Devon CC waste schools education programme we have completed a whole school waste audit and the results are very encouraging.
- 5.16 kg mass of waste our school sends to landfill in one day
25 g mass of waste the school sends to EfW/landfill per pupil per day
14.99 kg mass of organic waste per day
82 % of the school’s waste IS BEING recycled or composted (this is very high for a school!)
Our Eco Ambassador pupils have an action plan so we can be even better!
Contrary to what some people may believe (or remember!), the last few weeks of term are important and not solely films and purposeless activities. At the end of term, sequenced programmes of study are concluded and vital assessments are conducted to enable staff to know exactly what needs addressing right at the start of the next term. First week back is equally important, because that is when new programmes of study begin and missing the start of a teaching sequence immediately disadvantages the children. Of course there will be Christmas celebrations and other festive fun whilst essential teaching and learning is underway, so please ensure your child’s attendance is good over this festive period.
A few diary dates:
- Christmas fair 3.30-5pm, Friday 8th December, bottom playground
- St Mary’s Church, Appledore, Christingle Service December 10th at 4pm
- Turtles & Dolphins nativity 5th December 2.30pm and 5,15pm start, school hall. Children to school 4.45pm for second performance please
- Year 1&2 nativity 11th December 2pm and 12th December 9.30am, school hall. Due to limited space, please attend only the one performance
- Pupils can wear Christmas jumpers the day of their Christmas meal 14th December for Year 5 and 13th December all other years
- Christmas service for years 3-6 Friday 15th December, 2pm, St Mary’s church.
Wishing you all a super weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
Rehearsals for all the Christmas celebrations are now in full swing and can be heard throughout the school! Please see below for the dates and timings for each on.
Staff safeguarding this week has been on the topic of sexting which. Not only does sexting start early, studies have found that it is also fairly common. As early as 8 years old, more than one in 10 children with smartphones will become exposed to sexting and this number rises rapidly by the time they are 13.To understand more about the risks children face, please click here for a parent’s guide.
Please remember to vote for our science resources fundraising project with your blue tokens at Tesco in Bideford and Westward Ho!
Click here for a short story competition with prizes organised by Bideford Library.
A few diary dates:
- Click here for a meet Santa invite at Holy Trinity Church on 25th November
- St Mary’s Church, Appledore, Christingle Service December 10th at 4pm
- Christmas fair 3.30-5pm, Friday 8th December, bottom playground
- Turtles & Dolphins nativity 5th December 2.30pm and 5,15pm start, school hall. Children to school 4.45pm for second performance please
- Year 1&2 nativity 11th December 2pm and 12th December 9.30am, school hall. Due to limited space, please attend only the one performance.
- Christmas service for years 3-6 Friday 15th December, 2pm, St Mary’s church.
Wishing you all a super weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
A day of spots and stripes in support of Children in Need and so far we have raised £330. £168 of the total was for the Pudsey raffle and congratulations to the winner! Thank you for all your contributions to this worthy cause.
The Children’s Commissioner for England has a statutory duty to protect and promote the views and interests of children. The Big Ambition survey provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell political decision makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election. The commissioner will be sharing their responses with Government to ensure that children’s voices are heard. To access this survey, please click here and children can either complete it themselves or with help from an adult.
Thank you for responding to the survey regarding demand for hot meals in Key Stage 2 (years 3-6). Provision for hot meals for Key Stage 2 is not feasible due to the low demand. We will survey again later in the year to see if the situation has changed.
Please remember to vote for our science resources fundraising project with your blue tokens at Tesco in Bideford and Westward Ho!
A few diary dates:
- Click here for a meet Santa invite at Holy Trinity Church on 25th November
- Christmas fair 3.30-5pm, Friday 8th December, bottom playground
- Christmas service for years 3-6 Friday 15th December, 2pm, St Mary’s church.
Wishing you all a super weekend.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
Devon HAF course are available to book online for Wonford Sports Centre, West Croft Primary School and Mount Kelly Tavistock. Information available here.
Don’t forget, if you are on benefit-related FREE school meals then please use the discount code XMASHAF23 to redeem the course funded and FREE!
Following the Rotary Club theme of ‘rebuilding’ our top three competition winners are as follows below. Their photos will now be sent to the Rotary Club to be entered in a wider competition.
First place is Iris, second place is Ethan and third place is Evie. Well done!
