News
Newsletter for the week end Friday 15th September
The first full week back is often a tiring one for the children, so hopefully they (and you!) will all have a good night’s sleep. But the prize for the most tired is likely to go to year 6 and their accompanying staff who return from their week long residential trip today. Well done year 6 and thank you to the staff who volunteer to work significantly longer hours during a residential.
Promoting and achieving good attendance habits is vital for children and the NHS has provided a helpful guide if you are unsure if you child is too ill for school. Please click here for the link to information and if you are unsure please call school. Pease be reassured if you do send your child and they turn out to be too unwell or deteriorate we will call you. Please inform us of any changes to your contact details.
Appledore Book Festival is hosting a free family fun day on Saturday 16th September. For more information click here.
There is now a gazebo in the car park for you to leave bags of used and no longer needed clothes.
For information about a Free Kids tennis Party at ARC (Atlantic Racquet Centre), Bideford on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September please click here.
Wishing you all a super weekend and as per usual please read on to find out what has been going on in each class this week.
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins, we have started our new topic ‘It’s about me.’ We talked about who lives in our house, what our house looks like and what happens in each room of our house. Today we invented a new house. We have painted pictures of our houses and made models of them.
In Year 1 this week we have started our story Naughty Bus and thought about all of the naughty things the bus might do in our classroom! We also looked carefully at the story and spotted how the writing would sometimes change to suit the story, then we had a go at writing questions for the bus and learnt to use question marks. In Maths we have carried on with Place Value and had a go at ordering numbers, filling in missing numbers on a number line and counting on from any given number to 10. We also began our topic this week- Why don’t penguins need to fly? We started off with a story about a penguin called Pip and then discussed everything we know about penguins already. Then we thought about where Pip might live and learnt about the continent Antarctica!
Year 2 have had a great second week. In English, they have been reading a book about a toy called Traction Man which they were very excited about. In Maths, they have started looking at 2-digit numbers and have been making the numbers with different equipment such as bead strings and Base 10. In their Science work, they became experts on different habitats and used the Chromebooks to complete some research. On Thursday, it was the first of their weekly sessions in the Art Studio where they were able to draw different fruits and vegetables. They are looking forward to the trip to the Quince Honey Farm next Thursday and don’t forget to order a packed lunch from school if you need one.
It has been a week of tremendous dancing in school. Year 5 nailed the complex choreography for their square set dance in just two lessons, while year 4 managed to “strip the willow” as part of their long set dance. Both dances will be performed as part of our harvest celebration this year for which the child have also been busy learning the songs and writing the readings. Most classes have brought home the words to the songs and any help you can give to the learning of these words would be much appreciated. We will let you know the date and time of the performance as soon as it is confirmed.
Seahunter class (year 3) have had a wonderful week settling into Year 3! To carry on our learning on light and dark in Science, we undertook a very exciting investigation where we tested different materials to see which was the most reflective. In Maths, we have been learning how to count in hundreds and we have explored the place value of the digits in three-digit numbers and have used practical resources to help us. We were very excited to start our new Geography topic where we have started learning about different climates around the world. We recapped our knowledge of the continents and the equator and then we used a variety of maps to locate some of the world’s climates. In our value’s lesson, we thought about the meaning of being ‘responsible’ and discussed some of the different volunteers in our local community who have a variety of responsibilities.
In HMS Echo (year 4) this week, the children have been looking at what sustainability means in Geography, where we looked at some images, such as wind turbines, deforestation, and decided whether it was sustainable or not. In Science, we are beginning to look at the difference between solids, liquids and gases. In PE. we set up an obstacle course on the field and practised our different footwork techniques as part of our coordination and balance unit. In English, we are planning to write our own postcard home using Meerkat Mail to inspire us with our informal writing. In Maths, we are looking at four digit numbers, and how to partition and represent these.
It has been a really busy week in year 5. We know the story of the tear thief really well now and have thought about the different coloured tears that were being stolen and made wanted posters; we have created new characters ready to start writing our own stories next week. We also joined a virtual session with the author SF Said who talked about how he wrote Varjak Paw and Tyger. In maths we are adding 4 and 5 digit numbers together using column addition. Science and art take place on a Wednesday afternoon. Group A had their first art session in the art studio whilst group B tested the properties of different materials in the science lesson. All took part in outdoor learning where they explored natural materials and built on their scientific vocabulary. Swimming sessions started this week and back in school we are learning to play team games; this week it was bench ball. Our geography session looked at the importance of the Silk Road for trade.
Year 6 have overcome many challenges this week as they faced a variety of outdoor activities during their residential trip. They have worked exceptionally well in teams and shown determination to succeed. They enjoyed their free time and making choices which has developed their
