News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 20th January
Please be aware that on the days scheduled by teacher unions for strike action (1st February and 2nd, 15th and 16th March) school will be open for business as per usual with all the usual staff.
Devon County Council have offered advice on how to stay safe during very cold weather that can be found here.
Thank you Friends of Appledore School (rebranded and reformed PTA) for funding a travelling theatre visit on the 2nd of February from the proceeds of the disco and Christmas Fair, performing to the lower school and upper school two different performances.
Please click on ‘more’ to find out what has been happening in and around the classes.
Wishing you all a peaceful weekend
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins (Nursery and Reception) we have started our new topic ‘Around the World.’ On Tuesday we had great fun flying to China to do some sightseeing and taste some Chinese Food. We have started celebrating Chinese New Year. We have read the story and made lanterns and dragons. Today we had the company ‘West End in Schools’ working with us. They showed us how to dance the Chinese New Year story.
In Sea Lions (Year 1) this week we have been thinking more about the changes Florence Nightingale made to improve hospitals. We have focused on cleanliness and how important it is to wash your hands, especially before eating. To show the importance we have started an experiment! We had 3 pieces of bread, one piece we didn’t touch at all, one we touched with our dirty hands and one we only touched with clean hands. We then made predictions and discussed what we think might happen. We have been checking on the bread everyday and so far only the bread we touched with dirty hands has started to grow mould! We’re excited to see what will happen over the weekend. In Maths we have carried on looking at teen numbers and have become much more confident using a number line to 20.
This week Lundy Puffins (Year 2) have been reading more of their dinosaur book ‘Creatures Features’ and looking at the way it is written and trying to use some of these features in their own writing. In Maths, they have been learning about money and finding change. Remember that there are games on Google Classroom that you can use at home to practise. Some children have said that they have been playing with money at home which is great for coin recognition. They have started their new topic: Has the world always had everyday heroes? They learnt about Grace Darling and are keen to find out more next week.
Year 3 listened to two versions of the story of Noah and the Ark. They compared the version in the story teller bible to the one in the actual bible and then found ways to dramatically retell the story using their skills in drama. Year 4 researched the five pillars of Islam and the presented their research for the floor book. Year 5 compared their ideas about the qualities of a divine being with how God is described by three sources from the bible. Year 6 looked at different versions of Genesis and decided what genre they were and how this affects the way people interpret them. In music, both year 4 and year 6 began some whole class ensemble teaching of the recorder and year 3 created their own symbols for a graphic score. In French, year 3 learnt the days of the week in French while other year groups began to understand phrases which describe the weather.
Year 3 have had a wonderful week! We thoroughly enjoyed our second swimming session and so many of the children have gained so much confidence in the water already. In Maths, we have been challenging ourselves with multiplication and division questions and we explored the relationship between the multiples of 2, 4, and 8. In History, we used primary and secondary sources to research some of Marie Curie’s main achievements. We learned that she was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. In Science, we learned all about vertebrates and invertebrates and then we took part in some very exciting outdoor learning. We looked at the skeletons of different animals in an ‘x-ray machine’ and then we went on a bug hunt to find bugs and decide whether they were vertebrates or invertebrates. In English, we have been very busy researching and planning biographies of a variety of famous women which we will start writing next week.
This week in HMS Echo (Year 4), the children have been multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100 in Maths, as well as learning formal methods of multiplication and division for more complex calculations. In English, we have been practising our fantasy language by describing a fantasy picture, including adding expanded noun phrases and fronted adverbials to make our writing more descriptive and interesting. Some have been using figurative language, such as similes and alliteration, to make it even more high level. In PE, we have been working on balance in both Sport and Gymnastics. In History, we have been learning about World War One and why food was rationed. In Science, we have been looking at parts of the body which are involved in digestion.
Year 5 Despite the cold weather the first group doing their Level 1 and 2 Bikeability training have successfully completed their course. Well done, the instructors were impressed by your positivity, stamina and resilience to the weather elements. You will be getting your badges and certificates very soon. The next group will be doing their training in a couple of weeks time. In class we have completed our diary writing, based on living at the time of the great plague and continued with our multiplication skills; multiplying 2-digit numbers with a 3-digit number. We have been learning more about the plague and how people at the time tried various cures; the exploding buboes experiment was fun. We say goodbye and good luck to Thali and hope she quickly settles into her new school.
A very busy week for Year 6. We have continued our learning in Maths with Ratio and Proportion, concluding with a short assessment. Literacy is proving to be a great success, with our ‘debating’ skills and the use of formal language. Please read our Star Writers piece, soon to be put on the wall outside Mr Cooper’s office; a well balanced argument about McDonalds. The pupils are now beginning to practise old past SATs papers, so that they can get used to them and we can help them with any concerns they may have. So far they are doing well and appear to enjoy them! More outdoor learning this week, Map work and orienteering, plus detailed planning for the school pond. Lastly, we say goodbye to Miski who is leaving us for warmer weather in Australia. We wish her the best of luck.
