News
Newsletter for the week ending Friday 29th November
Our House Captains have organised a photo competition with Christmas and/or winter being the theme. All entries to admin@appledoreprimary.co.uk by Monday 9th December please. Please see here for the super poster created by ‘advertising director’ Joe.
Last Friday, the key stage 2 choir performed at The Music Memory Cafe at Bideford Football Ground. It was a joyous and festive occasion with the children singing a programme of some of the most beautiful songs from our productions over the last few years. The organizer described the event as “emotionally nourishing” for the people with dementia and the children were also enriched by the experience. They were enthusiastic, polite and cheerful. As well as singing our songs we joined in with rounds with the attendees of the cafe and the children helped draw the raffle. Well done to all those who took part and thank you Miss Carr for teaching the choir sop well and making this happen.
Devon County Council have grouped together information on how to get support if you don’t have enough money to live on which can be found here
Diary dates:
- For details of Bideford Parade on Sunday 1st December and the switching on of the lights please see here, here, here and here!
- Year 1&2 Christmas performance, 2.30pm Monday 9th December and 9.30am Tuesday 10th December, school hall
- Turtles and Dolphins Christmas play, 2pm, Tuesday 10th December, school hall
- Christmas Lunch at school 11th December
- Wear your Christmas jumper to school days are 11th December and 20th December
- For nursery age children and younger, please see here for info about a Christmas grotto at Bideford Family Hub
- Year 3-6 Christmas Service, 2pm, Friday 20th December, St Mary’s Church
- Christmas fair, after school, Friday 13th December in the car park
- For details of Christmas activity camps at West Croft School, Bideford, over the Christmas holiday please see here
Have a lovely weekend everybody
From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff
AROUND THE CLASSES
This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have continued to learn about Diwali. We have read the story again and acted it out. We have also compared to Diwali to Christmas and we found out that everyone celebrates festivals with fireworks. We have also started to practice our Christmas play and learn our songs. Today we visited the library in the village to change our books.
In year 1 this week we read ‘The 3 Little Pigs’ which will be our text focus in writing. We have read a few versions of the traditional tale to compare them. The children have enjoyed joining in to tell the story, especially being the big bad wolf. During computing this week we used a painting app to create our own versions of ‘The Snail’ by Henri Matisse. The children learnt to use different tools to create shapes and to fill in with different colours. In PE we worked on improving our core strength by learning how to do a seated balance, challenging ourselves by lifting our hands and feet off the ground.
Year 2 have learned all the songs for their Christmas play are now acting it out on the stage. They can’t wait to show you! Thank you for all the support with learning the lines. This week they have also made and painted clay Christmas decorations for the hoops in the corridor. In English, they have written brilliant stories based on Augustus and his smile. In Maths, they have been looking at 2D shapes: naming them, sorting them and looking at lines of symmetry. In their History work they have found out about Amy Johnson and why her solo flight to Australia was so incredible.
Seahunter class (year 3) have had a great week! In Maths, we learnt how to use arrays to solve multiplication questions and we used sharing and grouping to answer division questions. In English, we planned and then wrote our own newspaper articles to report on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. We challenged ourselves to use adverbial phrases and powerful adjectives and verbs to make our newspaper articles exciting to read. In History, we recapped what life was like in the Old and Middle Stone Ages, and then we compared this with how life changed in the New Stone Age. In Science, we tested the permeability of different rocks by placing them in water and watching for bubbles. We found out that sedimentary rocks are the most permeable. In Computing, we created our own branching databases, and we used yes/no questions to group the objects. In PE, we have been focusing on our jumping and landing skills. In pairs, we played follow the leader where the follower tried to copy the route and jumps of the leader over the stepping stones.
In Year 4 this week, the children have begun writing ‘A Walk around a Roman Villa’ in the style of our book A Walk in London. The children did a practise write last week where they wrote ‘A Walk around Appledore’ so they’re looking forward to applying what they have learnt to their own piece of writing, especially linking to the Romans. In Maths, we have looked at multiples of 11 and 12, and the children practised using their known facts of the 10 times table to help them. In History, the children drew a storyboard of Boudica’s rebellion. They also took part in some outdoor learning where they built Hadrian’s Wall!
It’s been a busy week in year 5. We have been really getting into the swing of things with the Christmas production; lines and songs are learnt, costumes arriving in the classroom and the salsa dance in progress. Next week we will be performing in the Appledore Community Hall at 2:15pm. A dress rehearsal will take place on the Wednesday so please could all jumpers/costumes be in ready. For our writing we have created a monster and hero for a new story and in maths we have been looking at equivalent fractions. We have been learning about our local history and finding out more about Hubba the Dane and the battle at Bloody Corner. Thank you to Mr Terry Bailey for coming into school to tell us more about the Hubba stone. We developed out line drawing skills in art, creating images of mackerel and painting a brusho/salt background. Our outdoor learning was using our mapping skills. On Friday 6th, year 5 will be performing our Christmas show at the Community hall in Appledore. This is an opportunity to be involved with our local community as part of the light switch on celebrations. It will be a smaller production than the one we will be presenting at St. Mary’s church on 20th December and for this reason should not be seen as an alternative to coming to the church on the last day of term. It is however, an opportunity to see it would if you cannot make it on the 20th. On both days the show will start at 2.00 pm. Just to restate, only year 5 perform on 6th!
Year 6 have completed their diary entries for Literacy and have now moved on to find out about Harry Clement, an evacuee in World War II, in order to write a biography. In Maths, it’s all about fractions: simplifying and finding equivalent fractions as well as placing them on a numberline. In Science, they have discovered all about blood and in History they have been putting evidence together to evaluate why Britain won The Battle of Britain. To keep with our war theme, and thinking about ‘make do and mend’, the Christmas decorations for the hoop this year involved using just paper to make Christmas trees. Next week children will be at a multi-skills festival on Tuesday: please remember to come to school in PE kit with clothes to change into afterwards.
