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About Mr Applegate

Posts by Mr Applegate:

Year 6 – Supporting Mason’s Extreme Haircut!

After 2 years of growing his hair, Mason is finally ready for his extreme hair cut. Once he has had it cut, his lovely long locks will be donated to the Little Princess Trust, who will turn it into a wig for a child who has lost their hair to cancer. 

 

 
 
We are all so proud of you for your commitment to this, Mason! Good luck! 
 
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Year 6 Team and everyone at St Mark’s! 

Year 3 – Stonehenge Trip

The children in Year 3 have been working extremely hard and are showing so many of our school learning behaviours through their learning. In history, we have been loving our learning about The Stone Age – we have been learning about what life was like. 

We are looking forward to our school trip to Stonehenge on Friday! We have been watching the weather forecast very carefully and hope for a dry day. We ask that your children dress appropriately for the day. We will be mostly outside so please ensure all children have a rain coat. There is very limited shelter so providing things below is extremely important. 

Clothing
School jumpers and polo shirts
School trousers or plain dark leggings for girls 
Trainers (That may get muddy!)
Waterproof warm coat with a hood
Optional – waterproof trousers (weather dependent)

Lunch
A small back pack with lunch in this (bear in mind they will be carrying this with them all day)
Water bottle

NO spending money is required – sadly we will not have time to go into the shop on site. 

Any questions, please email year3@stmarksce.org.uk 

We have just started our new class reader, ‘The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley’. Our first class reader was ‘Anisha the Accidental Detective by Serena Patel.’ The children thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you are looking for a new read, we highly recommend the other books in this series: 

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend, 
Year 3 Team 

Year 2 Mini Trip Fun!

 

 

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As part of our ‘Beauty Inside and Out’ project this half term, geography has been a key focus for us.  We have been looking at our school grounds and the Danebury Road area immediately out the front of the school.  Next week, we will be going for a walk around the Hatch Warren area to look at what human and physical features we can identify and develop the children’s fieldwork skills.  The children will be out exploring for no longer than one hour.  Please keep an eye on the weather forecast for the day and ensure your children has a warm or waterproof coat, as is necessary.

As this is a local walk, we do not require further consent as this is covered under the original consent forms that you have already signed.  If you have any questions about these walks, please do speak to your class teacher.  The walks will take place on the following dates:

 

2BT- Tuesday 12th October 2021

2B- Tuesday 12th October 2021

2R- Wednesday 13th October 2021

 

2R will have PE as usual on Wednesday afternoon but should come in wearing normal school uniform rather than their PE kit. 

We are really looking forward to discovering the beauty outside of our school and will share our learning with you about our Geography, and other aspects of our curriculum, next week. 

Have a lovely weekend! 😊 

 

 

8th October Newsletter – Parents’ Evening, FOSM, Harvest and more!

A note from Mr Applegate

blankIt was great to share in our worship this week about diversity and opportunity. Mrs Long, our IT Technician, shared about her career in IT and how she enjoys using technology to help others, and her experience of leading teams of developers. Mrs Long has made a huge difference to our school too, and we are rightly preparing our children for the world they will live and work in. We want our child to see that everyone can make a difference, everyone has opportunity, and that everyone can achieve! Race, gender, religion, ethnicity etc  – there are no barriers!

Our children continue to work very hard, and their presentation and pride is impressive. Have a look at our latest Year 5 post for an example.

I’m pleased to say that our covid cases have dropped right down across the school. We are likely to be back to year group bubbles soon! Cases numbers in Basingstoke are still higher than national, so we will continue to be cautious. Please remember to let us know the results of any PCR tests even if negative. It’s tricky if a child has had a test, comes back to school, but we don’t have confirmation of a negative result. Thank you.

We’re pleased to celebrate and think about Harvest this week. Whilst we won’t take in food donations, we would ask you to consider giving online to Basingstoke Foodbank if you are able.

Deadlines for next week (by 15th October)!

  • Pumpkin trail order form
  • Christmas Candle Order
  • Y6 Bikeability Form

Don’t forget to book a parents’ evening slot too!

Have a great weekend, Mr Applegate :)

FOSM Pumpkin Trail

blankThe Friends of St Mark’s (FOSM) PTA will be running a pumpkin trail. This will take place in Hatch Warren and Beggarwood between Saturday 23rd – Sunday 31st October for you to complete at your own pace. All correct entries will be entered into a draw to win this cute cuddly pumpkin and a £25 Smyths Toys voucher.

Remember to sign up online at https://www.stmarksprimary.net/pumpkintrail

Once we have received all monies and completed registration forms, your map and question sheet will be sent to you at the email address provided. Happy finding!

 

Harvest!

We’ll be celebrating Harvest on the week begining 11th October! Rev Nicola Such will be helping us learn about the festival, and where our food comes from.

As usual, we’ll be supporting Foodbank. If you are able, we’d love you to donate online here. Why not do this with your child so that they learn more about helping others? You can also donate in person here.

Missed our Key Messages Meetings?

Find the slides here!

Hire our facilities!

We’re opening up again, so why not hire our hall, field or facilities for a birthday party, fitness class or training event? Click here to find out more.

Dates for your diaries

Parents’ Evenings will be a 10 minute slot, online. Further details will follow, but dates/times are: 

  • Monday 18th Oct, 4-6:30pm
  • Tuesday 2nd Nov 3:40-5:50pm
  • Thursday 4th Nov 4-6pm

FOSM Advent Candles

This year the Friends of St Mark’s are selling Advent Candles to raise much needed funds for the school. A limited number are available, so these will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

If you would like to place anblank order, please complete the Google form, a confirmation will  be emailed to you. We will then send an envelope home with your child for you to return with your payment. The candles are  £3.50 each or 3 for £10.

Order forms must be completed by 15th October and payment must be returned to school by Friday 22nd October.

The order form is available here.

 
 
 

School Payments

Just a reminder that we remain a cashless school.

Please pay for Breakfast Club, school dinners, trips and any other items via your ScoPay account. Thank you

Flu Vaccines

The School Nursing Team will be here on Wednesday 17th November to administer the Flu Vaccine for all children Year R-Year 6.

Consent forms will be sent home shortly.

Bits and Pieces

  • Remember, the gates close at 8:50am. If you child arrives after this, it is marked as late in the register.
  • Year 6 only – complete this Bikeability form by 15th October

St Mark’s Heroes – Can you make the difference?

blankOur children need your help! They would massively benefit from an hour, an afternoon, or whatever you can give to help them during school hours. Our St Mark’s Heroes scheme aims to gather as much support as possible to help our children with their learning. It could involve reading with a child, supporting a small group, or generally helping in class. It could be helping out at lunchtimes. It’s also great experience if you’re looking to get more involved in schools. We’ll provide the training! There would be a simple application form to complete, a chat with Mr Applegate, and a free DBS check to complete. Click here to register your interest, and to find out more. Thank you for thinking about this – and for thinking of the difference you could make!

 

Star Learners

Well done to:

  • Year R: Noor, Olivia, Amelia

  • Year 1: Holly, Logan, Oliver

  • Year 2: Alex, Riaz, Joey

  • Year 3: Edward, Aaron, Angelina

  • Year 4: Theo M, Alfie, Marianna

  • Year 5 : Alfie, Anaya, James-Dean, Mikey

  • Year 6: Madison S, Issac, Sophia E

Rock Stars 

Best Effort of the Week:
 
Year 6 – Sophia E, Sophia M, Erica
Year 5 – Matthew, Sophie G, Isla, Elsie, Leighton
Year 4 – Olivia N, Elouise, Elizabeth, George H, Eleanor
Year 3 – Jack K, Annabelle, Thea
 

Numbots best effort:

  • Year1: Reeva, Prannav, Harrison
  • Year 2: Liliana, Amaya, Tina

Bug Club Awards:

  • Year 1: Eva B, Olivia, Prannav
  • Year 2: Dylan, Maya, Lily
  • Year 3: Grace, Isabelle Ru, Zac C
  • Year 4: Seth, Abigail, Renee
  • Year 5: Amelia W, Bethany W, Trinity
  • Year 6: Craig, Parker, Ethan

Year R Tours for September 2022

Are you thinking about your child joining us in September 2022? Come and find out more about us at our online and onsite sessions!

Zoom Information Session:

  • No need to book! Both Zooms are the same.
  • Nov 15th Year R Info Zoom – 6pm Link here

Onsite Tours:

  • Please register here.
  • Please also attend the Zoom Information Session above!
  • Oct 12th Year R Tour – 6-7pm
  • Nov 9th Year R Tour 5-6pm
  • Dec 2nd Year R Tour 5-6pm
  • Come along to the main entrance and we’ll direct you.

🎵 Music of the Week 🎵

As part of our children’s education, we’re keen for children to hear a wider variety of music. This week’s choice is below! Relax and enjoy!

Foodbank help

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FOSM – Support Our School!

About FOSM

blankThe ‘Friends of St Mark’s’ (FOSM) was formed early in the life of the school. All parents are automatically members and our committee organises social events for children and adults and fund-raising events such as Key Stage discos, Easter Egg Hunts and Summer Fun days.

Over the last few years the ‘Friends’ have donated money that has contributed towards extra resources to benefit the children at St. Mark’s which has included playground equipment, books for the school library, and general school funds. We are now a registered charity, too. Charity number: 1188879

Join our Facebook group here.blank

Regular Notices

Latest Posts

Year 5 – Learning Update 1

What an incredible start to the Autumn Term – Connections in Space! The children have truly immersed themselves in all aspects of our learning so far and have completed some excellent pieces of work.

Just in case you weren’t able to attend the Year 5 Information Evening last week, we just wanted to remind you about our upcoming school trip on Thursday 21st October. Please ensure permission slips are completed if you have not done so already. On the day of the trip, we will be departing school at 9am so would like all Year 5 children in school at 8.30am please. We will be back by the end of the school day. Children must wear their school uniform and bring a packed lunch and drink with them, plus a coat too. The children are allowed to wear trainers for the trip if they wish.

Maths

Starting with place value, the children began by learning about numbers up to one million. The children had lots of different experiences looking at the value of different digits in these numbers, they practised rounding to the nearest 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 and also explored negative numbers and Roman Numerals. It was a jam packed three weeks! The children have now moved onto securing their knowledge of addition and subtraction methods. Here are a couple of examples of brilliant learning.

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English

‘One Small Step’ was our first unit in English. It was a video about a young girl, who dreamed of being an astronaut, and faced many challenges and setbacks before finally achieving her dream. The work that the children produced was emotive, descriptive and really technical too – we are really proud of how the children are securing their knowledge of the different writing lenses. Below, you can see an example of a sentence stacking lesson where we wrote a section of the story together as a class – this is called a plot point. You can also see an example of a finished story which has been written, edited and published by a child in the year group. Isn’t it amazing? 

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Next, we are moving on to writing non-chronological reports about animals found on the mythical moon of Pandora. The children have already spent time learning about this enchanting place and have started writing a non-chronological report about a Hammerhead Titanothere in their sentence stacking lessons to practise using lots of technical and scientific language. Here is an example of a mind-mapping piece of work alongside a sentence stacking lesson focussed on one waypoint. We can’t wait to see the children’s final independent pieces of work!

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Art

What a creative half term it has been so far! The children have been completing some beautiful artwork in their sketchbooks and you can see some examples below. From experimenting with different hues of grey using paint, to using different charcoal pencil techniques to sketch images of the moon, to learning about and replicating the work of Peter Thorpe – their work has been so imaginative! The children also had the opportunity to replicate some of Peter Thorpe’s artwork outside using chalks – brilliant fun! 

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Swimming

Year 5 swimming has also been booked in for later in the year as the children weren’t able to complete this in Year 4. The dates are listed below for your reference but more information will be sent out nearer the time.

·         Monday 13th June

·         Wednesday 15th June

·         Monday 20th June

·         Wednesday 22nd June

·         Monday 27th June

·         Wednesday 29th June

·         Monday 4th July

·         Wednesday 6th July

As always, thank you for your on-going support. The start to Year 5 has been exceptional, your children are wonderful and we are really excited to see the adventures still to come!

The Year 5 Team 

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