Newsletter
Issue 31 | 28 February 2025
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"An optimist is the human personification of Spring"
Susan J Bissonette
Dear Parent/Carer
And just like that, we are back, and I am sure I did see some sunshine, brighter mornings and just perhaps the first signs of spring this week! With spring comes a renewed sense of energy and enthusiasm as our Year 11 head into their final stretch before their GCSE’s. Next week our Year 10’s will be completing their RS mock and have a day dedicated to their work experience preparations, Year 9’s will begin to receive some taster sessions for their GCSE Options and year 7 and 8 have a whole host of opportunities linked to World Book Day. Remember along the way to believe in yourself, respect yourself and others and show that extra determination which will ensure you succeed.
With very best wishes
Clare
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Engineering
The Year 10 Engineering students have started one of the coursework elements of their qualification. This accounts for 33% of the total award. They are required to work very precisely using hand tools and manually operated machinery to independently make a product. This requires interpreting an engineering drawing provided by the exam board.
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Geography
Geographers have been busy this first week back! We have been exploring a range of topics across the curriculum with students studying Global actions on protecting rainforests, UK Food Consumption, Soil types, Asia investigations, River Studies and Map Skills. What a plethora of learning and showcases the wide range of topics, skills and awesome geography we cover here at Applemore.
#LearnItLoveItLoveIt
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We would like to inform you that our school is a nut-aware environment, as we have several students with severe nut allergies. These allergies can be triggered not only by ingestion but also by touch or even airborne exposure.
To ensure the health and safety of all students, we kindly request that no foods containing nuts are brought onto the school premises. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated in helping us maintain a safe environment for everyone. Thank you for your understanding and support.
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Year 8 Computing
It's been assessment week in computing for all our KS3 classes in computing, and my goodness the students have responded brilliantly! All classes sat their End of Unit Assessments, coupled with submitting their 'Showcase' pieces which demonstrated the skills, knowledge and understanding from their respective computing projects.
Year 8s were tasked with showing what they had learnt in the last 6-weeks or so, by producing a vector graphic of their choice - here are a selection of the best efforts...
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U16 Basketball
Tough opponent this week, Ringwood. Arriving with five players against their squad of 10. We knew we would be up against it from tip-off. After the 1st quarter, we were winning 13-12. 2nd quarter, Ben became invincible by increasing our lead to 25-18. 3rd quarter, fatigue started to show, with the score line now 27-25. The final quarter, was difficult as our five against their ten started to show the importance of substitutes. The final score was 32-32.
It was then agreed we would take it to two minutes halves of overtime (OT). Excellent demonstrations of defending from both teams made the score line 32-32. OT again, after 44 minutes of basketball, we still had to play until there was a winner. A strong layup from Ringwood put them up by two. Giving us 18 seconds to score. Unfortunately, we ran out of energy and couldn't make our last shot. Final score 34 - 32.
Although we lost, we cannot praise the team enough. Competing against a much larger school and one of their players currently representing U15s England Basketball. MVP = Ben!
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Year 10 Football
This week we played against Hounsdown school. After a sluggish start, we found ourselves losing 2-1 at Half time. After some changes and positive team talk between the students, they came out with determination and managed to equalise within 2-minutes of the second half. This momentum continued until full time and we won 6-3. A lot of noticeable performances from individual's but this week's Player of the Match was Caelum. Next week we're playing away to Noadswood.
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Well done to the following students for their superb homework this week!
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Arty News
Returning from a half term break is always challenging. Setting an alarm and getting back into routines, but this week has been made much easier by seeing the amazing art being produced by all years at Applemore. A highlight has been seeing Mr Kemp bring out his 'arty side' by teaching the year 10 photographers how to make clay sculptures in response to Barbara Hepworth's work. The sculptures look great and will be photographed to make them look like they are part of a sculpture park. Well done to the year 10's and to Mr 'Great Pottery Throwdown' Kemp!
Year 7's have been completing their Aboriginal animals. Look out for a special feature in next week's newsletter. When finished, they were asked to evaluate their work, and one student, in particular, stood out. They wrote: "After doing this project, I've really started to appreciate how wonderful and relaxing art can be. When doing my Spinosaurus, I got to thinking about a career in art, and it turns out that I have Mr Wheatley to thank". This is so lovely to hear, and I'm so pleased that they enjoyed the project and are now thinking of taking their art further.
Thank you, as always to the students and staff for continuing to make Art and Photography such an awesome part of the school.
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World Book Day
A reminder that this year, we're celebrating World Book Day on Wednesday March 5th, ensuring all Applemore students can participate in the festivities. We've planned a variety of exciting activities for students to enjoy throughout the day, both in lessons and during recreation time. While we won't be requiring costumes this year, there will be numerous competitions and events to celebrate this cherished day within the Applemore community. Further details will be shared on ClassCharts.
A selection of £1 books will be available for purchase on the day. Today, all students were issued with their World Book Day tokens which they can redeem on the day.
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Other Notices
Books: Please can students return any overdue library books to the LRC.
Arts & Crafts: Badge Making with Mr Wheatley and Ms Charrett (lunchtime, 5th March, in the LRC).
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Future Fridays - NHS
This morning, we were visited by ex student Millie, now a Quality Assurance Chemotherapy Managing Technician, working in the NHS. This was a fantastic opportunity for our current students to meet a past student of Applemore and find out about the pathway Millie took to get her into the position she is today.
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Military Visit
This week we had a wonderful fun packed lesson with the Military and our Year 7 and 8 service children. The success of this session now means we are delighted to be delivering this support monthly.
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Mock Interview Day 2025
Next Tuesday we have our Year 10 Mock Interviews. This will be a full day packed with resources, preparation and then a 20-minute interview with a professional in a trade. The day culminates with an assembly with speakers from Seta (Southampton Engineering Training Association) and Brockenhurst college. The best interviewee with receive a certificate for their outstanding interview at the end of the day - good luck to all our students!
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Other Notices
Upcoming Careers Trips: The following trips are due to take place in the coming weeks:
- Yr.10 Southampton University (Life Skills & Apprenticeships) = Monday 3rd March
- Yr.10 Brockenhurst College (British Science Week) = Monday 10th March
Brockenhurst College Interviews: Date confirmed now! The College will be coming in 17th - 21st March.
For more information about our Careers Guidance, click the button below.
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Resourced Provision Update
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You will know that Hampshire are currently reviewing Resourced Provision to ensure that there is the right provision for the needs of all children across the County. You may also know that the number of pupils requiring SpLD Resourced Provision has been reducing over time, due to their needs being well met through high quality inclusive teaching in Secondary schools and through specific interventions and programmes. As a result, at Applemore, as you may have seen from the information around our site and on our website (sorry that we did not signal this to you) that we are looking to reduce the number of SpLD places to 12 and excitingly look to open a second Resourced Provision for ASC (autism spectrum condition) where the need for the transition from Primary schools is greater. We also believe that the additional funding, staffing and resources we receive for the autism provision, will support pupils throughout the school. There will be a consultation period for this second provision where we will ensure you have the chance to comment on our proposal. Please expect to receive further information about this later in March.
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For a full and up-to-date list of our enrichment programme & activities, click the image below to visit our website enrichment page.
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If there are two things that are popular nowadays, it’s Marvel and video games. Marvel Rivals is a new release combining these two into one, letting players take on the role of various superheroes and villains in a competitive multiplayer shooter. At the time of writing, the title has proven immensely successful: with the developer, NetEase, reports that as many as 40 million people are playing the game – many of whom will be children, owing to the game’s PEGI 12 age rating.
While most of Marvel’s content has been family-friendly (and this game has been deemed suitable for children as young as 12), this title does still present numerous potential risks to children and young people. This week’s offering for parents and educators from the experts, provides advice on the potential pitfalls of Marvel Rivals and how to protect its younger players.
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For all the latest events coming up, visit our calendar
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