Hello Everyone,

We have been learning the story; ‘Field Trip to the Moon’ by John Hare, this week during our English lessons. We therefore went on a pretend trip to the moon in a space ship. Wearing our space suits and helmets, we travelled through space together, and when we landed, we explored the moon, recording our findings and observations about what we could see, feel, smell and hear. Next week, we will be writing a recount about what happened. 

In maths, we have been playing games and solving problems around the concept of doubles and near doubles. We have been practicing recalling doubles facts and then using them to find near doubles. We have used a range of ways to represent our understanding visually, and enjoyed drawing number lines and hunting for doubles in the outside area. 

During RE this week, we learnt about stories that have meanings to Christians, Jewish people and Muslims. This week we thought about the story of Jesus calming the storm. We discussed the concept of faith, and made a zig zag book to retell the story.

We continued our learning about the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy this week, during our art lessons. We collected our own natural materials outside, and used pictures and video clips of the artist’s work, to help us to create our own sculptures in a similar style. Our creations were both unique and impressive. Well done everyone!

In Penhallow, we already enjoy reading in a range of different ways. We listen to stories read out loud every day. We read individually, in groups and using ebooks. We enjoy choosing our own books from the library, and many of us choose to read during choosing time in quiet places in the classroom, such as our reading tent. In order to encourage our love of reading even further, we are also sending home each week, a book to read with some hot chocolate, some cookies and a teddy. A different person will take this home every week, so please enjoy your special reading time, whenever you happen to be given these goodies.

Have a lovely weekend!

From the Penhallow team.

Another week has flown by in Landaviddy class. We have continued our enquiry 'What is Light?' in Science, by learning about how the sun can be dangerous and discussing what we can do to protect ourselves from the sun. In Computing, we explored touch typing and the different elements found on a keyboard. We had a great music lesson too, where we were able to use the Ukulele's. 

In English this week we have been focused on developing our use of tier 2 and 3 vocabulary when explaining. We worked together to create a glossary of tier 3 vocabulary, specific to the honey making process. Today, we completed our plans for writing our own explanation texts, which we will write next week! We can't wait! 

In Maths, Year 2 have been exploring money this week by recognising pence and pounds, and had practise choosing coins to make amounts. Year 3 have been continuing to develop their multiplication and division knowledge by exploring multiples of 10 and beginning to multiply 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers.

Congratulations to Theo, Lowen J and Oliver for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week.

We hope you have a brilliant weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton

In assembly on Tuesday we watched video of the Oars of Thunder completing their 3000 mile row across the Atlantic. In recognition of their success in this amazing challenge, the children would like to have a MUFTI day next Thursday, 30th January to raise money for the team’s chosen charity, the RNLI. The theme for the day, which has been chosen by the School Council, is ‘Wear something blue or to do with the sea’. In return for wearing no uniform, a minimum donation of £1 would be welcome.

Congratulations to our cross-country team who ran brilliantly in last week’s race at Cotehele. Many of them ran a personal best, including Flora who came a fantastic second in her race. The team were all extremely supportive of each other and their behaviour was exemplary. We are very proud of them all.

Well done also to our football team who played their first league football match on Monday against Brunel. Although the final score was 2-0 to Brunel, they played really well as a team and the result didn’t quite reflect how well they played. The next match is at home against Bishop Cornish School on 3rd February.

Our Planet Protectors have been busy improving school’s recycling by arranging for each class to have a blue recycling bin (kindly funded by FOPS). The Planet Protectors meet every Tuesday lunchtime and are encouraging the rest of the school to know what they can and cannot recycle.

Information regarding Fundamentals Dance Classes run by Former Polperro School pupil Hayley Bentley is attached to this blog. Classes are on Mondays, 4:30pm - 5:30pm for young people ages 4-10 at Lanreath Village Hall. A physical & creative outlet for young people to learn new dance techniques and embrace freedom of expression! First class is FREE and then the classes are 'pay as you go' £6 per session. 

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Back to School for a Bed Time Story!

What an exciting week it's been! The highlight of the week has been our Tregantle bedtime story. On Thursday the EYFS children were invited back to school in the evening all ready for bed! The children and teachers came dressed in their pyjamas and slippers ready to snuggle down for a story. There were many teddies who also came along to hear the stories. Not only did we listen to some great stories, but also were lucky to have a hot chocolate and biscuit treat! This has been another great way to foster a love of reading in our youngest children. 

Another week has gone by and we are well into our enquiry for this half term, 'What Natural Resources Do I Depend On?' We have been looking into different types of trusses - the framework for supporting bridges - and have been making our own out of art straws. We have been creating Warren, Pratt and Lattice structures.

MATHS
We have been nailing long and grid method multiplication (Y5s) and scale factors and problems involving ratio (Y6). Imogen has really got the hang of long multiplication and her presentation is absolutely amazing. Well Done!

ENGLISH
We are looking into free verse poetry and have been learning how to write similes and metaphors for effect. Harry, WOW!  The glistening sun is a lion's mane, sparking the sky with a glow of warmth. The mountain peak is a missile: white as a dove, lighting up the sky with thick, opaque smoke.

COMPUTING
We have been investigating pixels in computing, recognising how bit patterns represent images as pixels. The children created an image on squared paper and then recreated it on Excel spreadsheet. They have done an amazing job.

Congratulations to Aria (99), Verity (Bronze) and Dom (33) for achieving their next badges in their 99 Club and to Harrison and Nuala for being Chaipel's People of the Week for demonstrating our school values.

POLITE REMINDER
Our trip to the Tamar Learning Centre is on Friday, so could you please make sure that any permission slips are back in school on Monday. It is just for the morning so lunchtime will be as normal. 

I've attached this half term's Homework Grid, KIRFS and Knowledge Web.

That's all from me, so have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday.

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary and Miss Hodge.

What a wonderful way to end the week, with our Year 4 Stay and Learn; thank you to everyone who was able to make it. The children certainly had a wonderful time being Division Detectives with you.

Next Thursday at 9am, we look forward to welcoming parents/carers from Year 5 to join their child’s year group assembly. Should the car park become busy, parents/carers of Year 5 can use the staff car park in the morning.

Please see below for some other announcements/important information.

Have a great weekend.
Chris Wathern


Reception and Year 2 Trip to Eden
Thank you for signing your children up for this trip. We do ask that the total balance is paid by Monday 3rd February. Unfortunately, should we not receive enough funds for the trip, we may have to cancel.



Coffee Morning & Maths Workshop – Monday 27th January 08:30-09:15
There is still time to sign up! Mr O’Dwyer will be hosting an informal maths workshop and coffee morning after drop off next Monday 27th January. During the workshop, he will be sharing some information about what maths looks like at WPA and the approach we take to ensure pupils develop 'KIRFs' (Key Instant Recall Facts). You will also have the chance to have a go at resources such as Times Table Rockstars to aid with home learning. We look forward to seeing you there, even if you can’t stay for the whole session.

Staying Safe Online
At the end of March, Mrs Orme and I are hosting a coffee morning about staying safe online. We will be sharing various materials and giving parents the opportunity to ask any questions and share tips they have to support our children staying safe online. Tuesday 11th February also marks Safer Internet Day, but we realise that helping our children stay safe online is a year-wide issue. For instance, only this week, we were made aware of a WhatsApp group used by some Year 6 children across a wide range of Wadebridge (and beyond) schools. We made our Year 6 parents aware about this group and followed up with the children as part of our PSHE curriculum.

On our website, under Staying Safe, click on Parent Downloads and scroll down to 'Documents' to access some resources which you may find useful in helping our young people keeping safe online. 

Fire Drill
To ensure we all know what to do should there be a reason to evacuate the building, we practice this each term. Last term, we let everyone know when the alarm would sound. Next week, we will be doing an unannounced drill, but letting the children know that it will be happening at some point during the week. Later in the term, we will be practicing our Lockdown arrangements and will let you know when this has taken place.

RHS Gardening Awards
We are delighted to have received our Level 1 Award for gardening. Mrs O'Dwyer and the children across the school have been working hard to prepare our gardening area and polytunnel. They have planted seeds which you can see growing ready to harvest as the year progresses.

Welcome to Mrs Jo Andrews
Next week, we look forward to welcoming Jo to the Nursery team. Jo was recently successful in securing the Teaching Assistant position and brings with her lots of experience working with our youngest children.

House Points
Congratulations to this week’s winners, Choughs. Overall, Swans maintain the lead, but there’s only 50 points between 1st and 2nd:

Swans – 4381
Choughs – 4331
Cormorants – 3870
Puffins – 3791

With our upcoming House events planned this term, anything can happen to the leaderboard.

Dates coming up over the next two weeks   

Monday 27th January 08:45
Coffee Morning & Maths Workshop with Luke O’Dwyer

Thursday 30th January
09:00 Year 5 Assembly

Friday 31st January
Space Odyssey workshop for Y5 and Y6 February

Monday 3rd February
Children’s Mental Health Week
House Event launch
14:00-16:00 KS2 Netball Skills Festival

Wednesday 5th February
Year 1 Shackleton & Seaside Visitor

Thursday 6th February
Reception and Year 2 Trip to Eden Project
Year 3/4 Trust Dodgeball Competition at Callywith College (6 children per school)

Friday 7th February
08:45-09:45 Year 6 Stay & Learn

TALLAND CLASS BLOG 24.1.25

Another fabulous week in Talland class. The children have been great and we've had lots of fun!

Here's a brief run down of our week:

Maths
Year 4 have successfully completed their unit on AREA. Next week they are moving onto LENGTH and PERIMETER.
Year 5 have continued to work on fractions. This week we've investigated equivalent fractions, improper fractions and mixed number fractions.

English
We have been exploring explanation texts, finding the features and thinking about key vocabulary that can be used. Talland have done a fantastic job of up levelling sentences to make them sound scientific and interesting.

Music
The children have been learning the 'C' cord and have tried to maintain a rhythm whilst performing together.

PE
In dance, Talland have been creating a routine in their groups and in tennis, we have been learning how to use a forehand and a backhand.

Geography
We had a look at different biomes around the world and found out that the UK's main biome is a temperate one. Why not quiz your child to see if they remember what it is... Maybe, go and explore one? If you do, be sure to take some pictures and send them in!

Art
We created a mood board about print screen art. We found inspiration from some images we found and thought about what is needed to make our own print screen successful. 

CONGRATULATIONS 
A huge well done to Jamie for being nominated as our mathematician of the week, Skye for writer of the week and Grace for reader of the week. Also, great work from our 99 clubbers (Jamie, Joey, Arnie and Everly), who managed to successfully complete their 99 club. Last but not least, and gaining his hattrick this week, well done to Jamie (again) for being celebrated as our person of the week for his excellent enthusiasm towards work and his curiosity during our writing sessions.

That's all from us this week. We hope you have an amazing weekend and look forward to seeing you bright and breezy on Monday.

Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop and Miss. Colton.

P.S In coming trip alert...
  

  

Spring 1

English

'My fine fellow...you see but you do not observe,'' replied Sherlock.

We have entered into a mystery. Mrs Pengelly's golden stapler has gone missing. To solve this hideous crime the great Sherlock Holmes has been sent for. Pupils have learnt how to structure a mystery story - littering it with clues: real and red herrings. Pupils have focused on their rules of speech as well as fronted adverbials. When learning the story pupils used their inference skills to make assumptions based upon the facts within the writing. After pupils learnt the story we innovated it by changing the crime and the setting. Taking inspiration from recent local events pupils decided to write their story using Reverend Robin as a character and the local church as a setting.

Maths

Years 3 and 4 have started this term by learning about division techniques. year 3 started with partitioning and the application of their times tables facts. Year 4 have been using formal written methods (bus stop method). This key piece of learning is foundational to a strong mathematician. Year 5 have started the term with multiplying fractions. They have taken this in their stride and are all pushing for the mastery level in this area. Year 6 have continued their learning with ratio and angles. The pace of learning is fast but they are more than up for the challenge.

Topic

What have the Romans ever done for us? We are looking at the legacy of the Roman empire. Did you know the Romans invented concrete. We have looked the the buildings, engineering and academic influence of the ancient Romans. Pupils have looked at the role of empires in history and compared the achievements of the Romans to the Vikings. Who do you think would prevail in a battle? 

Spring 1

Switch Club

Switch club -the brain child of one of our pupils- has launched! It has proved to be our most popular club with 20 pupils attending from Year 1 - Year 6. Children have enjoyed sharing their passion for all things Nintendo with each other. On the big screen we have been racing in Mario Kart with the next generation of Karters showing fantastic skills. 

Skateboarding Club

We are excited to offer pupils from year 2-6 the opportunity to join an afterschool skateboarding club. The club will be run by TR7 Skateboarding and their professional coaches - all equipment will be provided. We have arranged a 6 week block of skateboarding lessons on Thursday afternoons 4pm-5pm starting on 27th Feb. With the option to stay for another hour to practise skills. The club will be held at TR7 skateboarding in: UNIT 1 Station Approach, Victoria, OFFICES PL26 8LG. This is an inside skateboarding park so weather can’t disrupt the sessions. Teachers and staff can offer a lift to the TR7 site and will supervise (maybe even join in) the session from 4-5pm.

Topic

The Nessa topic this term is the Ancient Romans. Pupils have been attempting to replicate Roman marching tactics. We don't quite have the efficiency and discipline of the Roman army but give us time! We have studied the Roman invasion of Britain as well as the legacy left behind when the Romans retreated. 

This week we have been talking about how we keep warm in winter. The children came up with some great answers such as wearing appropriate clothing such as coats, scarves, gloves and hats and it was suggested by some of the children that we should all have hot chocolate for snack to warm up after been outside to play!
We made vegetable soup on Thursday where the children practiced chopping and cutting with the knives before cooking it all up and letting them take it home.
They have been practicing pencil control on the writing table and have been getting creative by making snowmen with warm scarves and collaged welly boots.

At story time we have been reading "William's Winter Wish" and in phonics we have been talking about going to the dentist. The children have been naming and rembering different sounds in a game of sound bingo, clapping the syllables in words and exploring how our mouths move when looking in the mirrors.

In maths, we have been recognising and forming numbers on the chalk and white boards and learning about different shapes and making arrangments.

Have a good weekend

The Nursery Team

Friday 25th January

This week has included the special visit from The Royal Cornwall Showground. They spoke to the children about lots of interesting farm facts and where our food comes from and then the children were able to join in with fantastic activities, they loved exploring and learning.

In English the children have been drawing a labelling parts of a penguin. The children have been using their initial sound and phonics knowledge and it has been amazing to see their progress.

In maths we have been exploring 1 less and the composition of 5. The children really are progressing so well.

In phonics we have learnt the digraphs sh/th( unvoiced like moth) th( voiced like ‘feather’ and ng/.

The children are really growing and progressing, and we are so proud of all they achieve.

Have a wonderful weekend

The Foundation Team 

This week in Religious Education (RE), the children have been exploring the culture and beliefs of Muslims. They had the opportunity to learn about the Arabic language and its significance in the Muslim world. The students also studied the work of the renowned Muslim artist Ali Caligraff, discovering how he uses calligraphy and art to express his faith. This helped broaden the children's understanding of Islamic art and culture.

In Mathematics, the children focused on plotting numbers on a number line, specifically ranging from 10 to 20. They practiced identifying the position of numbers on the line and explored how numbers increase and decrease. 

In English, the class have been researching dolphins. The children gathered information and created a list of interesting facts, writing bullet points to summarise their findings. 

In Design and Technology (DT), the children have been working on developing their own pouch designs. They have explored different materials and considered what would be best for creating a functional and stylish pouch. The child have been putting their creativity to the test as they plan and sketch their ideas.

In Music, the class is learning a vibrant song about rainbows. The children have been practicing the melody and lyrics, enjoying the cheerful tune. Additionally, in their singing assembly, the children have been introduced to Cornish songs, allowing them to experience and appreciate a different regional musical tradition.

Finally, in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the children have been learning how to format text, including making fonts bold and italic. This skill will help them when creating presentations and documents in the future, giving them a better understanding of how to present information clearly and effectively.

It's been a week full of learning, creativity, and fun across a variety of subjects!

This week, we have started to write our Hansel and Gretel stories; I have been flabbergasted by the wonderful use of vocabulary and punctuation. We are up to the part where they have been invited into the cheese house by the yeti. Next week will finish writing and we will find out how Hansel and Gretel will escape the yeti's evil clutches. Look at the fantastic handwriting!

In maths, we have been finding out about ratio and scale factors. The children have been learning new vocbaulary, such as, proportion and dimensions.

In PE, the children have been creating partner sequences in gymnastics. They had to include a jump and a roll along with partner balances - some of them in unison and some of them in cannon. I was proud of their wonderful teamwork and collaboration. 

In PSHE, we were thinking about our strengths and weaknesses. We decided that most of our weaknesses could also be positive depending on how you look at them. For example, being a perfectionist shows that you like attention to detail. 

Have a relaxing weekend!

Miss Burton

What a brilliant week it has been at Team Brunel. To keep up to date with the latest news, events and achievements from our incredible school, please enjoy browsing through 'The Brunel Bulletin.'

It’s been another great week at Darite! As you know, last Tuesday we welcomed an Ofsted inspection to Darite. It was a great opportunity to show the two inspectors what Darite is all about and how much of a special place it is to learn and work. I am delighted to be able to share their findings today as we have received their final report. I know many of you were keen to find out how school performed. As you may be aware, OFSTED no longer give overall effectiveness grades on schools who were graded “Good” before September 2024. We were graded “Good” in November 2019 and so OFSTED give these schools a judgement based on the actions that they have taken to maintain these standards. I am delighted to say that Darite has “Taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection”. We are so proud of the children, staff and parents who all contribute to making school so special and the children were amazing on the day – they were able to talk confidently with the inspectors and explain why Darite is so good. The final report is on our school website here and will be published on the OFSTED website by the end of next week. I wanted to draw your attention to some of the comments that the inspectors made in the report: “Darite Primary is a community-centred, warm and friendly school. Pupils form positive relationships with staff. This helps them to feel happy and safe. Children in the early years are confident and enjoy their time in school. Pupils conduct themselves well in lessons and around the school. The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievements. Pupils meet these and are successful in their learning.” “The school encourages pupils to share their views about school life… Pupils are passionate about the community and helping others. … many took part in a ‘reindeer run’ to raise money for charity. After being inspired by a visit focusing on recycling, pupils successfully requested the donation of litter picking devices to the school. Pupils also support the local food bank.” “In lessons, pupils focus well on their learning. They are keen to do well. Pupils respond quickly when staff remind them of the school’s high expectations of behaviour. Children in the early years thoughtfully plan which areas of the classroom to explore, for example the investigation station, creative area or small world. They concentrate for extended periods of time on these activities.” “As a small community, pupils of all ages play harmoniously together.” As you can see, there are some wonderful comments and the inspectors understood what it is like to attend a small school like Darite. Of course, we are always looking for ways to continue to improve and the inspectors gave us two ways that they feel we can improve on. One of these is to ensure that all children start their learning at the right place to make sure that progress is as good as it could be. We are already working on this with tweaks to the curriculum. The second one is to improve attendance for all pupils. You will know the impact absence has on progress and outcomes and we are working hard to reduce the absence in school. Of course, illness happens but we are keen to work with you all to reduce absence through other factors. I urge you to read the report and thank-you again for your continued support of the school and pupils. On Tuesday we also welcomed back Sarah from St Luke’s Hospice how came to share the giant cheque with us all to celebrate the amazing amount of money we raised as a school during the reindeer run. She told us that our money has helped to support a family in need at the hospice and this brought home the impact of the run that the children took part in. She is also arranging for their giant Elmer statue to visit school to let the children read to Elmer!

This week, Year 6 took part in a Hyrox Competition hosted at Duloe, alongside other Year 6 children from Pelynt and Trenode. Hyrox is a cross-fit type activity which involves lots of running and lots of strength-based activities. The children had an amazing time, showed a great competitive spirit and were wonderful sports. The event also gave the children the opportunity to meet other Year 6 children who will be starting secondary school in September.