Welcome to the Head's Blog! Please visit this page regularly for news, information and updates from Blisland Primary Academy.
Andrew Smith, Head of School.

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. 

Autumn 2

Snow Day

Last week beautiful Blisland was blasted with a blizzard. The children made the most of the snow with snowmen, sledges and snow-ball fights. It is a rare day but such a special one I'm sure children will remember for a long time.

Cross Country

We are up and running with cross country. The club is a very healthy size with 12 members. We have been running through the woods and been doing some hill training. Hopefully the mild weather will continue and we can get some longer runs in.

Christmas Play

Both Kensa and Nessa class have been busy learning their lines and learning the songs for our up coming Christmas play. Dates for the performances have been emailed out so make sure you check your diaries.

Parents Evenings

Kensa class have completed their parents evenings and Nessa are continuing this week. Thank you for taking the time to come in an discuss your child's progress. It is always a pleasure to share what we have been doing at school and to receive positive feedback from home. 

Forest School

This week year three and four went for a wander along the bridle way to collect some foliage as we wanted to make some natural clay tiles.
They looked for leaves with prominent veins which would help to make a clearer imprint on clay. Luckily, they found a wonderful variety along with some interesting seed heads. Once back on the field the children spread out their collected treasures and began by breaking off a small handful of the air-dry clay to knead in their hands until it is soft and pliable. Adding a few drops of water to the clay with there fingertips if it began to crack. They pinched out the clay and then gently rolled it out until about 5 mm thick. The children placed some foliage onto the clay and firmly rolled it in to imprint the pattern onto the clay, making sure that they didn’t press too hard and distort the shape. Watching the children’s delight as they peeled away the foliage to reveal a pattern was a pleasure. The children enjoyed some free time to create little birds and animals. Working with clay is an invaluable experience for sensory development, motor skills, self esteem, and self expression, problem solving skills, discipline, and pride. Clay also has a uniquely therapeutic quality that often settles and calm children; it keeps their attention for a considerable time. Clay is a unique art medium because it is highly responsive to touch and very forgiving. As soon as children are given clay, they immediately begin to mould and shape it. They become aware that they are in charge and have influence over the medium as it is quick to respond to their fingers. The feeling that they are in command of the clay gives children the confidence to try any project which opens the door to greater self expression and imagination. Clay also allows a child to learn to repair mistakes and therefore not be afraid to make them. Making mistakes is essential for self improvement but can be difficult and even an obstacle for some children. The forgiving quality of clay, and therefore the ability to readily fix mistakes, gives a child a sense of control over their project’s success which improves self esteem and self expression as they realise that mistakes are not going to stop their progress

SATS Superstars

We are incredibly proud of our year six pupils who have had their SATS results this week. We have worked extremely hard in school and in after school club. Each pupil was set their own targets and they put their all into achieving it. The process of setting high expectations and working hard towards it - with all the ups and downs - will set them up perfectly for the next stage of their learning journey. It is an absolute pleasure to see them succeed and all of us at Blisland Primary are extremely proud of each one them.

Summer term 2

Well the fine weather is finally here! What a packed Summer Term we have.

PGL

Nessa class have recently returned from a hugely successful trip to Barton Hall. The residential was packed with activities: high ropes, climbing, archery, rifle shooting, aeroball and raft building to name a few. We were blessed with perfect weather and the children had a trip to remember!

Awful Auntie

On Friday we are off to the theater to see Awful Auntie - what an end to the week. 

Aquarium

Kensa class visited Plymouth Aquarium last week. They came back full of facts and ideas about the underwater world.

Cricket

Next week we are visiting Summerset Cricket Ground to watch a county game.

Mountain bike club

This half term we have been running an mountain bike club at Lanhydrock. We began by shredding the green family trails before progressing to the technical blue trails. All the pupils have made fantastic progress. We have even attacked the skill track where there are drops and jumps. A huge thank you to the parent helpers who have transported the bikes and children as well as joining us on the trails.

War Hammer club

Mr Coates has been running a War Hammer club this term. Pupils have been making and painting models as well as learning how to play the game. Thank you Mr Coates for volunteering your time to give our pupils this unique opportunity.

Insect topic

In Kensa class pupils have been studying insects. As part of this topic pupils have: been on a bug hunt, created bug environments and made bug art. In the classroom there are live caterpillars who are moving through there life-cycle. Our young scientists are observing the changes daily.

Ancient Greece




SATS

Spring Term 2

Cross country
Our athletes have been training hard this term - building up to the 5k Landrake run. We have trained for the distance and braved the wind and rain to complete the distance at Sibley Back Lake. A huge thank you to Mr Jones for organising and supporting our pupils.  

Bike club
After the Easter holidays we will be starting a bike club a Lanhydrock. The club will run for 5 weeks and start at 3:45pm. If you are interested please contact the secretary showing your interest. 

Mrs Chalkley
Last week we said goodbye to the fabulous Mrs Chalkley. After a decade at the school, it is impossible to quantify her impact. We will greatly miss her but are very excited for her next adventure in Yorkshire. We gave her a fitting send off: flowers, cake and a wonderful painting to remember us by. Mrs Chalkley gifted us a fabulous poetry book with one poem for every day of the year.

Trumpet
We have finished 11 weeks of trumpet lessons in KS2. Mr Jones has done an incredible job of teaching with all pupils able to read music and play along to a Mexican Samba. Keep you eyes peeled for the video on BridgeTube.

Easter Fayre
This Thursday is our Easter Fayre. We are extremely grateful to the PTA for organising this. Please come along and show your support. 

Farm and Country Day
Last week KS2 attended the farm and country day at Wadebridge Showground. We had a wonderful day making pasties, eggy bread and tacos whilst learning about food production in the local area.

Spring Term 2

Cricket

Both KS1 and KS2 have cricket sessions being delivered by a specialist cricket coach. These sessions will be on a Monday for the next 7 weeks. The coach will also run a lunch time club to show the children new cricket related play ground games.

Cross-country

We are building up to the big race at Landrake on the 15th March. Before then we will complete a 5k at Sibley back on the 4th March. The children have been working to build their stamina at our weekly cross-country club.

Falmouth Maritime Museum

Last week we had a fantastic trip to Falmouth where we leant about Viking long-ships. We also enjoyed a trading workshop and found out that the Vikings made it is far as Iraq - trading their own goods for precious spices.

Dinosaurs

Ks1 have been had an amazing week! They have been digging up dinosaur bones and creating pasta skeletons. My goodness what a fantastic topic Mrs Elliot is delivering!