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. 

Every Wednesday during term time, we hold a toddler group in our wonderful nursery building. Preschool children of any age are welcome to attend with their adults. Attending Twiglets is excellent fun, but it also has some surprising benefits. It’s all about learning through play.

At Twiglets, your little one will love the songs, play and movement, and being around other children the same age. Your child will not just be having great fun but also be busy learning all sorts of critical early skills.

Here are just a few ways that all the play and fun they have at Twiglets plays an integral part of early learning:

Storytime – an early introduction to reading and phonics

We all know how much little ones love stories. But did you know that when you read to your baby or toddler, you also introduce them to many early literacy skills?

Studies have shown that babies with many books read to them have a greater vocabulary and better early reading skills by age 4.

 Moving and grooving is more than just fun!

According to the NHS, once your child is walking, they should stay active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) of the day! Twiglets is an excellent way for your toddler to run off steam. All the moving and grooving helps them develop gross motor skills, which will continue to develop as they grow.

Mini mark-making helps with writing later on. What might look like play time Twiglets is far more developmental than it might appear. Simply letting your child squish a Play-Doh ball helps them develop fine motor skills in their hands and fingers. Getting creative with chunky crayons or paints is helping them develop these skills, too. Developing fine motor skills from an early age will benefit your child when they learn more complex skills at nursery and school, like holding a pencil and beginning to write.

So next time your toddler gifts you their latest Jackson Pollock imitation painting, remember they’ve developed more than just their artistic talents!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – classes can bring numbers alive!

Lots of play activities at Twiglets introduce your child to counting and numbers. They might hear lots of counting in songs and rhymes, count out toys as they play, or count the number of hops and jumps they make while dancing. Lots of exposure to counting and numbers will help them develop early numeracy skills in a fun way.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10 – here we go around again – Routines Twiglets is a great way to introduce your baby or toddler to routines, which is a big part of a nursery or school day. Gradually, your child will get used to the different routines in class. That might be sitting in a circle to start, tidying away at the end and stopping for snack time. Introducing this concept at a young age will make it less of an alien concept when it comes to that daunting first day of nursery or school.

Learning to fit into a group. When your child grows up and starts nursery or school, they must learn how to fit into a group. They will learn how to take turns and share. Twiglets is an excellent opportunity to teach all the basics. Greetings, turn-taking, sitting in an allocated spot, and pleases/thank yous all start to happen around your child. This encourages them to copy and do the same.

Tidy-up time teaches key life skills. Little ones can learn to help from a young age. Starting with helping tidy up their toys. Once they start nursery or school, they will be expected to pitch in and tidy their room or space so other children can enjoy it later.

Introduction to other cultures. Little ones are the least likely to judge another based on their background. Twiglets is a great way to begin introducing your little ones to different families from various backgrounds. This might be race, religion, or perhaps other family dynamics.

Making friends – essential social building blocks. Being surrounded by other parents and children may be one of the main reasons you would attend Twiglets. Being in a group teaches crucial social skills that will help your toddler in the future. Your child needs to understand social cues and learn how to make friends. They might start by learning how to share toys or equipment. Or to take turns. By attending Twiglets, you may also introduce your child to new concepts like empathy. If another child is upset, your toddler might start questioning why that is and try to help make them feel better. These are all critical social skills when it comes to making friends later.

But what about the grown-ups?

  Parenting can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavour, especially for stay-at-home parents. Twiglets provides a valuable opportunity for parents and carers to connect with others who are going through similar experiences. This social interaction helps combat feelings of isolation and allows for sharing advice, experiences, and parenting tips. Being part of the group allows you to build a support network of parents who understand the challenges and triumphs of this particular parenting stage. These relationships can provide a strong foundation for mutual support, empathy, and camaraderie.

  Above all, Twiglets group offers a fun experience for parents and children. The laughter, play, and shared activities create lasting memories and positive associations with socialising and learning.

Storytellers have joined the RSPB Big Garden bird watch this week to take our learning outside. Bird watching is a fantastic way for the children to learn about and appreciate all kinds of wildlife. Watching birds encourages empathy for living things and sparks discussions about nature’s balance. We try to incorporate this skill into activities such as our forest school. Some of our older nursery children watched, counted the birds they saw, and filled in a chart as they spotted them.

Valuable listening skills – Bird watching can significantly enhance a child’s listening skills by encouraging them to focus on the subtle sounds around them. Birds often communicate through chirps, songs, and calls that children learn to identify, which requires patience and careful listening. Over time, these skills can transfer to other listening tasks, making them more attentive listeners in everyday situations.

Responsibility – Bird watching helps children appreciate nature and learn about caring for the environment. Setting up a bird feeder or bath allows them to take responsibility for feeding birds. This also opens up conversations about natural diets and avoiding artificial ingredients in bird food. The children created their bird feeders by combining mixed seeds and coconut oil, which involved squishing them all together and pressing them into little pots to hang in their gardens at home; this experience can be shared with their families and sparks a talking point. 

Today at Storytellers, the children had so much fun rescuing winter animals frozen in ice. They used pipettes and pots to pour warm water over the ice, submerged it in a bowl of warm water, and watched the steam while learning about hot and cold and improving their fine motor skills.

It is a fantastic way to explore science through play.

The children enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch today cooked by our wonderful chef Sam, everyone happily tucked in while wearing their handmade party hats! Great fun was had after lunch as they raced the reindeer, they had received in the crackers.

Wow, we could not be prouder of our little school! The children absolutely smashed both their performances and brought some twinkle to our toes !!! Singing, acting, bell ringing, recorders, and a solo …what an incredibly talented bunch of little people we have!

Thanks to everyone for making this possible, as it’s a massive team effort.

Christmas has arrived at Storytellers; the children created their letters to Father Christmas and were lucky to have our wonderful postman collect them! They have been assembling beautiful decorations and enjoying Santa's post office while often dressed in various festive outfits, which always bring a smile to everyone’s faces. 

Storytellers had a magical day visiting Father Christmas in his beautiful grotto; the children embraced everything on offer: riding reindeer, making snow angels, decorating gingerbread, and talking to Father Christmas and the elves. We enjoyed a delicious lunch together and even had chocolate cake to take home! 

Yesterday morning, a few of our tiniest people were helped by some of our biggest people to decorate the Storytellers Christmas tree as part of the St Petroc Churches Christmas tree festival. Nursery and KS2 have been busy making decorations, which are now adorning the tree! It looks spectacular, and everyone can view their tree along with over 70 other beautiful trees in St. Petroc Church. It really is worth a visit as it looks amazing, or as one of our little ones said, ‘Wow…sparkly!’ 

This tiny fundraising team has smashed it by raising £80 to support Children in Need. They have baked, made posters, decorated cakes and eaten spare sweets to save us from tidying them up! Watching them sell their little cakes was a pleasure as they were so proud, and rightly so! Well done, Storytellers team! 

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. 

  While making Poppy paintings for Remembrance Day, the Children can begin to explore British Values. As and Early years settings we are required to promote British Values actively to ensure our young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. British Values are embedded into everyday practice. Remembrance Day will help children make links between their lives, their freedoms, and the values in England. Democracy, Mutual Respect, Tolerance, Rule of Law, and Individual Liberty are the values that settings are expected to incorporate into their practice. They are learning about these values when:

* They make choices and decisions and know that their decisions and choices can make a difference.

* They begin to understand that everyone is entitled to have different opinions or feelings that may be different from someone else, but learning that this is ok.

* They begin to learn about the importance of being kind and respectful of similar and different people.

* When they learn about cause and effect and that actions have consequences

* When thinking about the freedoms that they have in the things that they enjoy doing every day. 

Storytellers have been learning about Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, and many rituals and traditions during the event include light. Diya lamps are lit around the doorways and windows of people's homes. This symbolises the triumph of light over dark and welcomes Lord Rama home from the story of Rama and Sita. The children listen to a story about family traditions celebrating Diwali. They enjoyed creating their Diya lamps and decorating our entrance with Rangoli, a popular Diwali tradition –beautiful patterns made using colourful powders and flowers. People draw Rangoli on the floor by the entrance of their homes to welcome the gods and bring good luck!  

This week, we continue our season's theme by investigating Halloween. This festival signifies the move from autumn to winter and is always a great favourite for young children.

We have enjoyed reading a classic this week, “Room on a Broom” by Julia Donaldson. The story of a witch, a group of animals who help her, good manners, friendship and cooperation was fun to read aloud because of its rhythm and rhyme and opportunities for the children to join in.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the potion Station today. They measured out bicarbonate and various coloured vinegars along with a variety of Halloween-inspired pasta shapes and then watched the results. They were totally immersed in the process, which created some wonderful learning opportunities as we talked about the reactions that happened and the words we could use to describe them.

The children carried on this passion for potions within their role-play area, currently themed as ‘Meg and Mogs’ house. There have been many magic spells and rhymes as the children explored roles together. Having a selection of pumpkins around the room has offered an abundance of learning opportunities, from size ordering and counting to mark-making in various exciting ways.

 We are excited to see what next terms learning adventures bring …

Storytellers made pumpkin soup, which they enjoyed in the winter sunshine around the campfire, where they warmed their bread and watched the fire crackle and smoke. The children enjoyed scooping the pumpkin and pulling out the slippery seeds. Everyone explored the textures and smells as they prepared the soup and excitedly took the leftover peel outside for the squirrels to enjoy! This was some of the younger children’s first experience sitting around the fire and learning about our rules to keep everyone safe. They were fantastic at listening, and everyone enjoyed tucking into their soup before spending time playing with the mud kitchen