Fun filled learning. 

We had a lot of fun last week. 

We are all really enjoying the new jelly numbers we have. Some super star learners took them out and drew around them, they then identified and represented that number.  

Our topic this term is school readiness and in preparation for this the children asked if they could colour pictures for their new teachers. They really enjoyed this all a while looking at pen grip and colours. The children were also discussing what they are looking forward to and what they want to learn. We of course were on hand to answer the many questions they had.  They then passed their pictures to their new teacher and they LOVED them. 
We also went down on Friday to have a play in our new outdoor area. 

Sports day - 

Wow, we all  had a lot of fun! 
'I enjoyed the parachute when all the parents waved it above us, it was so much fun!'
"I run really fast and ran to the end"
"I liked the ice poles we got"
"I liked the football game, I shoot and score!"

Phonics-  The sounds we explored were v and y. The children enjoyed this and a few thought of words beginning with that sound! van, vet, violin, yak, you, yell.  

Come back next week to see what we have been up to. :) 

In June we began thinking about our new big question 'How have the Olympic games changed over time?'. We have learnt some key information about the ancient Olympics and about the modern Olympics which are happening this year in Paris. We also learnt about Jesse Owens (runner) and Ellie Simmonds (swimmer). We took part in sports week and sports day and had a great time learning our dance for the opening ceremony. We continued our learning about the Jewish faith and learnt what happens each week as Jewish families celebrate Shabbat and what happens each winter when Jewish families mark Hanukkah. We learnt two stories which people of the Jewish faith tell to help them to understand what their God is like. One of the stories was the story of David and Goliath. After reading this we reflected on times when we had been courageous. 

During May we concluded our work on 'Why should forests be protected?'. We learnt about the flora and fauna of the rainforest and compared it to that of forests in the UK. We learnt about deforestation and used The Lorax to help us to think about how human activity can have a huge affect on plant and animal habitats. We also compared the weather and climate of the tropical rain-forest and forests here in the UK. 
In the lead up to the school art exhibition we learnt about, and worked in the style of, Alma Thomas. We experimented with sketching and paint techniques and created wonderful pieces for the exhibition. In science we continued to learn about plants and learnt about how to identify trees and tree and flowering plant structures. We planted seeds and investigated how well deeds would grow under different conditions. 

Our Art Exhibition entry

A few highlights from the past few weeks of learning in Class 4...

Year 6 children held an ice-cream parlour after sports day to raise money for their Class 4 end of year show. Although they didn’t raise as much money as they had predicted when planning the stall during their maths lessons focused on profit and costings, they did exceptionally well selling over 60 ice-creams!

During our outdoor learning day, the children learnt about many types of birds and their nests. They took part in various bird focused learning activities including creating bird art using outdoor resources. I was really impressed with the final outcomes as you can see in the picture! We also enjoyed our infamous smores around the campfire.

This week, as part of our D.T learning, the children have learnt how to tie dye. They learnt how to create the various patterns using elastic bands to block out the dye and had a go at preparing their own. After preparing the t.shirts, they then dyed them in the various colours of their choice. We are very excited to reveal our t.shirts on Monday. We are extremely grateful for Mrs G's expertise in tie dying! As part of our D.T lessons, the children also started to create outfits using recycled materials. Thank you for the donations!

Year 6 children took part in another transition day to Looe Community Academy. They relished seeing the school again and enjoyed taking part in the escape room that they had to solve.  

Main points to remember:

·       No Pro20, art or yoga clubs this week

·       Thursday 18^th July Class 4 Show- 2pm and 6pm

·       Tuesday 23^rd July Year 6 Assembly 9:15am 

Porthpean Residential

Year 4 excitedly set off on Monday morning heading for an amazing three days at Porthpean Outdoor centre. 

When we arrived, we headed straight for the high ropes and once we had put on our harnesses and hats, we tested out our climbing skills and head for heights!  All the adults were extremely proud to see so many children overcome their fears.  For some, just putting on the harness was a success and for others, they managed to head to the very top of Jacob’s ladder and ring the bell. 

As you can imagine, we were all quite tired by the end of the day and were glad to get into our bunk beds and settle down for a good night’s sleep. 

A beautiful sunrise greeted us on Tuesday morning and after a full English breakfast, we headed to Porthpean beach where we launched the kayaks and paddled up the coast to a secret beach which was only accessible from the sea.  We also enjoyed paddling and jumping off the Mega SUP.  We were all quite excited when a seal decided to join us and we watched him swim and dive around our craft. 

After tea, we played laser tag and then headed off towards the tents where we popped on a set of headphones and enjoyed bopping away to the silent disco. We then headed off for some much deserved and needed sleep.

On Wednesday morning, we found our inner Robin Hoods as we tried out archery.  It wasn’t as easy as it looked although there were some bull’s eyes amongst the scores.

All in all, we had an absolutely amazing time at Porthpean.  We all learnt a life-long lesson – don’t let fear hold you back as some of your greatest achievements will come from pushing yourself to new heights!

Well done Year 4 – we are all very proud of you!

July already!

How have we got to July already? We still have so much to squeeze in to our last few weeks in Penhallow. 

This week was a busy one and started with our fantastic Beach Day. The children behaved brilliantly and we had a wonderful time.

The week continued with natural weaving looms on Tuesday, where the children ventured out into the garden. We are writing recounts in English and in maths we begin our topic on money in Year 1. We enjoyed a very energetic PE lesson on Wednesday where we learned the difference between a hop, a jump and a leap! 

Well done to all children for having a try at 99-club this week. The Reception children had their first attempt and wowee! it shows me how amazing they all are.. well done to Hugh, Casey, Martha, Ada and Evie for getting their 11-club badge. Well done also to our 'People of the Week' this week who are recognised for showing amazing examples of our School Values. Well done Ada, Casey, Theo and Jemima.

The children should have come home with 2 letters on Friday, the first, regarding our Pirate Day on Monday the 8th, where children are invited to dress like a pirate. We will be exploring all things piratey and don't worry if you don't have any pirate wear, we will accessorise throughout the day. The second letter is regarding our trip to the aquarium and we really hope all children can make the trip on Tuesday the 16th of July! We are very excited! We will have an interactive tour of the aquarium as well as take part in craft activities throughout the day. I have attached both letters to this blog if you require another copy, alternatively, just ask!

I have also attached a copy of this half-term's knowledge web so that you can take a look at the amazing things Penhallow will be learning throughout Summer 2.

We hope you enjoy a lovely weekend!

Mrs Taylor, Mrs G, Miss Colton, Miss C and Mrs Hodge.

Do People with Longer Femurs Jump Further?

What a great week we have had! 

As part of our enquiry 'What's On Our Doorstep?' we enjoyed exploring topography maps in Geography, locating different elevations across the UK. In Science, we conducted an experiment to find out whether people with long femurs jump the furthest. We had a mixture of results, but most of use agreed that longer femurs did mean further jumps! In Computing, we learnt more about how PowerPoint works and had a tinker within the app. Hopefully, we will be able to develop our word processing skills next week, by typing up our English stories.

In Art, we have continued to discover what we can do with printing. We used a range of found objects to print with, such as potatoes, buttons and cotton reels, and began to create rotated patterns. Music this week was fantastic! Mrs Butlin worked with the class on a story, where we used the keyboards to provide sound effects for key parts of the story. Everyone did a brilliant job at locating the sounds and playing this in time with the key parts of the story. 

In English this week, we have been working tirelessly on our own Polperro legends. We have written these using our own mythical creatures and enjoyed describing their secret lairs. Next week, we will finish off our legends and begin some non-fiction writing. 

Both Year 2 and 3 have had a whistle stop tour of money this week. Year 2 have been recognising coins, making amounts and comparing money, whilst Year 3 have been converting coins, adding and subtracting money. Next week, we will finish off this unit, with Year 2 exploring Time and Year 3 consolidating their knowledge on Length and Perimeter. 

Congratulations to Zac and Harley for being Landaviddy's People of the Week! 

Polite Reminder - Please can you ensure you child brings in their colour banded reading book into school each day. Thank you.

We hope you have a restful weekend and look forward to seeing you all next week.

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips and Miss Bowden

Storytellers have made the most of the weather this week and enjoyed adventuring outside. Mud pie making, setting sail with pirates and driving to the shops were just a few of the adventures they have been on! We have also been practising for sports day, and everyone is getting rather good at the egg and spoon race ….

Sports Day 2024.

Despite the weather's best efforts yesterday, we all had an exhilarating afternoon in the sunshine. The unexpected weather challenges only brought us closer, making Sports Day 2024 a testament to our community's resilience. We couldn't be prouder of the children, who showed remarkable teamwork, encouraged each other, and took care of their younger peers. It was a joy to witness!

The Duck race provided the usual year six mayhem as 400 ducks were released down the river to be caught by a very brave Mr Smith, who proceeded to get slightly wet! Hopefully, our duck catchers have all dried off!

We had some delighted prize winners! Thanks to the PTFA and everyone who supported them by donating food, setting up, clearing away, serving ice cream, and running the Tombola. We appreciate everything you all do, and it’s an integral part of our little community school!

As a school community, you raised a fantastic £700 with the PTFA, which goes towards providing enrichment opportunities over the coming year … That is one of the highest amounts ever raised on sports day.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who sponsored us: Tesco, Asda Bodmin, Morrison’s, The Old Inn, The Westberry Hotel, Bodmin Nursery, Rowes, Dole Fruit, Lappa Valley, The National Trust, Bodmin Wenford Railway, Bowood Golf Club, Trelawney Garden Center, and all our parents. Your support has made a significant difference to our school community.

TALLAND'S BLOG 5.7.24

Talland have been busy directing their own trailers this week for the opening of the Paris Olympic Games 2024. They have been incredibly creative and I'm looking forward to getting some motivational music in the back ground to get everyone pumped for this amazing spectacle!

Maths: 
Year 4 have been using coordinates to plot points on grids and create different polygons by the information given to them.
Year 5 have been looking at volume and using multi links to help them solve these problems. They have built certain shapes - this has helped them to find either the approximate or estimate the volume in centimeters cubed.  

English:
This has been linked to the trailer the children have created. They have been finding ways to describe certain landmarks, be an animal, perform the event and transform into an athlete. Children have had to hone into their senses and then as if that wasn't tricky enough - we thought it best to include rhythm and rhyme too! 

PE:
Talland got into their super hero gear and practiced life saving skills in the pool. We looked at different ways to float, 'the help position', what to do if you get caught in a rip and even made our own rips by having lots of fun and creating whirl pools. It all went swimmingly!

A huge well done to Tabbi for being noticed as our enthusiastic child of the week - her ability to help those around her is truly fantastic - well done!

That's all from Talland - we hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop and Mrs. Hodge.

w/e 5.7.24

Wow! We do love a busy week here at Brunel!

We have enjoyed Sports Day this week - what a great day it was, too! We raced our socks off, supported each other and had a great time! Well done, everyone!

That afternoon, we continued the fun with our DT lesson - we tasted some fruit of the rainforest and voted for our favourites!

Later in the week, we went to the library for 3 workshops all about saving our oceans - we learned loads!

And finally, on Friday afternoon, we enjoyed our class treat of a sweet shop (we had some fake money even!) and a movie!

What a week!

Week 5 

This week has been a very busy week and a wonderful one too!

Some of year one’s learning:

The year one children have been using their new knowledge of recounts and writing a recount about their trip to Looe Beach last week! The children included some wonderful features in their writing. In maths the children have continued to explore money, they learnt about the value of each note and then worked hard to understand how many £1 and £2 coins make up each note. In History the children explored beaches in the Victorian times and sequenced pictures that explored the change in seaside areas across the years!

Foundation children have been making sea creatures from plasticine and exploring positional language in maths. They have worked hard at writing about items they may need to take to the beach, and they have also been writing post cards about their trip to the beach. They have also been so creative making wonderful crabs out of paper plates.

On Tuesday we had our transition day, and the children spent the day in their new classes. This was a lovely day, and the children were amazing!

Today we were so lucky to have Tom come into school, a local fisherman, and show us the fish he catches, how to filet them and also his life jacket that keeps him safe when he’s out to sea! This was amazing to show the children how our food gets to our plate, and we learnt so many wonderful facts!

What a wonderful week we have had!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend

Foundation /year 1 team.

Year 4 Porthpean Residential
What a fantastic adventure some of our Year 4 children had earlier in the week. The weather was kind and the sunsets and sunrises spectacular. The children took part in kayaking, Mega SUPping, laser tag, disco, high rope and team games. A huge thank you to the staff who accompanied the children enabling the children to create lifelong memories.

Congratulations Miss Beckett/Mrs Gerken
Yesterday the Year 5 team and children surprised Miss Beckett with a pre-wedding extravaganza! They had decorations, speeches, dancing and refreshments. We all send our very best wishes and congratulations to Miss Beckett for her wedding tomorrow.

Blue Light Day Trip
On Wednesday, a group of children went to Wadebridge Showground to see some of the vehicles and equipment used by our emergency services. They sat in a fire engine and on a police boat. They rode police and blood transport bikes and even tried out a stretcher in an ambulance! They were inquisitive and polite, asking lots of questions about the appliances and all of them behaved brilliantly. They especially loved coming home with a hoard of goodies from all the different stalls.

The Place – Playground Tour
On Monday our Year 1-Year 5 children were captivated watching two lively dance shows: Olive Branch... Playground Edition by Vanhulle Dance Theatre and Mughal Miniatures: The Elephant and the Drummer by Sonia Sabri Company. The theme of the performances was ‘resilience’ and how it is important to keep trying and work as a team to overcome difficulties or problems. A huge thank you to ‘The Place’ and to the Hall for Cornwall for providing this opportunity free of charge. We look forward to continuing enriching our curriculum with the creative arts.

Important dates coming up:

Monday 8th July Art Week

Thursday 11th July Reports home and class/teacher allocation for September

Friday 12th July Transition session (am) New 3W class will have an additional session on Tuesday 16th July as both teachers are not in today

Saturday 13th July 10:00-12:00 WPA Lego Show

Monday 15th July Transition session (am)

Tuesday 16th July Additional transition session for the new 3W class (as both teachers not in on Friday 12th July)

Wednesday 17th July 13:00-14:15 Nursery Pirate Party with parents

Thursday 18th July 09:30 & 16:15 Year 6 performance

Thursday 18th July Year 2 Cornish WOW Day

Friday 19th July Year 6 ‘Slip and Slide’ Trip

Monday 22nd July 18:00-20:00 Year 6 Prom

Tuesday 23rd July Last day of term (early finish, see times below):
12:30 Nursery
12:50 Year 6 Guard of Honour
13:20 Reception, Year 1 and Year 2
13:30 Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5

Wednesday 4th September Autumn term begins – Welcome back everyone in Reception to Year 6

Wednesday 4th – Friday 6th September Nursery Home Visits

Monday 9th September
09:00-10:00 Nursery Stay and Play Sessions
10:30-11:30 Nursery Stay and Play Sessions

Tuesday 10th September Nursery opens

Wishing you a fantastic weekend.

Best wishes,

Chris Wathern

In R.E. this week, the children learnt the story of Jonah and the Whale.  In the story Jonah found it hard to say “sorry” to God at the start. And sometimes saying sorry can be really hard to do.  The class freeze-framed the story - Can you spot God commanding Jonah to go to Nineveh? Or maybe Jonah praying in the whale's mouth? We loved the frame of God repenting and not punishing the people of Nineveh... Perhaps you could ask your child the retell the story of Jonah using the pictures?

Well how are we already at the end of another week?  We really are flying through and once again Canute class have shown us some amazing learning.

We have begun some work in history finding out about explorers who have achieved great things during their expeditions.  EYFS have been discussing makes someone an explorer and how they need to be fit and strong to be able to take on their challenges.  Year 1 and 2 have been using photos and stories to understand how Dame Ellen Macarthur, Mary Kingsley, Matthew Henson and Christopher Columbus achieved what they did, see what they can tell you?  

In English Year 1 and  2 have been using their plans to write some amazing recounts about their trip to the aquarium.  Their choice of vocabulary in their sentences and their use of similes, onomatopoeia and different punctuation is making the recounts so informative.
In Drawing Club Reception have been imagining what it would be like to live in the lighthouse on Black Rock after sharing the story 'The Secrets of Black Rock'.  They have all been writing sentences, using the sound mats to spell each word and writing sentences using finger spaces and full stops.

I maths this week Reception have been continuing to think about how they can manipulate shapes to create different pictures.  Explaining how they have achieved each part  of the image. 
Year 1 have been completing their unit of work on time, looking at the days of the week, months of the year, telling the time to the hour and half hour.  We will be using the next week in school to consolidate our learning.
Year 2 have begun their unit of work on statistics, they have been creating and interpreting data using tally charts, block diagrams and pictograms.

Next week, on Tuesday,  the class will be completing their art work in the Wild Tribe Area so please can they all bring a coat and wellies if they don't have them in school.

On Wednesday we are lucky enough to be taking part in a whole school Arena PE day so please can children come to school in their PE kits.

Have a great weekend
Mrs Andrew, Mrs Fernie, Miss Taylor, Miss Talbot