I have always enjoyed marvelling at the natural world, it's adaptations and dramatic changes. Never, more so than now, have I realised just how vital it is to adapt and change. 

Now, we must all begin to emerge from the cocoon we have protected ourselves in and embark on a way of life that, at the moment, seems far from the one we knew before.

We have begun to accept that change is necessary, and we are beginning to adapt already. School is now preparing to return, and this will bring changes but also lots of familiarity.

As we look forward to the return of our children we are thinking differently about how we protect them and yourselves, we are thinking differently about what we plan to teach them and we are thinking differently about how we will support you all. 

We will learn to build upon our resilience, we will learn to adapt, we will learn to play in new ways and step by step we will rebuild this wonderful school from the inside out. 

So be patient with us as we carefully attempt to get this right, as a steady pace will allow us to learn to adapt safely and wisely.

I will send out further information this week which will provide you with the school’s plans for return and guidance on how we can all stay safe in the process.

Head teacher’s challenge:

Question 6:

What is the scientific word for the process where a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly?

 
Home learning.

All blog learning continues this week with a break over the half term. Home learning will then be resuming during the week commencing 01.06.20 for those year groups not returning to school.

Please continue to keep in touch with us. As always, I have really enjoyed hearing about the lovely learning and activities taking place at home. 

Keeping updated.

We are sure that like us, you have lots of questions following the Prime Minister's announcement last night.

At the moment, for us in school, there is no change to the guidance, so we will be continuing to operate as we have over the last few weeks. We will continue to provide essential child care for key worker families as well as vulnerable children. 

The message remains that it is safer to stay at home.

We appreciate this is a confusing time. Once we have received further information and reviewed the guidance on how to manage a safe, phased return we will of course keep you informed. 

Please stay safe and take care.

Head teachers challenge:

Question 5

What five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

(it’s a riddle so think hard!)

Support.

Some more reading photos.

Here are some photos of the teachers from Polruan Primary reading in the sunshine too.
So grab a book and head outside to join us!

A Love of Reading.

I have always loved reading and as a teacher have used hundreds of books to inspire children’s learning. It’s a passion of mine and has become a bit of a joke between myself and the teachers that I often have book at home that will suit their class topics. I have to say, I’m proud of my book collection. After reading about class 1’s challenge to share pictures of themselves reading, I thought I’d share some from our household too. During times like this, books are a wonderful way of exploring new places and new worlds. They can take you on adventures, inspire you to learn new things and really spark your imagination. I also find reading a story so relaxing and calming. 

So, this week make sure you are setting aside time to read. Share stories with each other or just spend some time alone and cosy with a book. 

Mrs Wakeham and I have each filmed ourselves reading a story for you, we sought permission from the publishers and were ready to go but we had a slight technical hitch with uploading to the webpage! Our wonderful IT team at BridgeSchools will help us out this week, so keep checking because there might be a little video story for you to watch. 

We’d love to share stories with you and hope you are reading lots too. 

Each week the teachers add some super links to websites where you can access eBooks to read. Without access to libraries and school at the moment it can be difficult to exchange books but there are lots of free ways you can find something to read.

Free eBook library for 3-11 year olds

www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ 

Julia Donaldson has been sharing her books and activity ideas via her Gruffalo Facebook page, if you like her stories this is a great resource.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/OfficialGruffalo/videos/?ref=page_internal

Many famous children’s authors: 

https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/

https://www.roalddahl.com/things-to-do-indoors

https://wimpykid.com/

It’s worth googling your favourite author to see what their official websites have to share with you. Some are using Facebook and Instagram to share their books.

Looe Library have a Facebook page where they are sharing books and activity ideas. It’s well worth a look if you have children in Reception and KS1.

VE Day

In addition to my focus on reading this week, I want to highlight the fact that we would have been learning about and celebrating VE day in school this week. You will notice that to support our commitment to promoting British Values, we have dedicated our home learning this week to the significance of VE day. 

75 years ago, the fighting across Europe stopped and the celebrations began. Sadly, we can’t celebrate in the way we intended with street parties and getting together. But there may be small things that you can do at home: a poster for your window, bunting to decorate your house or even a mini party for your household. No matter how small, take some time to remember this significant time in history and reflect on how well our country rebuilt itself.

Suitable for KS2 only

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks2-ve-day/z7xtmfr

Horrible histories clip

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/horrible-histories-songs-ve-day-song

Head Teachers challenge:

Here is question 4:

How many books has Julia Donaldson written?

Have a guess before you search for the answer. I was quite surprised and tried to name all the ones I knew (and possibly owned). See if you can too.

J

 
Take care and stay safe, 
Miss Edwards 

The Great Outdoors

Over the last week we have been thrilled to have either spoken to or have been emailing all of you. It has been so wonderful to hear from you and to know how you are getting on. 

There have been so many happy moments and some lovely learning opportunities shared too. I love reading the teachers class blogs so that I can see the photos that they include, seeing you makes me smile.

I was so pleased to see that lots of you have been trying to spend time outdoors. I feel very passionate about the outdoors and nature and it has been a personal mission for my family to make sure we stay connected to nature during this time. We love spending time outside and, even though we can’t quite embark on our usual adventures, we have made sure that we make time every day to get outdoors. We’ve walked lots and observed the nature around us. I like to take a photo of the things we see. The sound of the birds first thing and just before dark has been remarkable. It has been so lovely to hear about some of your mini outdoor adventures too. From camping out in your garden to making nature art, riding bikes to counting sheep on the farm and walks in the country to building mud kitchens in the garden. We are so lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world.

You will notice that the teachers have shared with you a National Trust competition. It will be lovely to see some of your entries. ( I have added it to the bottom of the blog too).

Nature is so important during times like this. It has been scientifically proven that spending time in nature can reduce stress levels, support the immune system and give a general feeling of well-being. I know I always feel wonderful after spending some time surrounded by nature. Even watching nature on TV has benefits. 

There are lots of super websites where you can access ideas and activities to support enjoying time outside or connecting with nature. Even virtual zoo tours.

So, take a moment to appreciate, learn from and enjoying spending time in nature. 

This week I have included some links to nature-based websites where there are lots of activities that can be enjoyed during this unique time.

Head teachers challenge:

This week’s question is linked to nature and will get you to learn a new nature word. I would like you to have a family chat about what you think the answer might be before you google it! J

Question 3:

What do you think the word ‘petrichor’means? 

I’ll give you a little clue… 

Clue = you may notice it this week.

Remember

The blogs don’t disappear. My blogs can be found in the drop-down menu, click news.

Please keep in touch with us, if there is anything we can do to support you we will do our best to do so.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/things-to-do

https://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-everyone

https://www.forestryengland.uk/blog/10-ways-keep-the-kids-entertained-through-covid-19

There are also lots of blogs where people are sharing nature ideas so get googling for inspiration. 

Welcome back.

Well, the last few weeks have certainly seen a lot of changes: the whole country is socially distancing, children are temporarily no longer in school, daily learning takes place at home, the clocks have gone forward, the evenings are lighter and thankfully the sun has been shining.

This has not been the usual Easter break and return to the summer term! But here we are welcoming you back to the new term, with you all based at home. For us, this feels extremely strange. We miss the children immensely and also our daily interactions with all of you.

We hope you have been able to enjoy Easter and a little bit of chocolate! I know I am going to need to get back into my daily PE session with Joe Wicks to burn off some of my treats!

As teachers, we are still learning and developing our new way of supporting your child’s learning. Your child’s class pages have this week’s learning suggestions ready for you. We’ve already loved receiving some of your emails, where you have shared your learning at home and sometimes sent us photos. 

Over the next few weeks the best advice we can give is do not put too much pressure on yourselves as parents. Like many of you I have faced this new challenge of supporting my child’s learning at home, working from home and still being at school, carrying out the usual household chores, responding to the demands of a nearly 2-year-old and trying to put this whole surreal situation into perspective. A mammoth task for anyone! I have certainly not mastered it yet! So, in this unprecedented time we advise you to just do your best. Find a routine that suits your family and also the needs of your child. 

It is a good idea to establish a good routine and a level of structure to your child’s day, without being too regimented. Include plenty of opportunity for exercise, free play and curiosity. Plan together how it will go and agree on your time schedule and work expectation. As best as you can allow them to have fun with what they do/learn. I have seen so many fun and positive outlooks on how we can spend our time during this awful situation and I would love our children to have some fun and positivity amidst this worrying time.

The teachers have provided opportunities to develop maths, English and topic work skills and we encourage you to follow your own curiosities too. The teachers tell me they have been developing and refining their own skills in things like cooking, knitting, gardening and learning more about things they are interested it. For children these are fantastic life skills too, so share your interests and learn something new together.

Head teacher’s challenge:

Each week I will ask a simple question, riddle or brain teaser for you all (children/parent teams). All you need to do is decide the answer and write it down. I will then look forward to receiving all of your answers in person when school returns to normal! There will only be one per week so, write the answers down on a piece of paper and keep them safe. 

I will try to start nice and simply and then hopefully get you all thinking! I like the idea of providing a short and simple conversational starter.

Here goes:

14.04.20 

Question 1~ In the Springtime, what bell can’t you hear ringing in the countryside?

I’ll make sure I have some prizes ready for the correct answers. It’s not compulsory, just a bit of fun.


Finally, I have already learnt the harsh lesson of never taking anything for granted and I am so appreciative of some of the smallest things in life. This picture below was created recently by a little girl in class 2. It’s a beautiful watercolour. Quite simply; it brightened my day. 

Run!

Trainers ready! The team were all set to run. They look super clean at the start!


















 

Lanhydrock Cross Country Run, Friday 7th February 2020.

We are so proud of our runners who took part in today’s cross country event. There was so much excitement before they left and huge smiles after the race. Miss Porter was thrilled with the effort that everyone put in. We are looking forward to hearing about the event in Monday’s assembly.

There was great excitement when the Library Van arrived!

We were so thrilled at the arrival of the library van and the prospect of new books on our shelves. Groups of children went out to the van to choose some new books for our school library. We returned old books and excitedly filled our shelves with new ones.