I have had a wonderful first week as Head of School at Pelynt. I received such a warm welcome from the whole school community and feel extremely lucky to have such a dedicated staff team to work with, supported by the Bridge Trust, to continue to drive our school forward.

Our new Class 1 Reception children have been superstars, settling in as if they have always been here, with huge enthusiasm and curiosity. I will always remember a card that a friend gave me when I started teaching 20 years ago this week, that said to approach every day like a four year old in a batman cape! Reception is a magical year and I really look forward to seeing them blossom throughout their time at our school.

Today we have, of course, been thinking about Queen Elizabeth. Remarkably, we received a letter from her on the same day as her death, thanking the children for the card they made for her Jubilee, which we shared in our special assembly today. It will be something that we will always treasure. I hope that you all have a fantastic weekend, in the beautiful place that I am now so lucky to call home.

Warmest regards,

Ms Abigail Rich

It has been a rather emotional day here at Pelynt as another year comes to an end. 

Year 6 Leavers
Class 4 had put on a fantastic performance to their families yesterday afternoon. ‘Pelynt’s Got Talent’ went down a storm and we were very proud of all of the Year 5 and 6 children who wrote and organised the whole play. This was followed by a presentation and farewell for each child. We would like to wish our Year 6 pupils the best of luck for the future and remember; you can be whatever you want to be if you set your mind to it!

Goodbye Miss Gates and Miss Gendall
This week we have also said farewell to Miss Gates and Miss Gendall, our class 1 teachers who are both off to pastures new. Thank you for all you have done this year at Pelynt Primary and we wish you all the best for the next chapter.

Reminder: September timings
Gates open 8.40am
Registration: 8.45am
Class 1 and 2 home time: 3.15pm
Class 3 and 4 home time: 3.20pm

At home time, the gates will be unlocked at 3.10pm to enable parents and carers onto the KS1 playground where they can collect their children. Classes 3 and 4 will be led round by their teachers to meet you at 3.20pm.

Don’t forget Monday September 5th is an INSET DAY. Children’s first day back at school is Tuesday 6th September





School Meals
Parents can book school meals via ParentPay through the summer holidays, but KS2 parents please ensure that you have money in your account to cover these meals. Also please remember that if your child is moving from Year 2 to Year 3 they are no longer eligible for universal free school meals.

Kids meal offers
With the current climate and sadly ever-increasing FSM entitlement numbers, I’ve come across some outlets offering subsidised food and meals for children which I thought might be of interest to you.
Morrisons: Kids eat FREE at Morrisons cafe when an adult spends £4.50 or more on a meal. This is an ongoing offer.
ASDA café: Kids eat for £1 at Asda. Each child is entitled to a meal when they spend £1. Maximum of 1 meal from the kids menu per child, per day.

Goodbye from me!
I would like to say a huge thank you for all the support that I have received this term, not only from the fantastic staff here at Pelynt but the parents and carers of the pupils. The feedback I have received from many of you has been really appreciated. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know your wonderful children and feel that I have been welcomed into the Pelynt family! Ms Rich is very lucky to be joining such a supportive community and I wish you all the best of luck for the future.


Have a fantastic summer holiday everyone!

This week has been another busy one here at Pelynt Primary! On Thursday morning all children had a lovely transition morning in their new classrooms, getting to know their new teachers (in some cases) and new classmates. We were also lucky have our new Head of School from September visit this day and it was lovely for the children to begin getting to know her as well. Following that, many of the children (and you!) came back to enjoy our Neon Disco! I’d like to thank FOPS and everyone involved in the organisation and running of the disco which was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody. This morning, the whole school had a treat in assembly as a selection of 14 children from KS2 sang the two songs they have been learning for the Trelawny Plate Service. They then went over to the church and performed at the formal place giving ceremony. They all conducted themselves so well and I was immensely proud of them all, for not only singing their little hearts out in front of a church full of grown ups, but also behaving so impeccably while they waited for their allotted time.

As I’m sure you are aware, the weather forecast for the coming few days is extremely hot! Please ensure that your child brings a refillable drink bottle to school along with sun hat and sun cream. Teachers will adjust their plans accordingly to ensure that children are kept as cool as possible during the school day. Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the weather but stay sun safe everyone!


REMINDER: School Day Timings September 2022

From September:
Gates open 8.40am Registration: 8.45am
Class 1 and 2 home time: 3.15pm
Class 3 and 4 home time: 3.20pm

At home time, the gates will be unlocked at 3.10pm to enable parents and carers onto the KS1 playground where they can collect their children. Classes 3 and 4 will be led round by their teachers to meet you at 3.20pm.

Well, what a busy week we have had!

A huge thank you to everyone who has been into school this week to support your children with Sports Day and our Summer Fun afternoon. Both events were very successful and we were so pleased to have parents back on site after such a long time. Our Summer Fun afternoon raised £334 which is wonderful and will be going towards resources for the school. The children in assembly were very excited when I told them they would be receiving some new ‘Huff and Puff’ equipment!

School Day Timings September 2022

In order to be in line with new Government guidelines, our school day timings are changing slightly for the academic year 2022/21.

Happy Friday everybody! We have been very lucky this week as we have had the pleasure of Reverend Richard’s words of wisdom twice in one week! On Tuesday, he delivered a whole school assembly in school, where he inspired us all with the work of artist Dalton Ghetti. We looked at his work in awe as we learnt that small can be beautiful and we can achieve anything with some patience and perseverance.

Yesterday, we were invited to the Church, where Reverend Richard taught us about Trelawny day. After the service, he treated every child and adult to a fresh saffron bun which we ate in the sunshine whilst Reverend Richard threw current buns at us! Yes, you did read that correctly. Apparently, it is tradition for the Vicar to climb the church tower and rain current buns down on the people below. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for us) when Reverend Richard attempted to climb the tower, he discovered a nest of baby gulls and couple of very angry parents. He re-emerged from the tower covered in dust and declared he would still throw the buns at us regardless. It was a sight to behold!

This week the results of the Bridge School Games were announced. Although Pelynt didn’t come first overall, we had a place on the podium for every event as at least one Pelynt year group came either first, second or third in every activity. Go Pelynt! We all thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Bridge School Games with the other 13 schools in our trust and can’t wait to work more closely with the other schools in the future.

Coming up:

Sports Day – Wednesday 6th July
Families welcome! Arrive from 1.30pm for a 1.45pm start. Please ensure that your child is equipped with a drink bottle, sun lotion and sun hat on this day.

Summer Fun Afternoon – Thursday 7th July
PLEASE NOTE THAT MULTI-SKILLS CLUB WILL BE CANCELLED ON THIS DAY

Children will be visiting the stalls on the field from 2.30pm so do send some spending money if you can. Games will cost either 20p or 50p. Gates open to friends and family at home time – please come along and support this FOPS fund raising event! All money raised will be used for resources in school.

HELP! We are in need of the following donations for the Fun afternoon to be successful so please drop any of these items into the school office:
• pre-loved books/dvds/games/toys
• pre-owned school uniform
• raffle prizes
• cakes (please do not drop off until the morning of 7th July)

Summer Neon Disco: Thursday 14th July 6-8pm- Tickets went on sale this week and the children can’t wait to bring back one our favourite events of the year.

Transition Morning: Thursday 14th July
The whole school will be taking part in a transition morning when pupils will spend the whole morning with their new teachers in their new classrooms (for some!). New Reception parents will have received separate information about this event.

Year 6 Leavers Play and presentation: Thursday 21st July (afternoon)
Families of Year 6 pupils will be invited in to watch their children perform in the eagerly awaiting Year 6 play. The performance will be followed by a presentation as we bid our eldest pupils farewell and good luck with the next chapter!

Another week flies by! 

Bridge School Games / National Sports Week

We’ve had a great week taking part in the Bridge School Games. We started with an Opening ceremony in assembly on Monday. It was wonderful to see children and adults from other schools, each Head of School gave a good luck message and the Pelynt children gave a huge cheer when I appeared on the screen to wish them well! The children have taken part in 5 different activities over the course of the week and scores are being collated as we speak. News of the winning school will be announced next week…

Class 4 residential
Class 4 have had a wonderful week at Bideford Adventure Centre. Some of the activities have included: an obstacle course, The Big Sheep, high ropes, mountain boarding and Archery. Head over to the Class 4 blog to check out their photos.

School lunches
Thank you to those families who have been remembering to order their child’s school lunch on ParentPay each morning. There are still quite a few children who are coming into school and trying to order lunch when they arrive. Please could you ensure that the 8am cut off time is adhered to so that we can ensure our lunch order is correct. We also ask that you consult your child when ordering their lunch, so that they know what they are having. After next week, we will no longer be using dinner registers so your child will not be asked what would like to eat, we will be using ParentPay orders only. Please note that this is new routine for every child, even those who are in entitled to Free School Meals need to be pre-ordered on ParentPay. If anyone has any difficulty logging onto ParentPay, please contact the school office. We thank you for your support with this change in routine.

Parent questionnaire
It is at this time of year that we ask for parent feedback. Let us know how we are doing! Please click this link to complete the survey.  The questionnaire is open now and will close in a fortnight at 4pm on Friday 8th July.

Summer Fun afternoon: Thursday 7th July
Families are invited to join us for an afternoon of fun on the field. Children will have an opportunity to take part in the games and activities for the last half an hour of the day, supervised by their teachers, so please feel free to send your child to school with some spending money on that day. Most of the stalls will cost 20p per go. At the end of the school day, parents and families will be invited in to take part and browse the stalls. These will include: bake sale, raffle, second hand books/dvds, second hand uniform and may other games for the children to have fun with. Pop along and have a look!

All funds raised by this event will be spent on buying resources for the school, in particular some new play equipment for break times. In order to raise money, we request your help with some donations! If you have any of the following items that you can donate to this worthy cause, please drop them into the school office:

• pre-loved books/dvds/games/toys
• pre-own school uniform
• raffle prizes
• cakes (please do not drop off until the morning of 7th July)

Other dates for the diary:


Sports Day: Wednesday 29th June 1.30 arrive for a 1.45 start
We are thrilled to be inviting family and friends of all pupils to join us for this year’s sports day on the field. Please arrive at 1.30pm for a 1.45pm start and enter the field through the side gate. Please ensure that your child is fully equipped with sun hat, lotion and water bottle on this day.

Trelawny Day: 30th June
We are delighted that Reverend Richard has invited the whole school to the Church for a service on this day. Please drop your children at the normal time and we will walk over to the church after registration. The service will be no longer than 30 minutes.

Summer Neon Disco: Thursday 14th July 6-8pm- tickets on sale soon!
Transition Morning: Thursday 14th July (Pupils moving up to new classes within school time)
Year 6 Leavers Play and presentation: Thursday 21st July (afternoon - more info to follow )

Happy Friday! 

We held our normal celebration assembly this morning; it is such a joy to hand out certificates for such a variety of reasons and to see the children’s proud faces as they come to up to receive their round of applause. See photos in the gallery below. You will also see some photos of our Jubilee Art competition winners. These children received first, second and third place in their class as judged by Reverend Richard. Congratulations!





School lunches
From Monday 20th June, every child’s school lunch will need to be ordered on ParentPay. You must order via ParentPay, regardless of whether your child is entitled to Free School Meals or not. The cut off time for ordering your child’s lunch will be 8am every day. It is easy to do this online and you can then choose your child’s lunch for them and they will know what they are having. We appreciate that this is a big change of routine for some and we are expecting it to take time to get used to. If there is ever an emergency and you need to order your child a lunch after the 8am cut off time, please call the school office and Mrs Thompson will add this to the order. This change to our routine is to ensure that the correct number of lunches is ordered and avoid any waste or, even worse, shortages!

Bridge School Games / National Sports Week
Next week is National Sports week. To celebrate this, we are taking part in the very first Bridge Schools Games. This event will see all Bridge Schools (14 academies) compete in 5 different activities across the week. There is even going to be a Bridge School Games opening ceremony on Monday morning. Let the games begin! Check the blog next week for lots of photos.

Sun Safety
Now that summer has finally arrived (you know it will rain next week now I’ve said that) please ensure that your child comes to school with a water bottle, sun hat and sun cream. If you could apply your child’s sun lotion before school that would be great, then children will get an opportunity to reapply during the day.

Online Safety
We have very recently been informed of a character appearing, often slipping through parental controls, called Huggy Wuggy. If you see or hear your child talking about this character please be aware that it is NOT appropriate for primary aged children. The link below takes you to a website that explains what it is and what your children might encounter should they click on anything to do with those two words.

https://saferschoolsni.co.uk/huggy-wuggy-online-safety-review/

So that you know, websites or links with these words in are NOT suitable for Primary Aged children: 'Free team manga', 'Free team anime' 'Hiischooldxd' and 'Henti'. We realise that the world of online safety can be tricky to navigate, but do let us know if you have any questions or are able to tell us anything new.

Coming up:


Sports Day: Wednesday 29th June 1.30 arrive for a 1.45 start
We are thrilled to be inviting family and friends of all pupils to join us for this year’s sports day on the field. Please arrive at 1.30pm for a 1.45pm start and enter the field through the side gate. Please ensure that your child is fully equipped with sun hat, lotion and water bottle on this day.

Summer Fun afternoon: Thursday 7th July (timings to be confirmed)
Families are invited to join us for an afternoon of fun on the field. Bring along some pennies and take part in some of our games stalls run by the pupils. FOPS will be there running a raffle and another one of their infamous bake sales! More information on this to follow, but we look forward to seeing you there.

Summer Neon Disco: Thursday 14th July 6-8pm- tickets on sale soon!

Transition Morning: Thursday 14th July
The whole school will be taking part in a transition morning when pupils will spend the whole morning with their new teachers in their new classrooms (for some!). New Reception parents will have received separate information about this event.

Year 6 Leavers Play and presentation: Thursday 21st July (afternoon)
Families of Year 6 pupils will be invited in to watch their children perform in the eagerly awaiting Year 6 play. The performance will be followed by a presentation as we bid our eldest pupils farewell and good luck with the next chapter!

What a wonderful end to the half term we have had!

Queen’s Jubilee

The children have enjoyed a whole day of Jubilee festivities finishing with our whole school party on the field. They enjoyed cupcakes that they decorated themselves, played ‘pin the diamond on the crown’, took part in an obstacle course alongside dancing and party games. The cake sale after school was a big hit as always! Thank you to FOPS for organising this.

Don’t forget the Jubilee Community Picnic being held on the school field on Sunday 5th June. The children have all entered the craft competition which will be judged by Reverend Richard. All competition entries will be displayed in the church so do go along and have look. Winners will be announced at the community picnic at 2pm.

National Sports Week

Week beginning 20th June is National Sports week. To celebrate this, we are taking part in the very first Bridge Schools Games. This event will see all Bridge Schools (14 academies) compete in 5 different activities across the week. In anticipation of this event, we are inviting every child to enter a logo competition. Your child will have come home with a competition entry form today. Please submit your children’s designs to the school office by Thursday 9th June.

Staffing

Today we bid farewell to our very own Queen, Mrs Trevaskis. Mrs Trevaskis has been part of the Pelynt Primary family for 25 years. Over her time here she has had many different roles including one to one support and general Teaching Assistant before finally taking over in the office. Karen will be sorely missed by everybody here, but we wish her all the best for the next chapter as she cherishes time with her family. Working alongside Mrs Trevaskis this week, and ready to take over as school administrator after half term, is Zoe Thompson. Please be aware that Mrs Thompson’s working hours are 8.30 – 2pm. Welcome to the team Mrs Thompson!

On Thursday and Friday this week, it has been lovely to spend time getting to know to meet Abigail Rich, who is taking over as Head of School in September.