We have been super busy here in Pre school. 

We have been very busy with our 'At the seaside' topic this half-term. We have spoken about beaches we have visited on Cornwall and learnt a bit about our costal paths. The children have also enjoyed learning 'Cornwall my home' as our sea shanty and learning about the RNLI. 

The children have also really enjoyed our outdoor area as it has changed a little bit. We now have a gross motor area, the children enjoy playing with the ball and putting all their skills they learn with coach James on a Monday in to their play. They also enjoy building, running, skipping and balancing on our scooter. 

We have been learning our sounds last week we learnt 'o' and this week it's 'c' the children enjoy writing these with chalk and spotting them in our environment. 

Forest school is a big hit and the children are really enjoying exploring it while its dry ' It looks different!' 

On drop off please feel welcome to come in and have a look at all of the work they have been up to on the display board. 

Throughout the year, several trips and experiences are planned into the seven areas of learning to help the children broaden their knowledge by exposing them to things they may not encounter. These experiences enhance the children’s awareness by seeing real-life examples of what they have been learning; the children gain a deeper understanding of the topic, increasing their motivation to learn and retain the information. We focus heavily on our local environment, with trips and walks around the local community, which is why our visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligan was a fantastic experience for the Storytellers as they were able to see lots of the things they have been learning about on a far grander scale: beehives, sculptures, conservation, unique colours within the world of plants and lots of rare breed animals. This language-rich experience is essential and also fun which is always at the heart of everything we do. It is our role as a setting to help the children experience the awe and wonder of the world in which they live, and what a pleasure it is to be able to do that with these fantastic little people 

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At Storytellers, we have been outside enjoying the sunshine while learning about various habitats for the minibeasts that we have been looking at resonantly. The children each picked a mini beast and set to work, making it a house. This involved lots of fine motor skills as they assembled their little homes.

Through our dedicated efforts in caring for minibeasts and other animals, we are instilling in the children a deep sense of respect and care for all creatures. This hands-on exploration of the natural world they inhabit is a testament to our commitment to their holistic development.

It's good to develop children’s knowledge of the natural world they live in.

Over time, the children will develop the skills to talk about what plants and insects need to grow and how they change.

We have been learning to take care of small creatures, hold them without damaging them, and know that we must always place them back where they found them.

Another 5 children received golden tickets today to join our exclusive new book club. The children also received a brand new book: The Kingdom of the Sea by Zohra Nabi.

Mrs Currah will be meeting with the children once a week to read and discuss the book, and the children will also have a virtual meeting with the author as well.

The children will then become ambassadors of the story, sharing with others and encouraging them to choose the book from our school library.

Summer 1, Weeks 3 and 4: Determined designers

Another busy fortnight in Year 1 but we have been particularly impressed with the resilience shown in Year 1 - we have a lot of "Keep Going Koalas"! 

DT

Linked to our wider curriculum learning of the seaside, the children have been busy designing jellyfish puppets. 
Firstly, they had to work with small pieces of felt and investigate the 3 different ways of joining the pieces together - with glue, safety pins or staples. Everyone tried all 3 methods and the glue station got very sticky at one point with no one having much success - but that's ok because designers try things and evaluate whether it worked or could have been better. The children unanimously decided the glue wasn't for them and we tried our hand at stapling. We had more success here but did get through a lot of staples! We also tried joined the felt together using safety pins. We soon realised these were tricky - especially some of the smaller ones - but some of our classmates were amazing at pinning the pieces together and were nominated as "class experts" and they helped others out who were struggling - some wonderful teamwork turtle skills on show! 

Finally, we were ready to design our jellyfish so children chose a colour of felt and sketched out on a template what their jellyfish would look like. These were photocopied before the children used their cutting skills to carefully cut out the template and - back to the safety pins! - pinned the template onto the felt. They then had to cut out the felt and join their 2 jellyfish pieces together. This was where they chose which method they would like to use to join them. The jellyfish need to be finished next week and we can't wait to show them off!


English

We finished off our learning of the Singing Mermaid by reinventing the story together and the children decided they would like their new character to be the Dancing Dolphin. The Dancing Dolphin lived in the deep, blue sea and was warned by William Whale not to go with Sam Sly to the circus where she was trapped in a tank. Luckily, her friend Ollie Octopus helped her escape back to the sea. The children loved writing their stories and we are seeing them apply the knowledge they have learnt in lessons to their writing, often independently. For example, children were using exclamation marks and some wonderful adjectives to describe the characters and their feelings in the story. We really enjoyed reading their stories. 

We then started on a poetry unit, looking at our different senses and thinking what we can see, hear, smell, taste and feel at the seaside. Children worked in groups and studied different photos of beaches to make lists and we added adjectives to these the following day. For example, I can see the sea became I can see the crashing waves; and I can hear the seagulls became I can hear the noisy seagulls squawking. The children are then going to use these ideas to write their own seaside senses poems.

Maths

We have now moved onto learn about fractions and looked at halving an object, such as a pizza or an orange, and talked about now having 2 parts. We moved onto discuss halving a group of objects, talking about having more than 2 objects but still having 2 groups of objects. We identified to be halved, the groups need to have an equal number and we shared out different numbers of counters equally to see what half of a given number was. The children are making the link between halving and doubling, knowing that if 5 is a half, they have to double 5 to find the whole number. 

History

As part of our learning around the question "have people always liked to be beside the seaside?", we looked at what beaches were like in the past and how they have changed over time. The children loved looking at a range of photos of seasides in the past and learning what many Victorians did when they went to the seaside. Their favourite part was looking at the bathing carriages some Victorians were lucky enough to use where ladies were pulled by horse in a carriage into the sea where they would lower themselves into the water and have a swim before climbing back into the carriage to change and be pulled back to dry land. What a wonderful idea! They were less keen on wearing a suit or a formal dress to the beach though - much preferring their t-shirts and shorts! 

Phonics

With our phonics screening check creeping ever closer, we have planned in some fun phonics afternoons where the children have enjoyed playing phonics games in groups to practice their sounds. Please do continue to read with your child at home and practice their phonics sounds. There are some great games on "Phonics Play" website which are free to play and the children do love them! 

Reminders

If you have already done so, please do return your trip consent letter for the aquarium trip. 
Library day is Thursday - please do send your child in with their book so they are able to change it. 
Monday is PE so children should come to school in PE kits please. 

Have a lovely weekend, 
The Year 1 Team

Wishing all of our Year 6 children the very best with their SATs this week. I recently read this amazing poem (poet unknown) that is too good not to share... 

This week in our English lessons, the children learnt how dialogue can be used to advance action, add description, and create atmosphere in narratives. We learnt about key punctuation marks in speech and tried to integrate this into our stories.

In our history lesson, the children continued their learning about Viking life. They learnt about Viking houses, clothing, jewellery, and shield designs. The children then created their own jewellery or shield design which we hope to make a small replica of, out of pewter before the end of term.

As part of our art lesson this week, we looked at the artist Edgar Degas. We explored charcoal as a medium and enjoyed trying to create movement within our artwork.

In French, the children learnt to say what foods they do and don’t eat in French.

We enjoyed improvising our own compositions with Mrs Butlin in our music lesson.

During our RE lesson, the children continued their learning about the key beliefs in Islam. Their learning was focused around the first pillar, Shahadah, and its importance which built on our learning from last week.  

Homework has been set on Mathletics and Spelling Shed. Please also remember to read regularly and that we have Times Table Rockstar logins.

Points to remember:

PE on Monday and Friday this week.

SATs week- 13^th- 16^th May.

Residential 12^th-14^th June 2024.

Hello Everyone,

We have been enjoying the work of the sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy this week. We began by using a search engine to find examples of his work. We chose our favourite examples and discussed how he may have made some of his temporary sculptures. We then enjoyed our time outside, collecting and sorting materials that we could use for our own artwork. We then worked together to produce some brilliant results.

In English this week, we have been reading and writing a range of poetry. We experimented with rhyme and alliteration, and have got creative, using these features in our own poems.

In maths this week, both Year 1 and Year 2, have been working on fractions. We have been findinding 1/2 and 1/4 of shapes and amounts. 

We hope you enjoy this weekend, and the long awaited sunshine!

From the class 2 team

Year 6 have been absolute troopers this week. They have successfully completed their final lessons of revision before the SATS begin on Monday. Everyone has focused, worked hard and had some fun along the way.

It’s not all been revision though. Aryton did a super job of leading this week’s Reading Assembly to the whole of Key Stage 2, the bowling team have started their journey towards world domination in the filed of lawn bowls and Mrs Williamson has been teaching Year 6 the finer points of rounders ready for several matches between Pendower and Seaton in the final few weeks of term.

We have also made a great start on our new topic ‘Why should we remember the Maya?’. Keep reading the blog for regular updates on our voyage of discovery into the Central America region that was home to this fascinating civilisation.

To finish off our week, we had a visit from Peter the Paramedic and his ambulance. We had a tour of this unique vehicle and the equipment carried within it. The children also had the opportunity to stretcher two of their classmates a short distance. This was a task involving teamwork and a lot of trust. Needless to say, they rose to the challenge admirably. We look forward to welcoming Peter back to Brunel in the coming weeks to deliver first aid training to the Year 6s.

Key information:

·       SATs begin on Monday 13^th May and conclude on Thursday 16^th May.

·       All Year 6s are encouraged to attend Breakfast Club on these days so they are in school and settled in advance of the tests. There is no charge for this facility.

·       For those children not going to Okehampton, a letter will be coming out next week detailing the activities they will be enjoying week commencing 20^th May. Feel free to email Mrs Morris for more information or to discuss any queries you may have jmorris@brunelprimary.co.uk

Year 6 have been absolute troopers this week. They have successfully completed their final lessons of revision before the SATS begin on Monday. Everyone has focused, worked hard and had some fun along the way.

It’s not all been revision though. Aryton did a super job of leading this week’s Reading Assembly to the whole of Key Stage 2, the bowling team have started their journey towards world domination in the filed of lawn bowls and Mrs Williamson has been teaching Year 6 the finer points of rounders ready for several matches between Pendower and Seaton in the final few weeks of term.

We have also made a great start on our new topic ‘Why should we remember the Maya?’. Keep reading the blog for regular updates on our voyage of discovery into the Central America region that was home to this fascinating civilisation.

To finish off our week, we had a visit from Peter the Paramedic and his ambulance. We had a tour of this unique vehicle and the equipment carried within it. The children also had the opportunity to stretcher two of their classmates a short distance. This was a task involving teamwork and a lot of trust. Needless to say, they rose to the challenge admirably. We look forward to welcoming Peter back to Brunel in the coming weeks to deliver first aid training to the Year 6s.

Key information:

·       SATs begin on Monday 13^th May and conclude on Thursday 16^th May.

·       All Year 6s are encouraged to attend Breakfast Club on these days so they are in school and settled in advance of the tests. There is no charge for this facility.

·       For those children not going to Okehampton, a letter will be coming out next week detailing the activities they will be enjoying week commencing 20^th May. Feel free to email Mrs Morris for more information or to discuss any queries you may have jmorris@brunelprimary.co.uk

Science 

10th May 2024

As part of our science topic this half term, we have been learning about the growth of plants.

We have carried out an experiment to discover what conditions are needed to enable a seed to germinate and grow.

We placed our beans in a pot of soil and then put them into three different environments.

The beans that were put into the fridge did not grow at all !

The ones that were left to grow in a warm room were the most successful. We have planted our beans in the vegetable plot at school and each week we will be watching them grow. 

I was lucky enough to go with Landaviddy Class on their trip to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth on Thursday where as part of their current enquiry ‘Could you be an Explorer?’ they learned all about Tudor explorers and made their own model Tudor boats to sail across the pool there. Several members of the public commented on how polite and well behaved the children were. It was a pleasure to be with them.

Talland Class went to Morwellham Quay, visiting the mine, the Victorian cottages and learning about how life was in a school in Victorian times. This builds on their learning from last half term’s enquiry ‘How have our lives been changed by the Victorians?’  Photos from both trips are on this week’s class blogs.

The pool water has been tested and the pool is good to go from next Tuesday. Please send your child in with their swimming kit next week – thank you to those of you who have already done this - and let’s hope the good weather holds.

Normal Magic Please find attached a poster which explains how to access this free service if you have concerns for your child’s mental health.

Social Media Safeguarding Concerns With children spending more and more time online it is important that parents and carers understand the risks associated with social media platforms. Please find attached to this blog, a poster which highlights social media safeguarding concerns.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Hillman

It has been a beautiful sunny week and we took every opportunity we could to take our learning outside in Penhallow this week!

In Maths, Reception are investigating shapes and exploring their properties. Year 1 have now completed their multiplication and division unit where we have been learning to count in 2s, 5s and 10s. We finished the unit considering how we can count more easily by grouping and sharing into equal groups. There are opportunities to practise this learning on TwinlGO! Learning to count in 2s, 5s and 10s is an important first step in multiplication, so any practice at home will help the children to succeed throughout their learning journey! (In 99 club too).

In English, we are preparing to write our final version of our fact file about minibeasts! We have learned so many amazing things about Ladybirds, Earthworms and Caterpillars! We move onto a lovely story next week where the children will explore writing speech and adding speech to a well known story about ladybirds!

PE has been super fun where we continue to learn all sorts of ball skills an Year 1s have learned the important role of a fielder and how to stop the ball and get it back quickly. We have also enjoyed getting into lots of different Yoga poses! The Reception children have learned about different rolls in Gymnastics.

We enjoyed a minibeast hunt on Tuesday where we discovered lots of different minibeasts. We learned that minibeasts are invertebrates and we now know that we can classify an insect by the number of legs it has, the children were surprised to learn that a spider is not an insect as it has more than six legs.

Well done to our 'People of the Week' this week who have shown excellent examples of our school values. Tommy, Lowen and Amelia. Well done!

Enjoy a lovely weekend and try to take any opportunity you can to enjoy one of your books, remember there are now three to pick from in your book bag! We thoroughly enjoyed a story under the den cover on Friday, I wonder where if you could find a favourite spot to read your favourite story. 

See you on Monday for another fantastic week!

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

The National Maritime Museum

Landaviddy have had a spectacular week! 

As part of our enquiry 'Could You Be An Explorer?' myself, Mrs Clary, Mrs Hillman, Mrs Hood and Landaviddy class visited the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. 

First, we learnt about Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Drake's exploration across the world. We plotted the continents on a world map and discovered what treasures could be found around the world during the 16th Century. Next, we imagined which items we would take from a sunken Spanish galleon as Sir Francis Drake. We had to think carefully about what we would want and why. Finally, we made our own ships and raced these across the boat pool, which was amazing!

In the afternoon, we explored the pirate exhibition where we saw some famous pirate outfits, canons and even pistols. We discovered the lookout tower and loved admiring the view across Falmouth. We had a brilliant day as a class!

'I loved seeing the fish through the magnifying glasses.' - Charlie
'I enjoyed the pirate part with the screen. We got to imagine we were real pirates!' - Amber
'I liked seeing the pirates guns and pistols.' – Jamie
‘The best part was racing our boats across the pool. It was so much fun!’ - Callum

Check out the photos from our trip below! 

In Maths, we have continued exploring fractions by understanding what the numerator and denominator shows, as well as being able to recognise equal and unequal parts of shapes.

In English, we have been focussing on writing up our biographies about famous campaigner of our choice; Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, David Attenborough or Marcus Rashford. I look forward to reading your finished copies next week!

Congratulations to Amber and Zac for being Landaviddy's People of the Week. 

We hope you enjoy the sunshine!

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips and Miss Cullingford

Talland's Blog 10.5.24

What an amazing week! We'll let the pictures do the talking...

Jumping back in time to Victorian School. "Children should be seen, not heard!"

Don't make a noise - you'll get into trouble!

Into the mines we go...

"Who turned out the lights?"

Say cheese...

How the rich and poor lived...

"Please Mr. Langley, no more photos!"

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop, Mrs. Hodge and Miss Colton.

Another week has come and gone and Chaipel have made the most of every minute.

The Year 5s have been learning about decimals and how to write persuasively with Mr Langley this week whilst the Year 6s have been doing some last-minute preparations for next week's SATs. They are so ready for them and Wyatt and Jack enjoyed a lovely 'cheese platter and a natter' Friday afternoon with Miss Randle, following on from the Y6 girls' 'tea, cake and chat' last week. 

On Friday afternoon, we have been 'tinkering' with Micro:bits and have now created algorithms to measure temperature. We will be using them next week and then recording our data in a spreadsheet.

We have learnt how to classify living things, as part of our enquiry this half term, and can distinguish some similarities and differences between animals and plants.

Chaipel learners love to read and Max B has been immersed in his new reading book, Wolf Brother. We will be writing a book review based upon our new reading text in the coming weeks, together with a persuasive leaflet (for the rest of the school) explaining the importance of daily reading for both learning and mental health and wellbeing.

That's all from me on this lovely, sunny afternoon. Enjoy the weekend and Y6s - relax, leave the revision and have some YOU time. You've worked so hard and we are already so very proud of you all!

REMEMBER
Y6s, SATs breakfast club is Monday - Thursday this week from 8am. Mrs Clary will be waiting with a smile and a bacon bap!

Happy weekend, Chaipel Class!!

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary and Miss Gilbert.