Few things will test your physical and mental resilience like a Cornish cross country run! It has been a pleasure starting the season with our running club 2025-2026. We have enjoyed some local hill running training and a stretch up to Trethevy Quoit. Not everyone feels ready for the East Cornwall Cross Country series but well done to those who took part in the first race at Trethew on Friday. These runs are always a test of the courage to start and the grit to get over the line. We are immensely proud of you all for taking those steps in your own way in your running journey so far this year. 

w/e 10.10.25

We were so delighted this week to stage a musical extravaganza at Brunel which was attended by representatives from 10 different schools, including our Y5 pupils. Ages ranged from Y5-Y13 and the event was staged by The Gabriel Explore Vocal workshop. Only two schools in Cornwall were chosen to host, with a view to performing in Truro Cathedral next year and we were thrilled to take part. Many thanks to Mrs Swabey and Mr Jane for organising.

Our Y4 children are continuing with their weekly violin lessons and we've been impressed with how they are progressing each week - so very well done to them!

Mental Health Awareness Day was a ray of sunshine in October, as we all wore yellow this Friday and completed some mindful activities.

Thank you also for your support with Harvest Festival and contributing to the wonderful Saltash Food Bank. It was lovely to celebrate with so many parents and carers in assembly on Monday.

We really enjoyed our mixed media portraits lesson on Friday too! 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Wonderful Woodlice 

Another week goes by in Landaviddy class, and what a week it has been! We have continued to explore our enquiry question 'Who Rules the Animal Kingdom?' in Science, where we investigated which conditions woodlice prefer the most. The children loved hunting in the garden for woodlice, which we carefully brought back to the classroom to observe and discover which conditions they were drawn to the most. We found our woodlice spent most of their time on dark, damp surfaces. Once complete, we took our woodlice safely back to their micro-habitat. 

In Geography, we made comparisons between the UK and Kenya, focusing on physical and human features. During Music with Mrs Butlin, we practised using the chime bars to create patterns which we performed to our partners. In DT, we explored how to join different materials together and evaluated which methods were best. This was lots of fun and helped us to start making decisions about how we may join different materials when creating our animal sock puppets.

We concluded our Place Value unit in Maths this week. All the children have done so well and shown a great understanding of Place Value. We have now moved on to Addition and Subtraction, starting today by applying numbers bonds within 10 to add tens and hundreds. 

In English, we have made progress towards writing up a recount of our Dartmoor Zoo trip. We practised using our 'doctor's kits' to operate on sick sentences and turn these into healthy sentences. We enjoyed working together to improve our writing. Next week, we will finish writing our recounts. 

Congratulations to Esme, Ida and Brody for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week. And a big well done to Frankie and Iylah for achieving their 99 club badges this week! 

We hope you enjoy a fantastic weekend and will see you on Monday. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

W/E 10.10.25

Y4/5 Music Maestros

We were so delighted this week to stage a musical extravaganza at Brunel which was attended by representatives from 10 different schools, including our Y5 pupils. Ages ranged from Y5-Y13 and the event was staged by The Gabriel Explore Vocal workshop. Only two schools in Cornwall were chosen to host, with a view to performing in Truro Cathedral next year and we were thrilled to take part. Many thanks to Mrs Swabey and Mr Jane for organising.

Our Y4 children are continuing with their weekly violin lessons and we've been impressed with how they are progressing each week - so very well done to them!

Mental Health Awareness Day was a ray of sunshine in October, as we all wore yellow this Friday and completed some mindful activities.

Thank you also for your support with Harvest Festival and contributing to the wonderful Saltash Food Bank. It was lovely to celebrate with so many parents and carers in assembly on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone.
.

TALLAND'S BLOG 10.10.25

This term is flying by! Another end to another great week! Good luck to all of the Cross Country Runners'. We hope you enjoyed yourselves!

Here's a break down of our week:

Maths:
Year 4 have completed PLACE VALUE and have just begun ADDITION and SUBTRACTION where they have started by adding 10 / 100 / 1,000 to numbers. They have also explored quadrilaterals.
Year 5 have also begun ADDITION and SUBTRACTION where we have looked at regrouping numbers whilst using column method. They have also continued using protractors where they are measuring degrees up 180.

English: 
Talland have independently completed their narrative, assessed which writing techniques they have used and are now writing them up using their neatest handwriting. Reading them was a real delight!

PE:
Yoga and football have of course continued and we are beginning to see some real progression in Talland's agility, balance, coordination and control.

Geography:
We had a double dose of Geography this week to get us ready for our trip to the Eden Project next week. We investigated Brazil's regions, found out about its climate and realised where most Rainforests are found.

Computing:
Talland made a fun maths game on Scratch this afternoon where different codes and variables were used - a good times table knowledge was also useful for this activity!

CONGRATULATIONS to Kayla for achieving her next badge in 99 club and a massive WELL DONE to George and Anya for getting noticed this week for their kindness and eagerness to learn. 

We are going to Eden on Wednesday for our class trip (which I'm so excited for) and letter incoming in the attachments for some more fun to be had on Monday 20th October 2025! 

That's all from us in Talland class. We hope you have a splendid weekend!

Signing off from Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.

 

Ben Maguire MP Visits WPA
This week, we were delighted to welcome our local MP, Ben Maguire, to our school. Our Year 6 House Captains did a fantastic job of leading a guided tour of the school, showing him the wonderful learning that takes place across all year groups. Afterwards, the School Council met with Ben and his assistants for a question-and-answer session. The children were fascinated to hear what daily life is like as a Member of Parliament and to learn more about working in the House of Commons. They were especially excited to discover that Ben has met both Sir Keir Starmer and the King! During the discussion, Ben shared the children's passion for tackling pollution in our rivers and seas, and their commitment to fighting discrimination. The visit also provided a valuable opportunity to discuss wider educational and community challenges and how we can continue to work together to find positive solutions.

Year 2 Trip to Cardinham Woods
Year 2 have had a wonderful time in the woods today. They visited Cardinham Woods to carry out their fieldwork in geography and research in science. The children explored the woodland habitat to find out about the animals and plants that live there. They noted what animals they found and where they found them, for example, woodlice under a log. They also created a tally of the animals and plants found to see which was the most common living thing in the woodland. It was a really useful fieldwork and research trip which will help the children with their learning back in school about micro-habitats.

Harvest Foodbank Donations
Thank you so much for responding to our request for donations. You have been so generous - just see how much in the photo! Wadebridge Foodbank will be collecting the items next week, ready to be redistributed to those who need it - thank you!

Year 6 Girls' Football Success
A massive well done to our WPA girls football team who hosted a football festival this week on our school field. The girls took part in drills and fitness games before playing mini games against St Breock, St Minver and St Kew. The girls played amazingly well and we are very proud of you!
From Mrs Smerdon

Year 5 Stay and Learn - Friday 17th October
We look forward to seeing family members of Year 5 at their Stay and Learn next Friday 17th October. Doors open after morning drop off for refreshments, with a start time of 09:00. To help the morning drop-off routine, any Year 5 families driving are encouraged to park in the staff car park (double parking is fine).

Toys from Home
A reminder that children should not bring any toys from home into school. Thank you for your co-operation.

Parent Teacher Consultations (PTCs) - Tuesday 21st & Wednesday 22nd October
Have you booked your meeting slot yet? The teachers look forward to meeting with you to share how your child has settled in and the progress they are making. We hope everyone will take this opportunity to meet with their child's teacher.

How to book your PTC appointment
1. Click on the Arbor App
2. Select your child
3. Click on Guardian Consultations

The system works on a first come, first served basis, however there are enough slots for each child's parents. If you have any questions or queries about making your PTC appointment, please contact the school office.

House Points
Congratulations to this week's winners, Swans. Overall, Choughs just maintain the lead:
Choughs - 1883
Swans - 1823
Cormorants - 1572
Puffins - 1523

Best wishes,
Chris Wathern

There was a fantastic turnout for the Orwell Exhibition on Friday with people attending from around the world and many of last year's year 6 pupils. Visiting Orwell Society members were hugely impressed with the children's ability to speak so eloquently and passionately about their work. Quentin Kopp, Chair of the Orwell Society, said that it was great to see the support of pupils and parents present and now past and hear the excited conversation echoing around the hall. He described the work of the pupils as outstanding.

Orwell's son, Richard Blair, who attended the exhibition, presented the school with a plaque which commemorates George Orwell's time at Barnhill on the Isle of Jura, where he completed his famous novel 1984. The plaque will be put in the library along with the children's wonderful artwork from the project. 

Harvest Assembly and Donations Reverend Allen came in on Tuesday for our harvest assembly where he talked about the importance of sharing what we have. We are collecting donations for the foodbank in Liskeard. If you would like to donate, please send your donation in with your child or bring it to reception where there will be a collection box. There will also be a collection point in the nursery. We will be taking donations to the foodbank at half term.

Important Safeguarding Notice: Children's "Spy" Books We want to make you aware of a recent issue affecting some popular children's books by Andrew Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series. Some editions of these books include a printed web address at the back. This link used to go to the author's website, but the domain is no longer under his control. It has since been taken over by another party and now leads to inappropriate adult content. The publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation. They have stressed that the website has no connection to the author or publisher. What this means for you: • If your child has any Spy Dog, Spy Cat or Spy Pups books at home, please check the back for website links and make sure they do not try to visit the site. • It is safe for children to continue reading the stories themselves - the concern is only with the outdated link. • We recommend talking with your child about the importance of not following web addresses in books without checking with an adult first. We will continue to share updates from the publisher as more information becomes available.

Clubs There will be no Alternative Sports Club on Tuesday 21st October because of staff training.

We are looking into providing a football club for girls from Year 3 to year 6 on Tuesdays after school to start after half term. If your child would be interested in attending, please email secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk by Tuesday 14th October and if we have enough demand we will set this up.

Keeping Safe Please remind your children not to play on the bank outside the school gates at the beginning and end of the school day as this area is not supervised and we do not want the children to get hurt. Also, the defibrillator nearby is a vital emergency device, so we'd really appreciate it if children could avoid touching or playing near it. Thanks so much for your support.

Spooky Discos Reminder that we will be holding Spooky school discos on Thursday 23rd October, the last day of this half term. Tickets are on sale in the office and cost £3. The disco for Reception, Year 1 and year 2 will be from 3:15-4:15pm. Pupils should bring a change of clothes and will be able to change after school. KS2 (years 3-6) children should go home at the usual time of 3:15pm and then return to school for their disco which will be from 4:30-6:00pm. 

Have a great weekend!

Yesterday the children had a treat in assembly when Mrs Clavier came to demonstrate brass instruments along with the Sydenham Damerel Blowers. If any of the children are interested in learning to play a brass instrument please let us know and we will pass on their details. Mrs Clavier will become a familiar face in school this term as she will be teaching Music Technology to Class 2 every Tuesday starting on 21st October. Thank you to the Cornish Music Service Trust and AsOne for this wonderful, funded opportunity. Today we enjoyed an autumnal tidy up in the Wild Tribe areas as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Research shows that being outside for 20 minutes a day can help to improve mental wellbeing significantly. We are very lucky to have an amazing environment in which to do this. Next week we look forward to welcoming you to our Harvest Celebration on Wednesday at 2pm. We will not be charging an entry fee, instead could you please give what you can to our collection for the Liskeard Foodbank. Please note there is also an Early Reading parents meeting at 1.45pm on Wednesday where you can find out more about how to support your child with learning to read.

Keen Learners

What a busy and exciting time it's been in Tregantle Class!

The children have been absolutely brilliant at practicing their sounds - both in reading and writing. It's wonderful to see their growing confidence as they spot sounds in words and use them in their own writing.

In maths, we've been busy sorting all sorts of items into groups and comparing different sets of objects. The children have also become real experts at ordering numbers to 5 - such careful counting and number work happening every day!

This week, Tregantle were thrilled to take part in their very first Brunel Harvest Festival. Everyone listened beautifully and sang our song "Big Red Combine Harvester" with great enthusiasm - we were so proud of them all!

Our focus for outside learning has been The Gingerbread Man. After listening to the story, the children used natural materials to create their very own gingerbread men outdoors. Back in the classroom, they got creative again by decorating their own gingerbread men at the craft table - such imagination and care went into every design!

To finish the week, we joined together to support World Mental Health Day by wearing something yellow. The children took part in some lovely relaxing and calming activities, helping us all to think about how we can look after our minds as well as our bodies.

What a fantastic week, Tregantle - we're so proud of all your hard work and enthusiasm!

Dear Brunel Families,
Thank you once again for your kind donations for Saltash Foodbank as part of our Harvest Festival. It was so wonderful that so many of parents, grand parents and carers could attend. Next week, we have our skipping workshops taking place on Friday 17th October and we also have Enrich Education onsite net Wednesday to fit our brand new orienteering stations. It will be another busy week at Team Brunel. Good luck to all our cross country racers taking parent in tonight's first run of the season. Please find this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin. We hope you enjoy catching up with all of the events at our wonderful school over the last week.

Hello Everyone!

As you can see in the photograph, Year 1 and 2 have been hunting for mini beasts in the school garden this week. This was during our science lesson, where we learnt about different habitats, and found micro habitats for living things. When we got back to the classroom, we drew and labelled a map of the habitats that we found.

Our English unit based on David McKee, has come to an end this week, with some fantastic stories from Year 2. These stories really are something to celebrate, as they have used the repetitive phrases in the original Mr Benn stories, to create their own versions. Their writing have some fantastic vocabulary and we really enjoyed reading them. Reception have been busy in their English lessons, learning the story of The Little Red Hen. We are all set to follow instructions to make some bread next week.

Year 1 and to have almost completed their maths unit on place value. Year 1 have been busy ordering numbers, while Year 2 have been partitioning 2 digit numbers. 

Have a lovely weekend,

From The Penhallow Team

What a fantastic week of learning it has been in Year 2 and 3! The classroom has been full of creativity, curiosity, and teamwork as the children have built on their skills across a wide range of subjects. Here's a little peek at what we've been up to:

English

This week, our young authors have been busy editing and publishing their own stories with a historical setting.
The children have shown great attention to detail as they reread their work, corrected spellings and punctuation, and proudly started to produce their final copies. We're so impressed with their hard work and creativity!

Maths

In Maths, we have been exploring number lines and place value. The children practised using number lines to help them understand the position and size of numbers, and to see how tens and ones fit together. They've been comparing numbers, estimating where they belong on a line, and spotting patterns - a brilliant foundation for confident number work!

History

Our History lessons have taken us back to Ancient Egypt, where we've been learning about the gods and goddesses that were so important to the people of the time. The children have been using historical sources - such as pictures and artefacts - to ask and answer questions like "Why were these gods so important?" and "How do we know about them today?"
There's been lots of thoughtful discussion and some fascinating ideas shared!

PSHE

In PSHE, we have been thinking about the need for rules - in school, at home, and in the wider world. The children talked about how rules help to keep everyone safe and happy. It was lovely to see how much they care about fairness and kindness.

 Design & Technology

Our sewing project continued this week as we practised the running stitch again. The children are becoming more confident with threading needles, tying knots, and keeping their stitches neat. There was a real sense of concentration and pride as they improved their technique - well done, everyone!

 Science and More!

We've also been busy in Science, exploring and investigating the world around us through hands-on experiments and observations. Alongside this, the children have enjoyed their singing sessions, bringing lots of enthusiasm and joy to the classroom with music.

It's been a busy but brilliant week full of learning, laughter, and teamwork. We're so proud of how hard everyone is working and how much progress they're making.

Have a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to more adventures in learning next week!

Writing
This week, I share some of the wonderful writing our children are producing. Writing is one of the most complex lessons for children as they have to think about spelling, handwriting, grammar and punctuation at the same time as creating work that is interesting and engaging; it takes a lot of effort to get it right. However, the Year 3 and 4 examples above demonstrate how successful the children are becoming.  They include similes such as 'the sea was as clear as crystal' and descriptive and powerful phrases like 'I went to a park with mysterious shadows lurking in the dark'. You will have the opportunity to read your own child's writing at our first parent carer consultation of the year. This will be an opportunity for you to find out how your child has settled and look at their learning books. The office will be sending a link for you to sign up to a session with your child's class teacher on the following days:

Monday 3rd November from 1pm: Class 3
Tuesday 4th November from 1pm: Class 4
Wednesday 5th November from 1pm: Class 2
Wednesday 12th November from 1pm: Class 1

We hope you will be able to join us.

Victorian Day
Today, Class 2 had a fantastic Victorian day in support of their history learning. This photo shows the children writing on slates in a much altered classroom. Unfortunately, Mrs Connell's learning was not up to standard so she was made to wear a 'dunce cap' at the back of the room. In the afternoon, the children were shown how boys and girls were treated differently in Victorian schools, with the boys doing woodwork and the girls needlework. We promise the cane was not used during the day, although I did model giving Ati Charlesworth five stripes across the hand!


Rocksteady Band
We have been overwhelmed by the response to the Rocksteady Band offer; although this shouldn't be surprising given the level of excitement it generated. As she has enough interest to make this viable, music lead Abi Flashman will now liaise with Rocksteady to set up these music lessons. We will try to schedule the Rocksteady lessons at the same time as our class music lessons so participating children will not miss out on other curriculum areas of learning. 

Wild Wellbeing
I am pleased to share this free half term holiday opportunity that may appeal to you and your children:

Dear all!

Year 3 have been busy again!  In maths, we have moved onto addition and subtraction - please do not forget that your child has mathletics assignments assigned to them for homework!  We do allow time in school for them to access however, it is beneficial if they can practise at home too!

In English, the children have finished their own versions of the "Egyptian Cinderella" story. We will be sharing the stories on Friday with Miss Stricklands class :)  The next unit is to write an Information Text about the pharaoh "Rameses II (Rameses The Great) where the launch included a very special visitor who is over 3000 years old!!  The children questioned "Queen Nefertari" and found out lots of information in preparation for our Egyptian unit.

In science, the children are continuing their learning on human and animal skeletons.  Last week, they created a full sized human skeleton using sticks and this week, they drew various animal skeletons using chalk on the playground!!!

In art, the children will be making their own Egyptian scrolls so when they are finished, I will post them on our page!

That is all for now!  Please do not forget, Reading logs to be in school every day; book changes every Friday and Reading Eggspress/Mathletics assignments are set every week!!!! Thank you for your continued support!

Mrs Brewer, Mrs Miller and Mr Liddement

So day 2 has also included three hours of boulder climbing and the children are still full of energy! The view must be adding additional fuel to their engines - it is beautiful!

Storytellers took their learning outdoors for a hands-on, creative adventure! Armed with hammers and bright wool, the children made their very own wooden name plaques. They carefully tapped in small nails to outline the first letter of their name, then wrapped colourful wool around the nails to bring their initials to life.

It was such a brilliant activity for our little preschoolers, full of fun, focus, and a little bit of challenge! Using real tools helped them feel so grown-up while strengthening their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Threading the wool around the nails gave their fingers a great workout, building the muscles they'll need for early writing. Working outdoors made it even more exciting, with plenty of giggles and proud smiles as they admired their finished creations. The children couldn't wait to show off their wonderful wooden masterpieces!