Antibullying Week, Maths Week England, Local Visits and Violin Concerts!

My goodness, what an action-packed week Talland have had!

In English, we have been learning to recite and analyse 'From a Railway Carriage'; a Victorian poem penned by Robert Louis Stevenson.

To inspire our writing, as well as further our learning about the Industrial Revolution we visited the 'Bridging the Tamar' exhibit and workshop on Thursday. We found out the history of both the Royal Albert Bridge and Tamar Bridge, and details of how they were created, as well as what the area looked like before either were built. In addition, we learned about the cause and effects of the Industrial Revolution, and how our school's namesake was at the heart of this.

Rounding off the week, we held a violin concert to demonstrate what we had been learning with Sally Bartholomew from Asone music hub. I'm sure those parents, who were able to attend, would agree that the progress that they have made in playing the violin, as well as musical concepts like rhythm, reading music and notation, was astounding. If your child would like to continue learning to play the violin, we are very lucky to have Mr Jane who provides lessons. For those children who are in receipt of free school meals, there is often a subsidy available to help with the cost.

Finally, in addition to all of this, we carried out many activities based around Anti-bullying Week and Maths Week England, including a maths treasure hunt where each answer led them to the next clue.

Robots!

This morning, Seaton class took part in a STEM workshop. 

They learned how to build a robot from Lego by following instructions and then they were able to design and personalise their robots. Once it was finished, they used their coding skills to guide the robot across a maze. 

It was a fun-packed morning and all the children were all successful in getting their robots to follow their coding. There was some fantastic team work. Excellent work Seaton class. 

We ended our unit on forces today by looking at gears. 

We discussed the different types of gears and what they might be used for. The children were surprised to find out how many things contain gear mechanisms, especially children's toys. 

Then the class were able to explore and experiment with gears by using plastic models and online programmes. They wanted to find out the direction that gears turn and how the number of teeth impacts the speed at which a gear will rotate. They were able to adjust the size, shape, speed and style of different gears. 

This week we have been exploring shape and number and beginning to answer our new question "How do i use maths in nursery?"
The children have been busy on the tuft tray identifying numbers and filling cups with the correct amount of pom poms to match. They have been making stick shapes and identifying amounts and quantity and have used paint to trace shapes.
The children have been learning different numbers and trying to identify them from sight as well as making a collage number picture.

At story time we have enjoyed the story of"Simon sock" who longs to be a part of a matching pair.

In phonics we have been repeating patterns of sound, talking about, exploring and identifying words that all start with the same sound and we have explored voice sounds, making different sounds and seeing how our mouths move to make these sounds.

Have a great weekend

The nursery team

Concert time!

Over the last 10 weeks, we have been learning to play the violin with Mrs Bartholomew. 

She has taught us how to hold the violin properly and even follow sheet music. We learned about pulse, rhythm, crescendos and listening for a beat. 

The children have really enjoyed learning a new instrument and some of them were surprised by how quickly they picked it up.

On Friday afternoon, the class put on a concert to their parents to show them everything they have learned. It was a great success. Thank you to all the parents that came to watch.

Industrial Revolution

This week, we went on a visit to the museum at the Tamar Bridge Office.

We walked from school over the bridge first which will help us write our poems next week. We really enjoyed the amazing views.

We learnt all about the industrial revolution and how the bridge was made. It was really interesting to find out how they would have dug under the water. 

Then we got to explore in the interactive part and build our own bridges. Another fun part was looking at the cameras and watching different parts of the bridge in action. 



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Outdoor Learning

The children have been exploring the school field during their outdoor learning session. Some children went on our balance bikes, some went to the poly tunnel and others collect treasures for our classroom. At the firpit, the children enjoyed beans on toast.

Apple Crumble

Big Nursery went to the cooking room to make apple crumble with Mrs Smith. The children all washed their hands and put on an apron before they began cooking. They then carefully peeled some apples before cutting them. The children used the scales to measure the butter and flour before mixing it together to make a crumble. The crumble was cooked in the oven, then the children all had a taste. It was delicious.  

Class 3 have been working incredibly hard on their entries for Get Creative for Climate Justice Parliamentary Exhibition 2025.
Get Creative For Climate Justice asks young people to use their amazing creativity and send a loud and clear climate justice message to MPs and Government Ministers. 
We have been focusing on how animals and their habitats are impacted by climate change and hope the artwork we have been doing can help to raise awareness.

Last week Mrs Linsley and I visited Great Trethew Trekking with 10 of our students to meet some of their gorgeous horses. We enjoyed grooming, saddling up, walking and rising them in the autumnal sunshine. A wonderful experience for all involved. 

Diwali

The children have been learning about Diwali, the Festival of Light. The children have been making Rangoli patterns using powder paint, coloured sand and rice. They also made Diya lamps using clay.  The children listened to some beautiful Indian music and moved their bodies to it. At the end of the week we had a Diwali feast where the children tried samosas, bahji's, popadoms and mango chutney.  

We launched our Enquiry this week, 'Who were the Ancient Egyptians?' and we were lucky enough to be able to explore some ancient Egyptian artefacts. We came up with lots of questions and can't wait to discover more next week! 

Christmas play preparations have begun this week for 'The Fleece Force'- so watch this space!

In Maths, Year 2 have continued working on subtracting two 2-digit numbers by using concrete objects and pictorials to support their understanding. Year 3 have been exploring estimation, which has been a challenge, but everyone has persevered and shown excellent growth mindsets. 

In English, we have focused on developing our descriptive writing this week by using thesaurus' to find synonyms and antonyms; helping us to up-level our vocabulary. We have also looked at the simple present and past tenses, as well as exploring the progressive past (Y2/Y3) and present perfect tenses (Y3) too! Can you remember how a verb may change depending on the tense used? Next week, we will be planning and writing our own version of the traditional tale, Little Red Riding Hood. 

Congratulations to Esme, Harley and Charlie-Ray for being Landaviddy's People of the Week! And a big well done to all the children who achieved their 99 club badges this week. 

Please find Autumn Term 2 Knowledge Web, Homework Grid and KIRFS attached below. Of course should you have any questions, please do let me know. 

We hope you have a fabulous weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday!

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton

Hello Everyone!

Another busy week for Penhallow this week, which has ended with a lovely, colourful day of donating to children in need. Thank you so much for all your donations.

Penhallow have been experts at demonstrating our school value of being curious this week, by asking lots of questions about 'What was it like before we were born?' We found out all about Florence Nightingale, and we were able to use a timeline to sequence some significant events in her life. 

Our English learning has been based around the Julia Donaldson story of Zog. Year 1 have written an exciting story/voice over for a section of the film. Reception have been busy labelling characters from the story. The story also inspired us to develop our knowledge of science, by using different methods to free dragons from being trapped in ice.

Thank you to Sienna, for your amazing show and tell this week. Next week, please can the children bring in a toy or a picture of a toy from the past. Show and tell will be on Friday afternoons. 

On the blog this week, I have included our knowledge web for this half term. I hope it is useful for you to see all the lovely learning that takes place in Penhallow.

Have a lovely weekend!

From the Penhallow team.

Thank you for sending your children in for a cosy day today in PJs or spots or bright colours. We raised £168 for Children in Need.

For anti-bullying week we have had discussions in assembly and in class about what bullying means to us and how ‘Choosing Respect’ over being a bully is the best choice we can make. We shared our antibullying policy which is on this website under the policies tab.

Well done to our Book Fair bookmark design competition winners Kai, Lowen, Chilali and Harry and thank you for supporting our book fair so generously. We are looking forward to having much needed extra money to spend on books as a result.

Fundraising for Charities and School We recognise that with the cost of living crisis it is currently a challenging time for many families and we are aware that we are asking for several different donations this half term. Please only donate where you are able.

Christmas events We are entering a very busy time of year and here are the dates of upcoming events for your diary. Further details will follow.
• Christmas Gift MUFTI - Friday 29th November (see details below under Christmas Gift Room)
• Polperro Lights Switch On – Saturday 30th November. The children have are making lanterns in school, kindly funded by the Polperro Christmas Lights Committee, for the Lantern Parade from the Village Hall (more details to follow).

• Christmas Fair - Friday 6th December FOPS are currently busy organizing our Christmas Fair which will be on Friday 6th December starting at 2.00 pm. We would be grateful for raffle prizes and good condition toys and books to sell.

• Christmas Performances (in the school hall)
Penhallow Class Nativity Play - Tuesday 10th December at 11am and 2.00 pm.
Landaviddy Class Christmas Play - Wednesday 11th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm.
Talland Class and Chaipel Class Christmas Play (joint performance) - Thursday 12th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm.

• Christmas Jumper Day We are holding our Christmas Jumper Day in aid of the charity ‘Save The Children’ on Friday 13th December. This is one day after National Christmas Jumper Day so that the children can all enjoy their wearing their jumpers after the Christmas performances are over. We ask for a £1.00 donation for this non-uniform day. We will provide opportunities for children to add some sparkle to a plain jumper if they do not already have a Christmas top to wear.

• Christmas Gift Room On Monday 16th December during school time in the morning, Santa’s workshop will be open for children to choose a special gift or two. Each gift will cost £2 (max 2 gifts per child). The elves will then help to wrap the gifts, which will be brought home at the end of the day to go under your tree. To make the magic happen, we kindly ask for donations by holding a Christmas-themed Mufti day on Friday 29th November. In exchange for wearing Christmas MUFTI, we ask that your child brings in any new or unused items. These can include chocolates, toiletries, socks, notebooks or items you’d be happy to receive. (No alcohol or DVDs please).

• Christmas Lunch Wednesday 18th December The Christmas lunch will be held on Wednesday 18th December this year. If your child would like a Christmas dinner, please ensure you have booked their meal by Friday 6th December as this tends to be very popular with the children. Please book their meals on Parentpay, even if you do not need to pay for their lunches. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to contact Mrs Turnbull on secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk.

FOPS Quiz – new date, February 28th Please note that in light of the West Looe roadworks and their impact on local travel, we are postponing the FOPS Quiz until Friday February 28th.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Mrs Hillman