Autumn

As the weather begins to turn colder, please ensure that your child comes to school each day with a warm, waterproof coat. Children spend time outdoors throughout the day, and appropriate clothing helps them stay comfortable and ready to learn whatever the weather. We have also noticed that some children are arriving without a water bottle. Please provide your child with a named water bottle each day so they can stay hydrated throughout their learning and play activities.

Parent Consultations
Parent consultation meetings will take place next week. If you have not already done so, please ensure you book an appointment with Mrs Hughes. If you are unable to attend one of the scheduled sessions, please contact the school to arrange an alternative time. These meetings are an important opportunity for teachers to share information about your child's learning, progress and development, as well as discuss any support that may be needed moving forward.

Attendance Matters
Regular attendance at school is one of the most important factors in a child's success. Attending school consistently helps children develop a sense of belonging, maintain continuity in their learning, and build strong friendships with their peers. We will share your child's individual attendance information during parent consultations next week. This will provide an opportunity to discuss any barriers to attendance and explore ways we can work together to support improved attendance where needed.

Travel to School
It has been wonderful to see so many children choosing active ways to travel to school, arriving on scooters, bikes and skateboards. As a reminder, please continue to exercise caution around the school site. Building work is currently taking place in Battery Park, and construction vehicles and plant machinery frequently pass the school, particularly during the mornings. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Autumn 

Class routines are now firmly established and the children are growing in independence and confidence. 
Writing
The children have completed their first independent piece of writing and they are rightly proud of this. Using their knowledge from history lessons, they have written a detailed description of a Viking village complete with Viking trader, raider and farmers. We will upload them to Showbie and the children can add them to their portfolios so everyone at home can have a read.
Science
This term, the class is exploring the concept of light through hands-on experiments to develop scientific skills and knowledge. Last week, they studied how suncream works by using UV beads to recreate effects of the sun’s rays. This week, the focus is presenting their scientific findings using a variety of graphs and representations.
PSHE
Year 3/4 have been considering what makes a good school, how they can create a sense of belonging and safety through social interactions and the importance of trust. Year 5/6 have been studying the UN Rights of the Child and considered how their lives are different from other children living in other parts of the world. As always, they amaze with their observations and insights which make for some interesting class discussions.

Reminder to provide water bottles for your child so they can stay hydrated throughout the day.

Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs W, Mrs H and Mr T

Autumn

Classrooms have been buzzing with enthusiasm, curiosity and hard work, and the children have already produced an enormous amount of high-quality work across a range of subjects, from art and writing to mathematics and science.
After School Clubs
Our after-school clubs have now started, and it has been lovely to see so many children taking part. Mrs Fernie's Taskmaster Club has already showcased some incredible creativity. One of the first challenges was to create something "unexpectedly tasty", and the children certainly rose to the occasion! Among the imaginative creations were pancake teddy bears, a sweet full English breakfast and dragon eggs, to name just a few.
Uniform
A small reminder regarding school uniform: we are already accumulating a significant collection of unnamed jumpers and cardigans. Please ensure that all items of clothing are clearly labelled with your child's name. This helps us return lost property quickly at the end of the day and saves valuable time for both staff and parents. If your child requires a school jumper or other uniform items, please speak to Mrs Hughes. Thanks to the generosity of our families, we have a large supply of good-quality second-hand uniform available in school that is waiting for a new home.
Parent Sessions
Over the coming weeks, we will be sending out information about a series of parent sessions focusing on how we teach reading, writing and mathematics at Polruan Primary Academy. Before finalising these sessions, we would like to gauge interest from families to ensure they are as useful and supportive as possible. We hope these sessions will provide valuable insight into classroom approaches and offer practical ways to support learning at home.
Mental health
We are also pleased to share that our Mental Health in Schools Practitioner will shortly begin working with children in school. These one-to-one support sessions are offered by invitation only. If staff believe that your child would benefit from this additional support, your child's class teacher will contact you directly to discuss the provision. In addition, Mrs Joanna Hughes will be launching an ELSA Friendship Club. Working with small groups of children, the club will focus on developing positive friendship skills, conflict resolution strategies and restorative conversations. We are excited about the positive impact this provision will have in supporting children's social and emotional development.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Week Commencing Monday 7th September

 What a fantastic first week back we have had in Canute Class! All of the children have settled brilliantly into the routines of our busy classroom, and we as staff have loved seeing so many smiling faces. It has been wonderful to welcome everyone back and see the enthusiasm that the children have brought to their learning. We are also very excited that Mrs H will now be working in our class and helping to support our learning throughout the year. We know the children will enjoy working with her.

Our enquiry question for this term is: "Who helps us?"
Over the coming weeks, we will be learning about different people in our communities and workplaces who help us every day. Next week, we will be focusing on doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals and exploring the important roles they play in keeping us healthy. To link with this learning, our Drawing Club book will be Doctorsaurus. 
In Maths, we are learning about place value. We will be practising counting, comparing numbers, identifying more and less, and exploring tens and ones. In Art, we are beginning our work on painting and mixed media, with a particular focus on colour mixing. We cannot wait to get creative and experiment with different colours and techniques.

Important Reminders
Outdoor Learning - Tuesday will be our Outdoor Learning day. Please can children come to school wearing their school uniform and shoes. After lunch, we will change into our wellies and head out to the Wild Tribe area for our outdoor activities.

PE - Our PE day is Friday. Please ensure children come to school dressed in their PE kit.

We are all looking forward to a busy, exciting and enjoyable term ahead.
Mrs Fernie, Mrs Andrew and Mrs H 

Welcome back

Following yesterday's information meeting, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the exciting developments taking place at Polruan Primary Academy and explain how these changes will benefit our children.

Moving Forward Together
Our vision remains firmly centred on meeting the needs of every child. As our school community evolves, we are embracing new ways of working that allow us to provide an even more personalised, supportive and enriching educational experience.

Greater Vertical Working Across the School
One of the key developments this year is our increased use of vertical working across the school. This approach allows children of different ages to learn alongside one another, building confidence, independence and strong relationships across year groups. Mrs Fernie will teach Art across the whole school on Mondays, while Mrs Andrew will teach PE on Fridays.

Starting the Day Together 
Every day now begins as a whole school community. Children and staff come together for singing, movement and wake-up routines designed to soothe the brain stem, regulate emotions and prepare children physically and mentally for the day ahead. 

Enhanced Learning Provision 
We are pleased to announce the creation of our Enhanced Learning Provision within Tolbenny Class. This provision has been carefully designed to support children who benefit from a quieter, calmer environment to access their learning successfully.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Support
We are delighted that the School Mental Health Service has now returned to Polruan Primary. This means that children who require additional support will once again be able to access one-to-one sessions focused on mental health and emotional wellbeing.

A More Personalised Approach
One of the advantages of our current school size is the opportunity to provide more bespoke support for our pupils. Smaller numbers allow us to know every child exceptionally well and tailor provision to meet their individual needs. This means we can offer targeted interventions and enrichment opportunities designed to help children thrive, address areas of difficulty and celebrate their strengths, both academically and pastorally.

Our Commitment to Pastoral Care
Pastoral care continues to be threaded through everything we do. Whether in the classroom, on the playground or through our wider curriculum, we place great importance on helping children develop healthy minds, positive relationships and a strong sense of belonging. Our aim is to ensure that every child feels safe, supported and ready to learn each day. As we move forward together, our ambition remains clear: to make Polruan Primary Academy a school that fits the child.

We look forward to working closely with all our families as we continue to develop and strengthen the opportunities available for every child.
The Polruan Primary Academy Team

What I wish my parents or carers knew...

The children's Commission has published a really useful guide 'What I wish my parents or carers knew..': A guide for parents and carers on managing children's digital lives. Written with children's input, it offers practical advice on setting firm, protective boundaries online and supporting children's safety and wellbeing in today's digital world.

Please follow the link: 'What I wish my parents or carers knew..': A guide for parents and carers on managing children's digital lives | Children's Commissioner for England

Happy New year!

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas holiday and managed plenty of time to rest. We have an action-packed Spring term lined up with learning, socialising and playfulness. Teachers have planned new enquiries for the children to explore, Canute class will be finding out "How our world has evolved" and Tregeagle class will delve into Ancient Egypt to find out "What was importantly to Ancient Egyptians" Both classes will supplement their classroom learning with trips and experiences to enhance understanding and make the learning come to life. As always, you can find out what your child will be learning from the learning map teachers upload to Showbie in your child's portfolio. This map has a brief outline of subjects taught across the half term.

We continue to teach reading through phonics supported by the Twinkl resources in our early years and in KS2 the children read a variety of texts and analyse these using the VIPERS reading skills; vocabulary, inference, prediction, explaining, retrieval and summary. Writing is taught by modelling high quality sentences using selected grammar and vocabulary and supporting the children to experiment in drafting their own. For our youngest children, writing is taught through Drawing Club, where children draw their own images and select words to describe them.

Maths is taught using the Mastery Approach with children recording learning on their iPads alongside opportunities to record using pen and paper. We also teach fluency using Number Sense for KS1 and Mastering Number in KS2. We hope you find the opportunity to follow your child's learning on the Showbie platform useful. If you have any problems logging in or would like to find out more about how we use the platform alongside other recording in the classroom, please speak to your child's teacher.

In Canute class, outdoor learning continues to be taught on Tuesday afternoons with PE on Thursday afternoon. In Tregeagle class, PE is on Monday morning and Friday afternoon. On PE days, please send your child to school wearing their PE kit to allow the entire PE lesson to be active learning. For outdoor learning, your child should come to school wearing their uniform and bring suitable coats/footwear in a bag for outdoors if it is not already at school. We do have waterproof trousers for everyone and some spare wellies we can lend the children if necessary.

After School Clubs start from next week, list of clubs and sign-up sheets will be sent out shortly.
Jane Wills

Happy New Year

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas holiday and managed plenty of time to rest. We have an action-packed Spring term lined up with learning, socialising and playfulness. Teachers have planned new enquiries for the children to explore, Canute class will be finding out "How our world has evolved" and Tregeagle class will delve into Ancient Egypt to find out "What was importantly to Ancient Egyptians" Both classes will supplement their classroom learning with trips and experiences to enhance understanding and make the learning come to life. As always, you can find out what your child will be learning from the learning map teachers upload to Showbie in your child's portfolio. This map has a brief outline of subjects taught across the half term.

We continue to teach reading through phonics supported by the Twinkl resources in our early years and in KS2 the children read a variety of texts and analyse these using the VIPERS reading skills; vocabulary, inference, prediction, explaining, retrieval and summary. Writing is taught by modelling high quality sentences using selected grammar and vocabulary and supporting the children to experiment in drafting their own. For our youngest children, writing is taught through Drawing Club, where children draw their own images and select words to describe them.

Maths is taught using the Mastery Approach with children recording learning on their iPads alongside opportunities to record using pen and paper. We also teach fluency using Number Sense for KS1 and Mastering Number in KS2.

We hope you find the opportunity to follow your child's learning on the Showbie platform useful. If you have any problems logging in or would like to find out more about how we use the platform alongside other recording in the classroom, please speak to your child's teacher.

In Canute class, outdoor learning continues to be taught on Tuesday afternoons with PE on Thursday afternoon. In Tregeagle class, PE is on Monday morning and Friday afternoon. On PE days, please send your child to school wearing their PE kit to allow the entire PE lesson to be active learning. For outdoor learning, your child should come to school wearing their uniform and bring suitable coats/footwear in a bag for outdoors if it is not already at school. We do have waterproof trousers for everyone and some spare wellies we can lend the children if necessary.

After School Clubs start from next week, list of clubs and sign-up sheets will be sent out shortly.

Christmas Performances

Celebrating Success on Stage

It was wonderful to see the confidence, enjoyment and sheer enthusiasm of our children shining on stage during this year's Christmas productions. What a memorable afternoon with entertaining singing and wholehearted performances, every child gave their very best. Standing on the stage can be intimidating and needs immense bravery, however the children showed no fear and for that we are all incredibly proud of them. Being a small cast means more time on stage, creative adaptations to the story line and several costume changes, none of which dampened enthusiasm and energy and we were treated to a series of inspired and delightful performances. We now all know that it really doesn't matter whether there are three wise men - or just one very wise man!

A huge thank you to the audience for brilliant participation bringing a true Pantomime flavour and fun. Huge thank you to our parent volunteers helping source raffle prices and selling tickets on the day. Finally, huge thank you to the staff for their continued ambition to make Christmas performances memorable experiences for all our pupils.

We are incredibly proud of all our performers and hope they enjoyed every moment of taking their bows, soaking up the applause and storing these experiences away in their treasure chest of happy Polruan Primary school memories.

As always, to protect the children's right to privacy, a full selection of photographs from the day has been uploaded to Showbie for parents to access via their child's portfolio.

We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 18th December for our Open Afternoon Sing Along with Mrs Butlin. 

Check your emails and the school calendar for the other Christmas events taking place next week.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills