Thursday 13th February

Wow, here we are again at another half term! What a wonderful Half term it has been, jammed packed with amazing learning and progress!

This week we have some very exciting things in class. To finish our big question: What Can I Explore Today? We had two very special visitors for us to explore in class.

Firstly Mrs. Gregory was kind enough to bring her little pug Hugo into school for a short visit. Mrs. Greogry told us all about Hugo and showed us how he uses his scratch box to keep his nails short and how she brushes his teeth. The children explored Hugo by asking so many brilliant questions!

We were then lucky enough that Miss Chapman was kind enough to bring in her bearded dragon to explore. Buzz was very comfortable hugging Harvey from Year 5 (who the dragon belonged to also). Harvey told us amazing facts about Buzz and the children asked so many brilliant questions again!

It was great exploring these wonderful animals as an end to our question. We are really looking forward to the next half terms question? Who made these footprints?

The lady from the Education Library Services visited us too this week, she read one of our favourite stories: Owl babies. She also brought along some owl teddies to act out the story, we loved it!

We have explored and learnt so much this half term and it is really showing in the children’s progress. We are halfway through the year already and we cannot wait to explore the next half and to continue seeing so much wonderful progression form all the children.

Have a wonderful half-term break and we look forward to seeing everyone back to school on Monday 24^th February.

The Foundation Team 

Stay Safe On line

We have had a super busy final week of the half term! Tregantle children had a really fun day on Tuesday when we took part in lots of activities as part of safer internet day. There were many fun and informative sessions that reinforced the message 'stop, close, tell.' 

We were lucky to welcome a local author and illustrator to school on Wednesday. We took part in an illustrators master class and learnt about the process of writing a published book. 

We took part in a very special assembly today to say goodbye Miss Rowlands who is retiring after 29 year at Brunel! We wish Miss Rowlands all the very best for her retirement!

Have a wonderful half term break and we look forward to seeing you back at school very soon!

Year 1 Assembly – Thursday 13th February
This morning, families joined their Year 1 Explorers, as they journeyed through some recent learning. We were treated to a song, interesting facts, pictures, sculptures and beautifully presented written work. What a way to end the half term. Well done, Year 1!

Charity Bake Sale - Wednesday 26th – Friday 28th February
Some of our Year 4 pupils have decided to take action! They would like to raise more money for our school charity, the Newquay Zoo Wild Planet Trust. They have teamed up with our School Council to run a Bake Sale. Here is a message from them: Our bake sale will be take place in the first week after half term from Wednesday 26th February to Friday 28th February. As well as cakes, we will be selling some handmade bracelets and there will be a lucky dip stall where you will be able to win some sweets. Our stalls will be in the library (for EYFS & KS1) and in the hall (for KS2). Prices will be either 50p or £1 so please bring some money into school that week and help us raise money for Newquay Zoo Wild Planet. We plan to make the cakes ourselves, however, if you would like to donate some cakes to the sale, please bring them into the hall on Wednesday morning along with a full ingredient list and remember we are a nut free school.

Coffee Morning and Phonics Workshop - Monday 3rd March (The Hub)
With World Book Day the same week, Mrs Hill will be holding a phonics workshop on the morning of Monday 3rd March; everybody is invited! Come along and find out more about our approach to teaching early reading at WPA and enjoy a cup of tea/coffee at the same time.

Year 4 Residential Information Meeting - Tuesday 4th March 15:30 (Hall)
Mr Langton will be holding a meeting after school for parents in the Hall (and Year 4 children) for those who are going on the Year 4 residential to Porthpean in the summer term. Please can you supervise your child/ren during the meeting, thank you.

St Piran’s Day - Wednesday 5th March
To celebrate St Piran’s Day, your child is welcome to come to school in Cornish colours: black, white and gold (otherwise normal school uniform). Children will learn the story of St Piran and take part in a whole school ‘Trelawny Shout’ by singing one of our favourite songs, The Song of Western Men.

World Book Day - Thursday 6th March
We would like to invite children to dress up as a book character to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 6th March. Please don’t feel you need to go to any unnecessary expense; homemade costumes or keeping it simple is fine. Equally, dressing up isn’t for everyone so if your child prefers to attend in their own clothes that day, that is fine. Throughout the day, the children will take part in a range of book related activities including some paired reading with buddies in the opposite key stage over a hot chocolate and a biscuit. For this, we ask that each child brings in their favourite book to share. Our Reading Ambassadors will be visiting each classroom to interview children about their favourite books. During the week, each class will also be taking part in a competition to ‘Decorate their Classroom Door’. Judging will take place on WBD – photos to follow! Your child will be coming home today with a World Book Day voucher for £1. These can be used to purchase World Book Day books (listed on the back of the voucher) in the following stores: Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco, The Works, Waterstones and WHSmith. They are valid until 23rd March. This year we’re unable to run the Scholastic Book Fair at school.

Parent Teacher Consultations
A reminder that we have our Parent Teacher Consultations the first week back after half term. If you haven’t already, please sign up on Arbor to make your appointment. See email sent on Wednesday 29th January for further details. Please note that DT Sports and teacher led after school ECAs won’t be running the first week back. Pro20 and Dance will be running as normal.

House Competition – Perfect Plots for Superb Stories: Deadline Extended
We recently launched our next competition with the whole school. Children need to use their imaginations to come up with ideas, however the plot outline can only be a maximum of 300 words. The deadline for entries is Monday 24th February. The overall winner will receive a £5 voucher, with the runners up winning a book of your choice. Each entry will also receive House Points. Put your entries in the entry box, which can be found on the House Captain display along the corridor. If you have any questions, please ask one of us.
From your House Captains

House Points
Congratulations to this week’s winners, Choughs. Choughs have now taken the overall lead going into the half term break:
Choughs – 5561
Swans – 5549
Puffins – 4851
Cormorants – 4753

Bridge Kids – Breakfast Club Vacancy
We are seeking an enthusiastic Breakfast Club Assistant to join our team, supporting children during breakfast before school (07:30-08:30 Monday-Friday). This role involves creating a safe, engaging, and fun environment, helping children develop social skills and enjoy play-based activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Supervise and support children during breakfast sessions.
• Ensure the safety, well-being, and inclusion of all children.
• Build positive relationships with children, staff, and parents.

Requirements:
• Experience working with primary-aged children in a similar setting is essential.
• Food hygiene certificate (or willingness to undergo necessary training).
• A positive, proactive attitude with strong communication skills.
• Enhanced DBS check (or willingness to undergo one).
• A genuine passion for working with children and promoting their development.

For further details on how to apply, please see our Trust’s vacancies page.


Have a wonderful half term break and see you back at school on Monday 24th February. 

This week in Maths, we have been learning all about doubling. We practiced doubling numbers and explored how it can be used in various real-life situations. It was fun seeing how doubling simple numbers can lead to larger numbers and then we looked at doubling plus one!

In English, we worked on innovating the story of The Tiger Who Came to Tea. We got to be creative and change parts of the story, adding our own characters. Some of us even came up with new endings for the tiger’s visit! It was exciting to see how different everyone's stories turned out, and we shared our ideas with the class.

In History, we took part in a learning forum to discuss everything we had learned about schools in the past. We looked at how classrooms, teachers, and learning materials have changed over time. After that, we had a Victorian school morning, where we experienced what it was like to attend school in Victorian times. It was so interesting to see how different the rules and lessons were back then!

In Science, we explored the seasons and the changes that happen in nature throughout the year. One of the things we focused on was how trees respond to the different seasons. We learned about how they grow, change their leaves, and prepare for winter. It was great to observe how nature adapts and evolves throughout the year.

Weekly blog - 13th Feb 25

Just like that, we've reached the end of this half term and are halfway through this academic year! We've ended on a high this week with the hugely popular "Art Exhibition" on Tuesday. Thank-you to everyone who was able to attend and look through the amazing art that was on display. The children are rightly proud of their achievements, and it was great to let them share their enthusiasm for learning. We are looking at doing these events whenever possible to be able to share even more with you. Safer Internet Day was this Tuesday. The children learned about scams, how to recognise the signs and what to do if they think they have seen one. Online safety is key in our digital world, and we make sure we teach children how to be safe with technology. Obviously, they spend more time with you than in school and we have lots of resources on our website to help signpost parents and carers to expert help and advice if needed. World Book Day is fast approaching on the 6th of March and the librarians have decided that, along with dressing up as a favourite book character, they would like to hold a book swap. Children are welcome to bring up to 5 books that they would like others to enjoy and swap them with their classmates. More information on this will be forthcoming, but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up about the event. We are really lucky to be part of the Darite community - we have had several lovely comments about how amazing the willow structure looks after the trim last weekend. Thank you so much to Meika and the volunteers for taming the structure. We can't wait for the summer to be able to take learning outside event more. Everyone at Darite wishes you all a very relaxing half term-break and we are looking forward to to seeing the children back in school on Monday 24th February.

February 

History
We have been exploring how the Census can shed light on life in local areas throughout the past. Census records offer a fascinating glimpse into how people lived, worked, and grew their communities over time. It has been immensely enjoyable to watch the children turn into historians, interrogate the historical sources and drawing conclusions from their inference. From our work, the children have identified how localities can be defined according to the jobs available, how women’s rights (or lack of) influenced the census and how information sharing has changed over time. One of the children shared their enjoyment of the learning, “I love working wit the Census, I have made one of my own at home”.

What a busy half term it has been at Team Brunel! We have fitted so much learning and enriching opportunities into the last 6 weeks and now we have reached the half term break. We wish you all a restful and peaceful half term holiday and will see you all again on Monday 24th February for the start of the second half of the Spring Term.

Marazion Class Blog – End of Half Term Update

Wow—what a fantastic end to this half term! The children have worked incredibly hard and had so much fun with their learning.

In English, we’ve been preparing for our poetry writing by exploring noun phrases and prepositions to create vivid descriptions. The children also practiced performing poetry aloud, building their confidence and expression—there are certainly some budding poets in the class!

Maths has been full of excitement as we continued our times tables challenges and tackled multiplication and division with larger numbers. The children have shown great perseverance and problem-solving skills, and we are so proud of their progress.

In History, we wrapped up our fascinating topic on the Stone Age to Iron Age by comparing different periods and reflecting on how life changed over time. The class had some brilliant discussions, showing how much they’ve learned.

This week, we were also lucky to have an exciting visit from an author and illustrator! The children loved engaging in creative activities inspired by their work, and many took the chance to get a signed book—a wonderful way to celebrate reading and storytelling.

We also enjoyed our final Art Club session, where the children created some beautiful mindful pattern landscapes. It has been wonderful to see their creativity shine. Next half term, we look forward to switching to Dance Club, which will be a great way to keep active and have fun together.

We also took time to focus on well-being with our Love Yourself Day. It was a lovely way to celebrate kindness and self-worth, finishing with PSHE love hearts filled with reasons why we love ourselves. It was heartwarming to see the children’s positivity and self-reflection.

Thank you for all your support this half term. We hope you have a wonderful and restful break, and we look forward to another exciting half term of learning ahead!

Nessa Class Explores Retro-Futurism and Street Art

Nessa Class has completed an exciting six-lesson art unit, exploring the vibrant worlds of 1960s retro-futurism and the dynamic street art of contemporary artist Teis Albers. This creative journey has allowed pupils to experiment with bold colours, textures, and layering techniques while developing their artistic skills in printmaking and drawing.

The unit began with an introduction to retro-futurism, a 1960s artistic style that imagined the future with sleek designs, bold typography, and space-age aesthetics. Pupils examined how this style influenced everything from posters to architecture, inspiring their own futuristic concepts. They then explored the work of Teis Albers, a Dutch street artist known for his use of layering, mixed media, and urban textures. His fusion of collage, graffiti, and digital art provided a fresh perspective on modern creativity.

One of the key skills pupils developed was creating printing plates using a mix of textures. They experimented with different materials to create varied surfaces, which added depth and contrast to their final prints. Through this process, they gained an understanding of relief printing and how texture can be used to create striking visual effects. Pupils also explored layering techniques, combining prints, drawings, and collage elements to build up complex and engaging compositions. This process encouraged them to think critically about composition and balance while embracing the unpredictable and expressive nature of mixed media art.

Throughout the unit, pupils refined their drawing skills, using bold lines, futuristic patterns, and abstract shapes inspired by both retro-futurism and street art. Their final pieces showcased an impressive blend of past and present artistic influences, demonstrating their creativity and skill. Well done to Nessa Class for their enthusiasm and hard work in this unit—your artwork is truly out of this world!

Mr Hodgins hosted a TEAMs call where he taught Class 3 how to scan an image on the photocopier, the children will then use software to alter and adapt them. Their scanned images will be used to create a piece of artwork which can be used as part of a wider presentation about the planets in the solar system.

Lantic class have been having fun with lots of new things to explore in their outdoor area. A big thank you to the Lantic staff team for creating such a wonderful environment for the children.

Thank you to all the children for their donations to Comic Relief and everyone’s odd socks for Down Syndrome Awareness Day.

Thank you to Mr Lewis for leading our assemblies this week. We were set challenges across the day to explore who our trusted adults are, our top tips for staying safe online and what to do if we are playing a game and we receive messages/click bait. We also thoroughly enjoyed 3/4A's rap - 'Stay Safe, Safe'! The children in KS2 in particular were very knowledgeable of what they can do to keep themselves safe online and all of KS1 and EYFS were able to share who their trusted adults are and how they help them stay safe. An email has gone out to parents with more information about online safety to help at home too. 

Lo