This half term has raced by and we have had a wonderful Spring Term at Polperro School with much to be proud of. It was good to share achievements with parents and carers at yesterday's Reader/Writer and Mathematician if the week assembly.

This morning, the children had a visit from the Easter Bunny who delivered Easter eggs to them on the playground. A huge thank you to FOPS for helping to organise this and the Easter discos that the children enjoyed yesterday evening. The discos raised £260 for school.

House Points House points are given out to pupils who consistently demonstrate our school values. This term, Oak were awarded them most and are currently in the lead with 200 points, closely followed by Willow (195), Ash (186) and Chestnut (176).

More Cross-Country Success Well done to 16 of our runners who qualified for a medal from the Cross Country League this season. A huge well done too to Flora and Isabelle who came a magnificent 11th and 28th respectively in the Primary Mid Cornwall Inter Area Cross Country Races on Monday.

Clubs After Easter, clubs will remain the same as follows, including Y6 SATS clubs. Once the greenhouse has been delivered (date tbc), Art Club on Thursdays will end and we will set up gardening club which will be run by Miss Randle and Mrs Fitzsimmons.
Monday: After School Running Club (Miss Bowden and Miss Bolton) for years 3-6. Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) for Reception/Y1/Y2 After School Girls' Football Club (Mr Peters and Miss Bowden) for years 3-6
Thursday: Lunchtime Choir (Mrs Butlin) for years 2-6 After School Art Club (Mrs Fitzsimmons) for Reception/Y1/Y2 (limited numbers, 1st come 1st served) After School Football Club (Mr Langley) for years 3-6
If your child would like to join any of the clubs available for their year group and has not already signed up, please let us know by email or telephone. Please note that once children have signed up to a club, they are expected to attend every week unless they are absent from school or we have received written parental permission for them not to attend. This applies to both lunchtime and after-school clubs.

Uniform If you are looking ahead to buying uniform, please remember that we have a good supply of nearly new uniform in school, including summer dresses and PE items, which is available for a donation (£1 minimum) to the school. Please ask at reception. Please ensure that your child's shoes are black and socks/tights are grey, black or white. Full details of our uniform can be found under the Information tab on this website.

INSET Dates for 2026-2027 Please see below training days for 2026/27, to help with planning time off, childcare and forthcoming family events.
• Thursday 3rd September 2026
• Friday 4th September 2026
• School Term to start for pupils on Monday 7th September 2026
• Friday 23rd October 2026
• Monday 4th January 2027
• Friday 12th February 2027
• Friday 28th May 2027
• Friday 23rd July 2027

Looking ahead to the summer term, three important dates for the diary are: Polperro Festival School's Day which is on 16th June this year; and Sports Day which will be on the morning of Tuesday 23rd June with a reserve date of Friday 26th June. Further details of these events will follow nearer the time.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter break. We look forward to seeing the children back in school on Tuesday 20th April.

A Hillman

Another busy week at school has included a Year 5 trip to Liskeard Fire Station, where pupils learned all about safety on the railways, online, on the roads, and when using electricity. They also tried their hand at choking prevention and CPR and explored the risks associated with smoking. On Tuesday morning, Reception had a very enjoyable trip into Polperro to find out more about how post is processed and delivered from the post office.

FOPS Fundraising Quiz Night New Date - Friday 24th April Our Quiz Night has been rearranged for Friday 24th April. The event which will be held at school is open to parents, carers, and friends of the school. Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start. Why not form a team of 4-6 people and test your knowledge while supporting our fundraising efforts. Tickets are £5 per person and are available from the school office. See the attached poster for more details.We hope to see you there!

Clubs After half term, clubs will remain the same as follows, including Y6 SATS clubs. Once the greenhouse has been delivered (date tbc), Art Club on Thursdays will end and we will set up gardening club which will be run by Miss Randle and Mrs Fitzsimmons.
Monday: After School Running Club (Miss Bowden and Miss Bolton) for years 3-6.
Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) for Reception/Y1/Y2; After School Girls' Football Club (Mr Peters and Miss Bowden) for years 3-6
Thursday: Lunchtime Choir (Mrs Butlin) for years 2-6; After School Art Club (Mrs Fitzsimmons) for Reception/Y1/Y2 (limited numbers, 1st come 1st served);  After School Football Club (Mr Langley) for years 3-6.

If your child would like to join any of the clubs available for their year group and has not already signed up, please let us know by email or telephone. Please note that once children have signed up to a club, they are expected to attend every week unless they are absent from school or we have received written parental permission for them not to attend. This applies to both lunchtime and after-school clubs.

Easter Bikeability Cycling Sessions Please see attached poster for details of cycling sessions available at Callington Community College during the Easter holidays for pupils aged 4 upwards.

Easter MHST Wild Wellbeing - new venues added Tehidy Woods and Lanhydrock House have now been added to MHST Wild Wellbeing for Easter. The link for sign up remains the same. The Mental Health in Schools Team (MHST) Wild Wellbeing sessions being run this Easter holidays in collaboration with Natural England, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and National Trust. These free sessions are open to children aged 5-12 to help understand and support emotional and mental wellbeing. Each session will be approximately 2 hours long. Sign up details are included in the attached poster. Sign up will close one week before the session date, or when the session reaches capacity, whichever comes first.

Diary Dates Next Thursday 2nd April is the last day of the Spring term and school ends for pupils at 1:30pm. On Thursday morning we will have a visit from the Easter Bunny. The first day of the Summer term after the Easter break will be Monday, 20th April. Looking ahead to the Summer term, Sports Day will be held at 10am on Tuesday 23rd June with a reserve date of Friday 26th June.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Thank you for sending your children in today in MUFTI and with wonderfully creative crazy hair (see blogs for photos). We had a huge amount of fun in school and spent time finding out about the work of Comic Relief. At the time of writing, we have raised over £85 for Comic Relief from your generous donations.

Trust Music Event On Monday, pupils from Polperro School joined other schools from the Trust for a special music event held at St Martin's Church in Liskeard. Thirteen of our older pupils performed a fantastic original song they had written about climate change, showcasing both their creativity and their commitment to an important global issue. Following the performances, all the children came together to sing alongside Luke Wallace, a world-renowned singer-songwriter from Canada who inspires positive climate action through music. It was a memorable event that brought the schools together and highlighted the importance of raising awareness about climate change. Well done to all those who represented Polperro.

FOPS Easter Discos Reminder that we will be holding Easter discos next week on Friday 27th March. 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.

Diary Dates Thursday 2nd April is the last day of the Spring term and school ends for pupils at 1:30pm.

Looking ahead to the summer term, Sports Day will be held at 10am on Tuesday 23rd June with a reserve date of Friday 26th June.

Wishing you a  sunny weekend.

Mrs Hillman

It was wonderful to see so many of you at our parent/carer consultations for Penhallow, Talland and Chaipel Classes this week. Mr Langley will be holding consultations for Talland Class next Wednesday. Miss Bolton will be holding them for Landaviddy Class on Wednesday and Friday. If you have not been able to meet with your child's teacher yet, please contact the office to arrange an appointment.

Cross Country Success The Polperro team yet again did brilliantly well in last week's final league race at Lanhydrock. Congratulations to the children who all ran well. Thank you to Mrs Turnbull and Miss Colton for their wonderful team support this season and to parents and carers for transporting our runners to each race come rain or shine (mostly rain!). An amazing effort all round from Team Polperro. Special congratulations go to Flora and Isabelle who have qualified for an Inter Area competition at Par Track on 30th March.

RNLI Beach Safety Assembly Lifeguards from the RNLI visited today to hold an assembly about how to stay safe on the beach. They enlisted the help of pupils to demonstrate how to get help if they get into trouble in the sea. They also discussed where it is and isn't safe to swim and what to do if you are caught in a riptide. Your child will have brought home a leaflet which contains the information discussed.

Comic Relief, Friday 20th March - Crazy Hair MUFTI Day This year Red Nose Day is on Friday, 20th March. The School Council would like the children to come to school in MUFTI with Crazy Hair with a minimum donation of £1 for this MUFTI day.

FOPS Easter Discos Reminder that we will be holding Easter discos on Friday 27th March. 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.

Bags for School Collection Monday 16th Reminder that these are being collected from Nursery on Monday 16th March. Please ensure Nursery have your bags before 9am.

MHST Wild Wellbeing Please see attached details of the Mental Health in Schools Team (MHST) Wild Wellbeing sessions being run this Easter holidays in collaboration with Natural England, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and National Trust. These free sessions are open to children aged 5-12 to help understand and support emotional and mental wellbeing. Each session will be approximately 2 hours long. Sign up details are included in the attached poster. Sign up will close one week before the session date, or when the session reaches capacity, whichever comes first.

Wishing you a lovely weekend

Mrs Hillman

World Book Day Thank you for sending your child to school dressed as their favourite character for World Book Day yesterday. We saw some of the best costumes ever and really enjoyed seeing them all during assembly.

After assembly, Landaviddy and Talland Classes shared stories and read together, while Chaipel pupils read to Penhallow pupils, which was a lovely opportunity for children to enjoy books together. Later, KS2 took part in a BBC live lesson all about reading while Penhallow Class enjoyed a range of World Book Day activities. All of these activities were designed to encourage a love of reading, which is such an important part of every child's education.

Congratulations to the winners of our paper plate competition: Penhallow: Martha (winner); Brody and Maeve (runners up) Landaviddy: Hector (winner); April and Iylah (runners up) Talland: Harley (winner); Amber and Flora (runners up) Chaipel: Lily (winner); Aria and Skye (runners up). The standard of entry was so high and it was very difficult to choose. Photos of the plates and the World Book Day costumes will be on class pages and head's blog on our website. The plates will be displayed in the library.

Enquiries for this half term Enquiry questions have been launched for this half term as follows: Penhallow: What is it like to live on an Island? Landaviddy: How can the Force be with You? Talland: How have children's lives changed? Chaipel: What was the impact of WWII on the People of Britain? As usual, photos and information about the children's learning can be found on the class pages.

Parent Consultations Reminder We will be holding parent consultations next week for Penhallow, Talland and Chaipel Classes and the week commencing 16th March for Landaviddy Class. If you have not already signed up, please call the office to arrange an appointment either in person, on TEAMS or by phone.

Fantastic Footballers Well done to our football team, who played against Bishop Cornish on Wednesday. They performed brilliantly against an older side, showing great determination and teamwork throughout the game. The team scored two fantastic goals and were unlucky not to add another after hitting the post. Although the final score was 4-2 to Bishop Cornish, the result does not reflect how competitive and closely contested the match was.

FOPS Fundraising Quiz Night Join us for a fun-filled Quiz Night at school on Friday 13th March. The event is open to parents, carers, and friends of the school. Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start. Form a team of 4-6 people and test your knowledge while supporting our fundraising efforts. Tickets are £5 per person and are available from the school office. See the attached poster for more details. We hope to see you there!

FOPS Easter Discos We will be holding Easter discos on Friday 27th March. 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.

Comic Relief, Friday 20th March - Crazy Hair Day This year Red Nose Day is on Friday, 20th March. The School Council would like the children to come to school in MUFTI with Crazy Hair with a minimum donation of £1 for this MUFTI day.

Support for a Pupil We would like to share that one of our Year 6 pupils has been in hospital for some time. This has been a very challenging period for the family, and we are keeping them very much in our thoughts. A GoFundMe page has been set up with further details about how we can offer support during this difficult time. If you are able to help, any contribution would be greatly appreciated. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-my-goddaughters-road-to-recovery We are sure you will join us in sending your very best wishes the family.

Enjoy a (hopefully) sunny weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Planting for the future

Welcome back!

The first week of term is already underway. Building on last year's Orwell Project, our Year 5 and 6 pupils, together with our Planet Protector group, visited the temperate rainforest just ten minutes from school to take part in a special tree-planting session. They were the very first group of pupils to plant trees as part of this exciting initiative, which will see more than 20,000 trees planted to help restore and regenerate the temperate rainforest. A fantastic start to the term and a wonderful way for our pupils to make a real difference to their local environment.

Parent Consultations We will be holding parent consultations the week commencing 9th March for Penhallow, Talland and Chaipel Classes and the week commencing 16th March for Landaviddy Class. Please see separate letter attached for dates and details of how to sign up.

Clubs will resume next week as follows: Monday: After School Running Club (Miss Bowden and Miss Bolton) for years 3-6. Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) Reception/Y1/Y2; After school Girls' Football (Y3-6); Thursday: Lunchtime Choir Mrs Butlin (Y2-6) After school Art Club (Mrs Fitzsimmons) Reception/Y1/Y2 ; After school Football Club Mr Langley (Y3-Y6). We had hoped to restart Gardening Club this half term; however, unfortunately the greenhouse did not withstand the recent storms and we are currently awaiting a replacement. We are now aiming to have this popular club up and running again after the Easter break.

If your child would like to join any of the clubs available for their year group and has not already signed up, please let us know by email or telephone. Please note that once children have signed up to a club, they are expected to attend every week unless they are absent from school or we have received written parental permission for them not to attend. This applies to both lunchtime and after-school clubs.  

World Book Day, Thursday 5th March 2026 Please find attached a £1 digital book token for your child to spend on a free book for World Book Day. Reminder that on World Book Day children should come in dressed as their favourite book character. We have already had some super entries for "decorate a paper plate" competition where the children are asked to decorate a paper plate following the theme or character of a book. Reminder that the deadline for entries is Monday 2nd March and winners will be announced on World Book Day (Thursday 5th March).

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

We have enjoyed a range of school assemblies this week. On Monday, Rev Richard led a thoughtful New Year assembly focusing on resolutions. This was followed on Tuesday by a lively singing assembly with Mrs Fitzsimmmons. On Wednesday, we held our first Reader, Writer and Mathematician Celebration Assembly of the year, and were pleased to welcome parents and carers of the children who received certificates. We ended the week with our Celebration Assembly today, where we recognised children who consistently demonstrate our school values, awarded 99 Club badges to pupils mastering their times tables, and celebrated Flora's recent triathlon success. If your child has an achievement to celebrate, whether in sport, the arts, or another interest outside of school, please encourage them to bring it in to share with us on a Friday.

Children's Mental Health Week 2026 We will be taking part in Children's Mental Health Week which this year is taking place between 9-15 February. This year's theme is 'This is My Place' where peers, families, schools and communities are encouraged to create an environment that gives children and young people a sense of belonging. As parents and carers, you play an important role in your child's mental health. There are free resources here which you may wish to look at beforehand. https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/resources/#families

As part of Children's Mental Health Week, we will be spending the morning outdoors on Monday 9th February when all staff and pupils will take part in the Big Schools' Birdwatch and other outdoor wellbeing activities. Further details to follow.

Clubs Our new Girls' KS2 Football Club kicked off on Tuesday and was a great success with the girls thoroughly enjoying the session. A huge thank you to Mr Peters for stepping in at the last minute to run the club and for kindly agreeing to lead it for the rest of this term. Reminder: All other clubs will start next week.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Welcome back, and Happy New Year to you all. We are delighted to welcome our new families and six new pupils to our school community.

Thank you for your patience and understanding when the school opened later than usual on Tuesday and again yesterday when we closed early as a precaution due to the storm. Our caretaker, Mr Sands, has been checking the school premises and repairing any damage caused by the weather. I am pleased to report that the greenhouse remains intact which means the children will be able to continue growing their own fruit and vegetables as planned when Gardening Club resumes next half term.

Clubs The Girls' Football Club for pupils in Years 3-6 will begin on Tuesday 13th January. Other clubs will start the week commencing Monday, 19th January as follows:
Monday: Lunchtime Mindfulness and Colouring Club (Mrs Wilkie) for all year groups
After School Running Club (Miss Bowden and Mrs Turnbull) for years 3-6. This club is open to anyone who likes running however it will not run when the Cross-Country League races are on - next races 16th January)
Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) Reception/Y1/Y2
After school Girls' Football Club (Y3-6) starts 13th January
Thursday: Lunchtime Choir (Mrs Butlin) Y2-6
After school Art Club (Mrs Fitzsimmons) Reception/Y1/Y2 (limited numbers, 1st come 1st served)
After school Football Club (Mr Langley) Y3-Y6

Please inform us by email or phone call, which clubs you wish your child to attend, by midday on Wednesday 14th January. For all clubs, once signed up children will be expected to attend every week unless they have written parental permission not to, or are absent. This applies to both lunchtime and after school clubs. Please note that gardening club will resume after half term.

What I wish my parents or carers knew..': A guide for parents and carers on managing children's digital lives 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. Click here to access the guide.

These are the main messages for you at the moment as we start back and we will send out further correspondence as needed, with a regular update each Friday. Further information regarding school is available on the Head's Blog and class blogs on our website and information about dates can be found in the Events Diary on this website.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

The children have enjoyed a wonderfully busy week, rounding off their enquiries and taking part in a range of festive activities. These included Reverend Richard's Christmas assembly on Tuesday, Christmas Lunch on Wednesday, Christmas Art Day on Thursday, and class parties today. Talland and Chaipel Classes' Christmas performances on Monday were spectacular and provided a fantastic finale to a brilliant series of performances from all of the children.

House Points Our house captains have totalled the house points for this term. House Points are awarded to children who demonstrate our school values: Curious, Creative, Excellent, Responsible, Determined, and Enthusiastic. This half term, our focus has been on being Curious. Congratulations to Oak, who are currently in the lead with 100 points, followed by Willow with 88 points, Ash with 75 points, and Chestnut with 70 points.

Clubs The Girls' Football Club for pupils in Years 3-6 will begin on Tuesday 13th January. We will contact you during the first week of next term with details of other clubs available for the upcoming half term.

Fundraising We are delighted that our Christmas Gift Shop on Monday raised over £250. A huge thank you to FOPS for all of the organising and wrapping. We also raised £67 for Save the Children on Christmas Jumper Day and £139.51 for Cornwall Hospice Care, our School Council's chosen charity, from kind donations after each of the class performances.

Keeping Your Child Safe Online - Parental Controls Guides To help keep children safe online, we encourage parents and carers to set up parental controls on all devices your child uses. Please use this link https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/ to access easy, step-by-step guides showing how to activate parental controls on a wide range of devices, apps and online platforms. These tools can help you manage screen time, privacy settings and the content your child can access, creating a safer online experience. This information is particularly helpful at this time of year, as many children may receive new devices for Christmas such as: smart devices (e.g. TVs, speakers like Alexa); mobile phones (Android or iPhone); games consoles; tablets, laptops, or PCs. Taking a few minutes to set up parental controls can make a big difference in keeping your child safe online.

Dates The new term starts on Tuesday 6th January. Half term will be from Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February with an INSET Day on Friday 13th February. The last day of the Spring term is Thursday 2nd April and the Summer Term starts on Monday 20th April.

A huge thank you for all of your support so far this academic year. The children have worked incredibly hard and all deserve a wonderful Christmas break.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas

Anthea Hillman and all of the staff at Polperro Primary Academy