A Wonderful Week in Landaviddy!

What a brilliant week Landaviddy class have had! On Wednesday, we were lucky enough to have a wonderful visitor, Muhunthiny (Tinni) Sivasothy, come into school and share with us about her beliefs as a Hindu. We loved listening to her stories and learning more about the Hindu faith. 

In Science, we have continued investigating shadows by conducting an investigation measuring the length of shadows and how they change. Can you remember what happened to the shadow when the torch was moved further away? In DT this week, we explored different materials and had a go at joining these together. We now know what we will need to make strong shadow puppets.

Today, we spent a lovely morning with the whole school in recognition of Children's Mental Health Week. We started off the day by completing the RSPB's Birdwatch and then participated in a range of activities throughout the morning, designed to promote mental health wellbeing. What was your favourite activity? 

In Maths, Year 2 have completed their unit on Money. We have explored how to find change and completed two-step problems. Year 3 have been exploring division by dividing 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers using flexible partitioning and finding remainders. 

In English, we have been progressing to finish writing our explanation texts on bees. We have particularly focussed on including subordinating conjunctions in our writing. 

Congratulations to Dexter and Oliver for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week and a big well done to Dexter and Lowen H for achieving their 99 club badges this week. 

We hope you have a super weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday, ready for the last week before half term arrives!

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton

I don't know where to begin as this week has been so busy!

On Wednesday, we were visited by Muhunthiny (a Hindu speaker) who gave us a workshop on the Hinduism religion. We had a lovely morning, trying on the traditional clothing, learning about the religion and how Hindus live their lives, day to day. Our behaviour was impeccable and she is looking forward to visiting us again in the future.

ENGLISH
We have written our draft copy of our free verse poetry and are in the process of editng, improving and writing up our best copies: I look forward to reading them all.

MATHS
Y5s have been completing their multiplication and division this week, focusing on the short method of division. Y6s have been multiplying and dividing fractions by integers and are absolutely nailing the learning.

WIDER CURRICULUM
We have been exploring the construction of suspension bridges in DT. Lily has made a fabulous 3D model and Martha, Elsie and Ava constructed a bridge, spanning the length of a 60cm gap. The class will be moving onto designing and constructing their own model bridge in our final week next week. In Geography, Chaipel have been learning about energy sustainability, about the life and times of Gandhi in RE and in Computing, how to compress images to show how pixel quantity enhances an image without altering its size.

WELLBEING MORNING
Recognising that this week is Child's Mental Health Week, Polperro Primary had a fabulous morning ensuring positive mental health. We began with the RSPB National Bird Watch - dedicating an hour to watching and recording the birds that we saw in our area. After that, in our house teams, we then did four different activities designed to relieve stress and support our wellbeing. Ava embraced her love of art and took a piece of chalk to our playground! It was a truely wonderful morning and as a school, we have decided that we should do more mornings like this. 

Congratulations to our People of the Week, Isaac and Lily, for demonstrating our school values of being 'creative' and 'curious' as well as Lily for achieving her BRONZE in her 99 Club.

That's all from me this week. So have a lovely weekend and see you all for a four-day final week of half term from Monday.

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary, Miss Hodge and Miss Colton

Hello Everyone,

We have enjoyed working with clay this week in Penhallow, as part of our learning about the artist and sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. We chose objects to make imprints into clay, and then used them to make patterns on finger pots that we had made. We are looking forward to finding out how they have dried next week, so that we can paint them.

During our English lessons we continued to use the text; ‘Field Trip to the Moon’ by John Hare to inspire our writing. Year 1 have written some superb recounts, all about their trip to the Moon, while Reception have been busy writing labels, captions and even some onomatopoeia words, after watching a clip of a rocket taking off. They thought of some fantastic vocabulary and used their knowledge of phonics to write their own words.

We have been enjoying our new rocket role play area, and have been busy writing space log books, painting different planets and preparing for journeys into space. We have also used different construction materials to make additions and inventions for the rocket. 

It is now the Chinese New Year, so this week, we have also learnt about the story of the great race, as well as finding out about some of the traditions involved in Chinese New Year. Reception have managed to write a list of some of the animals that were involved in the race.

Have a lovely weekend! 

From the Penhallow team.

TERRIFIC TAMAR TRIP!

We have had a lovely week of learning in Chaipel, topped off with our trip to the Tamar Learning Centre as part of our enquiry into bridge construction.

ENGLISH
We are at the stage of planning our free verse poetry and have compiled some effective poetic devices. Next week, we will be writing, editing and creating our final versions.

MATHS
Y6 have been completing our ratio unit and then multiplying fractions with integers as we further our fractions knowledge and the Y5s have been multiplying a range of numbers using grid and long multiplication methods.

WIDER CURRICULUM
In DT, we have been testing the strength of an unsupported arch bridge by experimenting with height and weight. In Geography, we have been debating on whether mega farms are a good idea and we have some strong opinions!

We ended our week with our trip to the Tamar Learning Centre and it was amazing! We had a tour along the Tamar bridge footpath, learnt how the Royal Albert Bridge was constructed and broadened our knowledge on the different types of bridges and their unique features.

Congratulations to Martha who was our Person of the Week, but really, WELL DONE to all Chaipelers as you did our school proud with your curiosity and responsibility today.

Enjoy your weekend,

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary and Miss Hodge.   

We have been busy organizing many trips and activities for the upcoming terms including Chaipel Class's trip today to the Tamar Bridge  as part of their DT learning.  Why not look at their class blog for more information and the other class blogs to see the learning across the school that has been taking place. 

Children’s Mental Health Week 3-9 February We will be taking part in Children’s Mental Health Week next week. The week’s focus is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, with the aim to encourage children and young people across the UK to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them. 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 next Friday morning outside when staff and pupils will be taking part in the Big Schools’ Birdwatch; toasting marshmallows and listening to stories around the fire in the school garden; practicing yoga and enjoying art activities involving nature. Children should come into school on Friday in warm clothing with a waterproof coat and wellies or old trainers. They should bring their uniform in to change into in the afternoon. If it rains, we will do wellbeing activities inside but will still go outside for the birdwatching.

RNLI MUFTI Day Thank you for sending your children in yesterday in something blue or sea-themed. We raised £74 for the RNLI in recognition of the Oars of Thunder’s success in the World’s Toughest Row.

Family Worker Drop-Ins, Thursday 6th February, 9-11 am Reminder that the Early Help Hub will be holding Family Worker Drop-In Sessions in our school from 9-11 am on 6th February 2025. If you would like to be able to talk in confidence, just pop along, they will be here to help and support you. They will be happy to discuss and advise on issues concerning your family for example, how to better understand your child’s needs & behaviours; positive parenting and how to keep your child safe; how to better understand the importance of routines for your family. To book a 30-minute slot, contact the school on secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk or call on 01503 272249.

Upcoming dates Reminder that Friday 14th February is an INSET day and half term is 17-21 February.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

This week we have finished discussing how we keep warm in winter. The children have been busy getting creative and have made lots of craft including  decorating a paper plate wooly hat. On the tuft tray they have explored "The little Polar Bear" story and have used props to support their play.
We have been making cotton wool pad snowmen and the children have been practicing their counting during a creative maths activity.

On Wednesday we celebrated Chinese New Year and the year of the snake. The children decorated lanterns, coloured in snakes and we had a snack of rice, noodles and prawn crackers which the children really enjoyed.

In phonics the children have enjoyed singing along to the song "The farmer claps her hands". They copied actions to the song and had to finish by putting all of the sequence of movements together. They have also explored voice sounds loud and quiet and we have been listening to sounds in our indoor and outdoor environment.

In maths, we have been exploring sequences of patterns and repeating patterns in addition to exploring numbers 1-5 and beyond.

Have a lovely weekend.
The Nursery Team

Hello Everyone,

We have been learning the story; ‘Field Trip to the Moon’ by John Hare, this week during our English lessons. We therefore went on a pretend trip to the moon in a space ship. Wearing our space suits and helmets, we travelled through space together, and when we landed, we explored the moon, recording our findings and observations about what we could see, feel, smell and hear. Next week, we will be writing a recount about what happened. 

In maths, we have been playing games and solving problems around the concept of doubles and near doubles. We have been practicing recalling doubles facts and then using them to find near doubles. We have used a range of ways to represent our understanding visually, and enjoyed drawing number lines and hunting for doubles in the outside area. 

During RE this week, we learnt about stories that have meanings to Christians, Jewish people and Muslims. This week we thought about the story of Jesus calming the storm. We discussed the concept of faith, and made a zig zag book to retell the story.

We continued our learning about the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy this week, during our art lessons. We collected our own natural materials outside, and used pictures and video clips of the artist’s work, to help us to create our own sculptures in a similar style. Our creations were both unique and impressive. Well done everyone!

In Penhallow, we already enjoy reading in a range of different ways. We listen to stories read out loud every day. We read individually, in groups and using ebooks. We enjoy choosing our own books from the library, and many of us choose to read during choosing time in quiet places in the classroom, such as our reading tent. In order to encourage our love of reading even further, we are also sending home each week, a book to read with some hot chocolate, some cookies and a teddy. A different person will take this home every week, so please enjoy your special reading time, whenever you happen to be given these goodies.

Have a lovely weekend!

From the Penhallow team.

Another week has flown by in Landaviddy class. We have continued our enquiry 'What is Light?' in Science, by learning about how the sun can be dangerous and discussing what we can do to protect ourselves from the sun. In Computing, we explored touch typing and the different elements found on a keyboard. We had a great music lesson too, where we were able to use the Ukulele's. 

In English this week we have been focused on developing our use of tier 2 and 3 vocabulary when explaining. We worked together to create a glossary of tier 3 vocabulary, specific to the honey making process. Today, we completed our plans for writing our own explanation texts, which we will write next week! We can't wait! 

In Maths, Year 2 have been exploring money this week by recognising pence and pounds, and had practise choosing coins to make amounts. Year 3 have been continuing to develop their multiplication and division knowledge by exploring multiples of 10 and beginning to multiply 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers.

Congratulations to Theo, Lowen J and Oliver for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week.

We hope you have a brilliant weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton

In assembly on Tuesday we watched video of the Oars of Thunder completing their 3000 mile row across the Atlantic. In recognition of their success in this amazing challenge, the children would like to have a MUFTI day next Thursday, 30th January to raise money for the team’s chosen charity, the RNLI. The theme for the day, which has been chosen by the School Council, is ‘Wear something blue or to do with the sea’. In return for wearing no uniform, a minimum donation of £1 would be welcome.

Congratulations to our cross-country team who ran brilliantly in last week’s race at Cotehele. Many of them ran a personal best, including Flora who came a fantastic second in her race. The team were all extremely supportive of each other and their behaviour was exemplary. We are very proud of them all.

Well done also to our football team who played their first league football match on Monday against Brunel. Although the final score was 2-0 to Brunel, they played really well as a team and the result didn’t quite reflect how well they played. The next match is at home against Bishop Cornish School on 3rd February.

Our Planet Protectors have been busy improving school’s recycling by arranging for each class to have a blue recycling bin (kindly funded by FOPS). The Planet Protectors meet every Tuesday lunchtime and are encouraging the rest of the school to know what they can and cannot recycle.

Information regarding Fundamentals Dance Classes run by Former Polperro School pupil Hayley Bentley is attached to this blog. Classes are on Mondays, 4:30pm - 5:30pm for young people ages 4-10 at Lanreath Village Hall. A physical & creative outlet for young people to learn new dance techniques and embrace freedom of expression! First class is FREE and then the classes are 'pay as you go' £6 per session. 

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Another week has gone by and we are well into our enquiry for this half term, 'What Natural Resources Do I Depend On?' We have been looking into different types of trusses - the framework for supporting bridges - and have been making our own out of art straws. We have been creating Warren, Pratt and Lattice structures.

MATHS
We have been nailing long and grid method multiplication (Y5s) and scale factors and problems involving ratio (Y6). Imogen has really got the hang of long multiplication and her presentation is absolutely amazing. Well Done!

ENGLISH
We are looking into free verse poetry and have been learning how to write similes and metaphors for effect. Harry, WOW!  The glistening sun is a lion's mane, sparking the sky with a glow of warmth. The mountain peak is a missile: white as a dove, lighting up the sky with thick, opaque smoke.

COMPUTING
We have been investigating pixels in computing, recognising how bit patterns represent images as pixels. The children created an image on squared paper and then recreated it on Excel spreadsheet. They have done an amazing job.

Congratulations to Aria (99), Verity (Bronze) and Dom (33) for achieving their next badges in their 99 Club and to Harrison and Nuala for being Chaipel's People of the Week for demonstrating our school values.

POLITE REMINDER
Our trip to the Tamar Learning Centre is on Friday, so could you please make sure that any permission slips are back in school on Monday. It is just for the morning so lunchtime will be as normal. 

I've attached this half term's Homework Grid, KIRFS and Knowledge Web.

That's all from me, so have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday.

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary and Miss Hodge.

TALLAND CLASS BLOG 24.1.25

Another fabulous week in Talland class. The children have been great and we've had lots of fun!

Here's a brief run down of our week:

Maths
Year 4 have successfully completed their unit on AREA. Next week they are moving onto LENGTH and PERIMETER.
Year 5 have continued to work on fractions. This week we've investigated equivalent fractions, improper fractions and mixed number fractions.

English
We have been exploring explanation texts, finding the features and thinking about key vocabulary that can be used. Talland have done a fantastic job of up levelling sentences to make them sound scientific and interesting.

Music
The children have been learning the 'C' cord and have tried to maintain a rhythm whilst performing together.

PE
In dance, Talland have been creating a routine in their groups and in tennis, we have been learning how to use a forehand and a backhand.

Geography
We had a look at different biomes around the world and found out that the UK's main biome is a temperate one. Why not quiz your child to see if they remember what it is... Maybe, go and explore one? If you do, be sure to take some pictures and send them in!

Art
We created a mood board about print screen art. We found inspiration from some images we found and thought about what is needed to make our own print screen successful. 

CONGRATULATIONS 
A huge well done to Jamie for being nominated as our mathematician of the week, Skye for writer of the week and Grace for reader of the week. Also, great work from our 99 clubbers (Jamie, Joey, Arnie and Everly), who managed to successfully complete their 99 club. Last but not least, and gaining his hattrick this week, well done to Jamie (again) for being celebrated as our person of the week for his excellent enthusiasm towards work and his curiosity during our writing sessions.

That's all from us this week. We hope you have an amazing weekend and look forward to seeing you bright and breezy on Monday.

Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop and Miss. Colton.

P.S In coming trip alert...
  

  

This week we have been talking about how we keep warm in winter. The children came up with some great answers such as wearing appropriate clothing such as coats, scarves, gloves and hats and it was suggested by some of the children that we should all have hot chocolate for snack to warm up after been outside to play!
We made vegetable soup on Thursday where the children practiced chopping and cutting with the knives before cooking it all up and letting them take it home.
They have been practicing pencil control on the writing table and have been getting creative by making snowmen with warm scarves and collaged welly boots.

At story time we have been reading "William's Winter Wish" and in phonics we have been talking about going to the dentist. The children have been naming and rembering different sounds in a game of sound bingo, clapping the syllables in words and exploring how our mouths move when looking in the mirrors.

In maths, we have been recognising and forming numbers on the chalk and white boards and learning about different shapes and making arrangments.

Have a good weekend

The Nursery Team

Wonderful Writing, Reflective Surfaces and Buzzing Bees!

We've had another week full of lots of learning! On Monday, we considered how our words have an impact and were inspired to promote kindness to others by giving each other compliments. In Science, we consolidated our understanding of light and dark, and conducted a whole class experiment, investigating reflective materials. Can you recall which material was the most reflective? In Geography, we began a new unit on the Conservation of Bees, where we learnt the differences between bumblebees and honeybees. In PE, we have continued to develop our skills when playing net and wall games. We had lots of fun!

In English, we finished writing up our neat copies of our Little Egyptian Red Riding Hood stories. We used our best handwriting and had a go at using pen for the first time this year. We also started our new unit, focused on explanation texts, where we will be writing our own about how bees make honey. We have read and identified the main features and used our VIPERS knowledge to answer questions. Today, we learnt about the process of how bees make honey and then used drama to act this out. 

In Maths, Year 2 are coming to the end of their topic on Shape, where they have been sorting 2-D and 3-D shapes, as well as making repeating patterns. Year 3 have been working hard on dividing and multiplying by 2, 4 and 8, exploring the relationships between these times tables.

I have included the KIRFS for this half term below, along with the Knowledge Web and Homework grid. Please remember to continue reading your colour banded book at home and practising your times tables. Library books will continue to be changed on Thursday's, so make sure you bring these in if you would like a new book. Of course, should you have any questions, just let me know. 

Congratulations to Jemima, Amber and April for being Landaviddy's People of the Week. 

We hope you have a superb weekend and look forward to seeing you all on Monday. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton

TALLAND'S CLASS BLOG 17.1.25

A busy week in Talland. The children found out about our new enquiry: Do all living things need a home? They have lots of fun things in store. It's been great getting started!

Maths:
Year 4 have just started area. This is always fun and the children love it!
Year 5 have just begun fractions and are getting their heads around equivalent fractions.

Writing:
Talland have completed their persuasive letters and written it up in top copy. They look and sound fabulous!

Science: 
We have delved into the role of a naturalist scientist, where we have discovered what this kind of scientist does and possible job opportunities within this field! Some of the jobs sound like so much fun!

PE: 
Talland have continued to learn some awesome dance moves and begun using the forehand swing in tennis. Some potential, soon to be, Wimbledon players in the making!

Well Done to Flora (last week) for getting her 88 badge in 99 club. Also great work from Frankie (last week) for being noticed as an amazing student. This week, well done to Skye. Her writing has thoroughly impressed the teachers and her overall ability to show all of Polperro's values.

That's all from Talland this week. We hope you have a brilliant weekend!

Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop and Miss. Colton.

Our clubs have been up and running this week and really well attended. There are still spaces in our Tuesday after school club for years 3-6 with Mrs Phillips. We have spoken to the children about what they would like to do in this club. It will now be an Alternative Sports Club which will include, dance, gymnastics, yoga and other activities that the children want to try out. Please email school if your child would like to attend.

Children’s Mental Health Week We will be taking part in Children’s Mental Health Week which is taking place from 3-9 February. The week’s focus is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, with the aim to encourage children and young people across the UK to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them. 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 Friday 7th February when all staff and pupils will take part in the Big Schools’ Birdwatch and other outdoor wellbeing activities. Further details to follow.

Family Worker Drop-Ins, Thursday 6th February, 9-11 am Reminder that the Early Help Hub will be holding Family Worker Drop-In Sessions in our school from 9-11 am on 6th February 2025. If you would like to be able to talk in confidence, just pop along, they will be here to help and support you. They will be happy to discuss and advise on issues concerning your family for example, how to better understand your child’s needs & behaviours; positive parenting and how to keep your child safe; how to better understand the importance of routines for your family. To book a 30-minute slot, contact the school on secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk or call on 01503 272249.

Online Supporting Autism Course Please find attached details of an online course to guide parents and carers in supporting a family member or friend on the autism spectrum. The course will offer practical advice on topics including communication, behaviour and education, strategies of support, legal rights, how to engage in services and accessing further information.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

What a fabulous week of learning we have had. We have begun our new enquiry into our country's natural resources. We have investigated the main sectors of our economy and how ingredients that make a simple chocolate cake have been on an epic journey from the countries where they began as raw materials to the countries that turned them into manufactured products.

ENGLISH
We have edited, improved and begun to write up our persuasive letters in best copy. I am so proud of the effort that Chaipel have put into this piece of writing and look forward to reading each and every one of them. 

MATHS
We have completed our Fractions unit and we have come so far. We can compare, order, simplify, convert, add and subtract. For Y6s, it's Ratio next and for Y5s it is Multiplication and Division. 

WIDER CURRICULUM
Our investigation into Bhangra dance is coming on with us creating sequences using a range of motifs and travel steps. Tennis is also on the PE timetable for this half term with Mrs Hillman. We have learnt about bridge construction beam styles in DT and tested out our beams for strength using a range of weights and measures. In Science, we have located the reproductive features of a plant and will move our learning on next week to look at asexual plant reproduction.

Congratulations to Verity and Ashton for being our People of the Week, recognised for displaying our school values and to Dom and Elsie for achieving their next badge in their 99 Club.

Have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday.

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary and Miss Hodge.

This week at nursery we have continued to find out all about winter and why it is cold. The children have been busy outside exploring ice where they have talked about what they have seen and how the ice felt, using language such as cold, icy, slippery, frozen and melting.
Inside on the tuft tray they have attempted to create there own snowmen and on the funky fingers table have been using tweezers to pick up Pom Poms and placing them in order 1-10.

At storytime the children have enjoyed stories such as “The smiley snowman” and "Guess how much i love you in the winter"
In phonics we have been learning to name different sounds and then try to recall what we have heard. The children have been exploring different sounds during a game of "The vet says" and have used musical instruments to represent animal sounds.

In maths, the children have been demonstrating their counting abilities and representing their numbers by mark making and forming numbers.
We have looked at sizes, big, medium and small and have been sorting and comparing amounts on the maths table.

Have a great weekend

The nursery team

Happy New Year! Spring Term has well and truly started in Landaviddy class. 

On Tuesday, we started the first of two units we cover in PE. With Mrs Phillips, we enjoyed our first Dance lesson and today we began exploring Net and Wall games. 
Polite Reminder: Please can you make sure your child has their PE in school, as we had quite a few without a kit this week. Thank you. 

On Wednesday, we concluded our enquiry from last half term 'Who were the Ancient Egyptians?' and had a go at writing down everything we could remember. This meant we were ready to launch our new enquiry question for this half term, 'What is Light?'. We were amazed by the questions the children came up with; How is lightning made? How was the Sun made? What are the Northern Lights? 

In English, we have been consolidating our ability to punctuate speech accurately. After lots of practise, we have become more confident with this now. We then moved on to redrafting a section of our Egyptian Little Red Riding Hood stories. We had some fantastic pieces of writing from this and the children all worked so hard as bring their ideas to life. We have edited and next week with finish writing up our final copies. 

In Maths, Year 2 have been looking at vertical and horizontal lines of symmetry, using symmetry to complete shapes and sorting 2-D shapes into groups. Year 3 have explored the 4 and 8 times tables this week.

Congratulations to Iylah, Evie, Alfie and Nevaeh for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week. 

Next week, there will be the opportunity for the children to change their library books. Please make sure to bring these in for Thursday. 

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton