Issue 1  |  June 2022

Welcome to Bridge Stories

Adrian Massey, Chief Executive

  Curious: Truro artefacts amaze all !

By Amy, Blisland Primary School

 

This term, Blisland Primary Academy visited Truro Museum for learning experiences where they went back in time. Kenza Class had an amazing view of fossils, while Nessa Class (Key Stage 2) explored the Stone Age history and Egyptian life.

In these fascinating workshops, where the staff engaged the curiosity of all of the children, there was a chance to create a Stone Age master piece of a bowl or cup. A Year 6 pupil told us that; “It was a really good experience because we had the chance to study the other brown pottery bowls first and then afterwards we made our own and used our own creativity.”

After the Stone Age artistry was explored, Nessa Class shared what they had been learning in school with the staff. The staff, who were extremely impressed with their knowledge, then went on to explain many new facts to the children. Another Year 6 pupil commented that it had been good to learn ‘outside of the classroom too’ and said, “We saw many new artefacts and objects and we didn’t know what they were – the staff explained things to us really clearly and in a way that was interesting”.

 

Above: Nessa Class explore Stone Age Mastery

 

In the afternoon, the classes swapped and Nessa Class had the opportunity to explore the Egyptian ‘world’. The highlight was the chance to see a real, mummified ‘Mummy’ – covered in black tar. The children were amazed to discover that it was 2,500 years old and were shocked at how well it had been preserved. The Ancient Egyptians lived around the River Nile in Egypt up to about 6000 years ago. Museums know quite a lot about how they lived and died because of the objects and monuments they left behind, such as mummified cats, mummified crows, clothes and jewelry.

The Museum staff inspired the class with facts about the man; his name was Iset Tayef Nahkt and he had been a carpenter. This is known because the Egyptians wrote on his coffin with hieroglyphs.

Bridge Stories asked Mr Avery, the Headteacher, for his view on the trip and how it had shown that we are ‘curious’ in our learning (which is one of our values) and he said, “With a magnificent building filled with mysterious artefacts from pre-history to the modern day, the children instantly began to wonder, ask questions, search for answers: they were filled with curiosity and quickly made links to their history knowledge and learning. The children came away with more knowledge and understanding; and were even more curious to learn.”

  Responsible: Schools take action to save hedgehogs

By Emily, Blisland Primary School

On Thursday, 10th February, several groups of children from Bridge Schools were delighted to take part in a virtual tour of Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Sanctuary near Newquay.

The fortunate groups of schools were Pelynt Primary Academy, St Cleer Primary Academy and Blisland Primary Academy. Recently, these schools have been studying hedgehogs and learning about the reasons why these creatures are currently on the UK ‘Red List’ (endangered species). The children were keen to learn more about them and make sure their numbers do not fall any further. To attend this virtual trip, each child had to write a persuasive letter to their Headteacher, explaining how helpful it would be and how important it was to hear what the experts had to say.

The Education Officer, who was called Emma, showed the children around the sanctuary, showing off their prickly friends; the hedgehogs certainly held the children’s attention. She also explained that in the 1950s, the hedgehog population was estimated to be around 30 million. Unfortunately, their numbers have dropped to a shocking 525,000. This is due to many reasons, for example, climate change means they are coming out of their ‘hibernaculums’ (the nests they build for hibernation) too early. Others get run over, some become ill after eating foods that people put down for them whilst others get caught up in litter.

 

Above: Luna, a resident at the Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Sanctuary

 

The children of Blisland Primary Academy believe that it is crucial that the world takes action, and prevents these fascinating creatures from becoming extinct. We asked the Year 6 pupils at Pelynt Primary Academy what they thought about the trip to Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Sanctuary and one child said, “I now know ten times more than I used to…especially the technical terms. It’s good to know how we can help, like if we see in the day, it needs to go to the sanctuary.”

Children here at Blisland told us, “We needed to go on that trip, so we could learn more about the hedgehogs from the experts, learn the scientific words and find out why they’re so endangered.”

Because of this experience, the children have been educated well by those experts about conservation and Bridge Stories hopes that they will become the future guardians of nature to actively help hedgehogs.

Emma explained that there are some key things we can all do to help our spiky friends:

- Leave your garden (or outdoor area) messy with leaves, so that the hedgehog can make their cosy new hibernaculums.

- You also want to make sure that the hedgehogs have good access to your garden so there are holes under gates for them or holes in fences (you could have a fenced off area for hedgehogs to stay).

- Finally, if you see a hedgehog out in the day, then it’s probably ill, so make sure you get a pair of thick gloves, and take him to a wildlife sanctuary. Remember: “If it’s out in the day, it’s not OK!”

The schools are now raising money for Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Sanctuary, as a thanks for the free trip they provided and to help them carry on with their good work. They are also going to write poems and send these to the Eden project, who will upload them to their website. This will let the world know that we all need to take action and there’s no time to waste.

We found out that other schools in Bridge Schools Trust also have Forest School. We asked the Head at Lanlivery Primary Academy why they use it too. Miss Howell (the Head) told us that, “Forest school supports pupils' wellbeing. It challenges what they think they can achieve and pushes them out of their comfort zone. They learn to take risks, solve problems, and try strategies to overcome failure whilst learning about the beautiful, natural world which surrounds them. It is the children's favourite time of the week, which means they enjoy coming to school and look forward to learning”.

We also think that when we look at our school values, Forest schools promotes these because children learn to be curious as they discover new things in nature; creative because they build things like dens and responsible because they learn to be safe taking risks.

Like trees, Forest Schools help us all to grow.

Bridge Stories asked Mrs Spencer (the Headteacher) for a comment and she said, “Running for me has always given me a real sense of freedom, particularly when I am running near water. I think it helps with emotions. When I lived in London, it was very flat – I prefer Cornwall as it is harder because it’s hillier, so the challenges are greater and that is more satisfying. Running also helps me to relax after long days at school, so it’s good for me in lots of ways.”

Running isn’t an expensive sport to try…all you need is a pair of trainers and some comfy clothes.

If running isn’t for you, why not try a team sport like basketball, volleyball or rugby. Exercise as often as you can every week and you will start to notice the difference. Go on, give it a go!

At St Cleer Primary Academy there is a strong belief that this work reflects many of the school values as the children were all very curious to learn more about the hedgehogs. The Year 6s were also responsible for the Year 2s and the sessions were very creative.

Year 2 teacher Miss Wright said, “It's been a pleasure to see the Year 2s working with the Year 6s. The writing they've produced has been fantastic. Well done everyone!

If you would like to get involved with the Found Words Project click here.

You can enter a poem, a drawing or a painting about an animal or plant you would like to see protected and tell important messages about looking after the earth’s wildlife to children all around the world.