Take a look above at the fantastic writing that has been produced this week in Yrs 5 and 6. The children have been writing a short consequence story, based on the novel Letters from the Lighthouse. They have worked hard at including relative clauses, correctly punctuated speech and ambitious vocabulary. We have just reached the point at which their main characters get stuck in a dangerous predicament. Will their characters be saved in time and will they have learned their lesson...?!

Year Group Newsletters
To see what learning has been happening in classes, and what’s coming up, please take a look at the Year Group Newsletters emailed home today. Copies can also be found on the class pages of our website.

PE SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training) Day
This week, we were delighted to welcome 17 SCITT trainee teachers to Wadebridge Primary Academy for a day of PE training with Mrs Smerdon. Throughout the day, the trainees had the opportunity to observe PE lessons, work alongside Mrs Smerdon and lead small-group activities, gaining valuable hands-on experience. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our school and the exciting opportunities we provide through PE, physical activity and school sport. We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming the next generation of teachers and sharing our passion for inspiring children to be active, healthy and confident learners. A special thank you to Mrs Smerdon and all our children involved for such a positive day. As well as providing training, we are also proud to work alongside Cornwall SCITT (and Tamsin Preston, who many of you may remember worked at our school) to host trainee teachers at school.

Harvest Foodbank Donations
Thank you so much for responding to our request for donations. You have been so generous! Wadebridge Foodbank will be collecting the items next week, ready to be distributed to those who need it – thank you!

Parent Ambassadors
We were pleased to hold our first Parent Ambassadors meeting last week, establishing the group's role and purpose. We are excited to launch this initiative, which aims to further strengthen the positive partnership between home and school. Please check your email for a copy of the Parent Ambassadors Charter giving an overview of the group's role and ways of working. We would ideally like Parent Ambassadors from those year groups not yet represented (Nursery, Reception and Year 1) to join the group. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Mr Wathern.

Reception 2027 Stay and Play Sessions
Is your child due to start school in Reception next September 2027? We are running a couple of Stay and Play sessions on the following dates to show you our wonderful provision:
• Monday 19th October 13:30-14:30
• Thursday 22nd October 10:00-11:00
• Monday 2nd November 16:00-17:00 

Parent Teacher Consultations (PTCs) - Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st October
The teachers look forward to meeting with parents/carers next week. If you haven’t made your appointment yet, please do so via the Arbor app. If you have any difficulty with the online booking system, please contact the school office.

School Closed – INSET Day (Friday 23rd October)
A reminder that next Thursday is the last day of half term – school finishes at the normal time. School is closed next Friday as teachers will be at Brunel Primary for a Trust-wide INSET day.

House Points
Congratulations to this week’s joint winners, Choughs and Swans. Overall, Puffins are just maintaining the lead:
Puffins – 1960
Choughs – 1932
Cormorants – 1804
Swans – 1730

Wishing you a restful weekend.
Best wishes,
Chris Wathern

A Wonderful Week of Learning in Lantic Class!

What a fantastic time we have been having! The children in Lantic Class have been working incredibly hard and showing lots of enthusiasm for their learning. Here’s a little look at what we have been up to recently!

In English, we have been exploring our new WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like), The Three Little Pigs: A Twisted Tale. The children have loved listening to the traditional fairy tale and have been busy putting the story in the correct order using picture cards. They then used their sequencing skills to create their own story maps, helping them to remember the key events and think carefully about how stories are structured. We have also enjoyed exploring a different version of the story by listening to The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. This led to some fantastic discussions! The children had to decide which team they were on: Team Wolf or Team Pig! There were some brilliant ideas and thoughtful reasons shared as the children considered whether the wolf really was the villain of the story. It has been wonderful to hear them expressing their opinions and explaining their choices.

In Maths, the children have been working super hard on their addition and subtraction skills. They have shown fantastic determination and have been developing their confidence when solving calculations and using different strategies to help them. We have been particularly impressed with their understanding of number bonds to 10 and 100. The children absolutely blew us away with their learning! They have worked hard to recognise number pairs that make these important totals and have shown just how much they can remember and apply.

In History, the children enjoyed taking part in a debate about whether they would prefer to go to school in the present day or in the past. They used everything they had learnt so far to support their opinions and explain their reasons. It was wonderful to hear them sharing their ideas, listening to different viewpoints and using their historical knowledge to justify their choices.

In PE, we have been developing our throwing and catching skills as part of our striking and fielding unit. The children have been practising their coordination, accuracy and control as they worked on throwing and catching a ball. They have shown great effort and enthusiasm while developing these important skills.

In Science, we have enjoyed putting our learning into practice by building bridges! The children used everything they have learnt so far to design and construct their own bridges, thinking carefully about how to make them strong and stable. It was fantastic to see them exploring their ideas, solving problems and using their scientific knowledge in a practical way.

We are so proud of the effort, enthusiasm and resilience the children have shown across all areas of their learning. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they share ideas, ask questions and take on new challenges. Well done, Lantic Class! Keep up the fantastic work!

Whitsand Class Blog 

What a fantastic week we have had in Whitsand Class!

This week, the children have begun their exciting exploration of the traditional tale Hansel and Gretel. We have been focusing on describing the magical candy house, and the children have loved letting their imaginations run wild! They designed their very own candy houses before beginning to write descriptive sentences using adverbials of time. We have been so impressed with their creativity and enthusiasm so far, and we cannot wait to see how their writing develops!

In Maths, we have been exploring fact families and number bonds within 10. The children have been using Numicon to help them recognise different ways to make numbers and understand how numbers are connected. They have worked hard to build their confidence and develop their mathematical thinking.

In Science, the children put their knowledge to the test by revisiting their bridge-building challenge! Using materials from the builders' shed, they redesigned and improved their bridges, thinking carefully about how to make their structures strong and stable. Through fantastic collaboration and teamwork, they created some amazing structures. Well done, Whitsand Class!

Finally, in History, the children considered a very important question: would they prefer to go to school today or 100 years ago? After thinking about how school life has changed over time, most of the children decided that they would much rather attend school now! They explained how the love the colourful classrooms, interactive whiteboards, and football!

Well done to all the children for another wonderful week of learning, creativity and teamwork. We are so proud of their enthusiasm and the way they continue to challenge themselves across all areas of the curriculum.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Dear all!

It has been another fantastic week in Kynance Class!

Fantastic progress in Hockey!

We have been so impressed with the children’s improvement in hockey. They are developing much better control of the ball, keeping it close to their sticks as they move and becoming more confident when changing direction. Their passing and receiving skills are also improving, and it has been wonderful to see their determination and enthusiasm during our lessons!

Maths – Addition and Subtraction

In maths, we have moved on to our new unit on addition and subtraction. The children are developing their calculation skills and exploring different strategies to solve problems. We will be using practical resources and a range of activities to help build confidence and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts.

English – The Stone Age Girl

We have begun our exciting new English unit based on The Stone Age Girl. The children are stepping back in time to explore life in the Stone Age and will be using the story to inspire their reading, discussion and writing. We are looking forward to developing our vocabulary, exploring characters and settings, and creating some fantastic pieces of writing over the coming weeks.

Art – Cave Paintings

Our Stone Age art topic is continuing, and next week the children will be completing their own cave paintings! They have been experimenting with different ways of making marks and exploring how natural materials could have been used to create colours and artwork in prehistoric times. We cannot wait to see their finished creations!

Black History Month – Inspiring Pioneers

As part of our learning for Black History Month, we have been discovering inspiring pioneers who have made a difference to the world. The children have been making excellent use of our school orienteering facility, following clues and finding out more about the lives and achievements of Rosa Parks and Mary Seacole. This has been a fantastic way to combine outdoor learning with discovering the stories of remarkable women who showed courage, determination and a desire to help others.

Don't Forget – Home Learning!

A little reminder to keep practising those skills at home by completing your Mathletics challenges and Reading Eggs challenges! Regular practice will help the children build confidence, consolidate their learning and develop their maths and reading skills. Thank you for your continued support in encouraging the children to complete these activities.

Well done, Kynance Class for another week of hard work, enthusiasm and brilliant learning! We are looking forward to seeing what you achieve next week!

Friday 16th October

We have completed our penultimate week of the first half term in Rame class! Wow it has gone so quick! 

In phonics this week we have learnt phonemes h/b/f/l, the children are using all the phonemes they know to read their books and have been amazing the adults in class this week. 

In maths we have been exploring composition of the number 4. The children have been using multilink cubes to make 4 different ways; they made their very own numberblock! We also used skittles to subitise this week, and I think we may have some amazing bowlers on our hands let alone mathematicians! 

In English this week, we changed our story from We're Going on a Bear Hunt to We're Goin on an Adult Hunt. We discussed the adults that can help us in school and the adults that can help us in the community. We then went on an adult hunt in school to find these adults! we hope to go for a local walk next week to find some of the adults in our community that help us too! 

In outdoor learning this week we used conkers, leaves and skewers to make our very own bear from our story! The children explored Autumn through story and craft, and it was an amazing session full of skills and knowledge. 

We have had a wonderful week in Rame class and we are looking forward to the last week of this half term next week. Gentle reminder that school is Monday - Thursday next week and it is INSET day on the Friday! 

Autumn at Storytellers

The children have been enjoying exploring the wonderful changes that Autumn has brought to our nursery and the world around us.

We have been looking closely at the different leaf colours, talking about how they change from green to beautiful shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown. The children enjoyed mixing colours to create their own autumn shades, developing their creativity while learning to recognise and mix colours. They also experimented with leaf printing, developing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and ability to explore different textures.

We have been learning about animals and how they prepare for the colder winter months. The children particularly enjoyed making their own spiky hedgehogs, using different materials and techniques. This helped to develop their fine motor control, concentration, creativity and imagination.

Through our Autumn activities, the children have also developed their language and communication skills as they talked about what they noticed, learned new vocabulary, and shared ideas with friends and adults.

It has been a lovely week of exploring, creating and discovering the seasonal changes happening all around us.

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We have had another fantastic week in Tregantle Class, full of learning, creativity and lots of fun!

During our circle time, we met our very special Learning Gang! The children were introduced to six friendly characters, each helping us to develop an important learning skill: - Keep Trying Kangaroo – reminding us to keep going, even when something feels tricky. - Have a Go Horse – encouraging us to be brave and give new things a try. - Teamwork Tiger – helping us to work together and support our friends. - Ideas Iguana – inspiring us to share our ideas and think creatively. - Find Out Frog – encouraging us to ask questions and discover new things. - Change It Chimp – reminding us that we can try a different approach if something doesn't work the first time. The children really enjoyed talking about each character and thinking about when they show these important learning behaviours themselves. We are looking forward to seeing our Learning Gang help us throughout the year as we become confident, independent and enthusiastic learners!

In PE, we started our session with some familiar favourites, including Follow My Leader, the Hokey Cokey and The Farmer’s in His Den. The children loved joining in with the actions and moving their bodies in different ways. We then tried a fun game of Clap, Boom, Grab, which everyone really enjoyed! To finish our session, we played our absolute favourite… parachute games! There were lots of smiles and excitement as we worked together, followed instructions and explored the different activities with the parachute.

As part of our learning for Black History Month, we have been discovering and celebrating the achievements of Black people throughout history. We explored the work of Alma Thomas, an inspirational African-American artist who was famous for her vibrant, colourful abstract paintings. We looked carefully at the colours, shapes and patterns in her artwork before creating our own colourful masterpieces. The children enjoyed experimenting with different colours and designs, expressing their creativity and producing some wonderful individual pieces of art. Through these activities, we have celebrated diversity, explored our creativity and begun to understand the importance of recognising and valuing different cultures and achievements.

Well done, Tregantle! We are so proud of the enthusiasm, creativity and teamwork you continue to show in everything you do. We can't wait for another week of exciting learning together! 

 Our Little Lighthouse Has Come Home! 

We are delighted to share that our beautiful St Luke’s Little Lighthouse has returned home to Brunel this week and is now taking pride of place in our KS2 foyer!

Our Little Lighthouse has come home!

Our lighthouse was lovingly designed and decorated by our talented children, who worked alongside local artist Jo Beer to create something truly special. The finished design celebrates the wonderful heritage, landmarks and community of Saltash.

We are incredibly proud to have been part of this fantastic project, supporting the amazing work of St Luke’s Hospice and helping to raise awareness of the difference they make to local families. It is wonderful to have our lighthouse back at Brunel, where it will serve as a lasting reminder of our children’s creativity, teamwork and community spirit.

Next time you visit our KS2 foyer, please take a moment to admire it! A little lighthouse with a very big message!

Degemer An Jydh – Seize the Day!

Pop Up Play Village! 

We’ve been very lucky this week to have had the pop up play village come to school. We had so much fun! There was different areas for us to play with. There was a construction site, a nursery, a vets, a café, a post office and a hairdressers! We had such a great time.

We have also been very busy with our learning this week. In English we have been looking at subjects and verbs. We have then been finding subjects and verbs in sentences. We have then been rewriting sentences with the correct punctuation! In Maths we have been comparing numbers and using phrases such as ‘greater than’, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to’. We have been making towers and comparing who’s is bigger and we’ve been making human number lines and comparing who’s is longer!

Just a few updates:

I am holding a phonics parent information session for EYFS and Year 1 parents Monday 19th October 10:30 – 11:00. Please email jbolger@looeprimary.co.uk if you would like to attend.

KS1 Halloween Disco is next Thursday 22nd October – 4-5pm.

Well done Heligan class for another great week!

This week has been a very autumnal one in pre-school, with lots of autumn themed activities, stories and art.

The children have enjoyed talking about what we may see outside at this time of the year such as blackberries, pinecones, conkers, fallen leaves, pumpkins, and even hedgehogs and squirrels!
The Leaf Thief has been a favourite autumn story this week.

Outside we have enjoyed using our sand and water areas to focus on our fine motor development.  Pouring, filling, tipping different containers.

The children used their pouring skills to send the sea animals down the water shoot!
Inside the children wanted to create a rockpool, so we used wooden blocks and blue plastic to create one in our construction area.

A reminder that on Thursday 15th is our Harvest Festival service over in church at 2.30pm. 

The Pre-School Team.

A Historic Moment for Looe 

This weekend, we were delighted and very proud to be invited by the Looe Town Mayor, Mr Stephen Remmington, to be part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the twining of Looe Town with a town in southern Brittany called Quiberon. It is a refreshed beginning for both towns who are united in their joint and continuing history linked to fishing and especially sardines and pilchards.  Unlike Looe, there is still a canning factory in Quiberon and a thriving industry.  The celebrations took place over the weekend with the raising of 5 flags at the War Memorial to celebrate the event and the renewed relationship.  The flags included a special flag to celebrate the 50 years of twinning, the Cornish Flag, a new flag for Looe designed by a pupil at the secondary school, the flag of Brittany and the Looe Town flag. 

This was followed by a reception in the Guildhall to officially welcome the Mayor of Quiberon, Monsieur Patrick La Roux, and several members of the town council of Quiberon.  Our school choir was undoubtedly the most poignant moment of the whole weekend and was still being discussed the next day by our guests.  The children sang 'Looe my Home', our adaptation of 'Cornwall my Home', with the verses in Cornish and to the delight of our guests, they sang a sea shanty in Breton that was recognised straight away by our guests. 

With thanks to Mrs Brewer, the children sang out loud and proud and there was hardly a dry eye in the room!  As the Head of School it was one of the proudest moments of my career and it was very special to be such a large part of a very special and historic event.  My hope now, as well as for our guests is that we can together find a way to better unite the young children of Looe Primary and Quiberon with reciprocal visits over the next few years.  As we slowly become a Cornish speaking school, it is good to know that this knowledge of the Cornish language links so well with our Celtish French friends.