Duckpool Update

What a busy week!

Firstly, it was Anti-Bullying Week, which we introduced with Odd Socks day on Monday to celebrate our differences.

We've commemorated Remembrance Day on Tuesday with a special assembly for everyone in our Brunel Primary community. There were poppies in abundance, which made a truly striking splash of colour on a dull November day.

There was also a cyber security workshop run by the RAF and organised by Miss Henning, which was a huge success.

Wednesday brought more excitement, for a group from our class went to Looe to film for next year's Beyond Paradise Christmas Special. Wow we can't wait to see it!

Then on Friday we supported Children in Need 2025 by collecting all our loose change to donate. Well, Duckpool, what a generous class you are! We were absolutely astounded by the amount collected. Thank you so much to our wonderful, supportive families. During the evening, we met at the Guild Hall for the Christmas Light Switch-on and the early chance to practise some carols. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Another busy week in Chaipel! Christmas play preparations are underway and the children have been given their scripts and song words to begin practising. We are going to perform a Polperro Primary favourite: SANTA'S ON STRIKE! Please could you support your child in learning their lines as the performance will definitely be one to remember!!

In Maths this week, Chaipel began the week with learning how to calculate using the long division method - challenging at first, but by Thursday, we were pretty good at it! We ended the week with Shape and are now beginning to confidently use a protractor. This will continue next week, along with probelm-solving using all four operations. 

In English, we have completed our non-fiction, double-page spread on the relationship between the Sun, Earth and Moon and have moved onto immersing ourselves in our next unit - writing a Mayan narrative (with a twist) based on the Maya folktale, THE HERO TWINS! 

In our Wider Curriculum, we have investigated the qualities for a saviour in RE, tinkered with creating a soundtrack in Computing, developed our target skills in Dodgeball and begun to learn about why we need energy in Science.

As part of Anti Bullying Week, Chaipel looked into the importance of using our 'powers for good'; we wore Odd Socks on Monday to celebrate our recognition that everyone is different and unique but equally important.

POLITE REMINDER
Next Thursday is our highly-anticipated school trip to I CAN COCOA in St Ives. We will be leaving school at 8:30am so please could you make sure that children are in school by 8:15am. We will leave St Ives at about 3pm and return to school by approximately 4:30pm. 

Congratulations to Isaac and Tristan for being our People of the Week, demonstrating our school value of 'being curious' when it comes to their learning.

I have attached this half term's homework grid as well as the KIRFs and the Curriculum Spellings that need to be learnt. 

Have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday!

Miss Randle and Mrs Clary.

This week has flown by in Landaviddy class. Christmas play preparations have begun! All the children were given their parts and scripts on Thursday, and we practised our first rehearsal today. Please make sure you are practising your lines at home as we will be spending time rehearsing over the coming weeks. In PE, we have been enjoying building upon our ball skills in Netball with Mrs Hillman. Finally, during PSHE we have been considering responsible and irresponsible choices, particularly regarding friendships.

During English this week, we designed and described our own Stone Age character ready for our own narratives. We have started to plan our stories and can't wait to start writing these next week. In Maths this week, we have been working hard on column addition and subtraction. All the children have demonstrated excellent determination and all grown in confidence when applying this written method. Next week, we will build on this by learning how to use the method when exchanging.

Please find attached below this half term's Knowledge Web and KIRFS (this will be sent home next week).

Congratulations to Finn and Jemima for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week.

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

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

This week in Year 1 has been full of exciting learning across all areas of the curriculum!

In English, the children have been focusing on instructional writing. They have been working hard to write clear, effective opening sentences for instructions, thinking carefully about using bossy (imperative) verbs and ensuring their writing is easy for the reader to follow. The class has enjoyed exploring real-life examples of instructions and discussing what makes them successful.

In Maths, we have been developing our understanding of place value, particularly tens and ones. The children have been using practical resources such as dienes and place value charts to build, partition, and compare numbers. This hands-on approach has helped them deepen their confidence with recognising how numbers are structured.

During PSHE, Year 1 have been looking at differences between people and discussing what makes us all unique. The children have shown great maturity while exploring how differences should be celebrated and how kindness and respect help everyone feel valued in our school community.

In PE, the children have been having lots of fun creating their own firework-themed dance sequences. They have experimented with different movements to represent fireworks-such as spirals, bursts, and fizzing actions-while working both independently and in small groups. Their creativity has really shone through!

The class has also been busy practising their Nativity songs, and their enthusiasm has been wonderful to see. The children are learning the words beautifully and are excited to perform for families very soon.

As part of our History learning, Year 1 have been exploring the timeline of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. They have been learning about the key events, why Bonfire Night is celebrated, and how life in the past was different from today.

We also enjoyed singing with Mrs Butlin, where the children joined in with songs and actions, developing their listening and performance skills.

In Art, the children explored texture by creating rubbings using leaves, classroom objects, and textured materials. They experimented with colour and pattern, and produced some fantastic detailed rubbings to share with the class.

It has been a busy and productive week in Year 1, and we are incredibly proud of everything the children have achieved!

Reception have been busy showing us their fantastic phonics knowledge, completing assessments and also learning about Remembrance Day!

TALLAND'S BLOG 14.11.25

It's been a fun, busy and action packed week in Talland! We've had auditions, scripts have been handed out and we've had art of plenty! 

Here's a break down of our week:

Maths: 
Year 5 have moved onto decimals, where they are continuing to add and subtract. They're now investigating how that works whilst decimals are involved. They have also been calculating angles from a straight line.
Year 4 have also moved onto decimals. They have begun to recognise how decimals are linked to fractions. They have also explored different lines of symmetry.

English:
Talland have been looking at a range of poetry features and they've used these features to plan a poem for Ade Adepitan (a famous Para Olympian basketball player and TV personality). They wrote their poems independently today and they are sounding brilliant!

Art:
Talland have been using a range of crafting tools to calve their chosen animal/minibeast into soap - this was a tricky and long process. It took a tremendous amount of concentration and determination - we had some achy hands by the end. We also created animals out of wire - this was really fiddly. And, finally, today we began looking at how to created bubble writing and then cut them out... the final product will be shared on next weeks blog!

History:
We have begun looking at the end of the Roman Empire, the rise of the Anglo Saxons and the crossing of those vicious Vikings. It's really interesting - I don't know about you - but I love History!

PE:
With Mrs. Hillman, the children have been practicing passing skills within netball. With me, we have jumped into dodgeball. Children were learning how to pass and aim with accuracy... DODGE, DUCK, DIP, DIVE and DODGE!

CONGRATULATIONS to Zach this week for being noticed for his outstanding persistence with his handwriting!

That's all from us in Talland. We hope you have a brilliant weekend!

Signing off from Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.

Another week has come and gone... and boy has it been a full week!

In Class 2, we are really enjoying our Literacy lesson as we write our class story about the runaway Snowman cookie. We have looked at past tense of regular verbs and been conscious of using them in our stories. We have also revisited our 2A sentences and used them (with some similies) to describe our main characters. In Maths, this week has been all about the tens and ones. We have been using a lot of deins to help us add and subtract numbers.

In Science, we conducted our first enquiry into the nature of some everyday materials and tested them for use in building a bridge. In Computing, we learned about algorithms and how we can decompose them to help us figure out what they do. In Geography, we have looked at the coldest places and located the North and South Pole. We also reminded ourselves of the 7 continents by singing along to the 7 continents song. If you would like to have a go, here is the YouTube link to the song:
https://youtu.be/KiXjGFOzY3c?si=JX2LKNtxTnuQjx3U

We have also started practicing our Nativity! Please check book bags to see if your child has a script to learn. I will also be posting the class song on Showbie soon.

Friday 14th November

Some of this week's wonderful exploration has included:

We have been practicing shoulder, arm, hand and finger strength by doing lots of gross and fine motor skills activities. Having strength is really important to be an amazing writer. So in English this week the children have been showing Mrs Phillips how amazing they are at holding their pencils with the correct tripod grip, we will continue to practice this lots. The children have drawn a picture of The Little Red Hen, in their books and then used oral blending and letter recognition to write a key word like /hen/ or /red/.

On Tuesday we had Remembrance Day, and all our activities were based on the day. We learnt and explored what this day meant, and we all stood to take part in the two-minute silence, which all the children did amazingly well, and it was very moving!

The children have been exploring Anti-Bullying week, we started with odd socks day on Monday and then we explored what bullying means and what we can do to ensure we are kind to others, how we can be good friends and also what to do if we feel we are being bullied.

Today we had a wonderful Children in Need Day and we all looked great in our PJ's. Thank you for all the donations. We explored why we take part in this day, and the children were so kind and thoughtful with their words during our children in need lesson.

We have started to practice our Christmas nativity concert this week, so apologies for the amount of Christmas singing you will be hearing at home over the next few weeks he he! More details about the performances will come out soon.

Have  a lovely weekend

The Foundation Team 

Thank you for your continued support this week and your generosity for providing some loose change for Children in Need today. In addition, thank you to all the parents who joined us for our Remembrance Service on Tuesday; it was brilliant to all come together for this very special date in our country's calendar. Just a gentle reminder that we will be meeting at Saltash Guildhall at 5:15pm tonight for the Christmas Light switch on. We hope as many of our families as possible will be able to join us. In the meantime, please find this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin.

This week has been another busy one across the school. On Wednesday, Class 4 competed in a netball tournament at Callington College against Calstock, Callington and Stoke Climsland schools. Rather than take a team of experienced players like the other schools, we gave all our children the opportunity to take part in a competitive team sport by fielding three teams. We may not have won the most games but the children were brilliant in their efforts and sporting conduct, which is reflected in the action photos below.


Callington College Transition Visit
To support transition to secondary school, two Callington College staff members visited Class 4 this week to talk about the college and answer children's questions. There will be a further visit in the spring term before Year 6 pupils visits to the college in the summer term.

Children In Need
The non-uniform day today raised £97.62 for the Children In Need appeal. Thank you for your support.

SPACE Parenting Programme
The NHS Mental Health Support Team are running a SPACE programme for parents and carers. Please see the poster below advertising the next session, starting in January 2026.

This programme is designed for parents/carers to better understand and support their children's emotions. The programme will help with understanding and managing emotions, it will offer practical approaches to support children and cover some coping strategies.

Here are some of this writing from this week.  We were using similes and comparative language to describe characters from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

This week has been full of excitement and learning for our class! We kicked things off with a lively netball tournament that brought out everyone's team spirit and competitive edge. Alongside the sports action, we've started rehearsing for the upcoming school play, diving into scripts and getting creative with our roles. In the classroom, we explored the fascinating topic of population growth, discussing its causes, impacts, and what it means for the future of our planet. It's been a great mix of physical activity, artistic expression, and intellectual discovery!

Half-Term Skate Club at TR7: Rolling into Year Two

This half term has brought with it the return of one of our most exciting extracurricular adventures: the Blisland Skate Club at TR7 Skate Park. Now in its second year, the club has quickly become a highlight for pupils who are eager to swap the classroom for ramps, rails, and the thrill of learning new tricks. Over the course of six weekly lessons, our young skaters are not only developing their confidence but also building upon the skills they honed last year. For those who joined us previously, it's been inspiring to see how much progress they've made. Moves that once felt daunting are now being attempted with ease, and the determination to push boundaries is clear in every session.

The expert tuition provided by TR7's coaches has been central to this growth. Their patient guidance and technical know-how ensure that every child, whether a complete beginner or a returning skater, feels supported and challenged. The coaches break down techniques into manageable steps, encouraging pupils to focus on balance, coordination, and flow. It's not just about mastering tricks-it's about learning resilience, celebrating small wins, and embracing the joy of movement.

Of course, Blisland wouldn't be Blisland without a touch of individuality. This year, we've brought our own unique style to the park, most memorably through one of our students who has chosen to skate in Wellington boots. It's a quirky twist that has captured the spirit of the club: creativity, fun, and the freedom to express yourself in your own way. Whether in skate shoes or wellies, the important thing is the enthusiasm and energy each child brings to the ramps. Beyond the technical skills, the club fosters a strong sense of community. Pupils cheer each other on, share tips, and celebrate every achievement-big or small.

Remembrance

What a wonderful week we've had in Tregantle Class! Our learning has been full of creativity, kindness, and music.

This week, we explored a poppy theme for Remembrance Day. The children showed such thoughtfulness and respect during our special service on Tuesday. It was lovely to see everyone creating poppies in so many different and imaginative ways - our classroom looked beautiful and meaningful.

In music, we had a super fun lesson using the xylophones! The children explored how sounds can move from low to high and high to low, and they did a brilliant job following the conductor to create loud and quiet sounds.

During maths, we've been investigating shapes with four sides. Using lots of different equipment, the children made squares and rectangles - it was fantastic to see their problem-solving skills in action.

Our writing skills are also going from strength to strength! The children have been using amazing firework words such as pop, bang, and whizz to make their writing sparkle.

To celebrate National Kindness Day on Wednesday, the children made heartfelt thank-you cards for all the wonderful people who help us in school - from our cooks to our caretaker. It was a lovely way to show appreciation and spread kindness.

Well done, Tregantle Class - what a brilliant week of learning, creativity, and kindness!

This month we have been consolidating our understanding of place value and also learning to add and subtract in Maths.
We have learnt to add and subtract two digit numbers and learnt the number bonds to 10 off by heart.
We will be continuing this learning throughout November.

In R.E. we have been thinking about who is a Muslim and how do they live?
We have discussed what people think about God and what Muslims think about God.
We have thought about the 99 different names for God in Islam and considered what other names we might be called, linked to our personality and things that we like to do. We learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam and also learnt some stories from Islam and thought about what lessons we can learn from them.

We ended our Great Fire of London topic with a fantastic visit from the Fire Service who brought a fire engine for us to explore. We enjoyed learning about how they fight fires today and discussed how it compared to how fires were tackled in Tudor times.
We even got to have a turn at squirting the hose!

P.S.H.E. has been all  about 'Being Me in My World' this month. We have considered what rights and responsibilities we have in school and we decided on some points for our class charter to ensure a safe and happy learning space which we all signed.
 

Cornwall - a local study

We welcomed back Year 6 after their half term break and many of the children had been busy at home making their own Anglo-Saxon settlement, following on from our History topic last half term about the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain.

This half term, our focus shifts to Geography, where we are carrying out a local study of Cornwall. We began, last week, by investigating some of the features of our beautiful county and making sure that we understand the difference between physical and human geography. This week, we have moved on to investigate the different ways in which the land is used in Cornwall. We discussed farming (dairy, crop, cattle and alternative energy farms such as wind, wave and solar), tourism, mining (historically tin, copper & lead; currently, lithium to power electric cars), fishing and industry.

In English, we have just finished our persuasive adverts for the spy gadgets that we invented. We decided that we wanted to turn these into actual radio or tv adverts and one child even turned up for the day with 'persuasive hair'!

In Maths, we have just finished our first fractions topic. Many of the children were not feeling very confident about fractions, so it has been wonderful to see their confidence grow throughout this unit.

In Science, we have finished our unit on Light and we have begun our topic on 'Animals including Humans'. We now all have a better understanding of our circulatory system and how the heart works and this week, we will be learning more about the important jobs our blood vessels and blood cells do for us.

This week has been a particularly busy one. We have commemorated the end of World War I and taken time to reflect on all those who fought and died in any conflicts around the world with a 2 minute silence at 11am on 11th November. This week has also been anti-bullying week, so we have been discussing what is actually meant by bullying, why bullying should not happen and exploring how we would feel if someone were to be unkind to us, based on our own insecurities. This involved some big thinking for Year 6 but it was an important subject to cover, as kindness and empathy are a real focus for us this year. Finally, Friday will be Children in Need. The children will be dressing up in pyjamas, or something spotty and bringing in a donation, to support this wonderful charity.