This week in Class 3 has been packed with exciting learning activities and achievements!

In English, we’ve been diving into biographies, learning how to write about inspiring individuals. The children have been researching Queen Victoria, creating fantastic drafts full of fascinating facts and great detail about her incredible life and achievements.

In Maths, we’ve focused on improving our multiplication and division skills, including multipliying and dividing by 10/100. Everyone has worked hard on solving problems and expanding their maths knowledge.

Science this week was a real highlight. We coded a micro:bit volume meter and used it to measure noise levels around the school. The children loved using their coding skills for a real-world investigation and discovered that the field was the noisiest place at the time!

A special shoutout goes to the Class 3 football team, who lost their first game on Tuesday but came back strong to win their second match 5-1—great resilience and effort!

On Thursday, the class took part in a multiskills tournament. The whole class showed fantastic teamwork and enthusiasm throughout and by all accounts it was a brilliant afternoon.

Lastly, a reminder that our school trip to the Immersive Dome in Devonport is next Tuesday. If you have any questions about this trip, please get in touch with Mr. Watts.

It’s been a brilliant week in Class 3. Bring on next week’s adventures!

Talland Class continue improving their sewing skills

Another action packed week for Talland Class. The week has included investigating the countries linked to the Alps by using maps and atlases. The children's map skills are developing and they can now begin to talk about different climates; human and physical features of an environment and know that England and the Alps are both in Europe.

One of the highlights of this week was learning how to use a blanket stitch to facilitate the stitching of the children's stuffed toys. Every child put in 100% effort into this activity. They found it amazing, intriguing and most of all, fun!

We have continued with subtracting fractions this week. This began with simple fractions and then the children were challenged with mixed fractions, for example:




Although a huge challenge for the children, they all persevered and gained a greater understanding of how to subtract fractions.

During the English sessions, the children have continued to develop their version of Hansel and Gretel. Many children are now using the advanced skills of figurative language in their writing. One element, for example, was to write a character scene to show emotions without telling the reader the emotion. For instance, one child used:

Her eyes were puffy, and red-rimmed. Wet streaks ran down her face, leaving tiny rivers running down her cheeks. 

instead of

She was crying.

It's been wonderful reading the beginning of the children's stories.

Have a wonderful, well-deserved weekend. 

Best wishes, Mrs Swabey, Mr Parry, Mrs Walters, Mrs Payne and Miss Rowlands.

Year 6 took part in a Hyrox Competition this week at Duloe school, alongside other Year 6 children from Duloe and Trenode. Hyrox is a cross-fit type activity which involves lots of running and lots of strength-based activities. The children had an amazing time, showed a great competitive spirit and were wonderful sports. The event also gave the children the opportunity to meet other Year 6 children who will be starting secondary school in September.  

Class 3 have been learning about ‘Forces’ in science and took their learning outdoors to bring their understanding of friction to life. The children used flints and steels to light their own fires. Next time, we will bring along some marshmallows!

Every Wednesday during term time, we hold a toddler group in our wonderful nursery building. Preschool children of any age are welcome to attend with their adults. Attending Twiglets is excellent fun, but it also has some surprising benefits. It’s all about learning through play.

At Twiglets, your little one will love the songs, play and movement, and being around other children the same age. Your child will not just be having great fun but also be busy learning all sorts of critical early skills.

Here are just a few ways that all the play and fun they have at Twiglets plays an integral part of early learning:

Storytime – an early introduction to reading and phonics

We all know how much little ones love stories. But did you know that when you read to your baby or toddler, you also introduce them to many early literacy skills?

Studies have shown that babies with many books read to them have a greater vocabulary and better early reading skills by age 4.

 Moving and grooving is more than just fun!

According to the NHS, once your child is walking, they should stay active for at least 180 minutes (3 hours) of the day! Twiglets is an excellent way for your toddler to run off steam. All the moving and grooving helps them develop gross motor skills, which will continue to develop as they grow.

Mini mark-making helps with writing later on. What might look like play time Twiglets is far more developmental than it might appear. Simply letting your child squish a Play-Doh ball helps them develop fine motor skills in their hands and fingers. Getting creative with chunky crayons or paints is helping them develop these skills, too. Developing fine motor skills from an early age will benefit your child when they learn more complex skills at nursery and school, like holding a pencil and beginning to write.

So next time your toddler gifts you their latest Jackson Pollock imitation painting, remember they’ve developed more than just their artistic talents!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – classes can bring numbers alive!

Lots of play activities at Twiglets introduce your child to counting and numbers. They might hear lots of counting in songs and rhymes, count out toys as they play, or count the number of hops and jumps they make while dancing. Lots of exposure to counting and numbers will help them develop early numeracy skills in a fun way.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10 – here we go around again – Routines Twiglets is a great way to introduce your baby or toddler to routines, which is a big part of a nursery or school day. Gradually, your child will get used to the different routines in class. That might be sitting in a circle to start, tidying away at the end and stopping for snack time. Introducing this concept at a young age will make it less of an alien concept when it comes to that daunting first day of nursery or school.

Learning to fit into a group. When your child grows up and starts nursery or school, they must learn how to fit into a group. They will learn how to take turns and share. Twiglets is an excellent opportunity to teach all the basics. Greetings, turn-taking, sitting in an allocated spot, and pleases/thank yous all start to happen around your child. This encourages them to copy and do the same.

Tidy-up time teaches key life skills. Little ones can learn to help from a young age. Starting with helping tidy up their toys. Once they start nursery or school, they will be expected to pitch in and tidy their room or space so other children can enjoy it later.

Introduction to other cultures. Little ones are the least likely to judge another based on their background. Twiglets is a great way to begin introducing your little ones to different families from various backgrounds. This might be race, religion, or perhaps other family dynamics.

Making friends – essential social building blocks. Being surrounded by other parents and children may be one of the main reasons you would attend Twiglets. Being in a group teaches crucial social skills that will help your toddler in the future. Your child needs to understand social cues and learn how to make friends. They might start by learning how to share toys or equipment. Or to take turns. By attending Twiglets, you may also introduce your child to new concepts like empathy. If another child is upset, your toddler might start questioning why that is and try to help make them feel better. These are all critical social skills when it comes to making friends later.

But what about the grown-ups?

  Parenting can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavour, especially for stay-at-home parents. Twiglets provides a valuable opportunity for parents and carers to connect with others who are going through similar experiences. This social interaction helps combat feelings of isolation and allows for sharing advice, experiences, and parenting tips. Being part of the group allows you to build a support network of parents who understand the challenges and triumphs of this particular parenting stage. These relationships can provide a strong foundation for mutual support, empathy, and camaraderie.

  Above all, Twiglets group offers a fun experience for parents and children. The laughter, play, and shared activities create lasting memories and positive associations with socialising and learning.

Storytellers have joined the RSPB Big Garden bird watch this week to take our learning outside. Bird watching is a fantastic way for the children to learn about and appreciate all kinds of wildlife. Watching birds encourages empathy for living things and sparks discussions about nature’s balance. We try to incorporate this skill into activities such as our forest school. Some of our older nursery children watched, counted the birds they saw, and filled in a chart as they spotted them.

Valuable listening skills – Bird watching can significantly enhance a child’s listening skills by encouraging them to focus on the subtle sounds around them. Birds often communicate through chirps, songs, and calls that children learn to identify, which requires patience and careful listening. Over time, these skills can transfer to other listening tasks, making them more attentive listeners in everyday situations.

Responsibility – Bird watching helps children appreciate nature and learn about caring for the environment. Setting up a bird feeder or bath allows them to take responsibility for feeding birds. This also opens up conversations about natural diets and avoiding artificial ingredients in bird food. The children created their bird feeders by combining mixed seeds and coconut oil, which involved squishing them all together and pressing them into little pots to hang in their gardens at home; this experience can be shared with their families and sparks a talking point. 

Today at Storytellers, the children had so much fun rescuing winter animals frozen in ice. They used pipettes and pots to pour warm water over the ice, submerged it in a bowl of warm water, and watched the steam while learning about hot and cold and improving their fine motor skills.

It is a fantastic way to explore science through play.

Early Islamic Art

Our focus for the first part of this term is the Early Islamic Empire and the influences that came from this fascinating period of history. We have looked at how Early Islamic art used geometric shapes and repeated patterns to create vibrant and interesting art work that can be adapted and used in carvings, wall hangings, fabrics and tiled areas. 

The children used step by step instructions to draw detailed shapes and imagery linked to the Early Islamic style. These designs will now be used as a basis to make soap carvings and stained glass windows.

Lots of learning and fun!

The Spring Term has well and truly started. Please enjoy 4 photographs that tell the story for these first couple of weeks of 2025.
We have enjoyed a visit from the Dog's Trust, taken part in a Stone Age DT/Forest School project 'living in the stone age' where the children planned and made a stone age meal and used different early caveman survival skills. We have had The Royal Cornwall Show come and deliver a workshop all about where our food comes from. Finally, on Monday 20th January, we went to Kents Cavern to link our history projects from Autumn to Spring Terms.

What a great start to the year. Please do ask your children about the things they have taken part in. 

Any questions about the term ahead, please do email.

Miss Pittas

Dear all

We have had a lovely week all around!  Last Friday, we began our Basketball unit where the children played various warm-up games and then practised some Basketball skills.  The children practised dribbling the ball and tried to get past their partner!

We continued our Art unit by drawing a sketch of a "Cubist Tree".  The children used rectangles, triangles, ovals, circles and various other shapes to create beautiful designs.  We will be working in groups next week to extend this idea further.

In English, the children have planned their own versions of their Jungle Book Story.  I am hoping that by the end of next week, they will have finished and published their books that will come home when they are ready!

In French, we have learned the names for the different rooms in a house!  The children remembered lots from the previous lesson so I hope that they have shared this with their parents!

We also had some lovely activities on Monday including a workshop from The Royal Cornwall show, music (playing Ukeles with Mrs Butlin) and decorating biscuits with chocolate spread and sweets for our maths lesson!

The children have also been learning a "street dance" in class which they are enjoying - and so are the adults!

Take care all!

Mrs Brewer, Miss Masters and Mrs Collings

22nd January – Royal Cornwall Workshop!

We were very lucky to have the Royal Cornwall Workshops this week. We learnt all about seafood and where it comes from. We then explored lots of activities all about farming and how to use the land. We filled in puzzles, dressed up as farmyard animals, looked at the life cycle of a flower, talked about healthy eating and lots more! We had so much fun.

In our learning, we have continued finding out about Emperor Penguins. Foundation have been exploring penguins in their choosing time. They have labelled penguins, talked about where they live and made penguins on our playground out of chalk! Year 1 have started writing their non-chronological reports about Emperor penguins. We have gathered our facts together and now we have started writing our sentences. We are going to share our information with Foundation at the end of the week.

In Computing, we have been learning more about algorithms. We were talking about bugs in algorithms this week and how with a bug, our algorithm won’t work properly! We have explored this through a dice game making monsters and seeing what happens when we roll the same number. Lots of our monsters ended up with two heads or four arms! We then talked about the importance of getting our algorithms right.

Well done Foundation / Year 1, another great week!

Foundation / Year 1 Team

Staying safe & being flexible!

Year 6 have come back to school in 2025 and hit the ground running!

In Science, we are learning about 'Living Things & their Habitats'. So far, we have learned about classification, MRS GREN and we have researched a variety of living things from all of the different Kingdoms.

In History, we have been learning about Bias and how to decide how reliable information presented to us about the past may or may not be in relation to a local History study about Cornwall.

In French, we have linked our unit to Science, learning all about Habitats.

Our English this half term is a revision unit, helping us to prepare for SATs, but using the first Harry Potter book, 'Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone' and in Maths, we have just completed a unit about Ratio & Proportion.

In Computing, we are learning all about online safety and we have had a visit from the NSPCC, talking about how to keep ourselves safe both online and in real life. The children know how to talk to a safe adult and that they can also contact Childline: 08001111 - 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

In PE, we have been revising our use of balance, using the apparatus and in PSHE, our unit is helping us to discuss our future dreams and goals.

Our topic this half-term is ' A Healthy me'

Welcome back everyone. This half term our topic is 'A Healthy me'! 

We are very excited as this week  we will making smoothies, we have all spoken about different fruits we'd like to try.  So far we have also spoken about the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables a day.  The children the have said ....

"If I eat lots of strawberries, blue ones, bananas. and grapes, and I like apples that makes me healthy and I grow!' - L

R said ' Eating broccoli is very good for you and sweet corn, but I like fruit on my breakfast'.

We have been really enjoying, our Kixx sessions with Coach James every Monday afternoon. We have had snowball's that we counted and also buckets!!

In maths, we are learning to recognise number 1-10 and counting objects out to 5! The children are really enjoying adding this into their play. They have found 5 pencils, 5 pieces of play fruit, 3 books, 2 buckets and 4 dinosaurs!  Maybe you could try this at home? If you do please pop a picture on Seesaw for us to share.

In singing with Mrs Harris on a Wednesday we are learning the song 'Cornwall my home' - I have sent a seesaw message out about this! 

Our nursery rhyme of the week is - https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/articles/zvt8gwx - Five little apples. 

If you have any fizzy bottles you no longer need we would love a few for our junk modelling area please!  Come back next week to see how our smoothies turn out.  Also, please don't forget we LOVE to see what you get up to over the week. Please pop pictures on seesaw for your child to share with their friend. This helps develop memory, confidence and speaking skills! 

Miss Whitty, Miss Ronald and Miss Selby :)

Here are the spellings for Mr Watts's spellings group for this week.  It is the re prefix.  
reappear, rearrange, rebuilding, reconnect, recycle, redecorate, redo, refresh, reheat, renew, replace, replay, rewrite

How are we already at the end of our second week back!  The children have been getting stuck into their learning this week.

In Drawing Club our reception children have been sharing the story of 'The pea and the Princess'.  They have come up with some amazing ideas to try to convince the Princess that the bed is comfortable!  Year 1's and 2's have been starting to create their plot points based on the story of 'George and the Dragon'.  Their imaginations have been running wild and they have been using some fantastic adjectives, alliteration, onomatopoeia and similes in their sentences. 

In maths reception have been continuing to focus on numbers 0-5 and have been introduced to the concepts of 1 more and 1 less.  Year 1 have been continuing their place value work, focusing on the teen numbers.  Year 2 have begun their unit of work all about money.  They have been recognising the denominations of the different coins and notes, adding and comparing quantities.  There has been a lot of problem solving and questioning going on this week.  We also had our first week of 99 club for the spring term and we could see great leaps of improvements in scores, the children are always so determined to beat their last score.

In art this week the children made some amazing dragon sculptures with Mirs Fernie, made from clay, thinking about the different joining techniques and modelling skills needed to make a successful sculpture.

We are very lucky to have Mrs Butlin back in working with us for music and we spent some time creating rhythms with the drums and new songs.

In our history work we watched the coronation of Queen Victoria and King Charles lll and discussed the differences and similarities.  We learnt about the four main parts of a coronation and then held our own. Our reception children looked at photos from when they were babies and discussed how they are different now and how we can use photos from the past to help us remember what things were like in the past.

We had a visit from 'Smarter smiles' this week, explaining the importance of good oral hygiene and the children all got sent home with a good bag.  This builds on the work we are doing in school with our supervised teeth brushing and opportunity for fluoride treatment.  Our next visit will be in the summer term.

Another busy week ahead next week and we can't wait to fill you in on all that we have done.

Mrs Andrew, Mrs Fernie, Mrs Hicks, Miss Talbot

Happy New Year and welcome back to a brand new term!

The spring term is always so busy and full of exciting things.  The children have all come back to school eager and ready to learn.

This week in our English Year 1 and 2 have been introduced to the story of George and the Dragon and have worked extremely hard to create a story map to enable them to re-tell the story.  

Math this week has seen our reception children start their unit of work 'Alive in 5', where they are embedding their knowledge of numbers 0-5.  The year 1's have started a new unit on place value, focusing on the numbers up to and including 20.  This builds upon the place value unit which they covered at the beginning of the year.  They are looking at the numerals, words and how the numbers can be represented in different ways.  Year 2's have been consolidating and completing their unit of work on shape, looking at the properties of both 2D and 3D shapes.

Our enquiry question this half term is 'Who can be royal?' and you with seen the medium term plan of activities on seesaw.  We started our history unit of work this week exploring the question 'What is a monarch?'.  We discussed who our monarch is today and the roles and responsibilities they have.

We can't wait to continue exploring these questions over the next few weeks.

As always, if you have any concerns or questions please don't hesitate to contact one of us.

Mrs Andrew, Mrs Fernie, Mrs Hicks, Miss Talbot
 

This week we have been performing our Tyger, Tyger inspired poems in assembly.  We have been learning about improper fractions and converting between improper factions and mixed numbers.  You can find more about this here at the BBC website. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zyxsf82

The spellings for next week for my group are words ending with -cious.  Here is the list that we will be looking at in class: 

atrocious, delicious, conscious, precious,  ferocious, malicious,  spacious, suspicious, vicious

We will also be looking at recapping the 6x tables.  You can practise these here: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button or by logging on to TT Rockstars. 

For those who would like more of a challenge:
a) think about how many number in the 6x table are before or after a prime number.  For example, 18 is one more than 17.  Can you think of any others?
b) do you notice anything if you add the digits of any number in the 6x table together?