Autumn Term 1 - Weeks 1, 2, & 3 - Sensational Start to Six! 

English

In English over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at extending narratives using the text ‘The Lion and The Unicorn’ by Shelley Hughes as a stimulus.

Across the journey, the children have unpicked the text using their VIPERS skills, reminded themselves on the skill of using relative clauses, wrote setting descriptions and diary entries. All of the knowledge explored across this journey resulted in the children extending the narrative by writing an alternative ending.

The children have loved looking at this text as it links nicely to our first wider curriculum theme of WW2. The children have been able to use their topographical knowledge to inform their creative pieces used a wide range of tier one, two and three vocabularies.

We are incredibly proud of their first extended piece of writing and look forward to seeing what they produce in our next learning journey of Poetry – The Power of Imagery!

Maths

In Year Six we continue to follow the White Rose Small Steps beginning with our first journey of ‘Place Value’. To begin this learning journey the children, harnessed their prior knowledge to identify, read and write numbers to 1,000,000 and 10,000,000.

The children then looked closely at the powers of 10, this required the children to multiply and divided by 10s, 100s & 1000s. With the Year 5/6 curriculum so closely knitted, the children are very much familiar with the strategies and methods presented and are therefore able to approach more complex reasoning questions.

In this journey, we have also explored rounding any integer, negative numbers and using number lines to 10,000,000. We then ended the journey as we always do with an end of unit assessment. This allows us and the children to see not only their progress in place value but their next steps. From here, the children set themselves new targets for the term.

Wider Curriculum

We have hit the ground running with wider curriculum and the children are certainly on board. As mentioned above, our current theme we are exploring is WW2. Throughout this journey, the children will explore a range of subjects, concepts and knowledge across all areas of the curriculum with links to the overarching theme.

Within each area of the curriculum the children will have enquiry questions that they’ll find the answers too. To begin our journey, we have started with History and our enquiry question is ‘What was the impact if WW2 on the people of Britain?’  

So far, the children have used their chronology skills to sequence key events that took place during WW2.They have investigated what life would have been like during the blitz and the emotions felt by the civilians. They have unpicked the story of Dunkirk, delving into the ‘Dunkirk’ spirit, as well as looking into the roles of women during WW2. They made comparisons between WW2 and today’s roles for women and what impact the war would have had!

It has been wonderful to see the children’s enthusiasm towards our new curriculum theme. WATCH THIS SPACE for our incoming artwork…

Important Reminders:

·        Monday 23^rd September – Boys active

·        Tuesday 24^th September – Our Girls Can

·        Tuesday 24^th September – Boys Swimming

·        Wednesday 25^th September – Individual Photos

·        Friday 27^th September – Macmillan Coffee Morning

·        Friday 27^th September – School Sleepover

Have a wonderful weekend.

Best Wishes,

w/e 20.9.24

What a busy week we’ve had!

We had Cricket Chris in TWICE to teach us catching skills which we loved!

The children have thoroughly enjoyed splattering and dripping paint in an abstract style, just like the artist Jackson Pollock, ahead of creating their own paintings later this term.

Plus, there’s all of our other wonderful learning! In maths, we used the manipulatives to help us flexibly partition to 10,000! Wow! For English, ask your child to tell you a type of figurative language (maybe simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification or alliteration)? Perhaps they could even tell you the structure of a volcano?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hello Everyone!

We have all been enjoying a new story this week, to inspire our writing lessons. The story of ‘Stanley’s Stick’ by John Henley, has helped us to use our creative ideas. According to Penhallow, a simple stick, has become a musical instrument, a dinosaur, a telescope, and a magic wand. The reception children have enjoyed finding their own sticks to explore these ideas in the school garden. Year 1 have written some lovely sentences to tell the story in their own words.

As you may have noticed, your child will have taken a wet swimming costume home on Wednesday. We decided to take advantage of the warm weather and go swimming in our lovely pool. Well done to reception, who mostly took part with enthusiasm. 

On Friday we enjoyed a fun music lesson in class. We used a range of percussion instruments to accompany our singing, which included some action songs. It was lovely to hear some of the children singing these songs later, during learning through play.

Have a lovely weekend!

From the Penhallow team.

This week we have finished our question of “who am I? The children have been practicing drawing faces with different features such as eyes, ears, nose and mouth. We have been discussing the places we live and exploring the story of “The three little pigs”.
We have made the pigs houses out of straw and sticks and bricks and used props in the tuft tray with the pig stick puppets. The children have been painting and creating tube pigs.

In phonics we have been making the sounds of different family members, taking notice of the way we formed these sound with our mouths and we have been making silly soup with different initial sounds.

In maths we have been practicing counting and finding different numbers around us. We have been learning about simple shapes such as circle, square and triangle.

Have a great weekend

Julie, Sarah and Jade

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The children have had an action packed week so far, they really enjoyed searching for Goldilocks and writing 'WANTED' posters. There was even more excitement when the children arrived on Wednesday to find the three bears sat at the classroom table but Baby Bear's porridge was missing!!!

In History, they have been finding out about the Wright Brothers and they watched their first flight, they couldn't believe it was in black and white!

In Science, they wore blindfolds to experience what it is like to walk without sight.

In Maths, they have continued to work on Place Value and have been thinking about whether there are fewer or more.

Reception have been enjoying the sunshine, they've been practicing number formation, painting and threading!

 As ever it has been a busy couple of weeks back in school. Thank you to those of you who came to the 'Meet the Teacher' events at the Infant and Junior bases. The partnership that the schools have with parents is very important to us and to your child's wellbeing and development.
After a few teething troubles during the transition from Delaware and Gunnislake to Copper Valley, I am delighted to let you know that the Seesaw platform is now fully up and running. For those parents who are new to Seesaw, it is a brilliant tool where you can view your child's learning and communicate with staff. Staff will sometimes post messages and important reminders on Seesaw and, because these come straight through to your mobiles and tablets, they are easily accessible.
I am also pleased to let you know that the school websites are, in the main, complete! If you head to the learning tab and look under maths, I have added some resources so that you can use to support your child with their current learning. 
I want to apologise to you all for my  absence at the school entrance in the morning. Some of you will know but I am taking children to the Junior school base in Gunnislake so that we don't need to run 3 mini buses. I am enjoying chatting to the children as we head down the hill. We have named the morning service 'Cox's cabs'- could be a new career! I miss speaking to the other children and parents as they come in but I hope that you will understand why I'm not on the step first thing!
If you haven't had a chance then please look at our new Copper Valley Primary Academies Facebook page. We currently have 80 followers and we want to build on this.
Over the next few weeks we are going to work on a celebration event to mark the schools' name change. Look out for more information to follow. Enjoy the weekend when it arrives! 

   As ever it has been a busy couple of weeks back in school. Thank you to those of you who came to the 'Meet the Teacher' events at the Infant and Junior bases. The partnership that the schools have with parents is very important to us and to your child's wellbeing and development.
After a few teething troubles during the transition from Delaware and Gunnislake to Copper Valley, I am delighted to let you know that the Seesaw platform is now fully up and running. For those parents who are new to Seesaw, it is a brilliant tool where you can view your child's learning and communicate with staff. Staff will sometimes post messages and important reminders on Seesaw and, because these come straight through to your mobiles and tablets, they are easily accessible.
I am also pleased to let you know that the school websites are, in the main, complete! If you head to the learning tab and look under maths, I have added some resources so that you can use to support your child with their current learning.
I want to apologise to you all for my  absence at the school entrance in the morning. Some of you will know but I am taking children to the Junior school base in Gunnislake so that we don't need to run 3 mini buses. I am enjoying chatting to the children as we head down the hill. We have named the morning service 'Cox's cabs'- could be a new career! I miss speaking to the other children and parents as they come in but I hope that you will understand why I'm not on the step first thing!
If you haven't had a chance then please look at our new Copper Valley Primary Academies Facebook page. We currently have 80 followers and we want to build on this.
Over the next few weeks we are going to work on a celebration event to mark the schools' name change. Look out for more information to follow. Enjoy the weekend when it arrives!

After a successful blackberry hunt, the children eagerly put on their aprons and joined Mrs Pearce. They were not just spectators, but active participants in the cooking process. They weighed out the ingredients, cut up the apple, counted out the blackberries, and rubbed the ingredients together with their fingers; this proved to be somewhat sticky, but they were all fabulous at taking turns and waiting patiently for it to bake. Their sense of achievement and independence was evident in their beaming smiles and the delicious aroma that filled the kitchen.

   Cooking is one of the children’s favourite activities in Storytellers. It is an authentic experience where children can gain various skills, specifically in Maths. In addition, it can aid language and communication. When children can complete activities independently, their confidence soars. Following a recipe also helps children to learn to read for a purpose and follow instructions. In addition, they can talk about their likes and dislikes and healthy eating. When children are involved in preparing food, they are more likely to try out new tastes and flavours. The children's enjoyment of the cooking activity was evident in their eagerness to learn and their enthusiastic participation.  

The crumble was a scrumptious afternoon snack to enjoy in the autumnal sunshine. 

Children love to show what they can do, and cooking provides opportunities to gain a sense of accomplishment.

   Here at Storytellers, we like to provide real-life experiences. Cooking is a needed life skill. It is an authentic experience where children can gain a range of skills, specifically in Maths, as genuine opportunities for children to count, measure and calculate. Making bread gave their little hands a fabulous workout as they kneaded and shaped the dough.

It helps the children understand traditions and really aids language and communication. Today we introduced new vocabulary such as harvesting wheat, grinding wheat, dough, kneading and rising. When children can complete activities independently their confidence soars. Following a recipe also helps children to learn to read for a purpose and follow instructions. When children are involved in preparing food, they are more likely to try out new tastes and flavours. Today the children enjoyed learning how to make bread like The little Red Hen, how to knead the dough and then watch it double in size like magic! The best bit was tasting though….well done little chefs

In our Science lessons this week, Year 3 and 4 have been learning about digestion and the journey that food takes from being eaten to being a waste product of our body.

Photo of Elyza-Mae's work in (Y3)

We are planning and beginning to write our own stories about Stone Age Boy in English and are challenging ourself to use some of the skills we have learned in lessons independently in our writing. 

Quick note to all
Please can you sign the Arbor permissions as soon as possible.

 We have been talking about cooking in class and suggested to the children that we could make a blackberry crumble, so we jumped at the chance to take our little fruit pickers out in the sunshine to see what we could find. We are lucky at Storytellers to be blessed with a bridleway close by that is rich in bramble bushes full of large juicy blackberries. The children could pick their own and sample the trials and tribulations of foraging for these black jewels.  

When we have snacks in the Storytellers, the children receive fruit in front of them on the table. How did this fruit get to them? Where did it come from? Allowing the children to be a part of the production of their food (our nursery garden is key to this also) begins to teach them about the journey their food goes through to get it to their plates. The first task was to let our group of bouncing toddlers know what sort of adventure we were about to take; of course, as soon as we mentioned it, there was a rush of putting wellies on and getting our collection pots.

We all ventured along the tack where some were found. These weren’t immediately highlighted to the children to see if they could spot any. One little one ran over to the first blackberry bush we discovered excitedly, exclaiming: “I found a blackberry!” He understood straight away what we were looking for and showed he understood what our adventure was all about. It was clear the discovery had made him happy, and he picked one straight away. However, this Blackberry did not manage to reach the cups. It went straight into his mouth! Before all the children started picking the berries, we had to explain some important rules about foraging. Could we pick green or red blackberries? We let the children know that only blackberries would be picked, as the green and red would be very yucky in our tummies! The children noticed that the blackberries had sharp thorns and stinging nettles growing around them. A few of the older children knew the stinging nettles and brambles would hurt them, so they learnt to identify what they looked like so they could avoid harm. When we venture out of the nursery, we always explain to the children all the hazardous plants we might encounter.

When the children started to get stuck into picking the berries, they didn’t stop! We enjoyed the sunshine along the track, picking all the blackberries we could reach. Spending this time outside gave the children lots of exercise and fresh air, running back and forth from bush to bush.

During our blackberry picking, there was lots of talk between the children. Other conversations were about picking blackberries at home. Seeing the children do this activity at nursery was nice, but it is a lot more satisfying knowing that this happens at home. The sharing was also great to see between the children, passing around the pots so we all have a hold without adults having to suggest it. We then spoke about how nutritious the blackberries are, especially because they are organic and full of vitamin C, giving the children’s immune systems a good boost and containing plenty of fibre to help their digestion. When we returned to the nursery, we washed the berries and prepared them to cook the following day.

This last week has been all about settling in for our youngest class members as nursery may be the first time a child has been away from parents for a short period of time, which can be daunting for both at first. However, it gives the child the opportunity to be independent and have freedom to explore and to make other relationships, which is critical for their long-term well-being.

That added independence can nurture a child’s self-confidence, help to develop their own personality, disposition, thoughts, and ideas, and encourage them as they discover more about life outside of their family unit. Learning to complete basic tasks by themselves, taking part in activities and spending time with others, will help develop their confidence and build a foundation, which prepares them for school and life in the outside world.

Storytellers offers a wide range of activities, resources, and experiences to stimulate and engage the children. Having so many different things for them to discover and explore, helps to develop their interests and encourages them to try new things out for themselves. It’s an exciting new adventure and the bonus is you can leave the messy play to us! !

Both academically, socially, and emotionally, children will be learning new skills every day. For example, learn how to hold mark-making tools, put on their own coat, learn mathematical concepts, and help tidy up. These are all valuable life skills and build the foundations for the future in preparing your child for school.

We couldn’t be prouder of our little bunch and how well everyone has settled. We look forward to an exciting term. 

A busy first whole week!

Seaton class have had a fantastic first full week!

As well as demonstrating some excellent Issy Manners, they have been working hard to follow our class rules and exercise their British Values by electing the new House Captains. Last week we voted for School Councillors - take a look at our Seaton representatives L and D.

In English, we have been finding out all about our school's namesake - Brunel. Ask your children what fascinating facts they found out about him. We will start to write these into a biography next week.

In maths, we have began by learning the place value within numbers to 1,000,000. We've also been finding out about square numbers and completing challenges with them during our Mini maths afternoon sessions. 

In art, we have been researching William Morris (A Victorian artist). Some of the children were brave enough to try and recreate some of his artwork. In science, we started our unit of forces by conducting an experiment about gravity. We wanted to find out if the mass or weight of a ball affected its speed of falling. Ask your children what the results showed.

Excitingly, we had our second violin session with Sally this week; progressing to holding and using the bow! She was very complimentary about their rhythm and musicality. We can't wait to see what the next week brings!

Have a great weekend, Miss Burton

Wednesday 18th September

This week we have been continuing our place value unit in maths by partitioning numbers into 100's, 10's and 1's. We really enjoyed using the base ten practical resources to help us with our learning!

We are continuing our English unit "Little Red Riding Hood" and made a WANTED poster which offers a high reward if you find the wolf!  Have you seen him?

The children were very excited to begin their French lessons too.  They learned all about France and the countries that also speak French!  They learned about the Eiffel Tower too!

In art, the children learned that the primary colours are yellow, red and blue and that secondary colours can be mixed using them.  We had a practise mixing in our books - look how we did!

In science, Year Two sorted statements into "want" and "need (shown) and Year Three read food labels on the back of food to note whether they are healthy choices or not!  They also suggested alternatives that we could eat instead!

Artefacts to support our writing

We have been looking at some artefacts that give more of an insight into the lives of evacuees to support us with our diary entries linked to the fantastic book, Letters from the Lighthouse.

Alongside our writing projects, we have been exploring the first world war and the events that acted as a catalyst. We explored the different alliances of the time and also looked into the tensions that were forming in the lead up.

This week, the school council gathered for an important meeting and proudly defined their vision: "To make our school a better place for everybody."

The council, made up of elected pupil representatives, discussed their hopes and ideas for how to improve life at school.

With a focus on inclusivity and positivity, they explored different areas they felt needed attention and brainstormed ways to create an even more welcoming and supportive environment.

Excitement filled the room as the council looked forward to their upcoming class council meeting, where they will gather suggestions from fellow pupils.

By actively listening to their peers, they hope to take on a range of ideas and concerns, ensuring that every pupil's voice is heard. This collaborative approach will help shape their goals and drive the positive changes they are eager to bring about in the weeks ahead.

Autumn 1 - Week 1, 2 and 3 -A Super Start!

We are so proud of how well the children have settled into school life. It’s been a busy first few weeks learning new routines and discussing our school rules: Be Safe, Be Ready, Be Respectful. It has been lovely getting to know the children and watching them play and interact with new friends.

They have had a go at writing their own names, experienced their first PE lesson in the hall and we have begun to learn about our over-arching topic: What’s awesome about Autumn? Lots of children knew that the leaves on trees change colour and fall to the ground. In Maths, the children have been learning to recognise and create patterns using peg boards, interlocking cubes and pens.

Next week, we will begin our Phonics lessons. Every Friday, your child will come home with a worksheet stuck in their Home Learning Book and an information sheet all about this week’s sounds for you to practise at home. Thank you in advance for your support with this.

Reminders
Please label absolutely everything your child brings into school so that nothing is lost. We are a nut free school so please do not send your child into school with foods containing nuts - thank you. 

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Best wishes,
The Reception Team

What a wonderful art afternoon Class One had in the sunshine with a visit from local artist Eleanor Russell-Hsieh. The children focused on the techniques of sketching with Ellie teaching the skills of hatching, blending and finding light and shade. Our budding artists loved exploring the range of sketch pencils and the effects the different grades had on their mark making. A highlight of the afternoon was the observational drawings which took place outside on our beautiful field.