What a wonderful start to a new school year!

Our 'Big Question' this half term is 'Where on Earth are we?'. We have practised identifying the shape of the United Kingdom on maps, globes and aerial photographs. We have learnt that the United Kingdom is made up of four countries and have been learning some key facts about those countries.
In maths we have been deepening our understanding of number to 10. We have read and written them, ordered them and found one more or one less than them.
We have continued with Drawing Club just like we did in Reception Class. We have explored lots of stories and vocabulary.
In Science we have been learning about materials and the properties of materials that make them suitable for different jobs. 
Our RE this half term is all about the Christian Creation story. In Art we have begun to explore the techniques used by Maurice Sendak. Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated the famous children's book 'Where the wild things are'.

 The Storytellers have had an exciting time learning all about Bonfire Night! We began by preparing delicious pumpkin soup, using fresh ingredients that the children helped to chop and stir. This tasty treat was enjoyed later on as we gathered around our very own campfire in the field. 

Using a special "Dragon's Breath" flint, the children worked together to help light the fire, learning all about the magic of combustion and how to stay safe around open flames. We discussed fire safety rules, maintained a safe distance, and everyone had a turn with sparklers, creating sparkling swirls in the air with great care and big smiles.

Due to the bout of blustery weather, our firework fun moved indoors today, where the children got creative! They made vibrant firework pictures by blowing paint across the page through straws and using paper stamps. A sprinkle of colourful glitter brought their artwork to life, capturing the excitement of fireworks in the night sky.

To top off a truly memorable few days, we spent the afternoon making and decorating our own candy apples-sticky, sparkly, and delicious! What a fantastic way to celebrate Bonfire Night with learning, teamwork, safety, and lots of tasty treats.

Ship Ahoy!!

During October, Year 6 were tasked with designing and making a pirate scarecrow from our locality.

Our pirate story was entitled, 'The Smuggler's Shadow' and was based on the infamous Captain Elias Kersey, Cornwall's ghost of the seas, who landed on the shores of the River Tamar in Gunnislake. (Don't search for him too hard - he is completely fictional and there was a lot of artistic license when it came to there being an actual 'shore' in Gunnislake!)

Year 6 enjoyed this project and were gifted a ticket for free entry to Cothele for an adult and 2 children over half term, where our pirate scarecrow could be found along the scarecrow trail, along with around 9 others!

In Science, our unit on Light tasked us with making periscopes - no easy task, as the angles of the mirrors needed to be accurately set at 45 degrees! The children did a great job, with some finding they could look under or over their tables, or even round corners!

In English, Year 6 have been writing adventure stories full of suspense, Autumn/Harvest poems (which some presented at our Harvest festival) and we have just begun investigating persuasive writing. In Maths, we have covered our unit on place value and also completed our unit consolidating all our knowledge of the 4 operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Welcome Back!

Welcome to a brand new school year and to a fresh class of Year 6 children!

Year 6 have been keen to make use of our 'Chillout Zone' which was created last year. If things are a little tough or someone just needs a calm space, this wonderful area is available to them!

During this first half term, Year 6 will be learning all about the Anglo-Saxon rule in Britain, how to talk about their families in French and discussing the question,  'What would Jesus do?' in RE.

In PE, the unit is focused around Dance and in Art, we will be building up a set of drawing skills, so that we can finish with a 'Big Cat' entry for the Honey Fair.

In Computing, we will be covering an exciting new unit all about code making and code breaking and in PSHE, the learning is all about 'New beginnings'.

Our Science unit for the half term will teach us all about light - how it travels, how we see things and how we can make light change direction by understanding the properties of certain materials. We will also be carrying out an investigation into how shadows change throughout the day and how we can make the most of shade during a hot, sunny Summer's day.

Towards the end of this half term, Year 6 will be designing and making a scarecrow pirate, which will become part of the Cothele Scarecrow trail over half term.

Welcome back, everyone! We hope you had a lovely, restful half-term break. Thank you for all your support throughout Autumn 1 - the children have already achieved so much! A huge shout-out to the families who joined our Make a Difference Morning - the school looks fantastic thanks to your hard work tidying, painting and brightening our grounds. As we head into Autumn 2, we've got lots to look forward to:
Christmas productions & Christingle Service
Cinema & theatre trips
Educational visits & coding workshops
Remembrance Service - Tues 11th Nov, 10:40am (all welcome)
Dress Bright for Bonfire Night - Fri 7th Nov
Anti-Bullying Week & Odd Socks Day - from Mon 10th Nov
Saltash Light Switch-On - Fri 14th Nov
Open Day - Thurs 6th Nov, 9:30am

Plus, we'll be welcoming our School Improvement Partner on Tuesday 18th November to celebrate the brilliant progress being made across Brunel. Thank you, as always, for your continued support - it truly makes a difference.

Here's to an exciting and joyful half term ahead!

We ended this half term by having a spooky week. The children practised their tweezer skills by catching bugs, made spider cakes and pies in the playdough, made potions in the water area and went digging for bones in the sand. We also filled our star jar so we had a class treat. The children chose a spooky disco so we dressed up, had disco lights, music and played lots of party games and learnt some silly dance routines. 

Potion mixing is a particular favourite in Storytellers! The children donned their wizard hats and got busy in our "potion lab," carefully choosing from an assortment of colourful, bubbling ingredients. They poured, stirred, and sprinkled - adding sparkly dust, shimmering liquid, and a dash of fizz to see what would happen next. There were gasps of excitement as their mixtures bubbled, foamed, and changed colour, just like real magic! This hands-on fun sparked plenty of conversation, predictions, and awe as they explored how different ingredients interacted.

Hello Everyone,

This half term has come to an end, with pumpkins, outside exploring and some amazing writing.

In English this week, Reception have been focusing on the story 'Pumpkin Soup'. They have been handling a range of different pumpkins, using adjectives to describe their texture, appearance and smell. They have used their gross, fine motor and artistic skills to hollow out, paint and print with these pumpkins. 

Year 1 and 2 have completed their English unit, based on 'The Day the crayons quit' and Year 2 in particular, should be extremely proud of their final piece of work, which was a letter that included so many key features such as paragraphs. Well done everyone!

In science this week, we enjoyed learning about food chains. Year 1 made paper chains to show the order of the consumers and producers, while Year 2 drew and wrote explanations to order them. We explored the outside area, for examples of what we had learned.

We hope you have a lovely half term, and look forward to seeing you after a week's break.

From The Penhallow Team

Storytellers had a wonderful day full of Meg and Mog-style adventures! Everyone looked fantastic in their array of fancy dress - from witches and skeletons to pumpkins and even a King's Guard! The day was packed with fun and laughter as the children enjoyed spooky stories, dancing, and games like Pass the Pumpkin and Spider Splat!

Happy Half Term!

We've had a fabulous final week in Landaviddy. 

In English, we have been working hard to finish producing our neat copies of our Dartmoor Zoo recounts, using our best handwriting. I have been so impressed with the children's focus and determination to complete these. Well done everyone! 

In Maths, we explored adding 1s across a 10s boundary, which required lots of perseverance, but we were up for the challenge. We are looking forward to continue developing our adding and subtracting knowledge next half term. 

As part of our enquiry, 'Who Rules the Animal Kingdom?' we learnt about food chains in Science and created our sock puppets in DT, which was lots of fun. We experimented with different methods of joining, with some of us using glue, cellotape and choosing to sew in order to attach elements of our designs (see our pictures below).

Congratulations to Frankie for being chosen as Landaviddy's Person of the Week and a big well done to Hector and Tommy for achieving their 99 club badges. 

We hope you have a restful half term and a horrifying Halloween! We look forward to seeing you back at school on Monday 3rd November. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

So it's been another very busy week with so many exciting events, including an African Dance workshop and research to commemorate Black History Month.

Also, Perranporth have been producing some super fact files to show off their knowledge from this half term's learning on Rivers. They have been speaking like Geographers and writing like Geographers; using key (tier3) vocabulary such as 'evaporation, precipitation and condensation' ...

Excitingly, we teamed up with Mousehole class to read them our fantastic Beastie Stories, we think you can see from their faces how much they enjoyed our stories.

Well, that's just about it for this half term, thank you for reading our blog and have a great holiday!

w/e 17.10.25

It's hard to believe the first half term of the school year is almost over. In this morning's assembly, the children took a moment to look back on their half term and share some of their "best bits." Their highlights included learning short division, making new friends, and exciting trips to Dartmoor Zoo, the Eden Project, and Penhallow Woods. Others mentioned discovering new books, taking part in cross-country races, or simply enjoying "everything!" It was wonderful to hear them speak with such excitement and positivity about all they've experienced and achieved so far.

House Points Our house captains have totalled the house points for this half term. House Points are awarded to children who demonstrate our school values: Curious, Creative, Excellent, Responsible, Determined, and Enthusiastic. This half term, our focus has been on being Responsible. Congratulations to Oak, who are currently in the lead with 45 points, followed by Willow with 38 points, Ash with 37 points, and Chestnut with 35 points.

Coming up next half term..
• Clubs will restart on the week commencing 3rd November.
Monday: After School Running Club (Mrs Turnbull and Miss Bowden) years 3-6;  Lunchtime Mindfulness Colouring Club (Mrs Wilkie) for all year groups.
Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) for Reception, Y1, Y2; After School Girls Football Club for years 3-6 (start date tbc).
Thursday: Lunchtime Choir (Mrs Butlin) for years 3-6; After School Football Club (Mr Langley) for years 3-6; After School Gardening Club Mrs Fitzsimmons and Ms Randle for years 1-6.  Please note that once children have signed up to a club, they are expected to attend every session.
• Parent Consultations - week of 10th November. Thank you for signing up for parent consultations. These are straight after half term. There will be no clubs the week of the 10th November, however wraparound care will continue as usual.
• Anti-Bullying Week 2025 will take place from 10th to 14th November, with the theme: Power for Good. The week will kick off with Odd Socks Day on Monday 10th November, where adults and children wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique. Odd Socks are all about fun and laughter, but more importantly they deliver a message of individuality, acceptance and tolerance. We will be joining in with Odd Socks Day. All the children need to do is wear odd socks on Monday 10th please.
• Children in Need, MUFTI Day Friday 14th November For our Children in Need MUFTI fundraiser day on Friday 14th November, please send your child in wearing spotty clothes, pyjamas or anything colourful on the day. A donation of £2 or more to Children in Need will be collected in class. We also have a supply of "Pudsey Ears" for the School Council to sell after half term. These cost £2.50 with all profits going to Children in Need.
• Book Fair (Scholastic) This will be held in school on the week of the 10th November. When our Scholastic Book Fair arrives, you'll be able to browse over 200 of the books children really want to read, from award-winners and new releases to beloved favourites and bestsellers, all at amazing prices. Plus, for every book bought, you help to earn free books for our school.
• FOPS Fundraising Quiz Night Join us for a fun-filled Quiz Night at school on Friday 14th November. The event is open to parents, carers, and friends of the school. Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start. Form a team of 4-6 people and test your knowledge while supporting our fundraising efforts. Tickets are £5 per person and are available from the school office. See the attached poster for more details. We hope to see you there!

Friday 24th October, is an INSET day. We wish you all a lovely half-term break and look forward to seeing everyone back in school from 8:30am on Monday 3rd November.

Thank you for your support this half term.

Mrs Hillman

What a fantastic final week before the half term break it has been for Mousehole Class! The children have worked incredibly hard and shown such enthusiasm across all areas of their learning.

In History, the class has been busy creating double-page knowledge spreads to answer the question: "How important was Ancient Egypt?" The children explored fascinating themes including the River Nile and how it supported daily life, the afterlife and mummification, hieroglyphics, and a range of artefacts and inventions that tell us so much about this remarkable civilisation. Their work beautifully showcased both their historical understanding and creativity.

In English, the focus has been on writing non-chronological reports. The children have used their research and planning skills brilliantly to produce well-structured and informative pieces of writing. It's been wonderful to see their confidence as writers continue to grow.

On Thursday, we celebrated Black History Day. The children learnt about Rosa Parks and discussed her courage, determination, and the lasting impact she had on the civil rights movement. They also thoroughly enjoyed taking part in an African dance workshop, moving to the rhythms of traditional music and exploring another vibrant aspect of African culture.

Mousehole Class have truly been marvellous this week-their positive attitudes, teamwork, and effort have shone through in everything they've done.

Have a restful and enjoyable half term break, and I look forward to another exciting half term of learning when we return!

It has been another very busy week at Harrowbarrow with lots of exciting events.



Diwali
On Monday, we collapsed our curriculum to focus on the Hindu festival of Diwali. I am sure you have heard all about it from your children, but the day started with an assembly with a journalist from India joining us on a Teams video link. She talked about what was happening there as part of the Diwali celebrations and was dressed in her traditional clothes in preparation for the evening festivities. During the morning, the children rotated around classes to learn about the origins of Diwali and some of the associated traditions. In the photo above, Class 1 children were using a programmable device to make Rangoli patterns.


Art Exhibition
Thank you to all those who joined us for the art exhibition after school on Wednesday. We hope you enjoyed seeing the range of children's art on show. We had lots of lovely feedback, which suggests it went down well. We will be planning more of these events.

PSA Halloween Disco & Bake Sale
Thank you to the PSA who do a brilliant job of providing these school community events. Thank you also to all those who supported both the disco and the bake sale. As ever, the bakes looked incredible and I feel sure we have a few parent carers who could compete on The Great British Bake Off!

Harvest/Autumn Assembly
Apologies for having to cancel this today. As it turned out, the weather wasn't as bad as the forecast and we may have been able to do it. However, we couldn't run the risk of cancelling at the last minute. We have set a new date of 9am on Friday 7th November and are hoping to book the village hall for this. We will confirm after half term but please join us if you can.

Staffing Update
Thank you for all your generous contributions to Elaine Moyle's leaving gifts. Today, we presented Elaine with some flowers, a hotel voucher, a figurine and some fizz to thank her for all she has contributed to the school over the last 36 years. We have recruited Elaine's replacement, who will start on 1st December, once all pre-employment checks have been completed. I will share further details before they start. In the meantime, Lesley Connell will step back into the school office in the afternoons and we will be joined by Sarah Spence and Tracey Snell from the Bridge Central Office team for a couple of mornings each week. I will share office contact details after half term.

Parent Consultations
A reminder that if you haven't already done so, there are still slots available for you to book an appointment with your child's teacher after half term.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable half term and look forward to seeing you and your families again on 3rd November.