Thank you for sending your children in for a cosy day on Friday in PJs or spots. We raised £133 for Children in Need and held a lovely Children in Need and Celebration assembly together to round off anti-bullying week.

Book Fair Well done to our Book Fair book cover design competition winners Ivy, Jack, Henry and Lucy and thank you for supporting our book fair. We are looking forward to having extra money to spend on books as a result.

Poppy Appeal Thank you so much for your generous donations. We raised £123.20 for the British Legion this year.

Christmas Cards Last week your child should have come home with a card that features their very own Christmas design with details on it of how to order. This year we are using a different company who not only turn the picture into Christmas cards, but also offer different items including mugs, printed tea towels and Eco Bags as well as Christmas cards. Please note that your last chance to order something will be Tuesday 22nd November AT MIDNIGHT.

Fundraising for Charities and School We recognise that with the cost of living crisis it is currently a challenging time for many families and we are aware that we are asking for several different donations this half term. Please only donate where you are able. For any of our fundraising events, whether for school or for charity, donations are not expected as a matter of course.

Christmas events We are entering a very busy time of year and here are the dates of upcoming events for your diary. Further details will follow. Dates are also on our online events diary on this website.

• Polperro Lights Switch On – Saturday 3rd December The children will be making plenty of willow lanterns in school, kindly funded by the Polperro Christmas Lights Committee, for the Lantern Parade from the Village Hall.

• Christmas Performances
Penhallow Class Nativity Play - Thursday 8 th December at 2.00 pm and Friday 9th December at 2.00pm, at school.
Landaviddy Class Christmas Carol Concert - Thursday 8 th December at 10:30 am in the Chapel,
Talland and Chaipel Class Christmas Play (joint performance) - Monday 12th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm at school.

• Christmas Jumper Day Thursday 8th December is National Christmas Jumper Day in aid of the charity ‘Save The Children’ and we ask for a £1.00 donation for a non-uniform day. We will provide opportunities for children to add some sparkle to a plain jumper if they do not already have a Christmas top to wear.

• Christmas Lunch Wednesday 14th December

• Guitar Concert Wednesday 14th December, 2:40pm

• Christmas Fair Thursday 15th December We look forward to seeing you all at this children-led event on Thursday 15th December starting at 2.00 pm. We would be grateful for raffle prizes and good condition toys and books to sell. There will also be a good condition, used school uniform stall.

• Christmas Gift Room On December 6th during school time, Santa’s workshop will be open for children to choose a special gift or two. Each gift will cost £1 (max 2 gifts per child). The elves will then help to wrap the gifts, which will be brought home at the end of the day to go under your tree. To make the magic happen, we kindly ask for donations by holding a Christmas-themed Mufti day on Friday 2nd December. In exchange for wearing Christmas MUFTI, we ask that your child brings in any new or unused items. These can include chocolates, toiletries, socks, notebooks or items you’d be happy to receive. (No alcohol or DVD’s please). 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend

Mrs Hillman

It has been another busy week. We started the week with a Remembrance Assembly by Reverend Allen, known to the children as Richard. He talked to the children about the poppies they have been wearing and their significance. This morning we held a 2 minutes silence which the children observed beautifully.

Bikeability Well done to our year 6 pupils who have successfully gained their level 2 Bikeability award.

Staffing Miss Gibbings will be on maternity leave from Monday and I’m sure you will join us all in wishing her well. We will miss her while she is away but will enjoy seeing Mrs Charlesworth more often in the meantime.

Book Fair We will be holding a Scholastic book fair next week after school from 3:15pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  The fair will held be in Chaipel Classroom and after school clubs will run as usual. A percentage of the profits will go to school funds and enable us to buy more books for school. If you would like to buy any books from the fair, you will be able to pay in cash or online if you have your phone with you. You can pay for books online while you are at the Fair by scanning a QR code on your phone to easily access the Scholastic parent pay website.

The children have been offered the opportunity to recreate the cover of their favourite book to win a £5 book fair voucher. If they are doing this at home, please ensure they bring their entry in on Monday for judging.

Anti-Bullying Week  Anti-Bullying Week 2022 will be taking place from Monday 14th-Friday 18th November and has the theme Reach Out. The week will kick off with Odd Socks Day on Monday 14th November, where adults and children wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique. We will be joining in with Odd Socks Day. All the children need to do is wear odd socks on Monday please.

Children in Need  We have asked the children what they would like to wear for our Children in Need MUFTI fundraiser day next Friday 18th November and they have chosen to wear either spotty clothes their PJs all day. Please send your child in in pyjamas or onesies on the day or spotty clothes. A donation of £1 or more to Children in Need will be collected in class, however this is not expected. We also have a supply of “Pudsey Ears” for the School Council to sell, starting next week. These cost £2.50.

Finally, please ensure your child has a coat in school every day. We try to take the children outside for playtimes as much as possible and the rainy and unpredictable weather has caught a few of the children by surprise this week.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

The children have been amazing this half term and have achieved much to be proud of.

Black History Month. We held a very special Black History Month assembly on Wednesday where the children shared everything they had learned about their class' chosen person. Penhallow shared what they had learned about Muhammad Ali and sang a song about him; Landaviddy talked all about Ella Fitzgerald and sang one of her favourite songs; Talland acted out and told the Rosa Parks story and Chaipel followed this with a moving presentation about Martin Luther King.  We have books in the library from the 'Little People, Big Dreams' series which the children are encouraged to borrow to find out more about their heroes.

Making learning visible. At our last assembly of the half term , we celebrated our Visible Learners who consistently strive to produce their best and always keep trying until they are proud of their work. Attached to this blog  is a leaflet about Visible Learning which we hope you will take time to read. It contains useful information regarding how to talk to your child about their learning.

Golden Ticket Lunch. Our first Golden Ticket Lunch was held on Monday when one child per class was chosen by the School Council because of their outstanding playtime and lunchtime behaviour. Harley, Summer, Martha and Elijah were each given a golden ticket which entitled them to sit at the special table along with a member of staff. This week it was my turn and it was a delight to sit with the children and talk to them. They were all so well mannered, articulate and interesting to talk to.

Cross Country. Very well done to our cross-country team who took part in the first race of the year last Friday and did extremely well. Thank you to Mrs Dewe who helped organise the team.  She said that every child gave it a go and completed a tough course, some for the very first time. They all showed amazing resilience by completing their race and returning with a smile on their face! Jazz ran an absolutely amazing race, coming in 1st in her age category. Well done to them all!

I hope you have a great half term and look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Monday 31st October.

Mrs Hillman

World Mental Health Day
In a special assembly on Monday, World Mental Health Day, we talked about the importance of looking after our Mental Health and Wellbeing. The children were very articulate about ways in which they could do this and who they could speak to at home and in school should they have any worries. Please see below for the calming activities that we shared with the children.  

Clubs
The children told us that going to clubs was a good way to make yourself feel good.  We have taken on board suggestions from our School Council and made some changes to the clubs on offer after half term.

Monday
• Back by popular demand, Lunchtime LEGO CONSTRUCTION CLUB for Reception, Y1, Y2 and Y3 with Mrs Fernie
• After school FOOTBALL CLUB for Y4, Y5 and Y6 with Arena Coach Mr Robinson

Tuesday
• After school ALTERNATIVE SPORTS CLUB for Y5 and Y6, Mrs Taylor/Mrs Hillman

Wednesday
• Lunchtime SINGING CLUB for Reception, Y1, Y2 and Y3 with Miss Gibbings
• After school KNITTING CLUB – by invitation only. Start date tbc.

Thursday
• After school RUNNING CLUB for Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 with Miss Randle
• BRAND NEW after school WHEELIES CLUB for R, Y1, Y2 and Y3 with Mrs Counsell. This club is for children who would like to ride their scooter or bike on the playground. Sessions will be limited to 2 per child and you will be contacted with the date of your child’s sessions after half term.

Please email the office or return the sign up slip to confirm your child's club choices.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Dear Parents and Carers

This half term is whizzing by and the children are well and truly settled into their learning.  It was a real treat this week to look at their writing, whether it was newspaper reports about Pompeii in Chaipel Class; character descriptions based on the Owl Who was afraid of the Dark in Landaviddy; Penhallow Class's fabulous diary entries based on Peace at Last or Talland Class's diary entries about Henry the Dog.  

Black History Month In a special assembly this week we talked about diversity and introduced Black History month. The main aims of Black History Month are to celebrate the achievements and contributions of black people not just in the UK, but throughout the world and also to educate all on black history. Each class is learning about a significant black person’s contribution and achievements and their influence on our world. The children will be sharing what they have learned with the rest of the school at another assembly at the end of this half term.

School Council Our School Council met today for the first time this year. They had some super ideas which about how to make playtimes and lunchtimes even more fun and had some amazing suggestions for clubs. They also shared their kind ideas about how to raise money for school and for charity. They are excited to organise events and competitions and as far as possible, we will incorporate their ideas into our plans for the year. 

Bags2School Nursery is organising a Bags2School collection next week. If you fancy having a clear out then bag up your unwanted clothes, shoes, bags, belts or duvet covers (not the inside bits) and please pop them down to nursery before 9am next Friday (14th).

All Aboard Train Play Mrs Kim Batchelor, a teacher who you may remember from her maternity cover in Penhallow Class, will be running train themed play sessions for preschool and primary school aged children on 15th October. Please see attached poster for details.

Cross Country The first cross country race for y3-y6 takes place next Friday at Bylanend, Horningtops. Please look out for a letter which your child may bring home if they are interested in competing.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Hillman

Thank you for braving the weather to come to our Meet the Teacher sessions today. It was lovely to see so many of you and we hope that you found it useful.

We started the week with a lovely harvest assembly led by Reverend Richard who talked to the children about the importance of sharing.  The children sang beautifully four songs about harvest and food and enjoyed the actions that went with them.  We then talked about the school's collection for the foodbank and how people are sharing with those in need.  If you have any items to add to our growing collection, please do send them in before half term.

On Wednesday we celebrated our mathematicians of the week.  Well done to Sonny, Oliver, Thomas, Martha and Macey. We cant wait to find out who our readers of the week are next week.

A Healthy School
As a Heathy School and a Sugar Smart school we encourage children to drink water throughout their day at school, rather than juice or squash. We would prefer that your child’s water bottle contains water only, to encourage healthy habits. This also helps us when there is a spill as water doesn’t stain! If there is a reason why your child cannot drink water, please let you child’s teacher know. Please note that this applies to their classroom drinks and not to their lunchtime drinks.

Keeping Well A reminder that if your child has a temperature they should not be in school. Please do not send them in having had Calpol to bring the temperature down. If your child is unwell, please call the office first thing to let us know.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Welcome back to school from all the staff at Polperro Primary Academy and particularly warm welcome to those joining us for the first time. Thank you for your efforts in ensuring that your children are smart and in full school uniform. The children have settled extremely well.

You will have been emailed a list of clubs and details of how to sign up yesterday. Please sign up as soon as possible as we are starting clubs next week. Football club for years 4- 6 starts on Monday. The club is for girls and boys and pupils do not already have to be experienced footballers to attend.

You will have received a communication from the Trust about completing the permissions for photos, trips, medications etc. on Arbor. It is really important that these are completed soon as they allow staff to plan in more detail. Even if nothing has changed since last year, please re-complete the forms so we have the most up to date information. If you are having trouble logging in, please contact Mrs Rusu for help. Universal Free School Meals for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

A timely reminder that if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, they are entitled to free school meals. Your child does not need to have meals every day - just when they would like them. Meals should be booked on Parentpay and you will not be charged for them. If you do not yet have access to parent pay, please contact the office.

Application for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Did you know that just registering your child for Free School Meals means that the school gets extra money? What you may not know however is that the Government is giving money to schools to help children from lower income families do their very best. This funding is called a ‘Pupil Premium’ and Polperro School will receive this premium for every child registered. With this money we could provide more interventions to accelerate your child’s academic progress as well as interventions to develop self-esteem, self-confidence and social emotional skills. If you are successful, not only will it mean your child will receive a free school meal but we can also help in other areas such as with breakfast club, some school trips, etc. If you register for Free School Meals (even if your child does not want a school meal) it means that school will receive the extra funding which will benefit your child. All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 are automatically entitled to a free school meal, regardless of income (Universal Infant Free School Meals), but if you are eligible then we would ask you to apply as the school will receive the extra funding and we can help in other areas as mentioned above. Please click on this link to check eligibility criteria and to apply online https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/schools-and-education/schools-and-colleges/school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals-and-pupil-premium/

Guitar lessons will start next Wednesday 14th September.

Finally, we have today given the children the opportunity to discuss yesterday’s sad news about the Queen. Staff have answered their questions carefully and sensitively and in assembly we focused on remembering and reflecting on the amazing life she lived. I am sure you will join us in offering our sincere condolences to the Royal Family.

Mrs Hillman

Dear Parents and Carers

We are at the end of another wonderful year at Polperro School. The children have worked extremely hard and have achieved so much and we are all proud of them as I am sure you are. Thank you so much for all of your support throughout the year.

I will write again at the end of the summer break but here is the main information you will need about the new term in September.

Dropping off and picking up In September, the gates will be open from 8:40 to allow you plenty of time to drop off in order for your child to be in school ready for registration at 8:55. Please drop by 8:50 so that they are there in plenty of time for registration at 8:55. Pick up time for all classes will be 3:15 with Penhallow Class leaving from the side gate and Talland and Chaipel Classes from the main gate. Parents of pupils in Landaviddy Class (year 2/ Year 3) are asked to wait for their child outside Landaviddy Classroom on the patio at 3:15. This is accessed via the playground.

Homework The children have worked incredibly hard this year to catch up on any gaps they may have had as a result of the pandemic. In order to make the most of this progress and to keep your child’s learning ticking over during the summer break, information regarding activities they can do over the summer will be on class blogs today. With regard to keeping up writing skills, you child may wish to write about a particular trip, adventure or event over the summer. They are welcome to bring this in to share with their class and teacher in September.

Staffing This time last year we said goodbye to Ati Charlesworth who after three years in our nursery was leaving to pursue her dream of becoming a primary school teacher. One year on, I am delighted to let you know that Mrs Charlesworth is returning to Polperro School in September to teach in Talland Class on Fridays and across the school when cover is needed.

Uniform Information about our uniform is on this website under the information tab. Please ensure that everything is labelled for the start of term. https://www.polperroprimary.co.uk/Information/Uniform PE and Swimming PE kit should come in on the first day of term and be in all half term. The swimming pool will still be open in September therefore please send your child in with their swimming kit on the first day. After School and Breakfast Clubs Wraparound care will start on the first day back (6th September). Please email the office (secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk) if you would like your child to attend.

INSET Monday 5th September is an INSET day. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school at 8:40 on Tuesday, 6th September.

Thank you again for all of your support throughout the year. Wishing you all a wonderful summer break.

Mrs Hillman and the staff at Polperro Primary Academy

Update 15th July

It’s hard to believe that there is just one week left of this term before everyone breaks up for summer.

We have had another busy week with the Beach Day where children produced some wonderful writing in spite of the heat; Penhallow Class and Chaipel Class had art with Sean where the children finished their contribution to our school mural which will be completed over the break;  everyone has had swimming lessons in the pool.

In assembly today our many Taekwondo experts shared their recent gradings with the school.  Well done to Peyton, Chloe and Paige.

Year 6 Cake Sale, Thursday 21st July, 3pm There will be a cake sale next Thursday run by year 6 who have asked to do this to raise money for the school to buy something special for pupils who will be attending once they have left. Aren’t they amazing?! They are particularly keen to buy new sacks for the sack race next year. Cakes will be on sale from 3pm at the main gate at a cost of 75p each.

Ice Pop Friday
We will be selling ice pops again on Friday 22nd July, the last day of term.  We have raised over £100 so far for school so far.  Many thanks. 

We are currently planning fundraising events for next year. Watch this space for more details about what we are fundraising for and how.

Enjoy a sunny weekend ahead.

Mrs Hillman