This has been another busy week where we have celebrated our Readers and Writers in a special assembly with parents, grandparents and families. We have also enjoyed celebrating our times tables superstars from Kai in Reception who achieved his 11 club badge to the pupils in year 6 who achieved their bronze badges.

We are excited about the Fowey Festival  Competition for writers and artists which is open to all children aged 4-16 living in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The theme this year is ‘Beaches.’ We will be encouraging the children to enter the writing competition at school and you may wish your child to enter from home also. Please see attached flyer for information.

We will be taking part in Children’s Mental Health Week which is taking place from 5-11 February. The theme this year is ‘My Voice Matters’. My Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. This year, we want to empower children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to work together to create a positive change for their mental health and wellbeing. Our aim is for Children’s Mental Health Week, we want all children and young people to be able to say – and believe - “My Voice Matters.” As parents and carers, you play an important role in your child’s mental health. There are free resources here which you may wish to look at beforehand. https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/families/

There will be an additional INSET Day on Friday 24th May. INSET days provide a valuable opportunity for staff to access uptodate training. We are proposing a change to the timings on the last day of each term. From spring term onwards, the final day of term will end at 1:30pm. So this term will end on Thursday 28th March at 1:30pm. School will be open until 3:15 for pupils whose parents and carers are at work.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

An active week...

We have a had a cold but enjoyable week, especially on the playground where the children have been testing out our new playtime huff and puff kit. This is part of our commitment to ensure the children have at least 30 minutes active time at school every day.

PE Kits A reminder that children should have a complete PE kit in school every day. We have noticed that some of the children have not had their PE kits in school this week. PE is a very important part of our curriculum and the children should bring their kit in on the first day of the half term and keep it in school and we will send it home if it needs a wash. With the weather getting colder, please send your child in with joggers for PE as each class does at least one outside PE session each week. If you have any good condition kit that your child has grown out of, we would welcome it in school, including trainers and plimsolls.

Football Please find attached a useful information sheet for parents/pupils to find different football opportunities in the local community.

Clubs Reminder that clubs restart next week. There is still time to sign up by email or by calling the office.

Census Day On Thursday 18th January it is the National School Census Day when the Government collects information about our school that helps with future funding. We would like to encourage as many children as possible to have school lunch on this day, including Reception, Y1 and Y2 children, along with the children who are eligible for free school meals. The menu for this day is attached below.  Please make your selection via ParentPay.

Have a great weekend. 

Mrs Hillman

A warm welcome back and Happy New Year to you all.

The children have settled into their learning quickly this week and have started their enquiries as follows: What happened in London a long time ago? Penhallow Class; How far can we travel? Landaviddy Class; Who’s got the power? Talland Class; How did World War Two affect different people in society? Chaipel Class.

Bridge Schools Animations Each school in the Trust created an animation inspired by their values and these were linked together to tell the story of the Bridge Schools Values. The animations were shared with all children in the Trust in a special assembly this afternoon. Well done to Joel and Ava whose excellent contribution from our school showed the value of being Responsible.

Clubs Please note that there will be no wraparound After School Club on Wednesday 10th January because of staff training. Lunchtime and After School Clubs will restart the week commencing 15th January, apart from Running Club as there is a league race on the Friday (details to follow).

Clubs we are offering this half term are:
Monday: Lunchtime CONSTRUCTION CLUB for YR, Y1 and Y2 with Mrs Taylor; After School GYMNASTICS CLUB for Y1, Y2 and Y3

Tuesday: After school FOOTBALL CLUB for Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 with Mr Langley
Wednesday: Lunchtime MINDFULNESS CLUB for Reception, Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4 with Miss Gibbings
Thursday: Lunchtime CHOIR with Mrs Butlin;  After school ALTERNATIVE SPORTS CLUB for Y4, Y5, Y6 with Miss Randle
Friday: After school RUNNING CLUB for Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 with Mrs Turnbull. This club will not run when the Cross-Country League races are on. This club is open to anyone who likes running. Pupils who attend do not have to race in these events.

Please let us know by email or phone call, which clubs you wish your child to attend by midday on Wednesday 10th January. For all clubs, once signed up children will be expected to attend every week unless they have written parental permission not to, or are absent. This applies to both lunchtime and after school clubs.

These are the main messages for you at the moment as we start back.

I look forward to working with you all this year.

Mrs Hillman

It’s been a wonderful festive week and great to see so many of you enjoying the children’s Christmas performances. Landaviddy’s Christmas Fireside Nativity performances yesterday were so enjoyable with super singing, acting and costume changes. Very well done also to Penhallow who delivered two wonderful performances of their Wriggly Nativity, remembering their lines and the songs brilliantly, and also to Talland and Chaipel Classes whose Bethlehem Bandits made everyone laugh out loud. Nursery's performance at the end of today was lovely and has certainly put me in the Christmas mood. Look out for photos from the performances on the class blogs.

RSPCA The School Council is delighted to have raised a very generous £150 from your donations to their chosen charity, the RSPCA, after each performance.

Keeping your Child Safe Online I attach a leaflet which contains many important links to help you keep your child safe online, particularly at this time of year. The leaflet contains important safety points to consider if your child is likely to receive a SMART device (TV, Speaker—Alexa, Google); new mobile phone (Android/iPhone); games console; tablet PC or laptop for Christmas.

Parenting Workshops January – March 2024 Please find attached to this blog a list of free parenting courses run by Cornwall Council, Together for Families.

End of Term The last day of this term is next Tuesday and school ends at 3:15. Each class will have a party to celebrate Christmas. Please send your child in in Christmas MUFTI or party clothes (warm enough to play outside at breaktimes) with some party food to share. If your child has any food allergies that we do not already know about, please email us on secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk by Monday 18h December.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Hillman

It was lovely to see so many of you at the Christmas Fayre at the end of another busy week in school. We are delighted that our Christmas Gift Shop on Thursday raised over £250 and today’s Christmas Fayre raised over £450 for school. A huge thank you to FOPS for organising these events.

On Monday, our amazing choir held their second concert with Keltique, entertaining everyone with their wonderful singing. They raised £90 for the Polperro Chapel Roof, School Music and Keltique’s charity Ellie’s Haven. The choir also sang beautifully at Atlantis Care Home on Thursday and at the Christmas Fayre. Thank you to Mrs Butlin for arranging the concert and running the choir.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the Christmas performances next week; the children have been very busy rehearsing. If your child is in the Landaviddy Class play or the Talland and Chaipel Class play, they will be required to come back for the evening performance at 5:30pm in order to be ready for 6pm.

Reminder that for next week and the week after there will be no clubs except for afterschool wraparound club and Breakfast Club which will continue as usual. Clubs will restart in January and we will send a letter out about which ones will be running.

End of Term Christmas lunch is on Monday 18th and on Tuesday 19th December, classes will be having their Christmas parties. Your child is welcome to come in wearing their party clothes on the day. Please could they bring a small amount of party food to share. The last day of term is on Tuesday 19th December and the first day of the Spring term is Thursday, 4th January.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Let it Snow

After an the unexpected snow on Thursday we enjoyed a Christmas MUFTI day today. It has been a fun end to the week and thank you for sending in so many gifts for the FOPS Christmas Gift Shop on next Thursday.

Reading for Pleasure We had a Library Van visit today. Well done to Phoebe, Max S, Everly W, Dexter and April who between them chose a wide range of books for all ages for our school library and for nursery.

Lantern Procession Tomorrow The children have made some beautiful lanterns between them for the procession tomorrow. The children should congregate at what was ‘Coffee, Cake, Create’ at 4.30pm ready to leave promptly at 4.45pm. We look forward to seeing you there. If your child carries a lantern, please ensure that they bring the cane back to school on Monday so that it can be reused next year.

Clubs Next week clubs will run as usual. For the final 2 weeks of term (11 Dec – 19 Dec) there will be no clubs except for afterschool wraparound club and Breakfast Club which will continue as usual. Clubs will restart in January and we will send a letter out about which ones will be running.

Is my child too ill for school? We know that winter is one of the peak times for children to come down with mild illnesses such as colds, coughs and sore throats. It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school when they're unwell. There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn't. If you do keep your child at home, it's important to phone the school or nursery on the first day. Let us know that your child won't be in and give us the reason. If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a cold sore or head lice, let us know. See this link for mild illness guidance - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-forschool/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Cross Country and Dodgeball successes Well done again to our intrepid cross-country running team who did the school proud, running a difficult course at Lanhydrock last Friday. Well done also to our year 5/6 Dodgeball team (Leon, Max B, Freddie, Harrison, Harley and Ivy) who competed in the Bridge Schools Dodgeball Tournament at Callywith College yesterday. They won their group stage, winning 4 out of 5 games, before being knocked out in the knock out stages. They showed amazing team spirit, cheering each other on and the other teams once they were out.

Poppy Appeal Thank you so much for your generous donations. We raised £101.29 for the British Legion this year.

Staff training There will be no wraparound after school club and no Sports Club on Thursday 30th November because of staff training.

Christmas Gift Room fundraiser – Christmas MUFTI next Friday We are holding a Christmas-themed Mufti day on Friday 1st December. In exchange for wearing Christmas MUFTI, we are asking that your child brings in any new or unused items such as chocolates, toiletries, socks, notebooks or items you’d be happy to receive as a gift. (No alcohol or DVD’s please). The following Thursday (December 7th) during school time, Santa’s workshop will be open for children to choose a special gift or two. Each gift will cost £2 (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. Just to clarify, next Friday 1st December when pupils wear Christmas MUFTI in exchange for bringing in any items for the gift shop, this is full MUFTI. On 7th December, Christmas Jumper Day, children should wear uniform with a Christmas jumper instead of their school jumper.

Polperro Christmas Lights and Lantern Procession On Saturday 2nd December Polperro will be switching on the Christmas Lights in Big Green at 6:30pm. Before the lights switch on, there will be a lantern procession. Willow lanterns, made by children from Polperro School, will be available for children to carry. Each lantern has been made by groups of the children working together. The materials for the lanterns have kindly been paid for by the Christmas Light Committee. If your child carries a lantern, please ensure that the cane and tealight is returned to school so that we can reuse them next year. The children should congregate at what was ‘Coffee, Cake, Create’ at 4.30pm ready to leave promptly at 4.45pm. Fancy dress for the parade is optional. Please note that although staff from school will be present at the procession, children will remain the responsibility of their parents at all times. 

Time 2 Move - Keeping active over Christmas The Time2Move Holiday Programme for Christmas 2023 is now live. The programme offers fun physical activities, games and wider activities plus a funded meal for every child. All children are welcome to attend, and it is completely funded for children that are eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals. As a parent or guardian of a child eligible for benefits related free school meals you will need your child’s unique code in order to access the activities for free. You can access your child’s code quickly and easily at: www.cornwall.gov.uk/time2move Once you have this code you can search and book on activities here: www.activecornwall.org/T2MHolidayProgramme

Family worker drop in sessions and online parenting courses Please find attached the new dates for Caradon family worker drop in sessions for next term and a poster for their free online supporting relationships parenting courses. Also attached is information regarding a free 6-week online group intervention to help parents and carers understand their children’s behaviour and what they might be trying to communicate through it. The intervention will also teach practical strategies to help develop more positive behaviour at home.

Staffing Last but not least, we say a fond farewell to Mrs Robinson this week who after nine years at Polperro School, is leaving the school and education to follow a new path. We wish her all the very best in her new role and thank her for everything she has done for the school in her time here.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Thank you for sending your children in for a cosy day today in PJs or spots or bright colours. We raised over £100 for Children in Need and held a lovely Children in Need and Celebration assembly together to round off anti-bullying week.

For anti-bullying week we have had discussions in assembly and in class about what bullying means to us, how banter can turn into something more hurtful, and what we can do to stop bullying. Chaipel Class have written an antibullying poem which they shared in assembly. See below.

Staffing We said a fond farewell on Tuesday to Chrissy Pollard who has worked with our youngest children in our Nursery and Penhallow Class. She is leaving to take up an opportunity closer to home. I am sure you will join us in wishing her the very best for the future.

Book Fair Well done to our Book Fair character design competition winners Evie, Lucy, Sienna and Martha and thank you for supporting our book fair so generously. We are looking forward to having extra money to spend on books as a result.

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.

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. 

• Polperro Lights Switch On – Saturday 2nd 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 (more details to follow).

• Christmas Performances (in the school hall)

Talland and Chaipel Class Christmas Play (joint performance) - Tuesday 12th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm.

Penhallow Class Nativity Play - Wednesday 13th December at 11am and 2.00 pm.

Landaviddy Class Christmas Play- Thursday 14th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm.

• Christmas Jumper Day Thursday 7th 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 Gift Room On December 7th during school time in the morning, Santa’s workshop will be open for children to choose a special gift or two. Each gift will cost £2 (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 1st 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 DVDs please).

• Christmas Fair Friday 8th December FOPS are currently busy organizing our Christmas Fair which will be on Friday 8th December starting at 2.30 pm. We would be grateful for raffle prizes and good condition toys and books to sell.

• Christmas Lunch Monday 18th December 

Wishing you all a good weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Thank you for coming into school this week for parent consultations. It was lovely to see so many of you and to share the children’s learning.

We have had a very moving week in which the children have participated in a Remembrance Day assembly run by Rev Richard after which our older children wrote messages of thanks on crosses to the people of Polperro whose names are on the war memorial in Polperro. The crosses will be placed on the memorial on Sunday at 10.50am.

On Tuesday, Chaipel Class had a visit from the poet, Sally Crabtree, as part of an international project which involves them and children from France writing poems about WW1. Their final poems will be written on paper containing poppy, cornflower and forget-me-not seeds and in July the poems will be flown to France and dropped from a plane in Northern France. Please see Chaipel Class’ blog for more details.

Odd Socks Day, Monday 13th November It is Anti-Bullying Week next week and the theme is Make a Noise About Bullying. As part of antibullying week, we will be joining in with Odd Socks Day on Monday 13th where adults and children wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique. All the children need to do is wear odd socks on Monday 13th please.

Book Fair, next week, Monday 13th November – help us buy more books for school Our book fair starts next week and will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 3:15 pm after school. The fair will held be in Chaipel Class. 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.

Children in Need, MUFTI Day Friday 17th November We have asked the School Council what they would like to wear for our Children in Need MUFTI fundraiser day on Friday 17th November. Please send your child in wearing spotty clothes, pyjamas or anything colourful on the day. A donation of £1 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, cost £2.50, with all profits going to Children in Need. 

Clubs Reminder that clubs will start next week. Please inform us by email or phone call, which clubs you wish your child to attend. Our choir (year 1 to year 6) rehearses every Thursday lunchtime with Mrs Butlin. Please let us know if your child would like to sign up to attend this weekly.

Christmas Lunch The Christmas lunch will be held on Monday 18th December this year. Please see the attachment below for the menu. If your child would like a Christmas dinner, please ensure you have booked their meal by Friday 15th December as this tends to be very popular with the children. Please book their meals on Parentpay, even if you do not need to pay for their lunches. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to contact Mrs Turnbull on secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Thank you for bringing your children in safely yesterday during the stormy weather. We were able to have our wonderful Black History Month Assembly where each class shared what they had learned about iconic black British women. We learned about Floella Benjamin, actress, singer, presenter, author and politician; Nicola Adams, boxer; Mary Seacole, nurse and businesswoman and Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, British space scientist and science educator. In the UK, Black History Month happens every October. It gives everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.

We have a lot planned for this half term already. Please see below.

Parent Consultations Reminder that parent consultations are next week. There is still time to sign up by calling the school if you have not already done so.

Poppies and Remembrance We will be having a Remembrance assembly next week with Rev Richard. Year 6 volunteers will be selling poppies at playtimes from Monday 6th November. If your child would like to buy a poppy to raise funds for the British Legion, please send your child in with cash. A minimum donation of 50p per poppy would be welcome. Other items are available to buy, priced as follows: Poppies Minimum donation 50p; Plastic poppy £1; Button hole poppies £1 Metal Poppy badges £1; Bracelets £1; Money boxes £4.

Clubs Clubs will restart the week commencing 13th November as follows:
Monday: Lunchtime CONSTRUCTION CLUB for YR, Y1 and Y2 with Mrs Taylor
Tuesday: After school FOOTBALL CLUB for Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 with Mr Langley
Wednesday : Lunchtime MINDFULNESS CLUB for Reception, Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4 with Miss Gibbings
Thursday: After school fun SPORTS CLUB for Y1, Y2 and Y3 with Miss Randle
Friday: After school RUNNING CLUB for Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 with Mrs Turnbull and Miss Gilbert. This club will not run when the Cross Country League races are on. This club is open to anyone who likes running. Pupils who attend do not have to race in these events. 

Please note that year groups have changed for some clubs. Please inform us by email or phone call, which clubs you wish your child to attend by midday on Friday 10th November.

Book Fair, week commencing 13th November We will be holding a Scholastic book fair the week commencing 13th November after school from 3:15pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The fair will held be in Chaipel Class. 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. Next week we will be running a competition for the children to win a £5 book fair voucher (1 per class).

Anti-Bullying Week 2022, 13-17 November Anti-Bullying Week 2023 will be taking place from Monday 13th-Friday 17th November and has the theme Make a Noise About Bullying. The week will kick off with Odd Socks Day on Monday 13th 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 13th please.

Children in Need, MUFTI Day Friday 17th November We have asked the School Council what they would like to wear for our Children in Need MUFTI fundraiser day on Friday 17th November. Please send your child in wearing spotty clothes, pyjamas or anything colourful on the day. A donation of £1 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, starting next week. These cost £2.50 with all profits going to Children in Need. 

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman