Friday 15th October

Autumn is here!

This week we have been learning about Autumn and discovering the changes in the environment. We have had great fun during outdoor learning, going on nature colour walk and exploring colours in the world around us. 

Reading workshop - thank you
Congratulation to Lowen, Ellie and Reuben  for being our people of the week for being kind, hardworking and helpful to the adults. 
In English this week we have been getting to grips with our When Autumn Comes poem and reading the book 'Leaf Man' 
Science - with Mrs G on Wednesday, the children learnt about wind and spent some time acting out different kinds of wind and making kites to try out. Maths - The EYFS children have been learning all about the number 2. As well as recognising, writing and counting we have also been trying to understand what the number 2 means so 1 + 1 makes 2. We have been making 2 in many different ways. The Year 1s - have been looking at greater than and less than terminology and next week we will be using the hungry crocodile symbols to compare numbers. 
Art - We are coming to the end of our Self-Portrait topic. We have been learning all about Andy Warhol and his self portraits then re-creating our own.  Ask your children about what a Self-Portrait is and see if they can tell you anything about Andy Warhol. We have been amazed at how engaged they have been and the information they have retained. It has been great fun. This week coming is the messy week so I am sure all will have fun! 
Harvest - We have been learning all about harvest and what happens at this special time of year. 

Reading
Thank you to those parents who attended the 'Reading Workshop' yesterday and we hope you found it helpful. Mrs Counsell will be running it again soon at a slightly later time, so please sign up, a date will follow shortly. Excitingly, the Reception children will be having their first decodable, reading book sent home with them next week :) 

Incase you didn't see it a letter went out with an update about the Early Years Curriculum on Tuesday. We have attached if you have not had chance to have a look. 

Have a relaxed and enjoyable weekend.
Mrs Counsell, Mrs Fernie, Mrs G and Miss Philp.

Just a reminder that if you have not sent in a pair of wellies for you child then please do as we have a limited number of spare ones. We are using them each week for Outdoor Learning and our mud kitchen is also particularly muddy at the moment after the damp spell last week so we do not allow the children in without wellies. 

Friday 8th October

Good Afternoon! 

We've had another busy and fun week in Penhallow Class. 

We have been learning about our senses in Science, we went on a walk on the field finding things we can hear, see and touch. Then, excitingly we tasted and smelt yummy popcorn and thought of our own vocabulary to describe it - some of these words were - scrumptious, delicious, sweet and warm! 

In English we have started learning an Autumn Poem as part of a new enquiry - 'What happens in the Autumn?' Today we began to learn the actions and will be thinking about the different features next week. 

Congratulation to Grace and Reuben for being our people of the week for being kind and using their manners. Well done to Isabelle and Anya for being our readers of the week.

Year One
Don't forget to read or share a book with an adult three times a week where possible - this will help to apply all of the skills we are learning in phonics and our guided reading sessions.

Reception
In your child's book bag today you will find a library book that your child has chosen to share with you at home. As stated on the letter inside please look out for a Microsoft Teams request for our Reading Workshop on Thursday 14th October. This will be a chance for you find out how we teach reading in school and how you can best support your child in their reading journey. 

Have a super weekend.
Mrs Counsell, Mrs Fernie, Mrs G and Miss Philp. 

Friday 1st October

We have had a good week in Penhallow Class. As part of our enquiry, on Tuesday we enjoyed learning about the creation story in our soggy RE and outdoor learning session, it was such fun! In our Geography lesson on Wednesday we spent time learning about maps and direction on our own treasure island. In Science, we have been thinking about germs and how we can all keep as safe as possible. We carried out an experiment to find out how clean out hands are. We are waiting to see which pieces of bread grow mould! Next week we are really looking forward to starting to learn about Autumn - watch this space!

Congratulations to Lucy, Charlie, Amber, George, Harley, Oliver, Anya and Benjamin for completing this week's rainbow challenges. Well done to Zach and Lucy for being our people of the week for being kind and trying hard. Congratulations to Amber and Nevaeh for getting our Mathematician of the week. What an amazing week everyone, well done. 

Special Helper
Every day we choose a special helper for the next day. When your child is chosen they can send a photo to secretary@polperroprimaryacademy.co.uk of their home show and tell to share with the class. 

Going home
We endeavour every day to make sure every child has their going home stuff with them when we line up. We are so impressed with how independent and willing the children are to be responsible for their belongings, thank you. Please bear with us while we continue to establish this routine over the next few weeks. 

Outdoor Learning and Wellies. 
Just a reminder that each Tuesday the children complete part of their learning outdoors. On these days please feel free to send your child in with extra jumpers and warm clothes that you don't mind getting muddy, wet and smoky from days we make a fire. Also on a daily basis they children have access to the outside area by our classroom  We have waterproof trousers for each of them. However we ask parents to provide a pair of wellies to keep in school for the duration of the year, and for the children to bring in a waterproof jacket each day, so we can be prepared for all weathers on any day! 

Have a good weekend and stay safe.
Mrs Counsell, Mrs Fernie, Mrs G and Miss Philp.

We've had another sunny and busy week in Penhallow Class this week. The Reception children have been completing their rainbow challenges and engaging with new learning activities in their environment. We were able to have a great swimming session on Tuesday and have been enjoying continuing with our enquiry 'Who Am I?' where we have been comparing ourselves as a baby and as a child in the present. Some answers were: 'now I am a child, I can walk' and 'I grow up every time I have my birthday'. Today we were learning to jump and land safely in PE and crossing frog ponds and grassy banks! 

Reading
Congratulations to Takoda and George for being our class' readers of the week. 
Congratulations to Heidi and Benjamin for being our people of the week for being extra kind and showing perseverance. Well done to Benjamin, Emma, Nevaeh, Lucy, George, Amber and Harley for achieving their Rainbow Challenges this week.  

This week the reception children have begun to start learning their letters and sounds. We have learnt s and a. If you would like to continue this at home please see attached a letter formation sheet for practise to do at home together. 

Year One - Please continue to read at home, you're doing a great job! We will be sending home tricky words over the next few weeks. 

Autumn home learning - Please see attached a class home learning grid for a few activities to try at home to continue our learning at school. 

Polite reminder:
- We have been impressed with how well the children are able to get dressed for PE and outdoor learning. Please can we ask that all school jumpers/cardigans and shoes are named, you would not believe how similar they all look, it can speed up our end of school routine and encourage the children's independence. 

- Please can we ask that you don't let your child/children play on the bank outside of the school fence in the mornings. Thank you for your co-operation. 

Have a brilliant weekend.
Mrs Counsell, Mrs Fernie, Mrs G and Miss Philp.

Happy Friday!

What a fun week we've had in Penhallow Class this week. The Reception children have been brilliant and have enjoyed being full time in school. They've been settling in well and learning all of our daily routines. 

Congratulations to George and Callum for getting our class 'Readers of the week' and to Takoda and Arnie for being our 'People of the Week'. 

We had fun this week having our first outdoor learning session with Mrs Fernie making our faces out of clay and loose parts we found in our garden and field. 

On Thursday we were so lucky to have a music lesson with Mrs Butlin where we sang action songs which helped us to listen to the beat and tempo of music. Today we had our weekly PE session, where we were learning yoga and practising our balancing and travelling skills.  

We welcomed trainee teacher Miss Philp into our class this week, you may have seen her on the school gate with Mrs Counsell on Thursday morning. We are excited for her to be with us full time next week. The children have been making her feel very welcome.

Have a fantastic weekend, 
Mrs Counsell, Mrs Fernie and Mrs G. 

Welcome Back!

We were so happy to welcome the new Reception children this week, they've made a great start. It has been great seeing your eager and smiling faces in the mornings. They have really been polite, happy, resilient and have got stuck in with their learning and play. We look forward to you being with us full time next week. 

We also feel so proud of the Y1 children who have been so kind, thoughtful and welcoming to our new friends. Well done to them for being our class' 'People of the Week' in assembly today where the whole school was back together. It's been so lovely having the Y1s back in school and a pleasure to see how ready they are for this new year. 

This week we have begun our enquiry 'Who Am I? we will be spending time learning about ourselves, why we are all unique and special and finding our about things that are personal to us. We have been reading the story 'What makes me a me?' Here is the link to the YouTube version if you would like to enjoy it together at home www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLIwUdkodeQ .

Next week, we are looking forward to seeing what is inside the Reception children's brown bags and the Y1 will also have a bag to bring home and fill up on Monday as well.

Reminders
- Please can everything your child brings into school be labelled with their name, this includes any lunch box/snack pots. It will make it easier for us all to identify what belongs to who and encourage the children to be more independent. 
- Please can any Reception outstanding questionnaires or paperwork be returned to school ASAP. Thank you.
- We will be having our PE lessons on Friday afternoon so all children need a PE kit in school every day. The kit is;  named red t-shirt, black shorts, plimsolls or trainers. 
- Water in a named water bottle in school every day.

It is lovely to meet all of the new Reception children's families and we look forward to getting to know you all over the next few weeks.

We hope you all have a restful weekend. 
Mrs Counsell, Mrs Fernie and Mrs G.