We made it! What a crazy year it has been. We have welcomed six new members to our class who have all settled in and are enjoying life at Polperro School.

This last week has been full of fun; daily swimming, a beach trip (with delicious ice-cream), a Greek day (sampling some awesome Greek delicacies) and finishing up with a movie and popcorn!

Some of the class moved to Chaipel for their transition morning on Friday and Mrs Visick was thrilled to meet her 'new team'. Talland also welcomed the new Year 4s and our current Year 4s made them feel at home. We look forward to seeing them in September.

Mrs Thomas is now qualified and we sadly said 'Goodbye' to her as she continues on her teaching journey - although she has promised to stay in touch!

All that is left for me to say is a HUGE THANK YOU for making this year so amazing. I have thoroughly loved teaching Talland Class (as always) and we have made some amazing memories together.

So enjoy the Summer break and see you all in September!

Miss Randle

Our Last Week Together! 

After a strange and unprecedented year at Polperro School, we have reached our last week.

Talland have been busy this week, learning about angles in Maths, for our Enquiry we have learnt to count to ten in Greek, learnt about the origins of the Olympics and the Trojan Horse in Greek mythology as well as making Ancient Greek toys. We have also enjoyed a Sports Day on Tuesday; sprinting, relay and sack racing and swimming in the afternoon. Children and staff thoroughly enjoyed it, although we all agreed it wasn't the same without the parents there!
 
Next week we are kick-starting the week with a trip to Talland Beach on Monday morning. No uniform required but sensible walking shoes, snack, water, sun cream and sun hat is a must. The café will provide us with ice-cream for £2.20! We will be back in school for 12pm to eat lunch as normal.

We will also be having an Alternative Sports Day on the Wednesday. Children need to come to school in PE clothes where we will take part in Archery, Lacrosse and Disco Golf! The afternoon will consist of a Water Challenge, Nature Art and Yoga/Mindfulness session. It sounds amazing and we are all looking forward to it!

We will be making the most of the swimming pool so please make sure your child has a kit in every day. The weather is looking great! On the last day we will be 'Going Greek' - more info on this to come later but get those bed sheets ready as peplos and chitons will be the order of the day! We will be sampling food, playing with our toys and having a jolly good last day together as Talland Class.

Anyway, enough from me. Enjoy the weekend and see you all Monday morning!

Miss R 

This week, in Talland, we have been finishing off our myths. There are some fantastic stories and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one. Well done! Year 4s are number crunching their way through Decimals - very successfully - and the Year 5s have moved onto Percentages. We have learnt about Ancient Greek democracy, the differences between life in Athens and Sparta and the major battles and conflicts.

Mrs Thomas did an investigation into the statement, "The most common Smarties colour is orange." As you can see from the photo, the children loved the lesson and debated the statement, concluding that is isn't true in this instance. Hope they enjoyed eating them!

Next week, Talland will be creating Greek toys - typical to life 3,000 years ago - continuing with the Maths areas from this week and writing a diary entry from the perspective of the hero they wrote about in their myth. Many have asked me about the trip to Talland Beach; hopefully it will be next week (weather permitting). I will send out a letter early next week. 

GREAT NEWS!
Mrs Thomas has completed her teaching training and is now a fully qualified NQT! Well done Mrs T and we wish you all the best for your future career. 

Well there is nothing more to add this week so enjoy your weekend and see you all on Monday!

Miss Randle

Another super week in Talland!

These weeks seem to be flying by and with so much going on it's not surprising.

In Talland this week, we have been busy writing Greek myths, finding fractions of amounts, identifying decimals, learning about ancient Greek democracy and the life of a child in those times. In R.E we are focusing on how religious and non-religious people try to make the world a better place and our Art has taken us to something really exciting. We are going to create a sculpture of the 'eye of our mythical creature' over the next couple of weeks. We began this week by learning how to draw the outline and will develop this, blending and shading using a range of mediums. We will go down to the beach and produce sand sculptures (after the weather cheers up following next week's forecast) and build up to creating our sculptures out of clay. 

Next week, the Year 4s will move onto decimals in Maths (Y5s will remain learning it), editing, improving and writing our myths up in best in English, developing our drawing techniques further in Art and learning about puberty and how our bodies change as part of RSE (Relationships and Sex Education).

POLITE NOTICE (or two): Please make sure that a full P.E kit is in every day as well as a swimming kit as we will be practicing for Sports Day. Also, if you have not yet brought in your plastic bottle tops, please could they be in by THURSDAY so that we can make our Greek toys in the afternoon.

Many thanks for your support; not long to go now.

Take care and have a lovely weekend!

Miss Randle

Hey Terrific Tallanders!

It's been another busy week in Polperro Primary Academy! Our Year 4s and 5s took part in a Sugar Smart Day where they learnt all about nutrition and how to keep themselves healthy. They began with the theory behind fitness and then played a range of games, teaching each other as they went. We will be appointing Sugar Snap Ambassadors in the near future, who will soon be leading games during lunchtime for all pupils to enjoy.

We have totally immersed ourselves in Ancient Greece this week. We have begun to change our characters, learnt about Greek mythical creatures, and researched and compiled fact files on the gods. In Maths, Y4s have been learning to add and subtract fractions whilst the Year 5s have begun to learn about decimals. 

So onto next week... Talland will begin planning their myths, be focusing on Decimals in Maths, learning about how Ancient Greeks used to live and will begin to create 'monster eyes' in Art and DT using a range of mediums (fine art and water colour) before designing and creating it as a sculpture. 
Swimming, as always will be a priority in PE so please make sure that your child has a full kit in every day. They will not be able to swim without a hat (this can be purchased from Reception). PE kits in school also please, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Anyway, enough learning for now. Rest up, enjoy the weekend and see you on Monday!

Miss Randle

What a busy week!

We have done so much this week Talland, I don't know where to begin! We have learnt about the Kerdroya project which has begun in Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor. It is a labyrinth made of Cornish Stone hedging. Polperro School have been given a time capsule to fill which has been buried in the wall until it is discovered many, many years from now! Our children have designed a watercolour postcard of their favourite 'Cornish' place. Take a look at a few - they are just beautiful. We have also introduced a Tier system for spelling. Ask your child how it works - we are seeing results already in their writing!

The Music session this week was football-themed, combining a musical quiz with a range of football chants which certainly raised the roof! We have been swimming, learning about sun safety and the NSPCC's Speak Out, Stay Safe initiative whereby every child has the right to be heard. 

So, next week, we will be changing the features of our myth, planning our writing and practising our key vocabulary which we will use. Y5s will be moving onto decimals in Maths, Year 4s need one more week on fractions. I am arranging a trip to Talland beach in the near future so watch out for a letter winging its way home with more information. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE can you make sure that your child has a sun hat, sun cream and a complete PE kit with them on Monday. 

That's all from me so have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday morning!   Miss Randle

Thank you, Talland, for a lovely first week back!

The weather was kind for us at the beginning of the week and we were able to dip our toes into our school pool for the first time this year. Please make sure that your child has a swimming kit (suit/towel/hat and goggles if needed) with them EVERYDAY as we will endeavour to make the most of the weather for the next few weeks.

We have launched a new enquiry titled, Why Is It All Greek To Me? Over the next few weeks, the children will be learning about all things Greek; how the Olympics orignated, the infamous Greek Gods of Olympus, trade in the early years, democracy, famous philosophers who have paved our way as well as learn about awesome Greek food and attempt to learn a few of their phrases! 

In English, we will be building up our sentence composition over the next couple of weeks as we plan and create the foundations to write our owen Greek myth. Will it include a minotaur, hydra or sphinx? We will have to wait and see!

Anyway, enjoy the weekend (I'm looking forward to some well needed Vitamin D)  and see you on Monday,

Miss Randle

Hey Terrific Tallanders!

Another week has gone by and it's lovely to be back with you all. Thank you for your ongoing support; the cards and gifts were lovely!

We have been developing our growing knowledge of Time in Maths this week,  and we are getting rather good at telling time to the nearest minute. We will continue this next week, moving on to analogue and digital conversions so don't be surprised if your child keeps telling you what time it is or asking for a watch for their birthday! 

National Numeracy Day, on Wednesday, was hugely successful. We learnt how Maths is a valuable skill in our daily life as well as recognising how important it will be when we choose our future careers. We used Maths in Dance, Spelling and Literacy (compiling a Maths Rap) and entered into a school-based competition linking Maths to career choice. 

In English, we have completed our explanation of the Digestive System and will be wrapping up our enquiry into how our bodies work by pitching a design for a child's fitness/health improvement machine, Dragon's Den style. There are some fabulous designs so far - one has a swimmng pool, a detachable dog relaxing area, swing AND a healthy snack vending machine with water on tap. They will work out their sales pitch, give themselves a company name and logo, and present their pitch to myself, Mr B and Mrs Evered (Talland's Dragons) next week. The emphasis is on using persuasive language effectively as well as boosting their speaking, listening, team-work and co-operation skills. Watch this space for updates on which company gets the thumbs up!

In Science, we will be conducting a taste-testing experiment next week as we explore our taste buds as part of our enquiry. I have sent a letter home today with a list of possible ingredients. Could you please return the form by MONDAY with your consent.

A gentle reminder to keep on encouraging your child to practise their reading, spelling and times tables. They are important skills which they apply on a daily basis.

Ooh, remember it is a four day week next week - Friday is a school inset day.

Enjoy your weekend and see you on Monday!

Miss Randle

It's been another busy week for Talland Class. We have been learning all about our mouth and more importantly, how our teeth help us to eat our favourite foods. Next week we will find out what happens to our food once we have swallowed it and that the journey it takes doesn't always finish in our stomachs! Our second Ukulele session went well and the children are really getting to grips with the instrument. In P.E., we have developed our striking and fielding skills and played a game of Cricket which we thoroughly enjoyed, as well as completing a 'Summer Flow' sequence in Yoga. We have become very skillful in flowing from a Downward Dog into a Cobra pose!

We have recognised what would have been Captain Sir Tom Moore's (101) birthday today by finishing off with a fun challenge. We were estimating what objects in the class might be 100cm long. Flynn and Jazz were the closest! 

As next week begins with a Bank Holiday, we only have a four day week. We will be looking into the Digestive System for our Enquiry, finding change and multiplying money in Maths, planning and first-draft writing a detailed explanation text in English and yes, it is our 'poop' experiment week, conducting a digestion experiment...

Competition
This afternoon, Talland began to design a picture to enter a Royal Mail, nationwide competition. It is to design a new stamp with a picture of their favourite Covid Superhero. It could be a doctor, nurse, keyworker (shop assistant, delivery driver, teacher) or anybody they think deserves to be recognised. The closing date isn't for a while so we will take our time and perfect our entries over the next few weeks. The winning children will get their picture made into an official postage stamp - authorised by Her Majesty the Queen herself! Exciting times.

Homework Grid
As mentioned in a letter from Mrs Hillman, I have attached a Homework Grid - or in Talland's case, a Working at Home Grid. This is designed, not to give you any additional work to do but to provide you with a range of activities you can do with your child to support their learning outside of school. We do not require these to be brought in however, if your child would like to show off their learning, then please email me a picture so that I can put them on a powerpoint and show the rest of the class. See the links to some fun science experiments about our bodies! As always, please continue with times table practise and daily reading to boost fluency and stamina.

Thank you, as always, for your support and enjoy your extended Bank Holiday weekend. 
See you on Tuesday!

Miss Randle 

How Does My Body Work?

Well, my body is pretty tired after our first week back!

In English, we have been focusing on our SPaG: identifying word classes and understanding when to use 'a' or 'an' before a noun or adjective. For Maths, it has been all about Money and we have progressed to applying our skills in column addition to find a range of amounts in both pounds and pence. In PE we have been Striking and Fielding and have progressed steadily to play a cricket match. The weather was kind and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We have also painted our pots and they are now drying over the weekend, ready for taking home on Monday. Our first Ukulele lesson went well this week and we hope to see a lot of happy, smiling faces as they progress over the coming weeks.

As you can see from the title, our new enquiry is, How Does My Body Work? During the next few weeks, we will be finding out about ourselves as humans by: learning about our teeth and their function, what happens to our food after we have swallowed it, the importance our heart is to our body, as well as finding out some interesting facts. Elisia wants to know why we get shooting pains, Peyton would like to find out why we blink, Bowie wants to know how our tongue and taste buds work and Jazz wants to know how our brain remembers our memories! These are all amazing questions and only a handful of what Talland Class want to find out.

Next week will be full of new learning. We will continue to add and subract money, finding change and familiarising ourselves with the decimal system. In English, we will be familiarising ourselves with the features we will need to write an Explanation text based upon the Digestive System - yes, we will be finding out where our 'poo' comes from! Our Enquiry will begin with our mouth and we will be exploring the different types of teeth we have and their functions. 

Homework
As always, please continue to read with your child daily as this greatly improves their fluncy and stamina. They are continuing to learn the key vocabulary and technical words needed for their learning daily, however please can you plod on with the currilculum spelling words for their Year Group as it really makes a difference to their reading and writing.

Anyway, the weather is looking good (albeit windy) so have a lovely weekend and I will see you all Monday morning!

Miss Randle