Planting for the future

Welcome back!

The first week of term is already underway. Building on last year's Orwell Project, our Year 5 and 6 pupils, together with our Planet Protector group, visited the temperate rainforest just ten minutes from school to take part in a special tree-planting session. They were the very first group of pupils to plant trees as part of this exciting initiative, which will see more than 20,000 trees planted to help restore and regenerate the temperate rainforest. A fantastic start to the term and a wonderful way for our pupils to make a real difference to their local environment.

Parent Consultations We will be holding parent consultations the week commencing 9th March for Penhallow, Talland and Chaipel Classes and the week commencing 16th March for Landaviddy Class. Please see separate letter attached for dates and details of how to sign up.

Clubs will resume next week as follows: Monday: After School Running Club (Miss Bowden and Miss Bolton) for years 3-6. Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) Reception/Y1/Y2; After school Girls' Football (Y3-6); Thursday: Lunchtime Choir Mrs Butlin (Y2-6) After school Art Club (Mrs Fitzsimmons) Reception/Y1/Y2 ; After school Football Club Mr Langley (Y3-Y6). We had hoped to restart Gardening Club this half term; however, unfortunately the greenhouse did not withstand the recent storms and we are currently awaiting a replacement. We are now aiming to have this popular club up and running again after the Easter break.

If your child would like to join any of the clubs available for their year group and has not already signed up, please let us know by email or telephone. Please note that once children have signed up to a club, they are expected to attend every week unless they are absent from school or we have received written parental permission for them not to attend. This applies to both lunchtime and after-school clubs.  

World Book Day, Thursday 5th March 2026 Please find attached a £1 digital book token for your child to spend on a free book for World Book Day. Reminder that on World Book Day children should come in dressed as their favourite book character. We have already had some super entries for "decorate a paper plate" competition where the children are asked to decorate a paper plate following the theme or character of a book. Reminder that the deadline for entries is Monday 2nd March and winners will be announced on World Book Day (Thursday 5th March).

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Hillman

We've had a lovely first week back. We began with launching our long-awaited enquiry into the impact of WW2 on the people of Britain. We completed a pre-assessment Kahoot quiz and then have spent this week investigating the events leading up to the start of the war and the significance of the Battle of Britain, listening to primary oral sources from the veterans of the RAF. It was so inspiring to hear of their dedication and spirit - as they never referred to themselves as brave: they were just doing their duty to King and country.

We are linking English with our enquiry, writing a balanced argument about whether Britain actually 'won' the Battle of Britain. We have investigated the 'pros' and 'cons' of the battle and took part in a class debate, putting our points of view across and building on and challenging the opinions of others.

In Maths, we have been finishing off our fractions, decimals and percentages unit. We are really confident now and are looking forward to a week of algebra next week! 

We ended the week with a visit to Muchlarnick, where we were the first children to plant the first fifty trees which will make up the newly-formed temperate rainforest. This links in with the George Orwell project we were lucky to be part of a couple of years ago. We had 'press coverage' there and Aria, Nuala, Immy and Tristan spoke very eloquently when asked to give their account of their experience.

CONGRATULATIONS to our People of the Week: Lily, Chilali and Leo who demonstrated our school values and are true role models to their peers.

I have attached the Homework Grid and KIRFs for this half term. Carry on with the SATS books and remember the SATS clubs are Tuesday (pm), Wednesday (lunchtime) and Thursday (am).

That's all from us so have a lovely weekend,

Miss Randle and Mrs Clary.

TALLAND'S BLOG 27.2.26

WELCOME BACK EVERYBODY.. we hope you had a lovely week! Talland have jumped straight back into action with a packed week full of learning.

Here's a breakdown of our week:

Maths:
Year 5 have begun their fractions unit where they have been finding equivalent fractions.

Year 4 have been dividing 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers and converting units of measure (meters - kilometers, and millimeters - centimeters).


English:
Talland have written their instructions up in top copy and they are looking fabulous! We've also started our new writing (newspaper report) where the children have had a go at writing their own newspaper report without any  teaching input - some interesting outcomes.

History:
"How have children's lives been changed?" is our new enquiry question for this half term, so we have been investigating the continuity and the changes in children's lives since 1066. It was quite captivating realising some of the differences and similarities between then and now.

PE:
We've got Gymnastics on a Tuesday and Cricket on a Wednesday this term and the children have already been showing off their skills.

CONGRATULATIONS to Tarran, Max and Renley this week for passing their next round in 99 club and well done to Emma and Reuben for being noticed this week for showing our school values through determination and creativity.

That's all from us in Talland this week. We hope you have a great weekend and can't wait to see everyone next week.

Signing off from Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.

It has been wonderful to join Landaviddy Class as their teacher. They have made me feel really welcome and I am looking forward to getting to know each and every one of them.

We have launched our new enquiry question: How Can the Force be With You?  The children are already excited to find out all about volcanoes in geography and forces in science.

In PSHE we have looked at how exercise affects our bodies and the children have set themselves a fitness challenge which we will look at over the half term.

In English, we are getting to know the Traction Man stories.  This week have enjoyed drama where the children acted out the story of Traction Man. 

In Maths, we have been looking at the 2, 4 and 8 times table, applying our knowledge of multiplication and division.

Congratulations to Sonny for being my first Person of the Week for being very welcoming and consistently being on task. And a big well done to April and Ella for achieving their 99 club badge this week.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Miss Bolton, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

Welcome Back!

We hope you had a wonderful and restful half term, we've enjoyed hearing what you have been up to. It is lovely to see everyone back and hearing about some of the adventures you have had!

This half term, our enquiry question is: What is it like to live on an island?

We are going to become island explorers as we discover what makes an island special and how it is different from other places. We will be finding out: What an island is and how it is surrounded by water What the weather might be like on different islands. How people can travel on and off an island. What plants and animals might live there We will explore islands around the world, learn about island life, and imagine what it would be like if we lived on our very own island.

There will be lots of exciting activities, creative projects and fun challenges along the way. We've started the week by reading maps and creating our own, using descriptive vocabulary to write a postcard and using money in maths (watch out we may book ourselves a holiday!)  We are looking forward to a fantastic half term of learning together.

We have enjoyed welcoming everyone back this week after the half term. It has been lovely to see all of the children and they have thrown themselves back into the nursery routine.

For the next few weeks we are looking at different books and answering our question "What is your favourite story and why?"

We have been busy making Stickman family pictures and the children have been discussing who is a part of their family group.

At story time and in adition to "Stickman" we have also been reading "Room on the Broom" and the children have been selecting books that they would like to read.

In phonics this week we have been listening to and exploring different sounds in our envirionment, trying to keep time when listening to a simple beat and the children have explored instruments and the sounds they make.

In maths we are finding objects that represent numbers and exploring different shapes.

Next week on Thursday it is World Book Day and the children are invited to come to nursery dressed as their favourite book character. We will also be celebrating St Pirans Day with a cream tea! 

We look forward to seeing you all next week.

Julie and Sarah

We began our final week this term with our Wellbeing Morning - time dedicated to positive mental health for all. We completed our yearly RSPB Bird Watch and then took part in a series of activities: a book and a blanket, Lego, pebble painting, arts and crafts and hot chocolate and camp fire story-telling. It was a lovely morning; Tristan loved telling stories to the children in Reception and Y1.

We have completed our Midnight Fox 'write the story's ending' and then Miss Randle read the final chapters of the book to see if our written predictions were correct. We were thankful to find out that both the vixen and her cub were rescued and fled to safety!

In Maths, we are winning fractions, decimals and percentages and have worked hard this week to order, compare, convert and find equivalences. 

In our Wider Curriculum, we made 'Dracula Detection Devices' in Science - using pressure pads - to complete our investigation into circuits, created powerpoints on our fundraising charity and event and completed our Basquiat-themed neo-expressionism artwork. 

REMINDER
A letter was sent home today with with information regarding SATS club timings:
Tuesday (3:15pm - 4:15pm)
Wednesday (12:30 - 1pm)
Thursday (8am - 8:30am)
This is a great opportunity for the children to work through their SATS revision books and work together to help with any misconceptions they have.

That's all from me so have a lovely half term and see you all on Monday 23rd February.

Miss Randle and Mrs Clary.

 Hello Everyone,

What a wonderful end to the week we have had at Bodmin airfield!
We learnt all about the materials used to build the planes and how they are designed and made. We saw an incredible range of planes and even had a turn at sitting in the cockpit. 

This week, we have also been busy weaving landscapes using different materials in the style of the Cornish artist Caroline Saxby. 

In English, Year 2 have been finding features of recounts, while Year 1 have been improving their punctuation in sentences. 

In music, we enjoyed listening to different genres of music, which had the theme of flight. This included 'The Lark Ascending' by Vaughn Williams, and 'The Aviary' by Camille Saens Saens. The children used a range of musical vocabulary to describe the music and explained how the music made them feel. We then enjoyed some uplifting singing.

On Monday we spent time in our house groups, enjoying some fun and relaxing activities that the children felt improved their mental health. These activities included painting, bird watching, spending time outdoors, playing collaboratively, building, reading and playing games. It's always so lovely to see the older children in the school, helping the younger children in Penhallow.

We hope you have a lovely half term.

From The Penhallow Team

Happy Half Term!

This week has zoomed by! On Monday, we hosted a whole school wellbeing morning, where all the children participated in a range of mindful activities, as part of Children's Mental Health Week. One of these activities included rock painting, which the children found very relaxing. On Tuesday, we participated in Safer Internet Day, which focused on making smart and safe choices around the use of AI technology.

We finally constructed our toy cars in DT! All of the children worked so hard on their designs and demonstrated excellent determination. See if you can spot yours below! As a result of hard work, all the children independently made a moving car with axles and wheels. Well done Landaviddy! We of course had to spend some time racing with our finished products, which was lots of fun. 

In English, we have enjoyed learning the story The Lonely Beast by Chris Judge and developing our skills as writers, thinking carefully about our choices of vocabulary. We constructed character descriptions of the Lonely Beast which we will use for a missing poster. In Maths, we have been looking at the 4 times table, applying our knowledge of multiplication and division. 

Congratulations to Iylah for being noticed by Mr Langley as a Person of the Week. And a big well done to Lowen for achieving his 99 club badge this week. 

We hope you have a restful half term and we look forward to welcoming you back in school on Monday 23rd February 2026. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

Hello Everyone,

We look forward to our trip to Looe library on Monday afternoon. Please note, as the letter states, school uniform should be worn. If your child would like to bring something cosy for mental health day, please bring this in addition. This is not compulsory.

On Friday, you will have received a letter regarding a trip to Bodmin Airfield that will take place on Thursday. We have already been learning about a number of influential historical figures that have contributed to the history of flight, such as The Wright brothers' and Amelia Earhart. This week, we also learnt about the achievements of Amy Johnson. We also learnt about the design of a number of different aircraft throughout history. This will help us with our learning on the trip. There will be so many fascinating types of aircraft to see, and I know that the children our really looking forward to going.

This week, we have also been writing a diary entry and a recount, based on the film clips 'The man on the Moon' and 'Baboon on the Moon.' We have noticed a big improvement in handwriting this week. Year 1 have been improving their letter formation, while Year 2 have been starting to join their handwriting very carefully. Well done Everyone.

From The Penhallow Team

Another busy week in Chaipel this week. We sat some mock SATS each morning and everyone has been amazing, trying their best and giving every paper 100%. We know what we need to focus on moving forward and we will be totally ready for the real thing in May!

In English, we have been editing, improving and writing up our narrative in best copy. I will read the ending of 'The Midnight Fox' next week to see if our predicted endings match the author's. We will complete our English by merging our enquiry in to North America with our writing by creating a non-fiction text about the geographical features of a chosen North American country. 

Our new gymnastics apparatus arrived this week and we have been testing it out as part of our P.E unit. We were creating symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes as well as building core tension.

In other areas of the WIDER CURRICULUM, we have created our background and portrait for our Basquiat artwork - we will complete this next week. Our stop motion animation has progressed to adding sound effects which we will continue to edit and improve on next week and we have been learning about world time zones in Geography.

Well done to our People of the Week - Lily, Henry and Isaac - for demonstrating our school values.

That's all from me so have a great weekend!

Miss Randle and Mrs Clary.   

This week, we have focused on completing our Moroccan Lemonade recipes in English. The children have worked so hard, shown by the fantastic work they've produced. Well done Landaviddy!

During Wider Curriculum lessons, we have been exploring historic maps in Geography, to determine how Polperro has changed overtime. In Science, we designed a suitable covering to protect an egg from falling from height. We hope to test these next week. In DT, we created advertisement posters for our toy cars, which we will make next week! We've also been enjoying RE lessons with Mrs Lister, exploring parables and discussing what Christians believe God is like. 

In Maths, we have continued working through multiplication and division, exploring the 3 times table, and multiplying and dividing by 4. 

Congratulations to Esme and Darragh for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week. And a big well done to Ella, Esme, Amelia and Brody for achieving their 99 club badges this week. 

Polite Reminder: Please make sure you bring in your recycled material, ready to make your toy car, by Monday 9th February. 

We hope you have a great weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday for our final week of Spring Term 1!

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

TALLAND'S BLOG 6.2.26

What an incredible week! We've had Anglo-Saxon VS Viking battles, making historic buckles and broaches , hot fires to cook bread and soup on, wattle and daub making for some sturdy ancient walls. And then, for good measure, we through in some tennis and some torch making.

CONGRATULATIONS to Renley, Charlie, Kayla and Taran for passing there next round in 99 club. Well done to Emma for being noticed for being an incredible learning partner this week. She showed creative guidance, kindness and as always, she was a fantastic member of Talland.

That's all from us this week. We hope you have a brilliant weekend!

Signing off from Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.  


PHOTO FRENZY INCOMING..

Hello Everyone,

Great fun was had this week during our science lesson, where we made and tested paper helicopters. We learnt about how adding weight to the helicopters, changed the speed at which they fell, and then recorded our results in a graph.

Reception have been learning all about space. They have been busy using different painting techniques to paint the different planets of the solar system. They have also enjoyed singing songs and taking part in listening activities all about space stories. Our role play area has been filled with children visiting our space station and making and recording observations. 

During English this week, we have used two film clips to help us with our learning. The first, is a clip called 'Baboon on the Moon' and the second, 'Man on the Moon'. We have been using skills such as making predictions, explaining and reasoning, as well as developing our vocabulary to describe feelings. We wrote letters to the man on the moon, using the English skills that we have been developing. 

We are all so pleased with how well the children are improving their reading skills so far in Penhallow. Please keep practicing your reading as often as you can. We are so proud of your progress. Well done everybody.

Have a lovely weekend,

from The Penhallow Team

We've continued working hard, exploring our enquiry question 'How Far Can We Travel?' in DT, designing our toy cars. We thought carefully about the materials we intend on using and look forward to constructing our designs over the next few weeks. In Science, we investigated materials, determining what would be most suitable for a house built for the Three Little Pigs. During Computing this week, we imagined we were temperature sensors on board the International Space Station and recorded temperatures around the school, using spreadsheets. 

In Maths, we have been exploring multiplying and dividing by 3. We have been using arrays and pictorial representations to support our understanding this week. In English, we been writing up of methods section and making improvements to our work, ready for writing our final written copies next week. 

Congratulations to Brody and Alfie for being chosen as Landaviddy's People of the Week. 

We hope you enjoy the weekend and look forward to seeing you next week! 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton

What a lovely week we have had in Chaipel!
Our English write-up of The Midnight Fox ending is in full swing and is full of multi-clause sentences to build suspense and create mood and tension. We will continue next week and will then edit, improve and write our best copy by Friday. 

For Maths this week, we have been immersed in fraction, decimal and percentage equivalents and percentage of amounts. We have made great progress and are ready to attempt some practice SATS papers next week! 

In our Wider Curriculum, we have been investigating stop motion animation in Computing and have begun to put together a short clip which we will build on next week to create a short film using music. In Art, we have been creating more Basquiat-inspired pieces and next week, we will plan and begin to create our neo-expressionism masterpiece. More circuit investigations in Science, experimenting what happens to a series circuit when you add addional components and in RE, we have been comparing various texts against the qualities we believe God to posess. 

For PSHE, we have joined with Talland to create a sponsored event for a local charity as part of our Dreams and Goals unit. We have decided on a Cornwall-based charity called LAST CHANCE HOTEL, for dogs and other small animals who have been mistreated or are terminally ill to care for them and find foster homes for them to find comfort in there last stages of life. I was overwhelemd by the maturity of the children and more information about this will follow.

That's all from me so have a lovely weeked.

Miss Randle

TALLAND'S BLOG 30.1.26

Week 4 of this term has provided us with some brutal brain breaks (planks and squats), more wet plays and a whole lot more electricity!

Here's a brief breakdown of our electrifying week:

Maths:
Year 5 have been dividing 4-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. They have become familiar with the bus stop method and have learnt about remainders. They have also been investigating different methods to find the perimeter of rectangles.

Year 4 have been multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100. They have also been comparing the area of different shapes.


English:
We have begun planning to write our set of instructions for how to build and use a torch.

Geography:
Talland created their own maps this week (from an Anglo-Saxon time period). On this map, they created symbols for landmarks to be found by using a 4-figure grid reference. 

PSHE:
Year 5 researched possible jobs they would like to have when they are older. They investigated required qualifications and steps to begin their chosen profession and looked at how much money they could earn. 

Year 4 acted out scenarios to help someone build resilience if a hope or dream of theirs did not come to fruition. 

ART:
This week, we looked at how to show proportion in a drawing. Talland used different sized objects to draw, showing size whilst side by side and then used techniques practiced prior to this lesson to help show realism through tone and texture.

SCIENCE:
We continued experimenting with different circuits whilst figuring out what is needed to make the circuit work.

Design and Technology:
Talland made switches for their torches that they we are going to make over the next couple of weeks (thank you for the plastic bottles). It was literally like a light bulb going off in some heads as they realised what happens when the switch is either opened or closed.

CONGRATULATIONS to Reuben for being noticed this week for continuing to show maturity, a fantastic work ethic and just generally being a great member of the class! His smile lights up the room! 

That's all from us in Talland this week. We hope you have a brilliant weekend and can't wait to see everyone next week.

Signing off from Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.

Prototype Cars and Moroccan Lemonade

This week Landaviddy have been enjoying continuing to explore our enquiry question 'How far can we travel?' by building prototype cars. We learnt about the history of cars and discovered how an axle helps to turn wheels. This was a practice run prior to us making our own toy cars in a few weeks time. In Science, we investigated how objects can change shape by stretching, bending, squashing or twisting. During Geography, we learnt about land use and explored local maps, identifying different types of land use. Music with Mrs Butlin was lots of fun playing djembe drums and practising being conductors. 

In Maths, we have been revising multiples of 2, 5 and 10 and  using arrays to represent multiplications. We also worked in pairs to problem solve and calculate the cost of making a cup of lemonade, working out the coins we needed too. During English this week, we followed instructions to make Moroccan lemonade which we taste tested today! All of the children loved drinking lemonade and were able to use their senses to collect a range of amazing vocabulary to describe the experience. Next week we will be writing up our instructions. 

Congratulations to Theo for being chosen as Landaviddy's Person of the Week. 

We hope you have a terrific weekend and look forward to seeing you next week! 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Lister and Miss Colton 

TALLAND'S BLOG 23.1.26

Well there goes week 3 of Spring Term 1? Another high energy week that's been full of learning and playing with electrics (safely of course).

Here's a breakdown of our week:

Maths:
Year 5 have been multiplying 4-digit numbers by 2- digit numbers. Next week we will be solving word problems and looking at short division. They have also completed their unit on SHAPE. 

Year 4 have been looking at factors and have been making shapes.

English:
We have continued to work on instructions. We've been learning how to develop a method which is in chronological order and has an abundance of description to help the reader.

Geography:
Talland learned about  different grid references, investigated how to use them and had to locate different places on a map.   

RE:
We looked at the story of Noah and the Arc  in more depth and thought about what on our planet is good and what is bad. Are there things we can do to help our planet?

ART:
This week, we looked at how we can use tone and texture through shading. How to hold the pencil differently to give different effects and where light and shadowing would appear on a 3D object.

SCIENCE: 
We have been exploring electricity and how to make a circuit. Talland had to make a light bulb, a buzzer and a motor turn on.

CONGRATULATIONS to Kayla, Renley and Max this week for passing their next round in 99 club and well done to Arnie for being noticed for showing our school values. He's shown real maturity of late and his work ethic is fantastic!

That's all from us in Talland this week. We hope you have a fantastic weekend and can't wait to see everyone next week.

Signing off from Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.