What another successful week it has been at Brunel!

There have been so many exciting learning opportunities taking place across the school, and it has been lovely to see the children demonstrating our school values and making the most of every opportunity to Seize the Day! This week, children from Issy's Brunel Nursery and Seaton Class have enjoyed visits to St Anne's. It is always wonderful to see our children taking their learning beyond the classroom and making connections within our local community.

Our School Council and Eco Council have also been busy this week, sharing ideas, taking responsibility and making a real difference to school life. We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and commitment they are showing in helping to make Brunel an even better place for everyone.

We have also enjoyed another successful Open Day this week, welcoming prospective parents and families into school. It has been a pleasure to show visitors around Brunel, share our vision and values, and give them a glimpse of the wonderful learning experiences our children enjoy every day.

Thank you to our children and staff for helping to showcase our school so positively.

Individual School Photographs – Monday 19th October A reminder that our individual school photographs will be taking place on Monday morning. We will begin at approximately 8:30am with photographs of children who are in our Nursery but who do not attend on a Monday plus children who have siblings who are not at Brunel, before moving on to individual and sibling photographs of children in school throughout the morning. Please ensure your child arrives looking smart and wearing their full school uniform. We are looking forward to seeing lots of lovely smiles!

Parents' Evenings – Next Week Our Parents' Evenings are taking place next week. If you have not yet booked an appointment, please log in to Arbor to select a suitable time. These meetings are an important opportunity to celebrate your child's achievements, discuss their progress and talk about their next steps in learning. We look forward to welcoming you into school. Just a reminder that we are hoping that our dance workshops will take place next week. The deadline for payment of £1.50 is today. Please log on to ParentPay to pay this voluntary donation if you haven't already.

Half-Term Reminder – School Closes Thursday 22nd October Please remember that our final day of school before the half-term break is Thursday 22nd October. School will be closed to all pupils on Friday 23rd October for a staff INSET Day.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. It has been another fantastic week at Brunel, and I am incredibly proud of everything our children and staff continue to achieve together. Wishing you all a lovely weekend and please enjoy reading through the Brunel Bulletin.

Whitsand Class Blog 

What a fantastic week we have had in Whitsand Class!

This week, the children have begun their exciting exploration of the traditional tale Hansel and Gretel. We have been focusing on describing the magical candy house, and the children have loved letting their imaginations run wild! They designed their very own candy houses before beginning to write descriptive sentences using adverbials of time. We have been so impressed with their creativity and enthusiasm so far, and we cannot wait to see how their writing develops!

In Maths, we have been exploring fact families and number bonds within 10. The children have been using Numicon to help them recognise different ways to make numbers and understand how numbers are connected. They have worked hard to build their confidence and develop their mathematical thinking.

In Science, the children put their knowledge to the test by revisiting their bridge-building challenge! Using materials from the builders' shed, they redesigned and improved their bridges, thinking carefully about how to make their structures strong and stable. Through fantastic collaboration and teamwork, they created some amazing structures. Well done, Whitsand Class!

Finally, in History, the children considered a very important question: would they prefer to go to school today or 100 years ago? After thinking about how school life has changed over time, most of the children decided that they would much rather attend school now! They explained how the love the colourful classrooms, interactive whiteboards, and football!

Well done to all the children for another wonderful week of learning, creativity and teamwork. We are so proud of their enthusiasm and the way they continue to challenge themselves across all areas of the curriculum.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Dear all!

It has been another fantastic week in Kynance Class!

Fantastic progress in Hockey!

We have been so impressed with the children’s improvement in hockey. They are developing much better control of the ball, keeping it close to their sticks as they move and becoming more confident when changing direction. Their passing and receiving skills are also improving, and it has been wonderful to see their determination and enthusiasm during our lessons!

Maths – Addition and Subtraction

In maths, we have moved on to our new unit on addition and subtraction. The children are developing their calculation skills and exploring different strategies to solve problems. We will be using practical resources and a range of activities to help build confidence and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts.

English – The Stone Age Girl

We have begun our exciting new English unit based on The Stone Age Girl. The children are stepping back in time to explore life in the Stone Age and will be using the story to inspire their reading, discussion and writing. We are looking forward to developing our vocabulary, exploring characters and settings, and creating some fantastic pieces of writing over the coming weeks.

Art – Cave Paintings

Our Stone Age art topic is continuing, and next week the children will be completing their own cave paintings! They have been experimenting with different ways of making marks and exploring how natural materials could have been used to create colours and artwork in prehistoric times. We cannot wait to see their finished creations!

Black History Month – Inspiring Pioneers

As part of our learning for Black History Month, we have been discovering inspiring pioneers who have made a difference to the world. The children have been making excellent use of our school orienteering facility, following clues and finding out more about the lives and achievements of Rosa Parks and Mary Seacole. This has been a fantastic way to combine outdoor learning with discovering the stories of remarkable women who showed courage, determination and a desire to help others.

Don't Forget – Home Learning!

A little reminder to keep practising those skills at home by completing your Mathletics challenges and Reading Eggs challenges! Regular practice will help the children build confidence, consolidate their learning and develop their maths and reading skills. Thank you for your continued support in encouraging the children to complete these activities.

Well done, Kynance Class for another week of hard work, enthusiasm and brilliant learning! We are looking forward to seeing what you achieve next week!

The children at nursery have been busy exploring all things autumn this week.
They have manipulated clay to make hedgehogs which are now hibernating before they go home at half term.
Last week we sent out bags for the children to collect autumn treasures which they have brought back and now used to make their own autumn wreath with.
In addition to this they have collaged colourful tissue paper leaves and been matching colours using different natural materials found.

At story time this week we have enjoyed reading “The Leaf Thief” and have been looking at non fiction books such as “Harvest Festival” and “Look and Find in the Forest”.

During phonics we have been recognising different volumes by playing a game of loud or quiet. The children have been copying sequences of actions and matching musical instruments to different sounds.

On the maths table, the children have been counting and grouping objects up to 5 and have completed inset puzzles independently.

Just a reminder that it is INSET next Friday and we are closed. It is then half term so we return to nursery on Monday 2nd November.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend

Julie and Sarah

Friday 16th October

We have completed our penultimate week of the first half term in Rame class! Wow it has gone so quick! 

In phonics this week we have learnt phonemes h/b/f/l, the children are using all the phonemes they know to read their books and have been amazing the adults in class this week. 

In maths we have been exploring composition of the number 4. The children have been using multilink cubes to make 4 different ways; they made their very own numberblock! We also used skittles to subitise this week, and I think we may have some amazing bowlers on our hands let alone mathematicians! 

In English this week, we changed our story from We're Going on a Bear Hunt to We're Goin on an Adult Hunt. We discussed the adults that can help us in school and the adults that can help us in the community. We then went on an adult hunt in school to find these adults! we hope to go for a local walk next week to find some of the adults in our community that help us too! 

In outdoor learning this week we used conkers, leaves and skewers to make our very own bear from our story! The children explored Autumn through story and craft, and it was an amazing session full of skills and knowledge. 

We have had a wonderful week in Rame class and we are looking forward to the last week of this half term next week. Gentle reminder that school is Monday - Thursday next week and it is INSET day on the Friday! 

Autumn at Storytellers

The children have been enjoying exploring the wonderful changes that Autumn has brought to our nursery and the world around us.

We have been looking closely at the different leaf colours, talking about how they change from green to beautiful shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown. The children enjoyed mixing colours to create their own autumn shades, developing their creativity while learning to recognise and mix colours. They also experimented with leaf printing, developing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and ability to explore different textures.

We have been learning about animals and how they prepare for the colder winter months. The children particularly enjoyed making their own spiky hedgehogs, using different materials and techniques. This helped to develop their fine motor control, concentration, creativity and imagination.

Through our Autumn activities, the children have also developed their language and communication skills as they talked about what they noticed, learned new vocabulary, and shared ideas with friends and adults.

It has been a lovely week of exploring, creating and discovering the seasonal changes happening all around us.

.

We have had another fantastic week in Tregantle Class, full of learning, creativity and lots of fun!

During our circle time, we met our very special Learning Gang! The children were introduced to six friendly characters, each helping us to develop an important learning skill: - Keep Trying Kangaroo – reminding us to keep going, even when something feels tricky. - Have a Go Horse – encouraging us to be brave and give new things a try. - Teamwork Tiger – helping us to work together and support our friends. - Ideas Iguana – inspiring us to share our ideas and think creatively. - Find Out Frog – encouraging us to ask questions and discover new things. - Change It Chimp – reminding us that we can try a different approach if something doesn't work the first time. The children really enjoyed talking about each character and thinking about when they show these important learning behaviours themselves. We are looking forward to seeing our Learning Gang help us throughout the year as we become confident, independent and enthusiastic learners!

In PE, we started our session with some familiar favourites, including Follow My Leader, the Hokey Cokey and The Farmer’s in His Den. The children loved joining in with the actions and moving their bodies in different ways. We then tried a fun game of Clap, Boom, Grab, which everyone really enjoyed! To finish our session, we played our absolute favourite… parachute games! There were lots of smiles and excitement as we worked together, followed instructions and explored the different activities with the parachute.

As part of our learning for Black History Month, we have been discovering and celebrating the achievements of Black people throughout history. We explored the work of Alma Thomas, an inspirational African-American artist who was famous for her vibrant, colourful abstract paintings. We looked carefully at the colours, shapes and patterns in her artwork before creating our own colourful masterpieces. The children enjoyed experimenting with different colours and designs, expressing their creativity and producing some wonderful individual pieces of art. Through these activities, we have celebrated diversity, explored our creativity and begun to understand the importance of recognising and valuing different cultures and achievements.

Well done, Tregantle! We are so proud of the enthusiasm, creativity and teamwork you continue to show in everything you do. We can't wait for another week of exciting learning together! 

 Our Little Lighthouse Has Come Home! 

We are delighted to share that our beautiful St Luke’s Little Lighthouse has returned home to Brunel this week and is now taking pride of place in our KS2 foyer!

Our Little Lighthouse has come home!

Our lighthouse was lovingly designed and decorated by our talented children, who worked alongside local artist Jo Beer to create something truly special. The finished design celebrates the wonderful heritage, landmarks and community of Saltash.

We are incredibly proud to have been part of this fantastic project, supporting the amazing work of St Luke’s Hospice and helping to raise awareness of the difference they make to local families. It is wonderful to have our lighthouse back at Brunel, where it will serve as a lasting reminder of our children’s creativity, teamwork and community spirit.

Next time you visit our KS2 foyer, please take a moment to admire it! A little lighthouse with a very big message!

Degemer An Jydh – Seize the Day!

Pop Up Play Village! 

We’ve been very lucky this week to have had the pop up play village come to school. We had so much fun! There was different areas for us to play with. There was a construction site, a nursery, a vets, a café, a post office and a hairdressers! We had such a great time.

We have also been very busy with our learning this week. In English we have been looking at subjects and verbs. We have then been finding subjects and verbs in sentences. We have then been rewriting sentences with the correct punctuation! In Maths we have been comparing numbers and using phrases such as ‘greater than’, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to’. We have been making towers and comparing who’s is bigger and we’ve been making human number lines and comparing who’s is longer!

Just a few updates:

I am holding a phonics parent information session for EYFS and Year 1 parents Monday 19th October 10:30 – 11:00. Please email jbolger@looeprimary.co.uk if you would like to attend.

KS1 Halloween Disco is next Thursday 22nd October – 4-5pm.

Well done Heligan class for another great week!

This week has been a very autumnal one in pre-school, with lots of autumn themed activities, stories and art.

The children have enjoyed talking about what we may see outside at this time of the year such as blackberries, pinecones, conkers, fallen leaves, pumpkins, and even hedgehogs and squirrels!
The Leaf Thief has been a favourite autumn story this week.

Outside we have enjoyed using our sand and water areas to focus on our fine motor development.  Pouring, filling, tipping different containers.

The children used their pouring skills to send the sea animals down the water shoot!
Inside the children wanted to create a rockpool, so we used wooden blocks and blue plastic to create one in our construction area.

A reminder that on Thursday 15th is our Harvest Festival service over in church at 2.30pm. 

The Pre-School Team.

A Historic Moment for Looe 

This weekend, we were delighted and very proud to be invited by the Looe Town Mayor, Mr Stephen Remmington, to be part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the twining of Looe Town with a town in southern Brittany called Quiberon. It is a refreshed beginning for both towns who are united in their joint and continuing history linked to fishing and especially sardines and pilchards.  Unlike Looe, there is still a canning factory in Quiberon and a thriving industry.  The celebrations took place over the weekend with the raising of 5 flags at the War Memorial to celebrate the event and the renewed relationship.  The flags included a special flag to celebrate the 50 years of twinning, the Cornish Flag, a new flag for Looe designed by a pupil at the secondary school, the flag of Brittany and the Looe Town flag. 

This was followed by a reception in the Guildhall to officially welcome the Mayor of Quiberon, Monsieur Patrick La Roux, and several members of the town council of Quiberon.  Our school choir was undoubtedly the most poignant moment of the whole weekend and was still being discussed the next day by our guests.  The children sang 'Looe my Home', our adaptation of 'Cornwall my Home', with the verses in Cornish and to the delight of our guests, they sang a sea shanty in Breton that was recognised straight away by our guests. 

With thanks to Mrs Brewer, the children sang out loud and proud and there was hardly a dry eye in the room!  As the Head of School it was one of the proudest moments of my career and it was very special to be such a large part of a very special and historic event.  My hope now, as well as for our guests is that we can together find a way to better unite the young children of Looe Primary and Quiberon with reciprocal visits over the next few years.  As we slowly become a Cornish speaking school, it is good to know that this knowledge of the Cornish language links so well with our Celtish French friends.

Hello Everyone,

As shown in this week’s photograph, Reception have been busy in maths, learning about words and phrases linked with position and direction. We used different stories such as ‘The Enormous Turnip’ and ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’ to create maps, use small world toys and act out events. This helped the children to use and remember a range of vocabulary. 
In Year 1, our maths topic has been addition and subtraction. We introduced the children to part whole models and they were able to use the language associated with addition and subtraction.

In RE this week, we continued to learn about the story of creation in the bible. We have completed a piece of whole class art, which shows what the bible says about the things that were created on each day of the week. We also discussed that people have different ideas and beliefs, and that we are all different.

In drawing club this week, we have been using David McKee’s stories of Mr Benn to spark our imaginations. We have created labelled drawings or sentences to show our own inventions of hot air balloons. Our imaginative ideas included balloons covered in butterflies to help it to fly, jet packs, sails, baskets of food, landing lights and sirens. I love how imaginative the children are. They are never short of ideas for writing and drawing.

Have a lovely weekend,

From The Penhallow Team