Head's Blog

End of Half Term

Dear All,
We have successfully reached the end of our first half term. It has been a very busy half term. The children have settled in well in their new classes and made positive strides in learning.

It has been great to welcome the community increasingly into our school again, having parents evening with in-person appointments and to celebrate Harvest Festival in the church. We had a lovely morning in the church adn the children were fantastic, reciting their harvest stories and singing beautifully with the help of Mrs Butlin. Thank you to all the parents, families and friends who turned up.
We are pleased to announce that our lovely “Open the Book” team will be back in school for weekly assemblies from Wednesday 3rd November. They have a full programme, including Christmas activities, planned for the coming half term, we can’t wait!
On a very positive note, school has been approached by the Windmill Allotment Society with regards the school having an allotment on their site. Following discussion with staff around access and practicalities, we have keenly accepted the offer of a plot as the opportunity for the children to grow and work the soil will provide valuable life-lessons in terms of the provenance of food and understanding the science of growing. Added to this, the children will gain a sense of responsibility and foster a strong connection with nature. If you have a keen interest in gardening and have spare time to give, we would love to recruit you to support us in developing and maintaining the plot. Please let Mrs Sandy know, if you would like to become an allotment volunteer.

After half term, we welcome a new member of staff. Miss Megan Taylor will join us as a Teaching Assistant apprentice. Miss Taylor will be based in Canute class, where she will be supporting Mrs Barnett and Mrs Chasey.

Remember, we have an Inset Day on Monday 1st November, so we return to learning on Tuesday 2nd November.
Have a restful week.
With best wishes,
Mrs Wills

Busy children

We have launched our very first Extreme Reading Competition to find out which children love reading so much, they simply have to do it anywhere. We are looking forward to some innovative entries. Make sure your child's entry is emailed to Mrs Sandy by Wednesday 3rd November.

The children have been working with enthusiasm to get ready for Tuesday's Harvest Festival. It is a real treat for us all to be able to gather to celebrate this important date in the church calendar. We look forward to seeing you in the church for the 10am start and thank you for your support in limiting numbers so we can all stay safe.

The teachers are looking forward to welcoming you into their classrooms on Monday afternoon at 3pm to share expectations for learning, classroom routines and for you to have the chance to look at your child's work with them. We know that for some of you, this will be the very first time inside the building making it a very special occasion.

A reminder to book a time to discuss your child's progress with their class teacher. Please ring Mrs Sandy to book parent consultations for next week.

Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Wills

Storytelling assembly

Reverend Allen visit

Yesterday we welcomed Reverend Allen back to school for our assembly. This is the first time, we have been able to invite the Reverend inside the school and the first time our younger pupils experienced assembly delivered by someone different to our staff. The reverend enthralled the children with his captivating storytelling making it a lovely experience for us all. Hopefully the first of many more to come this year.

Our "Open the Book" team are ready and waiting in the wings to resume their Wednesday performances and hopefully we should be able to invite them back after half term.

This year, we are joining the Reverend in St Saviour's Church on 19th October at 10am for Harvest festival. Please check emails and notices for further information about precautions to keep us all safe.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading is Magic

This week, we are launching our Reading focus for the autumn term - reading for pleasure. Across the term, we will be celebrating authors, readers and find out how reading for pleasure can influence your feelings, emotions and sense of adventure. We are kicking off by joining the Reading is Magic Festival, a virtual event with lots of writers, illustrators and poets sharing their work.

By clicking on this link you can find out more.

iPads

Thursday was a special day as we took delivery of our new iPads. The Barrie bequest money has allowed us to purchase 16 new iPads, which means we now have enough iPads for all the children to have their own to use for lessons. On Friday, we learnt how to look after the iPads and each child has been allocated a place where their iPad will be stored safely. This is super exciting for the children as it allows us to embed IT within all subjects across the curriculum, support the children to use iPads as learning tools and offer different ways of expressing understanding. We look forward to sharing the children’s projects and as they become experts, the children will be in charge of running workshops for peers and parents, watch this space for further information.

Mrs Wills

Welcome back

Welcome Back

It has been great to have the school filled with children again, lots of enthusiasm, smiles and excitement has flooded the classrooms after weeks of quiet. The children have settled in well to our new routines and they are ready to explore learning opportunities with renewed energy.

In the very last week of term, we entered the village scarecrow competition and amazingly we were awarded first prize in our category. We are super proud of this achievement and for the first time in years, the cup has the school's name on it.

To support the smooth transition back, teachers will post important information about class specific routines on their class blogs, so please make sure you check the website regularly.

Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Wills

Holiday

Summer is here

We have made it to the end of a turbulent year and can now look forward to a well-earned summer break.

We said an emotional goodbye to our lovely Year 6 children on Friday afternoon. They have shown great resilience, determination and enthusiasm throughout the year and they are ready to face the new challenges and adventures that secondary school will bring. We are incredibly proud of them.

The children's scarecrow is up on the gate - I am sure you will agree that it is a master piece! Captain Hook and the "Clockodile" Judging takes place next weekend, so hopefully the weather will remain gentle and kind.
On behalf of all the staff, have a lovely summer break.
See you back in school on Tuesday 7th September.
Mrs Wills

Strange...

Something strange is happening...

Strange items have been spotted in different places around the school. Watch this space!

Olympic Day

Warm Smiles

Today the Olympics came to Polruan. Running, jumping, archery, throwing and team games - we experienced it all in the warm sunshine.

We had a super day, the children truly enjoyed being active but I think the paddling pools and water sprays at the end of the day, proved the most popular.

Have a super weekend, enjoy the warmth and stay sun-safe.
Mrs Wills

Newquay Zoo

Newquay Zoo trip

On Wednesday morning, lots of excited children and adults turned up for our first whole-school educational trip this year.

We had a fantastic day with lots of excitement, delight and super questions. It was a packed day, but we managed to zoom round and see all the animals, stop at the playground for a well-earned climb, swing and see-saw and finish the day with an ice-cream, thanks to our fabulous FOPA.

Mark, one of the zoo rangers, taught us how to differentiate between herbivores and carnivores by looking at their eyes. Innovatively, he used face-shields to demonstrate how herbivores have eyes on the side of their head for 360 degree vision to avoid predators sneaking up on them. Carnivores (including humans, some species of monkeys and lemurs) have eyes on the front of their head to gauge distance.
During the day, the children learnt about the important conservation work the zoo does and how adopting an animal supports this. As a result, the children are very keen for the school to adopt an animal and they have already started making presentations to persuade a vote for their chosen animal. We will hold the vote in the last week of term. In the autumn term, the children will be hosting fundraising events to raise the finds needed for the adoption, keep checking here and your emails for further details.
All the adults were incredibly proud of the children, they behaved impeccably and were a real credit to our school.
We look forward to many more educational trips next year.
Mrs Wills