Thank you for your support with our recent changes to the school day for the icy weather. These decisions are always challenging to make, but safety is the overriding consideration in these circumstances. As we near the end of the current term and look forward to Christmas, I am writing with a few updates.

Performances
It was a real pleasure to see so many of you for our Christmas plays in the village hall. The children were amazing as always and I am sure you will agree that we have quite a few very accomplished performers in school. Standing on a stage in front of lots of people can be scary and exhilarating in equal measure, it creates a sense of occasion, and it is a very valuable experience for the children to have. Hats off to them for their bravery.

Strep A and Scarlet Fever
We have not as yet had any confirmed cases of either Strep A or Scarlet Fever in our school community, however we urge you to be aware of the signs and symptoms by reading the guidance we have emailed out to al parents/carers.

Staffing
At the end of term, we say farewell to Mrs Sandy, our lovely front of house guardian. It will be a huge loss for us all as Mrs Sandy has been an invaluable support to all staff and families during her time and often acting as the connection between the wider community and the school. We sent her off with a Polruan Tea party on Friday morning and happy wishes for the future. In January, we welcome Mrs Liberty Turnbull, who will take over from Mrs Sandy. Also arriving in January, is Mrs Amanda Penk, our new Canute class teacher, who will share the week with Mrs Chasey on her return.

Fundraising
Thank you for supporting our Christmas concert on Wednesday 14th. We managed to raise an amazing £150 which we will spend on resources to enhance learning experiences for all the children. We would like this to be the start of a new village tradition, where we can all come together and sing Christmas songs around the tree, whether in school or on the Wharf.

Following a challenging but very productive term, it is now time for a well-earned Christmas break. On behalf of all the staff, I wish you a Merry Christmas and look forward to welcoming the children back in school Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

Mrs Jane Wills

December has arrived with a flurry of Christmas activities. The children are busy rehearsing and making props for their performances, which take place on Tuesday 13th December in te village hall. 

We had great fun filming our entry for the Bridge Schools' Advent Calendar. Once our entry has gone live on 14th December, we will share it with you all. 

Next week,Tregeagle class are joining other schools at Fowey River Academy for the annual Santa Run. This year, the event is supporting Cornwall Hospice Care and all donations are welcome. Children have sponsor ship forms, and you can read more about the event in the email sent out earlier by Mrs Sandy. 

Please make sure you return your child's Christmas Lunch choices to Ms Sandy by Monday 5th December.

Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Wills

On Thursday, Tregeagle class and Erin from Canute class travelled to Carnglaze Caverns for the Bridge Singing Festival. The children have been practising with Mrs Butlin for this performance and they were absolutely amazing. They sang with gusto, enthusiasm and joy belting out Bare Necessities and Any Dream Will Do. Well done, we are all incredibly proud of 
you!
Canute class are continuing with their Celebrations enquiry. They have so far investigated why we burn a guy on 5th November and although this celebration happened a few weeks ago, they are now finding out about Diwali celebrations. Today they have been using clay to make their own Diva lamps. Some fantastic results and some very proud children.

Rehearsals for our Christmas plays and concert on the Wharf are in full flow, don’t forget to add the dates to your calendar. Christmas plays are on Tuesday 13th December 2pm in the village Hall and our concert is Wednesday 14th December on the Wharf (weather permitting) also at 2pm. All dates are listed on our school calendar accessible from the website as mentioned in Mrs Sandy’s email earlier today.

Have a lovely weekend, Mrs Wills

Autumn 2

As always, the second part of half term is full of extracurricular activities and events and this year is no exception. Our older children are currently busy learning songs for the Bridge Schools Song Festival at Carnglaze Caverns on Thursday 24th November. We are sending out details of the event, including attendance for parents/carers and practical information. If your child is attending this event, you will receive this via email on Friday.

Further dates for your diary:

Tuesday 13th December: Christmas lunch and Nativity/Christmas plays by both classes in the afternoon. Venue to be confirmed.

Wednesday 14th December: Christmas concert on the Wharf. Time to be confirmed

Friday 16th December: Last day of term

We were treated to a very special assembly on Thursday where Liam shared a PowerPoint presentation, he had made during half term break. Using his microscope Liam had taken close up images of everyday items and we all had great fun trying to guess them. Some of the more surprising and fairly unrecognisable items were a Lego brick and Liam’s hand. Liam was a fantastic presenter and managed to enthuse and engage the whole school - Thank you very much!

Thursday afternoon, our local author Cate Merrin is joining us to read her latest book, set in a small village by the sea with a tiny school perched at the top – sounds familiar! Cate will be here in the afternoon, and she is available to sign books at the end of the school day so please come to the top gate.

On Friday, we welcome Reverend Allen for Remembrance Assembly at 2:30pm, a fitting end to another busy week.

Harvest

We have successfully reached the end of our very busy first half term. The children have settled well in their new classes and made positive strides in learning. Many fantastic learning journeys have already been completed across the school with Canute class blasting into space with Neil Armstrong and crossing the Atlantic with Sir Francis Drake. This week, the children used empathy to imagine themselves as Neil Armstrong on the moon to write a message home to a loved one.

In Tregeagle class, the children have explored the origins of Vikings and tried to find out if they were heroes or villains. So far, it seems a fifty - fifty contest but the dial may still change. The children have been writing poems this week. They have used their senses to explore Viking concepts and presenting these as similes and metaphors. I have shared some of their impressive metaphors and similes here:
Their shields hum strong and vibrant – a colourful, creative artwork;
Long houses are like a friend’s warm embrace; secure, sheltered;
Loki must be like a wave of mischief.

It was lovely to see so many of you for our Harvest Festival celebrations in St. Savoir’s on Wednesday afternoon. We are incredibly proud of the children’s performances and hope you enjoyed seeing your child/children perform. Thank you to all of your contributions to the food bank collection.

I hope you manage to have a restful break.
Mrs Wills

The building is bursting with learning and it is a real pleasure to see how the children are embracing this with enthusiasm and positive attitudes. As you can see from some of the photos attached, the learning is varied, broad and all encompassing.

We are fortunate enough to have the excellent Mrs Butlin back with us for this term and the children are absolutely delighted with learning how to read musical notation to play the keyboards. It does take a major re-arrangement to fit all keyboards and children in, and the noise cannot always be classed as musical, however all children are learning new skills, applying prior knowledge and they are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to play an instrument.

We have a few arrangements coming up in the next couple of weeks, so please keep checking the school calendar on our website or by clicking the link Polruan Primary Academy - Events-Diary

Unseasonably early, sorry! - Your child/ren will be bringing home their designs for Christmas cards today. If you decide to place an order, please send your orders back to school by Wednesday 12th October latest. School will make money from any orders placed. Money raised will be used to buy Christmas resources to benefit all children across the school – Thank you!

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Wills

Here we go...

We have been super busy settling in to learning in our new and familiar classes, but we have found time to take part in community events too. 
On Friday, we joined Tom's Boatyard on the Coal Wharf to celebrate their 100 Year Jubilee. It was a lovely afternoon with activities, interactions and cakes. 

We also found time to spend an afternoon with Des Britton, from Lankelly Fowey Rugby Club. Des brought lots of equipment and we joined him in the sunshine on the field to try out rugby. Some activities were definitely more popular than others and the clear favorite was tackling the foam rectangle to the ground. I'm glad no stand-in volunteers were needed for this!

In school, our clubs have started up again. On Thursday afternoon Mr Twaite runs Sports Club and on Wednesday lunch time, Ms Foster runs Board Game Club. If you have any intact and good condition board games you no longer use at home, we would be very grateful for donations.