Summer 2

It has been a very busy but hugely enjoyable week at school. Both classes are working full steam to complete their current learning enquiries and there is a real sense of purpose and focus throughout the class. The children are keen to complete all the learning set out on their learning maps which helps keep the momentum going in between visits and visitors.

On Wednesday, we had a whole school Olympic Day with ARENA and as always the sports coaches were impressed with the enthusiasm and skills shown by the children. The sports coaches left at the end of the day knowing all about the Bridge School Games, how Polruan won and having been shown the trophy!

Thursday morning, Tregeagle class had a visit from Robert Wiltshire from Tech Cornwall and they spent the morning working collaboratively to write code for Micro Bits. Once again, the visitor was impressed with the children's prior knowledge and skills and how confidently they navigate the world of computer science. We will make use of the new skills gained in the autumn term as we now have a full school set of Micro Bits to enhance the learning for both KS1 and KS2 ICT curriculum.

On Friday, the Year 6 had the annual trip to Camel Creek to celebrate their friendships and time at Polruan Primary. They had a super day in the sunshine, spending lots of energy charging round the park to maximise time and finished the day with several repeat rides on the water ride and ice creams courtesy of a parent - yum!

Achievement Assembly

Reader of the Week:
Nathan for enthusiasm and keenness to read
Leia for always trying her very best in phonics and using the sounds she is learning to segment and blend

Star of the Week:
Antonia for brilliant listening and following of instructions in Forest School to work safely with tools
Mia for always being kind and considerate to her peers

Next week:
Monday: ARENA Healthy Hearts  Healthy Minds whole school day, please arrive wearing PE kit
Wednesday: final sailing session 
Thursday: Forest School
Friday: Pirate Day Canute class and Leavers Assembly
Monday 22.7: Whole school rock-pooling trip to Ready Money Cove

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Summer 2

Forest School continues to be a highlight for the children and this week, the class showed how far they have come in developing their skills. There is now an air of confidence and purpose in the sessions, with the children setting themselves goals and achieving these. This week, the challenges included den building, making bird feeders, trialling the hammock and tree-seats, climbing, making bird nests and of course cooking over the fire. Now we are working on the children transferring these skills to their learning in the classroom.

DT
As part of our water enquiry, the children are building a 3-D model of a river. They started this journey with a mood board, choosing materials and colours to reflect their understanding of a river’s journey from source to mouth. This week, they turned their efforts to creating the physical model using art and classroom resources. You can follow the journey on SeeSaw in your child’s DT folder.

Writing
We have started our final piece of writing, a narrative based on the film, The Present by Jacob Frey. The children are exploring the feelings of self-esteem, respect, joy of friendship and empathy to write their own story, to show how their own experiences and developing awareness has flourished this year. We will post the finished stories on SeeSaw.

We have Forest School first thing Monday morning, so please send children o school wearing their outdoor clothes with waterproof jacket. Wednesday is Olympic Day, Thursday we have a Tech-Day and Friday is the Year 6 day out.

Have a good weekend,
Mrs W

Summer 2

Time2Move Holiday Programme for Summer 2024 is live. The programme offers fun physical activities, games and wider activities plus a funded meal for every child. All children are welcome to attend, and it is completely funded for children that are eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals. You can access your child’s code quickly and easily at: www.cornwall.gov.uk/time2move Once you have this code you can search and book on activities here: www.activecornwall.org/T2MHolidayProgramme The activities are all delivered by approved providers with the main focus on fun and enjoyment.

Achievement Assembly

Mathematician of the Week:
Toby for always working with focus and concentration, applying new learning independently with confidence.
Kayden for counting all the rhyming words in his phonics

Star of the Week:
Liam for showing initiative, calm and empathy in sailing lessons, a true role model for our school.
Zeniah for being a fantastic role model for our class by coming into school every day ready to learn with a smile on her face.

Next week, we have a whole school Olympic Day on Wednesday where the children get the chance to try out different sporting events over the course of the day. Fresh from winning the Bridge School Games, the children are brimming with confidence, and I am certain this will be a super day of Sports. Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit and trainers, with a water bottle and sunhat/sun cream.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Summer 2

We have had a quieter week with less off-site activities and more classroom based learning. 

MATHS
This continues to be a favorite subject for lots of the children and it shows in our lessons with some great mathematical talk and resilience in abundance. Always a positive when children tell you they look forward to coming to school on Monday because we are doing an arithmetic paper!

WRITING
We tried a new approach to editing today with 3 different work stations; revising, rewriting and re-imagining. The children spent 10 minutes at each station completing their editing tasks before moving to the next. Feedback from the children was overwhelmingly positive with everyone expressing a preference for this way of working. So I think this will be our new way forward as there was lots of purposeful talk about how the editing was making improvements to their writing.

FOREST SCHOOL AND SAILING
Mr Twaite has added photos from these sessions to the children's SeeSaw journals, so head over to see what we have learnt in these sessions this week.

Enjoy the weekend,
Mrs W

Summer 2

As you know, last week was Sports Week. A week full of sporting endeavors, sportsmanship and fun. Sports activities are always popular with Polruan children; they enjoy being active, being outside and challenging themselves and this fantastic attitude means that Sports Week is one of the best weeks in our school calendar. Throughout the week, the children competed in the Bridge School Games, our Trust inter-school sports competition, challenging themselves in a range of sports which this year had a French theme reflecting the Olympics. The results were released yesterday and I am beyond delighted to announce that this year's winner is POLRUAN!

We have celebrated the win with a special assembly where the children were presented with the Winner's trophy thanks to a detour by Mrs Andrew to collect it from the current holders St Cleer. The official Winner's Photograph alongside the score sheet has been uploaded to all children's SeeSaw journal so head over to have a look.

A big THANK YOU to Mr Twaite for organising the games at school and encouraging the children to be their very best sporting selves.

Achievement Assembly

Writer of the Week:
Erin for embracing our new editing workshops and working with purpose to make improvements to her work.
Ronnie for fantastic independent writing using our learning.

Star of the Week: 
Joyce for showing bravery in Forest School to climb a tree and get back down again
Indi for being a fantastic role model for our class by coming into school every day ready to learn with a smile on her face.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Friday 21st July 2024

Good Afternoon,

We hope this message finds you well!
We are thrilled to share some highlights from this week at school. Sports Day Success! First and foremost, a huge congratulations to all the children who competed so well in Sports Day. We were blessed with wonderful weather, and the hard work from the children truly paid off. Thank you to all the parents who came to support and made it a part of such a wonderful day.

English Adventures In English, our Year 1 and 2 students have been working diligently on sentence stacking as part of our recount of last week's trip to the woods. It's been fantastic to see their progress and enthusiasm.

Reception's Drawing Club Our Reception class has continued with Drawing Club, focusing on the delightful book "Penguin." The creativity and imagination on display have been truly inspiring.

Maths Milestones In Maths, our Year 2 students have completed their work on Fractions. We will continue to recap this topic over the next few weeks to ensure a solid understanding. Meanwhile, Year 1 students have finished their work on Place Value up to 100, and our EYFS children have been exploring number patterns.

Artistic Endeavors In Art, we have been busy with drawing, painting, and mark-making in preparation for creating our own fish full of patterns this week. The children are excited to showcase their artistic talents!

Upcoming Trip to Fowey Aquarium
Just a reminder, on Tuesday, we will be heading across the river to Fowey Aquarium. The children will have the opportunity to explore and touch some of the fascinating sea creatures that inhabit our oceans. It's sure to be an educational and fun-filled day!

We hope you all have a lovely weekend and look forward to another exciting week ahead.
Best regards,
Mrs Fernie, Mrs Andrew, Miss Taylor, Miss Talbot

Summer 2

We have come to the end of Sports Week. A week full of sporting endeavors, sportsmanship and fun. Sports activities are always popular at Polruan; the children enjoy being active, being outside and challenging themselves and this fantastic attitude means that Sports Week is one of the best weeks in our school calendar. Throughout the week, the children have been competing in the Bridge School Games, challenging themselves in a range of sports which this year has a French theme reflecting the Olympics.

Sports Day
Thursday was thankfully a sunny dry day, and a huge turnout made the occasion even more special. We continued with our tradition of having the races in the morning and all of us stayed on the field for a picnic and a play. A big THANK YOU to every one who donated cakes and raffle prizes and to Mrs Hughes and Mrs Fernie for organising – we raised an amazing £105 which will go towards trips and outings for the children.

Transitions
Summer term is one of transition and this year we have planned slightly differently to support our Year 6 with transition to secondary school. We have been working with Fowey Primary school so our Year 6 is travelling across the river to spend time with the Year 6 class, making friends and building relationships ready for Year 7. For the new Year 3 children, we continue the tradition of inviting them to Tregeagle class for taster mornings/afternoons throughout the half term.

Achievement Assembly

Reader of the Week:
Antonia for enthusiasm in all reading activities adding energy to learning.
Leia for brilliant sounding out using her phonics

Star of the Week:
Ailla for a fantastic sporting attitude to team work and fair play during our sports week.
Ronnie for great sportsmanship and working well with class mates.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills 

Summer 2

Water Sports
This week, we tried sailing. It was lovely to watch the confidence the children now have on the water. They all embraced the experience and keenly hovered up the new vocabulary and skills taught to make this a successful experience. Bravery was everywhere, from Liam and Jakson choosing to sail in the small dinghy by themselves, to Antonia jumping off the boat into deep water for a swim. Teamwork was key and the crew of the larger dinghy showed this beautifully, navigating the various roles onboard to sail the dinghy out of the harbour. It was fantastic to see the children deploying the water safety skills they have learnt in swimming lessons and adapting these to the open water environment.

Writing
We have come to the end of sentence stacking lessons and the children are now planning their independent piece of writing. Some of the children are writing an explanation text based on a machine of their choice from our visit to Discovery 42 and Year 5-6 are writing an additional stanza to the poem IF by Rudyard Kipling to explore advice they would give in a challenging situation.

Geography
We continue to explore the water cycle and rivers. There is lots of new vocabulary to learn for this unit of work, so we are finding different ways to recap and retrieve learning to make sure concepts are embedded and lodged in the long-term memory.

Head over to SeeSaw for photos and learning journeys.

Next week is a quieter week with less events; sailing on Wednesday and Forest School on Thursday.
Have a lovely weekend, Mrs W s.

Summer 2

It has been a super busy week with lots of off-site experiences to enhance learning. As a whole school, we are focusing on developing resilience in challenging situations and applying the strategies we have all learnt in the Decider Skills workshops. To support this, both classes venture outdoors for Wild Tribe and Forest School sessions and despite some fairly unseasonal weather, there was no dampening of spirits to go with the soggy clothes.


PARENT SURVEY
A huge THANK YOU to the many of you who took time to respond to the Parent Survey. It was a fantastic boost for staff to see the overwhelmingly positive responses and lovely comments. It means a lot!

Achievement Assembly
Writer of the Week:
Nathan for perseverance and stamina in writing

Mathematician of the week:
Liam for supporting his peers in a calm and kind manner
Mya for determination and some super number work

Star of the Week:
Jakson for his efforts to follow the rules and show respectful behaviour towards friends and adults.
Emmy for lovely manners and positive attitude to learning

This half term continues to be very busy which means lots of emails. We add every event to the school calendar, so continue checking this to stay updated and Mrs Hughes sends reminders of any changes to routine school days. If in doubt, contact us.

ICE LOLLY FRIDAY
Very popular start to our fundraising Friday event despite the rain. We will be selling ice lollies for 50p outside Tolbenny classroom on Friday at the end of th day for the reminder of term to raise funds for our end of term class parties.

SPORTS DAY
We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 20th June for our annual Sports Day (weather permitting). It should be a great morning finishing with a picnic in the field with teas/coffees and cakes on sale too.

I have attached some photos from Board Game and Puzzle Club which started this week. Lots of happy faces and laughs, the perfect way to spend a wet afternoon.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Friday 10th July

In Canute class, we have enjoyed a fantastic first week back after the half-term break. The children have settled back into their routines quickly, and we have many exciting things planned for this half term. We are thrilled to welcome new pupils, embark on new trips, and introduce our new teacher, Mrs. Andrews, who has loved her first week with us all at Polruan. Thank you for making her feel so welcome!

Our new topic for this term is "What's that commotion in the Ocean?"
We will be exploring various subjects through this theme:
- Geography: Learning about where countries and continents are located.
- History: Discovering famous explorers. - Art: Focusing on drawing, painting, and weaving.
- PE, RE, PHSE & ICT: Continuing with our usual engaging activities.

In English, we have been planning out poems based on the poem "If I was in charge of the world," and there have been some fabulous ideas. The children will start writing them on Monday, with a real focus on handwriting, I cannot wait to hear their completed Poems.

In Maths:
- Reception have been Exploring numbers up to 20.
- Year 1 have been trying to understandplace value up to 100.
- Year 2 have been Learning about fractions.

Everyone has worked hard on these different areas, and we are so proud of their efforts!

Please note, we are changing Wild Tribe this week from Tuesday to Friday, so please come prepared on Friday! Looking forward to another great week ahead!

Best wishes,
Mrs Fernie, Mrs Andrews, Miss Taylor, Miss Talbot

Summer 2

This week, we have ben completing our exploration of Ancient Greece so we are ready to move to our new enquiry, Where does the water go?

WRITING

Some of the children are studying the poem IF by Rudyard Kipling, learning about moral character and how to live your life well. Others are using the Oscar nominated short film Mr Hublot to support their learning of how to write an explanation text for mechanical system. This will be followed up with DT lessons next on mechaniocal systems to learn all the important technical language and a visit to Discovery 42 to see cause and effect in mechanical systems.

WATER SPORTS

We had our first water sports session on Wednesday with Paddle Cornwall and it was so exciting! The children loved the “private ferry” crossing to Fowey and the walk through town full of anticipation of spending the morning on the water. During the session, we learnt how to paddle and navigate a kayak, how to balance on a super-SUP and the the chance to implent the water safety we have learnt as part of swimming lessons and in the assemblies with RNLI and the Harbour Master. Both Mr and I we’re super impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and sheer thrill at their own bravery and skills. They were magnificent representatives of our school and we look forward to next 5 weeks of paddle boarding, dinghy and powerboat sailing. Head to SeeSaw for photos of the day.

FOREST SCHOOL

We had our first Forest School session on Thursday afternoon focusing on team work, resilience and determination. Thank you for your support in sending your child in wearing suitable clothing for outdoor learning, it makes a huge difference to the quality time we can spend in sessions when every child has the equipment needed to succeed.

Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs W

Summer 2

What a start to summer 2. Lots of new and exciting things are happening in school to launch the new half term.

Canute Class
In Canute, Mrs Andrews had a lovely time with the class, who have warmly welcomed her and introduced her to all their learning and play routines. In addition to their new teacher, the class has also been particularly pleased with the weather. The kinder weather means that their outdoor continuous play provision is less battered, the pop-up tent has stayed dry and in place and they have been able to have the full length paper roll out for BIG DRAWINGS.

After School Clubs
Mrs Phillips has launched Yoga/Well-being Club on Tuesdays, and the children thoroughly enjoyed the first session; exploring Cosmic Yoga and activities to enhance well-being. Miss Taylor and Miss Talbot will start their club, Puzzles and Board Games next week, running Thursdays between 3:15-4pm for children in Year 1- 6. Please complete the sign-up form sent home this week for your child to secure a place.

Water Sports
Wednesday Tregeagle travelled across to Fowey Gallant Sailing Club for their first SUP/Kayaking session with Paddle Cornwall. They had a fantastic morning, learning how to paddle/navigate and enjoy being on the water while staying safe. We had lots of positive feedback following the session both from the children and the instructors, who were super impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn. One of the children remarked how lucky we are to learn something so exciting right on our doorstep – we can only agree with that. I have addd a few photos here below, but there are plenty more on your child’s SeeSaw so make sure to log in and check.


D-Day Assembly
We completed the week with Reverend Richard delivering a D-Day assembly, highlighting the importance of unity between nations in times of adversity and celebrated with a shared sing-along.

Reminder that tomorrow is Community Inset Day and we will see you all on Monday 10th.

Have a lovely weekend,
Jane Wills

Summer 1

It seems summer term 1 has flown by in a hectic flurry of learning activities. Canute class has been growing, planting and observing using science to explore how plants thrive and Tregeagle has been immersed in the world of the Ancient Greeks. The school has been teeming with enthusiasm and the children are very articulate about how they learn, what they learn and how they know they are making progress – fantastic conversations to have with them.

Reminder that Friday 24th May is an INSET day for staff training and we return to school on Monday 3rd June for the final half term of the academic year.

We say goodbye to Mrs Westacott, who is returning to Pelynt school, and we wish her all the very best. Her warmth and kindness have permeated school and she will be missed. In her place, we welcome Mrs Andrews who will teach Canute class on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays. Mrs Andrews will be outside greeting the children on Wednesday 5th June at the start of the day giving you the chance to meet her too.

Achievement Assembly:

Writer of the week:

Erin for her fantastic creative ideas which makes reading her work a real pleasure
Zeniah for super sentences and positive attitude to writing

Star of the Week:

Nathan for resilience and bravery
Ava for being a fantastic role model for her peers

Have a lovely half term break,
Jane Wills

News

SATs
A huge WELL DONE to our super Year 6 – we are beyond proud of the resilience, determination and positive attitude shown this week in completing the SATs. Celebrated in style with a walk to the Block House for some reflective sketching and finished with ice creams and play in the park.

Parent questionnaire
The Trust parent questionnaire is open now and will close on Friday 24th May. It is easy to complete by following the link below. We would love to know your views as parental feedback is really important to us to understand how we can provide the best possible education for your child at Polruan Primary. Please click on this link to complete it: Parent and Carer Questionnaire – Summer 2024

Mental Health
The Mental Health in Schools Team have sent us online parent workshop dates for the following topics:

• Understanding Resilience
• Understanding Worry
• Sleep Workshop
• Year 6 Transition
• Behaviour as Communication

These are online and free to attend. To sign up, please follow the links on the posters attached to email sent on Tuesday 14th May. A lot of these topics reciprocate what is taught in school and might further understanding in supporting your child. 

Achievement Assembly:
Stars of the Week:
Liam for showing resilience and determination during SATs
Kayden for following the rules and making the right choices
Reader of the Week:
Liam because he has been great this week!
Ava for fantastic attitude and enthusiasm for reading 

Special Assembly

We had a special assembly on Thursday with our very on World Championship Gig Rower Mrs Hughes. Fresh from competing in the World Championships in the Isles of Scilly, Mrs Hughes and the crew from Fowey Ladies Team, were crowned champions. The children had the chance to find out about the sport, how to join the rowing club and the pride gained from success. We are certain the aspirational talk might tempt new recruits for the rowing club.

Achievement Assembly:

Stars of the Week:
Erin for her positive attitude to all learning
Robbie for showing resilience and self-motivation.

Mathematician of the Week:
Joyce for fantastic positivity and resilience in applying strategies
Ronnie for fantastic independent work and great attitude to learning

We have finally completed our city life enquiry and have moved on to studying the Ancient Greeks. This gives the children a chance to become historians again to ask questions about the past, explain how we can find answers and use their natural curiosity to link previous history learning. The children have already discovered that the Ancient Greeks were advanced architects building palaces and temples compared with the Celts in Britain.

Writing
This week, we have used knowledge of the city to produce poetry. The children have enjoyed the freedom of playing with words yet following some strict rules to produce poems in the style of The Sound Collector by Roger McGough. Year 5 and Year 6 children have explored balanced arguments and produced their own considering whether city or village life is best. We will share the work with peers in Friday’s recital session.

Swimming
We have another 2 sessions left of this block, next week 8th May and the final session 22nd May. 15th May we have no swimming as this is SATs week.

Enjoy the long weekend.
Mrs W