“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundations of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”
Class 7 have been learning how to create a clear set of instructions using the features they have been learning about in English. They learnt that in order to have a good set of instructions you need to include the following:
Headings
Sub-headings
Method
Bullet points
Numbers
Pictures
We began by working together as a whole class and and created a set of instructions on ‘How to Make a Cup of Tea’. This helped us learn the best way to set out our instructions.
After that, the children applied what they had learnt and created instructions on ‘How to Make a Jam and Honey Sandwich’. The children used the ingredients needed to make their own sandwich.
Wow! I loved making my jam sandwich. – Luke
Everyone really enjoyed it. Needless to say, lots of great sets of instructions were completed in their literacy books.
Class 5 ventured into Tehidy woods to experience the seasonal changes of Autumn and to do some sketching for their art topic ‘Mother Nature’.
Back at school the children used a view finder to choose an area of their sketches which had lots of detail. They then drew what was in the finder and coloured it in.
The children then had to arrange the images to make a pattern.
The results speak for themselves!
I liked the sketching in the woods. I thought I couldn’t do it but then I saw the yellow bits and I could then match them up yo make my pattern – Remy
It was a bit difficult to make a pattern but I like my finished work especially the flower bit – Ruby
This week, students have been enjoying the dry weather by learning French outside. Classes 3, 4, 7 and 8 were involved in a series of activities and competitions which tested their understanding of instructions and knowledge of body parts in French, which is the current topic they are learning about with Mr Emery.
At the start of each lesson, students followed Mr Emery around the school via instructions in French, until reaching the playground area. Out in the fresh air, students began by doing a number of fun warm-up activities in French, from star jumps to the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (tête, épaule, genou, pied) song. Following the warm-up activities, students then moved on to the more challenging competitions, such as “la souris contre le chat” (very similar to duck duck goose) and “Jacques a dit” (Simon says).
From class 3, Hazel held her nerve and won the Simon says competition, showing an excellent understanding of body parts in French.
It was really fun learning French outside. I really like winning too! – Hazel – Class 3 – Year 1
Upon returning to the classroom, students were able to recap what they had learnt about body parts in French by drawing and labelling their own monsters. With all classes having sung a French colour song with Michèle in the Harvest assembly, they were also keen to add plenty of colours to their monsters.
Alex, from Class 3, also enjoyed counting the number of heads in French on his monster, going all the way up to “quinze”, (15, pronounced ‘cans’).
When asked at the end of the session what was their favourite part of the lesson, the overriding response was “learning French outside!”
I loved having lots of space outside to play games in French! – Sienna – Class 4 – Year 1
Elsie is a member of Saints Boardriders in St Ives. They go surfing every Saturday morning come rain or shine and Elsie has really enjoyed it this year. At the end of the year they hold a presentation and Elsie won most improved surfer for her group out of around 25 children!
I love surfing, it’s very exciting – Elsie
Elsie catches a superb wave and surfs it all the way to the shore
I like surfing big waves. I don’t get scared – Elsie
This half term Year 1 have been learning the basics of coding by giving instructions to the popular ‘Angry Birds’ characters. In order to help these birds reach their target (the green piggies!) the children have to give them the correct directional instructions to move along the level. These instructions start off quite simply, but before long the children are giving twelve step answers to get the bird to the target.
“I love how happy the bird is when he gets to the pig!” – Penny, Class 3
An example level from halfway through the Angry Birds puzzles
Using perseverance, logical thinking and imagination the Year 1’s have shown a huge amount of Learning to Learn skills and have proven that just because something is difficult at first they don’t need to give up. Practice makes perfect and solving these puzzles has helped instil a real love of learning in a lot of these children.
Fantastically talented Sabina and her team from Penzance Gymnastic Club won a brilliant bronze in her first ever Vault and Floor Competition.
I felt a tiny bit nervous and a little bit shy – Sabina
She may have been a little bit nervous but this did not stop Sabina doing her very best. Taking part in the 5 to 6 year old category, Sabina did incredibly well, competing against five other teams from all over Cornwall.
For my routine I had to do a sit and tuck, roll my arms backwards, do a forward roll and then I finished in a lunge in a wide shape – Sabina
Sabina loves gymnastics and we are very proud of her achievements. Well done Sabina!
Amelie from class 4 came to school today with some very exciting news. She had taken part in a gymnastics competition at her local club in Penzance on Sunday and walked away with a medal! Amelie goes to Penzance gymnastics club and took part in a competition for floor and vault at level 7. She and 4 other girls aged between 5 and 7, competed as a group and were awarded a bronze medal. 45 gymnasts from her group took part, so Amelie was delighted to come away with a medal. Amelie was kind enough to show us some of her floor routine. Take a look…
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I go to gymnastics on Mondays and Fridays. I go for 2 hours on a Monday and an hour and half on Friday. I do conditioning on Friday, that’s where I do lots of stretching and I do lots of strength training. I do bars and chin ups as well. I want a chin up bar for my birthday.
I showed everyone how to do my vault.
First you need to run…
jump…
hands on the block…
stand up straight and put your toes together…
jump off the block…
ready for the handstand.
My favourite move in gymnastics is the splits. It’s quite hard and I have been practicing a lot. I also like doing headstands and I practice at home on the sofa.
Tom started Sandhoppers with the Hayle Surf Life Saving Club last year and has been making amazing progress. He enjoys swimming in the sea and has learnt to use a bodyboard. He has moved up to Nippers and was awarded a shield in October for ‘Most Enthusiastic Boy’. Tom is having great fun learning how to surf!
I feel fantastic because I got the award and my name is on the shield now. It is the first award I have ever won – Tom – Class 7 – Year 3
Some of our Year 5 and 6 children who form the Penpol School Football Team took part in the FA County Schools 7 aside tournament for the West of Cornwall on Friday. They performed remarkably well and were the talk of the tournament with their free flowing passing game.
After games against St Ives (2-0 win), Marazion (3-0 win) and Pensans (3-0 win) the boys knew that victory against Parc Eglos would secure them top stop in their group. With that on their minds they set to work dispatching them with 2 fine team goals to set up a semi-final match against local rivals Bodriggy. A hard fought 1-0 victory meant the boys in black progressed to the final, scoring 13 goals and conceding none en route.
Reaching the final ensured the teams progression to the County finals for the first time in many years which are set to be held on the 17th November. Runners-up from Group A, Parc Eglos managed to overcome Alverton in their semi-final to set-up a re-run of the days earlier match against the Penpol boys. An early goal from Penpol meant for the entire game meant they looked favourites for the trophy however a late goal sent the game to extra-time and then onto penalties. The curse for the English struck and the boys were defeated 4-3 on penalty kicks, a terrible way to lose. However they can be extremely proud of what they achieved and we wish them all the best for the finals.
Operation Encompass was launched in Cornwall on the 19th September with the aim of supporting children and young people who have been exposed to domestic incidents where the police have been involved.
Both the police and educational settings have partnered up to provide rapid support through the use of early intervention and safeguarding.
Children who witness violence and traumatic events often arrive at school the next day without anyone being aware of what has happened. These types of situations can cause their behaviour to seem inappropriate in the classroom, which can in turn negatively effect their academic progress and their social and emotional wellbeing.
Operation encompass works by the police reporting these incidents to the child’s school at the start of the next day (prior to 9am). This information is given to a key adult within the school who can then put in place the support needed for the child.
Penpol strives to ensure that our school is a safe place for children, where they can develop and receive the support they need, that is suitable for them. We understand that these situations can and do happen and we aim to proactively help children and their families to overcome the difficulties that they may experience. We also realise the vital importance of sharing information between agencies. This helps us and other agencies such as health professionals and those in social care to fully understand each child’s situation.
