Careers Fair Invite Summer 2023
Penpol Panthers
Mark Pollard
An Inspiring Afternoon for Pupils at our Careers Fair
On Wednesday the 6th of April, Penpol held its second careers fair after the first, which was held back in 2019.
This year, over 30 different job sectors came into school to talk about their job and potentially inspire the next generation. There were a huge range of jobs on show, from a doctor, a vet, the police and fire service, to potters, carpenters, jewellers and florists, with even the horticultural department at The Eden Project making an appearance.
There was a real buzz amongst the students and exhibitors alike and, even if it only inspired one child for a potential future career, that is a job well done. Research shows that young people who have a possible understanding of what they may want to do in the future are far less likely to fall out of education and not have a job in the future. There is a saying that ‘You cannot be what you cannot see’ and this event, with Penpol being the only primary school in the South-West to hold such a thing, will hopefully have opened a few eyes to future prospects.
A huge thank you to those who gave up their time to talk about their careers and if you might be interested in joining next year, please do get in touch with our Careers Lead, Mr Pollard by emailing him at mpollard@penpol.cornwall.sch.uk
Year 5 wowed by Spaceport Satellite exhibition
On Monday the 13th and Tuesday the 14th of September, Year 5 were fortunate to be offered a visit to Newquay Airport where Spaceport Cornwall currently have an exhibition taking place – ‘Story of a Satellite’. With VR headsets allowing us to explore unknown planets, being able to see a 70ft rocket in person and lots of other valuable information and resources dotted around the huge hangar, there was plenty to see and do. Mr Pollard’s twin brother, who works for Spaceport, also held a highly informative Q&A session and the children came up with some excellent questions. This will tie in brilliantly with our Space topic which begins in January, giving everyone a great head-start in recognising the importance of satellites to our world.
Josh – “I wish we could go again tomorrow. I really enjoyed the VR headsets. The lava-filled planet was my favourite.”
Designing Mars Rovers in Year 5
Last term, as part of our Space topic, the children were inspired by the landing of Perseverance on Mars and so created their own versions of a Mars rover, complete with a motor so that it could move forward and, most impressively a lever system to enable it to pick up ‘space rock’ to study. The children had a great time making and designing their own rover and, who knows, maybe this activity will have inspired our next rover designers of the future.
After they’d made their rovers, the children used the iPads and iMovie to virtually transport their creations to the surface of Mars with some Green Screen magic.
You can enjoy some of these videos below:
"I enjoyed making the Mars Rover. My favourite part was designing and decorating the rover, but we did have some trouble with our electrics"
Emily
Class 11
Celebrating our first Careers Fair
On Wednesday the 6th of November, Penpol held our first ever Careers event. 30 different businesses and employees gave up their time to explain just what makes their job sector special, with hands-on demonstrations, interactive activities and a stream of answers ready for the children’s questions. The event was a huge success and we look forward to doing it again next year.
Special thanks must go to those people who gave up their time to inspire others. The exhibitors were very impressed with the children’s interest and described them as ‘eloquent, interested and a joy to talk to’.
Stone Age and Bronze Aged artefacts land in Class 11 & 12!
On Tuesday the 1st of October, class 11 and 12 were fortunate enough to get their hands on some artefacts which are literally thousands of years old!
Made during the Stone Age and Iron Age, the children worked together to decipher what the items might have been used for. Items included large Stone Age axe heads, chisels and arrows.
Rhys said that he was excited about looking at all of the Stone Age items.
Devon said that it was great to actually hold items which had been handmade so many thousands of years ago.
Thanks goes to Dr M.G Weller – whose fine collection these items came from – and David Lay Auction House in Penzance, who kindly arranged for the loan to happen.
Yr 5 have an awesome time at Porthpean
The eagerly anticipated Y5 Penpol Camp took place last week at Porthpean and what an enjoyable trip it was!
On the first day, the children (and the teachers) took part in climbing and archery before a feast of a tea – a delightful roast dinner. After a contented sleep, drifting off to the sounds of three tractors working away in the field next to us, we woke, had a full English and got on with the day.
Day 2 consisted of cycling, problem solving and a rather exhilarating high-ropes course. It was great to see children and adults push their comfort boundaries with this. In the evening, Penpol, led by dance expert Rocky, busted some moves on the dance floor at the disco before a peaceful sleep ensued.
After packing in the morning of the last day and another fine full english, it was down to the beach to take part in some paddle-boarding, kayaking or coasteering, complete with slate-made make-up!
It was a superb few days made all the better by the glorious weather and friendly experts who guided us through each activity. Thank you, Porthpean!
Penpol, it’s NASA calling!
This week, on Monday at 2pm our time (10am at the NASA space centre in America) Year 5 had the opportunity to Skype call with an actual NASA scientist (he even has the email address @NASA.com which Mr Pollard and Mr Wise were very impressed by).
The children had a range of excellent questions to ask Martin, whose job it is to look at molecules floating into the farthest reaches of our universe. These included ‘Which is your favourite planet and why?’ ‘Have you ever seen the NASA supercomputer?’ and the ever interesting ‘How do you go to the toilet in space?’
It was interesting talking to Martin as he is based in America and works for NASA. I learnt that there is a difference between types of meteor and also that it takes around 13 years to become a NASA scientist! – Fifi
We are very grateful to Martin for giving up his time and hopefully he has just had a hand in giving someone a lifetime of interest in the subject.
Cooking with Chartwells an enjoyable treat for Year 5 and 6!
Last week, Year 5 and Year 6 were fortunate enough to have a cooking masterclass with Karen from Chartwells. After talking about cuisines and dinners from around the world and different types of foods it was over to the children to create some delicious, healthy food of their own, in the form of rainbow wraps.
They’re called rainbow wraps because there are lots of different coloured vegetables inside it to give it colour – Lily
Thanks to Karen for coming in, who will now be doing more cooking with the other classes in the school in the coming weeks.
Freya ready to blast off!
Year 5 are currently preparing to make rockets in class, but one pupil has already got experience in this,creating a fantastic child-sized rocket, made by herself, her dad and her grandad!
I really enjoyed making it, though I wasn’t pleased that ‘We love MCFC’ was written on the side. – Freya
Let’s hope the other rockets can turn out just as well. Watch this space!
