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Headteacher
Chris Coyle-Chislett

Email the Office
secretary@penpol.cornwall.sch.uk

Telephone Number
01736 753472

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@PenpolSchool

Our Address
2 St George’s Road, Hayle,
Cornwall, TR27 4AH

“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.”

Year 4’s Term of Magic Extends to St Michael’s Mount!

On Tuesday 27th February, Class 9 and 10 took a memorable and magical trip to St Michael’s Mount. This visit ties in closely with our current topic of Harry Potter and, in particular, focusing this week on describing the imperious Hogwarts castle. The Mount certainly has that magical quality to it and offered the perfect stimulus to encourage the children to describe a castle setting description, using similes and metaphors.

                                                                            
The excitement was palpable preceding the exciting walk over the iconic causeway, which links the mainland to St Michael’s Mount. Students were in their element, taking in the stunning Penwith coastline to the West and the imposing castle above which perched high upon the Mount ahead.

   
We were greeted at the harbour by Kerry Rice, the Education Officer for St Aubyn Estate, who led us on a magical journey through time as we explored the historic beauty of St Michael’s Mount. Upon arriving, the students were given a brief outline of the planned activities they would be taking part in, followed by a quick recap on why we had come to the Mount in the first place…to inspire our own Hogwart’s setting description.


Each group excelled and came up with high-quality and powerful adjectives, using them to create impressive similes and metaphors on their silhouette outline drawing of the Mount.

The children are also gearing up for World Book Day  next week, where they will be studying a range of Cornish Giant folk tales in English and Guided Reading. One of the children’s favourite activities was storyboarding the Cornish folk tale, the Legend of Cormoran the Giant , where Kerry captivated the children’s imaginations with her retelling of the tyrannical giant who once lived on the mount and how he was defeated by a local boy called Jack.

“I’ve actually visited the ground where Jack’s heart is buried deep beneath in the ground last time I came here!” one pupil was keen to share.

Kerry then led a wonderful drama activity in which they acted out the story of Cormoran the Giant – complete with an authentic blast of a horn from Kerry!

There was plenty of time to explore the village nestled below the castle, where students competed to find answers to the harbour challenge quiz sheet. Students were amazed to learn that the island lays host to 30 full time residents, who stay on the island and work there each day; be that as a gardener of the castle gardens, or working in the boatyard and maintaining all of the essential equipment.

 

All of the students demonstrated an excellent knowledge by the end of the trip of the history of the Mount and are now looking forward to writing up their setting descriptions of Hogwarts castle using similes and metaphors over the next few days.

It’s fair to say the children are all eager to return to the Mount and see what else the island has to offer!

             


Drama at the Minack

On Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd February, our Year 2 classes braved the elements as they ventured to the historic and magical Minack Theatre for a theatre tour and drama workshop.

 

After a long and hilly minibus journey, we arrived at a windy clifftop overlooking the beautiful Porthcurno beach. We then descended the 100+ stone steps to the wonderful outdoor theatre space below. The children were treated to a VIP tour of the theatre, including the backstage and dressing rooms, whilst learning about the rich history of the Minack.

The very welcoming and incredibly talented Minack Theatre staff led a series of fun drama games, before we split into groups to learn and rehearse the infamous tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Year 2 pupils then made history by becoming the latest in a long line of great actors to perform on this historic theatre stage. Their performances of Jack and the Beanstalk were thrilling, funny and most importantly filled with joy! Accompanied by wild winds, squally showers and even bursts of brilliant sunshine, the children enjoyed a truly authentic Minack experience.

 

We are very excited to take this experience back into the classroom and let it inspire our very own Jack and the Beanstalk-inspired stories next week!

Conscription! Year 6 are heading to the front!

As we have in previous few years, Year 6 headed to Bodmin Keep to explore the Military Museum. Bodmin Keep is the historical home of the DCLI; the barracks for which many of our ancestors signed up in and trained at as members of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.

To help immerse ourselves in to the lives of young soldiers we took part in two workshops. One, where we were able to explore their replica trench where we discussed the dismal living conditions and even had a go at heading ‘over the top’ ourselves. During the second workshop, we had the opportunity to look at ‘Somme’ letters that were written by soldiers in 1914 from the muddy battlefields on France. Here we really felt the emotion connected with these letters and the sensitivity with which we were going to need to write our own. We then had the chance to write pen some ideas to take back to school with us for our very own letters.

During our guided tour we learnt all about how the keep was used to train and house recruits who later went onto fight in France and Belgium as part of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry before housing visiting G.I Joes in the lead up to the D-Day landings in 1944.

The building is rich with British Military history and a plethora of artefacts and replicas to explore and discuss including; Mary tins, a present from Princess Mary to serving soldiers in 1914; genuine WW1 clothing, helmets and boots; food stuffs from the time of WW1, including a VERY hard tac biscuit; and soldiers personal possessions, such as boot polish, button polishers and shaving kits. A new addition to the museum is a exhibit on the United Nations and the roll the British Forces play in peacetime; helping maintain the peace across the world and well as helping with natural disasters.

We had a truly awe-inspiring day where many of our current day to day difficulties were put into persecutive. We left feeling very grateful to live in the world in which we do and will be taking our first hand experience of the trench back to school with us and using it to help write our very own letters from the Somme.

Codeblocks at Christmas

This term the students in Years 3 and 6 have been creating their own 3D Winter Ornaments using the Tinkercad program.

The Year 3’s have been learning all about 3D modelling and how to adjust, combine and create using different 3D shapes, while the Year 6’s have been putting their coding skills to the test by creating their own 3D decorations using nothing but blocks of code!

This week, as one hundred and twenty 3D decorations go home, we wanted to share some of the behind-the-scenes of how these wintery treats were made…

Year 6

Isaac

Class: 14

I used three spheres for the body.  I used the move block and changed the z axis.  I then squashed a cynlinder for the base and I used the text block for my name and the size block to change the size.

For the hat I used a torus shape and a cynlinder, which I moved using the Z axis.

Verity

Class: 14

For my Christmas decoration I made a gingerbread man, it was very fun to make! At first I was quite confused, but then I got the hang of it and created this!

Hana

Class: 14

Rosie

Class 13

I used hearts instead of triangles to make the tree segments unique. I also did a green gradient. Then we were told that our designs are going to be printed in white and that we would haft to paint it.  For the tinsel I used dashes in text because there was no shape that would mimic tinsel very well.

This is where I got stuck on how to flip it upwards. This is where Harry told me I just needed to place a ‘select all’ block at the bottom.

I used two squares and moved it by the z axis (up) to create the pot top and I used a semicircle to make the tree stump. 

Jowan

Class: 13

Blue blocks make the shapes – if we didn’t have these we wouldn’t have anything on this page.

Purple blocks are vital if you want the objects to be in the right place to make something cool or cute.

Top tip: If you open the Blue blocks you can change the size of each block individually.

Lola

Class: 13

To make my snow monkey,I first had to place the body by using spheres all lined up on top of each other.  Next I did the ears to do that I used cones and adjusted the sizes.   Then I started doing the mouth because I want my monkey to be happy.  After that, I started doing the eyes with two spheres again it was quite hard at the start but then it got a bit easier.

On the next part of my code, I tried doing a tail it was really hard to do because you cant make it curve since we are coding it. I managed to do it by mixing up all the numbers and then it just turned out to look like a tail.

I think it’s safe to say the Year 6’s have truly outdone themselves this year, each taking home a beautiful and unique 3D winter ornament.

Year 3

Our Year 3’s have also been exploring the world of 3D designing in Tinkercad whilst creating their own two-tone winter ornament.

They’ve learnt how to master the different tools and iterated on their designs to make each one the very best it can be before they got printed.  How good do these look?!

Roman Invasion in Year 4!

Year 4 have been learning about the Romans this year and held a special day to celebrate. Everyone dressed up in their finest Roman attire, including the Year 4 teachers!

To begin with, the Year group were greeted by Marcus Quintonius, a high ranking legionnaire, who gave the children an insight into Roman army life. Focussing on the Roman invasion of Britannia, students learned about the different equipment, roads and forts used by the Romans which made them such an impressive force.

Next, both classes were thrown into the melee and had to use their best codebreaking skills in order to crack a hidden location written by the emperor himself, Julius Caesar. The hidden message revealed one of Rome’s greatest engineering feats in the Roman empire – Hadrian’s Wall.

As well as playing classic army card games, such as Roman Rummy, both classes got to experience what it was like to march like a Roman. Led by Roman Legionary Marcus’ booming commands, Classes’ 9 and 10 both marched up and down the playground, to embed their understanding of Roman commands. Next, the students practised forming the defence shape, which is the ‘testudo’, or the tortoise. This proved an effective barrier against incoming missiles aimed by the teachers.

It cannot be overstated the time and preparation which went into the costumes and shields, as well as the facepaint and hairstyles. The students looked sublime and the Roman visitor was impressed by how well Year 4 embraced the day!

Penpol Celebrates Languages Day 2023!

On Wednesday 4th October, Penpol School celebrated European Day of Languages for its 6th time. We are so fortunate to have so many languages being spoken as either a first or second language by our students.  For this reason, European Day of Languages is a prime opportunity to shine a light on each of these languages which represents our diverse learning community here at Penpol.

Back by popular demand, the French café was a favourite amongst students and staff. Like last year, KS2 students were invited to sample a French breakfast in Class 9 with Mr Emery and his year 4 group. Each class enjoyed singing in French and were then able to order from KS2 students, learning the basics such as ‘Bonjour’, ‘s’il vous plaît’ and ‘merci.’ KS2 students then put their French linguistic skills to the test to then host their KS1 reading buddies in their classroom.

Finally, at the end of the day, Mrs Curnow and Mrs Best had KS1 enthralled with a reading of ‘Goolan’ to celebrate the Cornish language.  In addition, Mrs Best and Mr Jones serenaded the children with songs featuring Welsh, Cornish and French.  Mr Jones and Mr Emery led a European singalong in KS2, which culminated in a school record of 8 languages being sung in one song. This rounded off a fantastic day which marked an important day in the school calendar.

A huge ‘Meur ras’, ‘diolch yn fawr,’ ‘merci,’ ‘gracias,’ ‘dzien dobry,’ aciu’ and ‘obrigado’ to all of those who helped to make the day a huge success.  

Healthy Choices on the Menu at Penol

Earlier this week, we were visited by educators from the Council’s Healthy Cornwall team who worked with all of ur KS2 pupils . The idea for this session was the empower our children to make their own healthy choices when choosing what to fuel their bodies with. The Healthy Snack Family Challenge is attached below.

The session included 3 different activities: the tasting of different healthy snacks including, beetroot, dried apricot, sugar snap peas and humus; what a balanced diet looks like and how it contains lots of different food groups in moderation; and finally, shattering the myth that healthy food have to be expensive. The children all tasted different foods, with many doing so for the first time.

The children learnt all about the ‘Eatwell Healthy Plate’ and discussed how different food groups serve different purposes and how each are individually important to the growth, development and maintaining of a healthy body and mind.Our Year 5 and 6 pupils also took a more in-depth look at the calorie content of different foods, both healthy and unhealthy and took a closer look at the monetary cost vs nutritional output of each food.

They were particularly shocked at the sugar content of some their favourite drinks! With one even commenting “that’s why were encouraged to drink water!”

All children in KS2 then were gifted a free water bottle to celebrate their participation in which  was some  information to share with parents and a healthy snack challenge, all of which is included below. It has been wonderful to see so may children making healthy choices with their snacks continuing to celebrate the learning they have undertaken in science, PE and PSHE around health and wellbeing.

 

Magic on the Mount

On Tuesday 26th September and Thursday 5th October 2023, Class 5 and 6 embarked upon magical and memorable trips to St Michael’s Mount as part of their Autumn Term topic, ‘Who’s the King of the Castle?’

Class 6 were originally due to visit the mount on Wednesday 27th September, but with a severe weather warning, a ‘Black Flag’ day was announced and the island was closed to all visitors; this was a first-hand lesson in the challenges that face a tidal island. However, we were lucky enough to reschedule for the following week, when the weather was better and the seas much calmer!

Storm Over St Michaels Mount Cornwall Painting by Jean Walker - Pixels

Pupils enjoyed a short walk through the historic village of Marazion before taking the 5-minute boat ride across the water to the island.

We were greeted at the harbour by Kerry Rice, the Education Officer for St Aubyn Estate, who led us on a magical journey through time as we explored the historic beauty of St Michael’s Mount.

 

On the short but steep hike up the Mount, we discovered the ‘Giant’s Well’, where Kerry captivated the children’s imaginations with the legend of Cormoran the Giant. We learned about the story of a tyrannical giant who once lived on the mount and how he was defeated by a local boy called Jack.

Further up the Pilgrim’s Steps, children discovered the Giant’s Heart within the cobbled path. Legend has it that if you place your toe on this magical stone, then you can feel Cormoran’s heart beat in your own chest!

“I can feel it! It’s got a different rhythm to my heart beat!” one pupil remarked.

Finally, we reached the castle at the top of the mount, where the stone fortifications, battlements and canons immediately brought this period of medieval history to life. Kerry taught us the chronology of the mount’s use through time, going back over 3000 years from early Bronze Age artefacts, to its use as a monastery, to the castle’s construction following the Norman Conquest of Britain.

As we explored the inside of the castle, children discovered an abundance of fascinating artefacts scattered throughout the castle’s intricate maze of rooms and buildings, including a mysteriously large leather jug and the entrance to a hidden chamber, where a 7-foot skeleton was once discovered!

After descending the steep and uneven path back down the mount, we had certainly earned a good lunch… followed by delicious ice creams! One final treat was in store, as Kerry treated led a wonderful drama activity in which they acted out the story of Cormoran the Giant – complete with an authentic blast of a horn from Kerry!

By the afternoon, the tide has dropped out, revealing the beautiful cobblestone causeway that connects the island to the mainland. We walked back along the beach and enjoyed the minibus journey back to school, minds full of the history and magic of St Michael’s Mount.

Surf’s up with Y5/6 Surf Club

Surf’s up – During June and July, the Y5/6 went surfing with Hayle based surf school Shore Surf to learn to surf or improve surfing skills and also learn about key water safety messages and what to do if they find themselves in difficulty.

The first sessions had small surf due to glorious weather during June. Nevertheless, all were up and riding and learning key paddling and board manoeuvring skills.

 

 

” It was a really good experience and the coaches were really kind to us. ” – Felix.

” It was lots of fun and I caught one of the best waves I have ever caught!” – Ernie

The last two sessions however, we certainly had waves and were tested with over head high conditions. Some were even out back with an instructor but all were up and surfing and enjoying waves at last!

 

” It was very fun. I caught some good waves.”  – Bruce.

” This was my first time surfing and I can now stand up!” – Flo.

Our thanks go to Shore Surf for all the sessions.

A Very Special Visit from Biffa

Last week we had a very special visit from Biffa and their brand new Food Waste Recycling Truck.

Okay, you might be asking what’s so special about that?  Well the Penpol Pumpkins have been spreading the word about the upcoming Cornwall Council Food Waste Collection all year as part of their award-winning FIRST LEGO League Innovation Project and as a special reward for all their hard work they’re actually the first people outside of Biffa to ever see this brand new vehicle in real life!

Not only that, but they also got to see the truck in action and even sit in the cab and use the horn!  They learnt lots about the vehicle and asked plenty of interesting questions about the upcoming Food Waste collection.

After a tour of the truck the Pumpkins took great pride in sharing their Innovation Project Presentation with the team from Biffa in a real ‘full-circle’ moment.  Nearly 10 months after originally coming up with the idea of promoting Food Waste Recycling they were able to share their learnings in front of the actual vehicle that will be used and with part of the team responsible for rolling it out right across Cornwall – amazing!

But Biffa were also here for another reason…

Thanks to an incredibly generous donation from the company, the Penpol Pumpkins have been able to buy 10 LEGO Robotics Kits to donate to other schools to enable them to take part in FIRST LEGO League too!  These sets, offered as a gift from the Penpol Pumpkins and Biffa, will have a huge impact on hundreds of children in Cornwall who would not otherwise have been able to experience the powerful STEM learning experiences that this competition has to offer.

Talk about having a lasting legacy in Cornwall!  Well done Pumpkins – and thank you Biffa!