Headteacher
Chris Coyle-Chislett
Email the Office
secretary@penpol.cornwall.sch.uk
Telephone Number
01736 753472
Follow us on Twitter
@PenpolSchool
Our Address
2 St George’s Road, Hayle,
Cornwall, TR27 4AH
Since Christmas, Harry has been working on code for his first full iOS app, the Horror Maze game. He has spent countless lunchtimes, evenings and weekends working on his idea and today (on the last day of term) has got it fully working on a real iPhone! He has worked incredibly hard, learnt countless new skills and should be very, very proud of what he has achieved.
Here is a short video of Harry talking you through his creation.
At the end of every academic year Penpol School celebrates the efforts and achievements of our Year 6 pupils with our annual Speech Day awards. These children have won awards relating to Computing this year and it only seems right to say a word or two about why myself and Paul have chosen each winner for these prestigious awards – Mr Woolcock.
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I don’t think I have met a pupil who has as much enthusiasm, imagination, dedication and passion for Computing as Harry does. Since walking up to my desk in Year 5 to show me his idea for an iPhone app that he had made over half term, he has spent a huge amount of his free time learning an entirely new language (Swift) and a professional development program (Xcode) in order to turn his ideas into reality. He has already worked on several different iPhone apps including quiz games and currently his fun ‘Horror Maze’ game.
His complex and detailed ideas for how every aspect of the App should work are simply staggering, as is his ability to create prototypes and fully coded versions of his work to run on his own devices. He has a real talent for coding and I sincerely hope he continues to push himself by learning more and more about software development as the years go on. The world of the future is becoming more and more digital and Harry is going to be at the forefront of it all. He truly is a worthy recipient of this brand new shield. I only hope that when he launches his first big App and the money starts rolling in that he remembers us here at Penpol!
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Morgan has had an exemplary year in Computing and is thoroughly deserving of this Award for ICT. Since September he has truly developed in both skills and confidence on the computers and has become a source of knowledge and support for others in his class and in the clubs he helps run. He is always first to help when somebody is stuck, always first to offer ideas and suggestions and always first to encourage others when they need it. Morgan is a superb role model for all the younger children in Code Club and 3D Printing Club, which he has helped us run all year.
As well as being able to help others, Morgan has an incredible talent for ICT in his own right. His 3D design work has been fantastic this year and he has a great eye for compelling and exciting designs. He particularly enjoys using SketchUp to create his own worlds in 3D. Morgan will be hugely missed here at Penpol next year, but I am confident that his journey with ICT is only just beginning.
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Chloe has had an exceptional year in Computing. She has discovered an ability to think through problems logically, design and develop solutions when issues arise and understands the cause and effect that a particular piece of code can have on her programs. Beyond that, Chloe is incredibly confident using a wide variety of technology to achieve any given purpose. She is happy and capable using MicroBits, Lego WeDo robots, iPads, 3D Printers – just about anything we can throw at her! Chloe has also given a huge amount of her free time this year to help us run our weekly Code Clubs and 3D Printing Clubs (along with Morgan, Harry and others) and is never afraid to help her friends who might be stuck.
Her improvement in ICT over the course of the last year has been fantastic to watch and I am sure she’ll keep it up for years to come. Chloe has a great future ahead of her and her kindness and perseverance will help her achieve great things in ICT.
This week Class 7 have been using the Lego WeDo 2.0 robotics kits to build and code robots that are designed to pull heavy weights. The class were given a short time (only 40 minutes!) and the basic instructions and were then left to create their own robot. Coding the robot also proved interesting, where they were able to adjust the speed of the motor to create more or less traction and increase the weights that could be moved.
Below is a video of Vinnie and Isaac getting their robot working…
Here is some of the code the class had to write in order to make their robots move. The green block that says ’10’ underneath controls the speed and the end block controls how long the robot moves for!
Let’s have a look at a few finished robots…
Our robot goes for 18 seconds at a time and goes ‘boing boing boing’ while it pulls heavy weights! – Harry and Clarissa
When you put the code in the robot moves backwards and also if you put weight in the trailer bit it’ll carry it along behind when it moves. We made the code on the computer and then made it run on the Lego. – Amber and Lola
Our robot pulls wheels in its basket so if you need to travel with your wheels then it’s the thing to use! It’s better to put them standing up than lying down because if they’re lying down they’ll grip too much and the robot won’t move as well. – Vinnie and Isaac
A few photos from the building:
Recently we’ve been looking at how we can use the computers to make music by using a program called GarageBand. The children have only had one lesson on this fantastic program so far, but already they’re starting to make some great songs. Class 9 had an exceptionally productive lesson in GarageBand and we’ve chosen a few of their songs for you to listen to below. We’ve definitely got some young DJ’s in the making!
Have a listen to some of their tracks:
“I really enjoyed GarageBand and I really liked how you could search for loads of different instruments and get loads of different beats!” – Autumn, Class 9
“I like my song because it’s got a good beat and I especially like the guitar” – Zara, Class 9
“I really like GarageBand because you can make lots of different songs from lots of different sounds. My song makes me want to dance!” – Max, Class 9
“My song is based on a summery pop jazz vibe which will chill you out, no matter how hot it is outside!” – Ethan, Class 9
On Tuesday Penpol School had a very special visit from Google who had some exciting new technology to show off to the children.
Google Expeditions is a new project designed to introduce primary school children to Virtual Reality in the classroom. Mark from Google bought 60 Google Cardboard headsets to Penpol along with 60 smart phones and tablets to get the system set up and running. Throughout the day every class, from Year 1 to Year 6, had the chance to get some hands on time with the technology by going on a virtual school trip!
Led by their class teacher, the children were transported virtually around the world to unusual and exciting destinations including the Amazon Rainforest, underwater deep sea diving, onto the vast icy planes of Antartica and even into outer space to see the Moon and Earth from a whole new perspective. The excitement amongst the children was electric, with loud gasps every time the teacher took them to a new location to explore.
Virtual Reality works by taking a 360 degree photo of a location and then using special software to make the viewer feel like they are in the middle of the action. With the Google Cardboard and attached smartphone the children can then explore their surroundings simply by moving their head. The classroom disappears and they are taken on an incredible school trip.
You can learn more about Google Expeditions here: https://edu.google.com/expeditions/
Throughout the day we took as many photos as possible to remember this amazing event, so please enjoy a selection of them below…
Last week some of our Year 6’s launched our very first Code Club, here at Penpol School. With support from Mr Woolcock, the team of Year 6 boys have been sharing their coding knowledge with over SEVENTY children who’ve been enjoying Code Club.
Harry, Connor, Morgan and Zak have taken on the responsibility of running the club over multiple lunchtimes, in order to ensure that everyone who wants to has the opportunity to spend half an hour being creative on the computers. Already they’ve had to turn children away though as the queues to get in have been out the door!
“It’s been great fun teaching the juniors coding, particularly the Year 4’s because they are very new to coding.” – Harry, Y6
In Code Club the children are allowed to use Scratch, MicroBits and sometimes even Xcode to create whatever they can imagine. Whether it be a game, a puzzle, a character or even an interactive quiz, our Juniors are showing that there really is no limit to what they can do on the computers.
“It’s been great fun so far, because it’s teaching the younger ones to code and helping me with my own coding skills.” – Connor, Y6
If you’d like to come along to code club then please check the poster below to see which day your year group are invited to.
This term we’ve bought a whole classes worth of BBC Micro:Bits to use with Year 5 and 6!
These tiny computers are incredibly clever and already we’ve had classes using them to make compasses, thermometers and little pocket-sized games. These Micro:Bits have proved such a hit in the last few days that we’re going to make sure everyone in Key Stage 2 gets the chance to learn to code with them this year, starting with Year 5 and 6.
While the children are used to coding using Scratch on the computers, being able to make programs which run on these little devices is even more exciting as they can be taken outdoors and used just about anywhere. Over the year we’ll be using our Micro:Bits for science experiments, music lessons and more. We’ll also make sure they’re available to use at lunchtime Code Club incase anybody wants to try making their own ideas into reality using the Micro:Bits.
Over the past couple of weeks the Year 6’s have been making digital collages using scanned in artwork and Photoshop. By creating these works of art the children have been learning about the lasso selection tool, the move tool, layer styles, blending modes, hue+saturation adjustments, the filter gallery and the liquify tool. We’re incredibly pleased with how their artworks have come out, below are just a few examples to give you a flavour of their excellent work.
Erin, Class 12
Harry, Class 12
Haydn, Class 12
Josie, Class 12
Morgan, Class 12
William, Class 12
Over the past couple of weeks the Year 6’s have been making digital collages using scanned in artwork and Photoshop. By creating these works of art the children have been learning about the lasso selection tool, the move tool, layer styles, blending modes, hue+saturation adjustments, the filter gallery and the liquify tool. We’re incredibly pleased with how their artworks have come out, below are just a few examples to give you a flavour of their excellent work.
Ben, Class 13
Emmeline, Class 13
Erin, Class 13
Joshua L, Class 13
Sol, Class 13
Tilly, Class 13
