The Penpol Times

Top Marks for the Penpol Quiz!

31st July 201812th July 2018 by Jacob Woolcock

“Superb evening! Well done to Mr Pollard and Mr Stanlake for all their hard work. Great evening, enjoyed by all.”

“Great family night, a few drinks and a lot of family fun.”

“Fab night, great fun. Thanks for hosting a great quiz.”

“Thank you very much – even though we came last – we had great fun. So lovely to be involved in a school-community event. Our only criticism is that we came last!”

“I really enjoyed this thank you Mr Pollard, Mr Stanlake and Mr Woolcock.”

“Fantastic evening, extremely well put together and very well supported by the staff. Many thanks.”

“Thank you for a fantastic quiz night, we all had a great time. Do it again next year please.”

“Great evening – I think this should be a regular event – great way to bring people together and raise money to keep productions, events and entertainment at Penpol School.”

Year 5 Travel Back in Time To Ancient Greece

12th July 201812th July 2018 by Nic Stanlake

To celebrate the end of our Summer term topic Year 5 hosted an event for a whole plethora of characters form Ancient Greece; we had mythical creatures, Greek soldiers, Gods and a host of traditional Greeks.

During the day the children had the opportunity to design and make greek shields, play masks and name badges where they learned how to write their name using the traditional Greek alphabet.

The afternoon consisted of two activities. The first being our very own, slightly adapted, Greek Olympiad. The children were spit into states, Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Thebes, who they were to represent in the Greek wrestling. After a brief intra-state trial 3 fighters were selected to represent their state against each other.

Following the finals of the torturous wrestling, parents were invited into class to share the terms work. They had the opportunity to look at their children’s art, DT as well as their literacy work where they have written and performed some traditional Greek myths.

Silver at the School Games 2018

12th July 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Friday the 29th June brought about the Cornwall School games, this is an event which is part of a nationwide celebration of sport with over 44,000 children participating. Penpol were one of the many schools partaking in the event which was split across two sites; Falmouth University and Carn Brea Leisure centre.

Zara, Freya, Emma and Miranda made up the Year 5 swim team and gained their place by winning a silver medal at the Penwith Gala.

The girls swam brilliantly in their heats, all qualifying for the finals before winning the relay. In a points scoring competition each placing earned points for the team. In the finals we had a 4, 5 and 6 place with Zara wining the backstroke final.

The points were counted and the children waited nervously before their name was announced in second place. The second placed Year 5 swim team in the whole county, a fantastic achievement.

The children can be immensely proud of themselves as they not only medaled but they are the first children I have taken to the Games in my 3 years here- Mr Stanlake

England v Croatia: The Semi Final

31st May 202212th July 2018 by Mark Pollard

Wow, what a night! England in the World Cup semi finals for the first time since 1990!

We decided to show the big match on our massive screen in the marquee and invited along parents and pupils to join us in the celebration.

We all got into the spirit of things with flags and face-paint everywhere, not to mention plenty of eager football fans ready to cheer their team to victory.

Five minutes into the game and suddenly…

GOAL!!!

The crowd erupted, the cheers could probably be heard throughout Hayle, everyone on their feet. What an atmosphere!

And then there followed a rather excellent 40 minutes of football with England dominating with possession and shots on goal. Surely, this is our match to win.

At half time it was an opportunity to relax and to get a few photos of everyone looking happy and excited – I’m sure the second half will be just as good!

More details on the second half to follow…

In 2022.

Surfs up in Class 1

9th July 20189th July 2018 by Amanda Aspden

What an amazing day. The children were in their element on their fun filled, action packed day of excitement, thrills and frolics on the beach.

Ben and Kate Holtaway had planned a full day of surf lifesaving activities and games for the children to enjoy. They were both fantastic with the children and the day ran effortlessly from one fun activity to the next.

The morning started in the surf life saving club where we learnt about beach safety, the equipment used by the life guards, the role of the life guards and where is safe to swim on the beach. The children had fun dressing up as naughty tourists and life guards and role played swimming in the wrong area of the beach and saving each other.

Next it was down to the life guard hut to meet the very funny lifeguards. They told us all about what they have to do each day and answered all our questions about their fun and exciting job. We learnt that they had even rescued 3 boats that morning. We also had a go on their rescue surf board.

After the life guard hut it was a picnic on the beach. The moment we sat down to eat our lunch the skies cleared and it was beautiful sunshine.

We needed to wave from the sea then the other children come and save you. If you go too deep the lifeguards will help – Lana

After lunch it was surfs up. The children were amazing on the surf boards and loved catching a few waves.

I liked surfing, you lie on a surfboard, you wait for a wave then it makes you surf – Sienna

After the surf it got competitive on the beach with a few team games and the exciting game of flags.

Next we found a message in a bottle from Captain Smellybeard with a treasure map inside. It led the children to a pirates cave, where we found some hidden delicious treasure, the best kind of treasure.

I liked finding the treasure best. We had sweeties – Enya

The day was a massive success. A massive thank you to the superhero life guards and the brilliant Ben and Kate Holtaway.

It was good fun, I love Mummy and Daddy – Martha

Thomas is an official Internet Legend!

6th July 20184th July 2018 by Jacob Woolcock

A few weeks ago Thomas came to see me with some fantastic drawings that he’d done after the Google Be Internet Legends assembly. He spent hours drawing and colouring his creations and put in so much effort that I thought it’d be nice to send a copy to the team who helped organise the assembly.

They were so impressed with his enthusiasm and knowledge of E-Safety that they asked him a few questions about what he’s been learning so that they could write a short blog post all about him and the other children here at Penpol.

A week later and a mysterious box arrives in the Mac Suite, with some very exciting goodies inside for Thomas, which we surprised him with in our Friday celebration assembly last week. I think it’s safe to say he was very, very happy with what was inside! It just goes to show how putting in a bit of effort and having a passion for something can often lead to unexpected and exciting things!

– Mr Woolcock

Inside the goodie bag Thomas found a Google T-Shirt, some really cool Google headphones, a notebook and pen, a handy hand pointer and a certificate to recognise his Internet Legends status.

Fantastic film making by Class 4

2nd July 201829th June 2018 by Penpol School

Class 4 are starring in their own film! We have been making a promotional video about why Hayle is the perfect holiday destination. On Tuesday, we all set off for a very long (and very hot) walk all over town. Our first stop was the harbour, where we stopped for a snack and a chance to soak up the view.

We decided to take our playtime on the beach and had lots of fun paddling in the water. We continued our journey along St George’s walk, where we met a lovely lady called Sandy, who explained all about the bug mansion, the woodland walk and the sensory garden.

Then it was on to the skate park for some more filming and a spot of lunch. We finished off the day with a delicious ice cream at Mr B’s.

The children had all been given destinations that they had to talk about on film. They did an absolutely fantastic job. Our day trip out and our short film has inspired the children to do lots of high quality writing using interesting adjectives and verbs in our literacy lessons. They have also produced lots of excellent work in our science, geography and art lessons as well.

Check out our promotional video and tell us what you think. Do you think people would be persuaded to holiday in Hayle?

(A special thank you to all of the extra helpers. You really helped make a great day out!)

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Mini Marathon 2018

28th June 201828th June 2018 by Penpol School

On behalf of the PFA we’d like to extend a massive thank you to all of the parents, carers and friends of Penpol School for their help raising a MASSIVE £1061 at this years Mini Marathon.

This is our best ever result at the marathon and you can relive all the highlights in this short video below.

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Porthpean Year 5 Camp 2018

1st July 201827th June 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Before half term Year 5 enjoyed a brilliant week-long residential trip to Porthpean Outdoor Education Centre. We were blessed with wonderful weather for the 3 days which will hopefully last long in the memories of our Year 5 cohort.

After packing our bags onto the coach we set off on the hour long journey St Austell Bay where the campsite is situated. After a limited tears on departure and sick on arrival the children arrived and set their things down in their tents. You’ll be pleased to hear that the tents were regularly inspected with varying results of tidiness!

I loved the cycling, it was good fun. We started off riding around the field where we went over little ramps and stuff. We then went down a small road and then bumpy track. It was quite hard but really fun. My favourite bit was going down the giant hill because we could go really fast- Nathan, Class 11

The children were hoping to just have fun on camp, but these activities required them to engage their brains as well. The children had to show many of the skills that they show on a daily basis, teamwork, co-ordination, communication and lateral thinking. the activities included transporting a tennis ball 20 metres using only 5 meters of drainpipe; crossing a imaginary ravine using a limited number of yellow planks; all holding hands and having to untie a human arm knot. The children did really well, some were certainly better than others at listening to each other and working together! – Mr Peck

The beast was super fun! It is a wall made out of wooden planks which you have to climb over. It started off easy but got harder because it got higher when they added more planks. Some people managed to get over on their own but others had to be helped by their friends. I managed to get over it quite a few times but I had to be helped by Dom when it got really high! I loved camp because we did lots of activities I have never done before.- Jamie, Class 12

We started with a warm up which consisted of stretches and traversing (that’s where you climb sideways just above ground level.) Then we got into our harnesses and helmets before we started climbing. It was really fun because everyone was trying their hardest and challenging themselves. I love climbing and go every week with my Mum. It was super cool to do it with my friends on camp. My favourite part of the activity was climbing up the hardest route whilst blindfolded! -Freya B, Class 12

Archery was pretty cool because we got to fire arrows at a target. We walked from the campsite to the archery range and started by having a go at hitting the target. Then we started to play some games like closest to the gold and baking a cake. To bake the cake your team have to hit all of the different colours to get all of the ingredients needed to make the cake. My team won! -Leo, Class 11

The high ropes course is an outdoor climbing thing which is high up off the ground. During the high ropes activity we did the leap of faith, zip wire, Jacob’s ladder and a 2 person battle course. The leap of faith was quite scary but really fun, you have to climb up and jump off the end of a platform whilst trying to touch the buoy which was hanging in front of you. The zip wire was amazing because you went so fast. The Jacob’s ladder was really hard as you had to climb up from pole to pole but they got further apart as you got higher. Only a few children got to the top as it was so high. Mr Stanlake made it look easy! I had to go against Zara on the battle course where you have to get past each other on the ropes to get to the top. I won as I pushed her off on the 3rd level! – Lily, Class 11

The beach day consisted of a whole host of different water based activities. The children had the chance to try 2 different activities, many of which they have never had the opportunity to try before. They could choose between; coasteering, stand-up paddle boarding, Canadian canoe rafting or sit on top kayaking. Their two activities were sandwiched with sandy sandwiches and ice-cream. It was brilliant to see the children having a real go at the activities in very testing conditions- Mr Stanlake

Fabulous Firemen visit Class 1 and 2

27th June 201827th June 2018 by Amanda Aspden

Hayle and Tolvaddon firemen kindly brought the fire engine to school to show the children the types of things they do to help people.

I liked it when i went in the fire truck. I saw the walkie talkies and torches – Erin Class 2

We learnt all about the different equipment on the firetruck. We had a look at the different sized hose reels and jets and learnt when they are used. We saw the 3 ladders carried on the roof and learnt when the firemen would use them. We saw the massive cutters and spreaders to cut cars open. We saw the winches that attach to the fireman if they have to be lowered down into a hole or over a cliff to rescue someone or an animal. We had a look inside the fire engine at the breathing apparatus, torches and walkie talkies.

Inside the classroom, we were lucky enough to learn all about fire safety in the home. We learnt how to stop drop and roll, all about smoke detectors in the home and we even got to dress up in the firefighters kit.

The highlight for most of the children had to be listening to the sirens and squirting the water.

My Daddy put me in the fire engine. I learnt about the hoses and how to stop, drop and roll when you’ve got your clothes on fire. My favourite bit was seeing Daddy – Skye Class 2

I liked the water and the fire engine – Nicolas Class 1

I liked squirting the water and I liked to see the fire engine. I love Daddy – Evie Class 1

THE JELLY FRIENDS American blog

Fantastic Fluency!

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundation of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”