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Chris Coyle-Chislett

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“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.”
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The Penpol Times

Speech Day: Computing and ICT Awards 2017

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.

 

—

 

The winner of the
Jacob Woolcock Award for Excellence in Computing
for 2017 is
Harry B

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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The winner of the
Penpol School ICT Award
for 2017 is
Morgan P

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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The winner of the
Penpol School ICT Improver Award
for 2017 is
Chloe V

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.

 

 

 

Music in the Marquee 2017

Music in the Marquee has fast become one of the most popular nights of the year at Penpol, with this year proving no exception.  Following in the footsteps of Bradley Johnson (2015) and Little Chix (2016), for our 2017 event we were delighted to welcome Yellow, one of the countries top Coldplay tribute acts, into the marquee.

 

The night itself started off with a superb warm up set from local singer Tom Briggs, who played a selection of enjoyable covers including plenty to get the children dancing.  Tom played an upbeat acoustic set and warmed the marquee up with his infectious tunes and personality.

Following Tom was a big surprise, the incredible DJ Flo-Selecta.  Flo played some cracking tunes throughout the evening, in between each act.  With a huge array of dance and pop classics everyone was on their feet and dancing – children, adults and even teachers!  It’s hard not to enjoy yourself when you’re surrounded by hundreds of people all singing along to every word!

Finally, the main act took the stage, much to the delight of the audience.  Yellow played two hit-filled sets covering Coldplay classics new and old.  A lively and energetic performance ensued, with the audience singing along and waving glow sticks in the air for the classics and jumping around dancing for the newer hits.  It really was a fantastic atmosphere!  Not only did Yellow play two sets on our stage, they also spent nearly 40 minutes outside the marquee signing posters for their fans!  A queue snaked halfway around the netball court with children wanting autographs and photos with their new found musical heroes!  Yellow kindly signed everything passed their way, posed for countless photos and didn’t stop smiling and laughing with the children throughout.  A true joy to witness.

Music in the Marquee will be back next July, but for now you can enjoy the highlights video above which was filmed and edited by Miss Clarey as well as a selection of photos in the gallery below taken by Martin Thomas from Gigsnapper.  And if you’d like to find out any more about Yellow you can find their website here.

Here’s a gallery of photos from the evening, kindly taken for us by Martin Thomas.  Click on a picture to see it bigger and try to spot yourself!

Feadon Farm

The reception classes had a wonderful Gruffalo experience at Feadon Farm.

The children firstly heard the Gruffalo story to introduce them to the types of animals they would be likely to meet in the British countryside. They got the opportunity to meet some of the local wildlife.

My favourite bit was holding the baby mouse, it was cute – Piran

We met the friendly foxes Todd, Meadow and Copper. The children learnt some interesting fox facts, fed them some treats, were able to stroke them and some lucky children even had a kiss on the nose from Todd.

A fox kissed me on the nose. I stroked him – Maisie.

I liked the ferret, it went in James’ hat and it did the hula because its body was bendy – Sabina

The children met corn snake and learnt about how we have 3 different types of snake in the UK all with their own way of killing and eating their prey.

I had a corn snake on my head, it was good for a hat – Harvey

We also met an eagle owl called chunk, a barn owl and even some very fluffy baby barn owls. We learnt how they hunt for food and had the opportunity to see them fly up close.

I held an eagle owl and a barn owl. The barn owl was white. The eagle owl was called Chunk. I liked the baby owls best – Felix

I stroked a reindeer, his feet clicks when it walks because they can hear other reindeer – Amelia

The children were really excited to finally meet the Gruffalo, he was shy and hid in the woods. We did manage to get a friendly wave from him as he was more scared of us than we were of him.

I saw the Gruffalo, he was hiding in the trees – Jenna

We also met some hedgehogs and learnt all about how they have reduced in numbers in the last 20 years from 36 million to 1 million. We learnt how to become more hedgehog friendly and how to make homes for and feed hungry hedgehogs in our gardens.

I liked the hedgehog because he had prickles on his back – Safi.

Feadon farm is fun, fascinating and an unforgettable experience for the children. The wildlife experts, Gary and Kirsty where incredible. Their enthusiasm and knowledge made the whole experience so interesting. With its hands on approach, Feadon Farm is one of the best educational and fun school trips we go to year after year.

Year 5 Tackle Tag With The Cornish Pirates

Over recent weeks the Year 5 children have been braving all weather conditions to learn and improve their tag rugby skills under the watchful eyes of a professional coach from the Cornish Pirates. The children are midway through their 6 week block of weekly coaching sessions which will cumulate in a community festival with other schools from the Penwith Area at Mounts Bay Academy.

They have spent the first few weeks learning the basic concepts of tag rugby, a sport that requires a host of different skills from catching and throwing to teamwork and communication. From these sessions the children are learning and improving these skills which they will be able to transfer into different sports as well as the classroom.

Its great fun and lets me practice passing skills so I can be just like Jack Nowell! – Jowan

I started playing tag rugby this year in school, I have really enjoyed it and hope to carry it on next year. -Freya

 

As a footballer it is such a good opportunity to learn a new sport with a coach from a professional Rugby team! – Freddie

I have really enjoyed the games we play with Sam, like stuck in the mud with a ball and hot potato as we started to learn the skills required for tag rugby -Lola

From a teachers point of view, it’s been great having Sam in to coach as the children have really enjoyed it, it has also allowed me to pick up some fantastic coaching tips. Links with local clubs are very important to us so hopefully it is something we can continue to do with the Pirates- Mr Stanlake

Green Fingers

The children in Class 6 have been very busy learning all about plants and the conditions they need to grow.To help with their understanding we teamed up with ‘Sow & Grow ‘ to help the children learn to love healthy food by growing some of their own in class. The children were so excited when we opened the parcel and found a bag of compost, pots to the grow their seeds in and some cress, runner beans and baby carrot seeds. The pack also contained a chart to record the growth of the plants and a ‘Star Grower’ badge.

 

 

  The children started off by filling their pots with composts and then carefully added their seeds.

The pots were then placed onto a sunny window sill to germinate.

Every morning the children would come into class and check their seed pot. There was great excitement around the room on the day the first shoots started to appear. Every week the children recorded the growth of the plant and eventually the ‘Star Grower’ was announced. Congratulations Harry!

Apart from growing seed in pots the children also made cress heads and a garden in the glove. The children found it a great challenge having to push the wet cotton wool balls into each finger and then carefully placing the seeds inside.

The gloves were then attached to a sunny window and all we had to do next was sit and wait for the roots and shoots to appear. Which wasn’t too long!

 

I really loved making the cress heads because the cress looked like hair – Finn

 

I liked making the cress head as you got to eat the cress after – Jasmine

 

I enjoyed all of it, especially watching my bean grow so tall – Summer

Class 7 Build and Code Lego Pulling Robots

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:

C’est magnifique! – Class 8’s Fashion Show

A little slice of France came to class 8 this week!  On Tuesday, Class 8 were very excited to invite the children and teachers from Class 3 to a very special fashion show performed entirely in French. Since Easter, the children have been busy preparing for their show in their weekly French lessons and have really impressed both their French teacher Michelle as well as the adults in class 3 and 8.

The children dressed up in a range of outfits including sports kits, school uniform, roller-skates, onesies, pyjamas, wetsuits and even grass suits! After walking up and down the catwalk in their costumes to songs chosen by the class, each child described their outfits in detail and then answered questions by Class 3 about their outfits.

Everyone was really impressed with the fashion show and below we have included some photos as well as the french the children had to learn in preparation for the show.

Je porte une robe multicolore et des chaussures blanches (I am wearing a multicoloured dress and white shoes) – Rebecka

 

Je porte une t-shirt de foot blanche, un short de foo blanc, des chaussettes bleues, ds chaussures noires (I am wearing a white football shirt, white football shorts, blue socks, black trainers) – Isabella

 

Je porte une chemise de rugby noir, un short de rugby noir, des chaussettes noires, des chaussures noires (I am wearing a black rugby t-shirt, black rugby shorts, black socks and black trainers) – Ronnie

 

Class 9 are Making Music with GarageBand

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

Penpol’s Own Football Stars

Many of the children at Penpol School take part in activities and clubs outside of school. Some of our talented footballers who play for Hayle park Under 10’s have enjoyed lots of success over the last two seasons. Most recently at an invitational tournament in Newquay. The round-robin tournament consisted of 15 of the best teams from within the county and was spread over 3 days. The boys performed excellently and managed to secure a second placed finish.

Not only were they awarded with a trophy each to keep but one member of the team scooped the Golden Boot- an accolade awarded to the top scorer within the competition.

Well done boys, really well deserved!

 

Under the Sea With Oshi.

Class 1 had an inspirational experience of visiting the Falmouth Maritime museum. We learnt all about the different boats in the museum and how they are powered. We saw how the boats are made up of different parts and found out what the hull, keel, mast, and sails do. Next, we had the opportunity to make our own boats using the knowledge we had just learnt about what we would need to make our boats sail. We then had great fun racing our boats against each other on the boating pool. Amelie’s boat was the champion and she was delighted to be the overall winner of the boat races.

We saw flying boats, we made a boat we put it in some water, we did races with them – Hazel.

I saw a sail, it moves the boat along with the wind. My sail was a triangle, I had a straw as the mast to hold the sail up. The front of the boat is the bow. I liked seeing Oshi – Ada

 

We also met Oceana, a sea sprite from the Lost Land of Lyonesse. The children helped Oshi retell her story of how the Lost Land of Lyonesse, where Oshi used to live,  was once part of Cornwall but a great storm blew up and the sea swept over Lyonesse. The city sank to the bottom of the sea and the magical Cornish sea sprites and mer people saved Oceana and many of her friends and family and they now live at the bottom of the sea. We used musical instruments to recreate this exciting story.

We made a story up with Oshi. In the story I have to do the rain. There was also thunder and wind. She showed us some treasure – Maisie

After the story we were excited to see what treasures she had in her treasure chest. She explained to the children that treasure wasn’t just sparkly jems and jewels, but anything that is special to them. She showed us some things that have been caught in fishing nets including a cannon ball, a port hole, part of an old ship, a killer whales tooth, a very old pot and part of an old leather boot.

 

She brought out some treasure. She showed us a rusty ball a cannon ball, we saw part of a pirate ship with nails in and we saw part of an old boot – James

We saw Oshi, she is a sea sprite. She lives in the sea water. She gave us a shell. When you hold the shell and sing the song on the beach she will come. Oshi Oshi of the sea please wake up and play with me – Alex

 

Through hands on discovery, imagination and role play, the experience at the museum empowered children with excitement confidence and skills to hopefully begin a life-long enjoyment of museums.

Our Penpol School Vision: “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.”

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Chris Coyle-Chislett

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2 St George's Road, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 4AH

01736 753472