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
For the last half term, Class 10 have been learning all about robots. They’ve looked at the developments of robots and even had a go at coding a Mars Rover Robot. At the beginning of the topic the class decided that they wanted to build their own robot. Class 10 spent a lot of time building electrical circuits and designing their robots. They have worked really hard and produced some brilliant models.
Related to our science topic this term of space, both year 5 classes have created experiments using balloon power!
Initially, the plan was to investigate whether a balloon with a larger straw (exhaust) attached to it would travel further than one with a smaller straw, though in the end a completely different result was proven, as Lola will now explain:
The string we used in the first place was wool so it was fragile and had too much friction, but when we used a different kind of string that Mr Wise gave us it worked perfectly well and traveled over a metre each time, as it had less friction.
Thank you Lola! Sometimes we enter science experiments expecting one thing and we then unexpectedly out something else entirely!
Have you ever wondered where electricity comes from? Class 9 have been investigating the different ways in which electricity is produced. After investigating and finding information, the children wrote short scripts outlining what they have found. Using iPads, the children have narrated a video from the BBC website to help people understand more about where electricity comes from.
Aliens…do they actually exist? This is a question which has been at the forefront of space exploration since the first human was launched into Space in 1961. This question is precisely what Year 5 are in the midst of learning about, having started reading ‘The Jamie Drake Equation’, by Christopher Edge, this new term.
Year 5 have explored in Science the ideal conditions for Extra-Terrestrial life forms to exist in our universe, referred to in the book as the ‘Goldilocks Zone’.
The Goldilocks Zone is neither too hot nor too cold.
Once accepting the fact that our universe is incredibly vast, all students were in agreement that in some corner of our universe, life must exist. With this in mind, both classes in Year 5 immediately began designing their own aliens in their French lesson, labelling and talking about them in French. Each one of their creations have been unique in their own way, with exceptional use of French vocabulary which would be impressive even for a GCSE French student.
In Science and Literacy, we have also looked at different attributes which are essential in order to be an astronaut. Year 5 students have completed their own mini astronaut application and were interviewed by their peers on why they would be the ideal candidate to send into Space on a mission to discover alien life form.
This week, Year 5 students will be finalising their applications and delivering a persuasive group presentation on why their group would be the ideal team to be sent into Space. Year 5 students will also be interviewing a NASA employee via Skype over the next couple of weeks in order to find out more about what it would be like to work at America’s Space Agency.
Look out for presentation videos to follow over the next few days!
Class 4 love Autumn. We celebrated Harvest time this week and were lucky enough to receive our own Harvest gift from Mrs Smart… lots of delicious cooking apples from her tree, so we decided to get cooking. After a class discussion, we decided on apple crumble – yum!
The children had great fun working together, weighing out the ingredients for the crumble mixture and chopping up the apples. Here is how you do it…
Step 1 – Weigh out 400g of plain flour.
First of all you have to put 5 big spoonfuls of flour in the bowl. (Rosie)
Me, Suki and Ava were taking turns getting the sugar. You have to weigh how many pounds it is and then put it in the bowl. (Emily)
I was cutting the butter with Reggie. We put it in the measuring box, then put it in the bowl. My favourite bit was squishing the butter. (Kensa)
I was putting my hands in the flour and squish it up. It was exciting and fun. That was my favourite bit! (Lily)
After mixing the dry ingredients and rubbing in the butter to make the crumble mixture, the children had to cut slices of apple and put them in the baking dish.
I was chopping the apples with Scarlett. We put flour in on top of the apples. (Erin)
Once the apples are chopped and placed in the baking dish, sprinkle the crumble mixture on generously, covering all of the apples. Place in the oven to cook for about 45 minutes or until the apple slices are cooked through. Leave to cool and … Ta-Dah, delicious apple crumble! Well done Class 4, great team work!
Class 1 and 2 have had another amazing trip to Feadon Farm. We learnt all about our British wildlife through the Gruffalo story and got the opportunity to meet the animals in the story and many more that we are likely to meet in our countryside.
I liked the fox kissing me on the nose best. We learned they won’t bite us and we can’t touch one in the wild – Faith Class 1
After reading the Gruffalo story we met the friendly foxes Todd, Meadow, Copper and a new friendly fox cub. 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.
I liked the fox kissing me. He felt nice when I stroked him – Anya Class 2
I liked holding the owl best, we saw it fly – Derora Class 1
Next we met the beautiful barn owl. The children took it in turns to hold him then watched him fly silently through the air over their heads. Chunk, the eagle owl also came out to say hello.
Next we met the 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. The brave children took it in turns to hold or stroke the snake. He loved to slither around the children’s necks or under their arms where it was nice and warm.
I loved holding the snake. He wasn’t too big. I was scared, but now I’m not! – Poppy Class 2
We learnt about the reindeer next. The children learnt that they can withstand temperatures of minus 50 because their have a kind of antifreeze in their legs. We heard the click of the reindeers feet as they walked which helps them to identify other reindeer from predators in places with low visibility and we learnt that they shed and re grow their antlers once a year.
We also got the opportunity feed some chickens and goats. We learnt that goats have such big tummies because they eat lots of grass. The grass goes into the first chamber of the stomach to ferment then the goat will bring back up the grass and chew again into smaller pieces which will then back down to be digested in their 4 stomachs.
I liked feeding the goats because I love goats. It tickled my hand when they ate the food – Hunter Class 2
My favourite bit was when we feed the chickens, the white part of the egg turns into a chicken – Bella Class 1
We also got to see some squirrels, hawks, adders, stoats, mice, ferrets, weasels and hedgehogs. We learnt all about how the hedgehogs have reduced in numbers in the last 20 years from 36 million to 1 million. We learnt how to make our gardens more hedgehog friendly by making sure they have access, leaving a parts of the garden slightly wild, leaving food and water for them and making hedgehog homes for them.
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.
We found the Gruffalo in the woods, he was shy, he thought we were the little mice – Finley Class 1
Feadon farm is hands on, fun, fascinating and an unforgettable experience for the children. The wildlife experts, Gary and Kirsty were incredible. Their enthusiasm and knowledge made the whole experience so interesting which is why its one of the best educational and fun school trips we go to year after year.
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!)
Kian and Max (both Class 11) have both regularly taking part in an event called ‘Super Saturdays’ at Camborne School. From this there stills were recognised and they were invited to attend the Nexus STEM camp in the Easter Holidays. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, during this camp the boys had lots of fun.
The week consisted of building boats, marshmallow bridges, mixing chemicals and all things that go bang.
I had an amazing week learning about and doing things I wouldn’t get to do in Primary school- Max
Nexus was a really good experience and I recommend Camborne School Super Saturdays to anyone who loves science and maths- Kian
Last week, the Year 6 children were very fortunate as they were visited by three cardiologists, all experts when it came to matters of the heart. Eva Pring’s Dad was kind enough to support Mr Wise and Mr Pollard, who have been focussing on the human body in Science this term.
To support the class, a pig’s heart and an oxen’s heart were brought into class to see the similarities and differences between them, as well as seeing if there were similarities with our own hearts. The class looked at the different areas of the heart, as well as recognising what the aorta does and how blood flows through the heart from chamber to chamber.
It was a fascinating lesson and the children and the teachers were all very thankful to Mr Pring and his colleagues for coming in and sharing their knowledge.
At first it looked disgusting, but once we started I found it really interesting – Darwynn
The cardiologists were all really nice people and they let us touch the hearts so that we could understand what the most important muscle in our bodies feels like – Lola
At the start of the year, Penpol School’s answer to David Attenborough asked Mr Pollard if he could bring in some caterpillars and store them at the back of the classroom until they turn into moths. Not a problem came the reply. It was then that Taran revealed that it would take 7 months for this transformation to happen!
This week, after returning from Easter break, the ever-observant Taran found that one of the caterpillars had broken out of its chrysalis and had turned into a beautiful moth, which is incredibly well suited to match a certain environment, as it looked just like a piece of wood!
Hopefully it won’t be long until the others hatch and they can all live in their natural habitat on the tree outside the classroom window.
“When I first saw the moth I recognised it immediately and got super exited because it had hatched from a cocoon that had been in the back of the classroom since September.” – Taran
