Working with Others

Celebrating our first Careers Fair

21st November 201921st November 2019 by Mr Pollard

On Wednesday the 6th of November, Penpol held our first ever Careers event. 30 different businesses and employees gave up their time to explain just what makes their job sector special, with hands-on demonstrations, interactive activities and a stream of answers ready for the children’s questions. The event was a huge success and we look forward to doing it again next year.

Special thanks must go to those people who gave up their time to inspire others. The exhibitors were very impressed with the children’s interest and described them as ‘eloquent, interested and a joy to talk to’.

Super Standing Stones Stables

12th November 2019 by Miss Aspden

Class 1 had an amazing time at the standing stones stables.

James and Buddy the horses were very gentle and patient with the children. Firstly they enjoyed being brushed and groomed by the children. We learnt all about how to care for them and how to keep them healthy and happy.

I saw a horse inside the stable that was as big as this room. Daisy wanted to find the fairy king and the fairy village in the woods. We built a village for the fairy king out of sticks – George

Next the horses were transformed into magical unicorns with bows, glitter, coloured ribbons and even a unicorn horn.

I liked it when I rided on the horse. He was called James he was brown – Sorrel

So I was eating lunch and I eated it then I rided on a horse. I went on the horses back and he skipped. I collected sticks in the woods – Daisy

Then for the most exciting part, the pony rides. All the children in the class were brave enough to have a ride and loved this wonderful experience.

There was even time for a lovely walk in the woods for a spot of exploring, investigating and den building.

I rided a horse, it was fun. It feeled like I had a fun day – Poppy

Class one would like to thank Natalie, Debbie, Amy and Sarah for their time, patience and care. They really gave the children the most wonderful experience and a trip to remember.

A lovely morning for some Bingo!

3rd November 201924th September 2019 by Mr Woolcock

Welcome back to the new term at Penpol School!

As a fun starter for this year, Mr Woolcock and his classes played a game of ‘Summer Holiday Bingo’ using the new Outdoor Classroom area and our iPads.

This game proved quite the hit with the pupils, who spent a good half an hour trying to fill their game cards before everyone else could.

The game itself was very simple – each child had to take a selfie with another child who had taken part in a particular activity over the summer holidays. For example, “rode a bike’, ‘went on an aeroplane’ or ‘watched an amazing film’.

The only catch was that they couldn’t get a photograph with the same child twice! This didn’t seem like a big deal at first, but soon proved quite tricky…

It quickly became apparent that some of the bingo squares were harder to find that others and that only a couple of children had completed some of the activities. This led to some rather hasty rearranging of selfies to ensure every box was filled.

This activity was a great chance to get outdoors with the iPads, but also to get to know our new classes and catch up with old friends.

Fun at the Vets

12th June 2019 by Miss Aspden

Class I had the best time at the Animal Vets in Hayle. Claire, Jonathon and Patrick McCotter, along with their amazing team gave the children the most fantastic experience.

We learnt all about farms and farming from Patrick McCotter. He was great with the children telling them all about how to look after different animals on farms and what types of produce we can get from them if looked after properly.

You can get milk from cows and you can get milk from goats which is made into goats cheese – Violet

We also learnt all about what is inside the animals bodies. We studied some X-rays, one of a cat and another of a dog with a broken bone, one with a stone in his tummy and one with a needle in his tummy. The children were fascinated as Jonathon talked about what the animals have inside their bodies and related it to what the children have inside their bodies. They even got the opportunity to bandage a very gentle and tolerant Chester the dog.

I know pigs and cows have different meat – Luke

We saw a dogs broken bone and a dog swallowed a stone in the X-rays – Henry

Next we learnt all about some tortoises. For example they like to live in warm climates and generally most tortoises hibernate during the winter. The tortoises we met didn’t hibernate, they had fun trying to race each other to the finish line. We found out that they can live up to 100 years old and they like eating strawberries.

The tortoises came from the desert – Albie

The rabbits were a big hit with the children. They loved learning all about what to feed them and how to look after them. We learnt that rabbits like to eat hay to keep their ever growing teeth small and they don’t really like being picked up because they sometimes will feel threatened. The rabbits we met were very friendly and full of character.

I learnt rabbits have 28 teeth and their teeth keep growing and dogs are not aloud chocolate – Albie

Finally the children got scrubbed up into their surgery attire to perform a very delicate operation on a poorly dog that had eaten too many chocolates. The anaesthetist did a great job of ensuring the dog was asleep during the operation whilst the surgeons were busy at work.

I learnt that rabbits eat their own poo. We learnt what tortoises eat, strawberries. But really my favourite was eating the chocolate because Harold the dog eated too much chocolate then we got tweezers and picked it out of his tummy. Henry

The whole experience was fantastic. Class one would like to thank the whole team at the animal vets for all their hard work, organisation and exciting activities they provided for the children to support their learning about animals and pet care.

Teamwork and Cooperation help Class 8 race to success with LEGO Race Cars

10th June 201910th June 2019 by Mr Woolcock

Year 3s have started using LEGO WeDo 2.0 robotics sets for the first time this week! After much excitement and anticipation, Class 8 have been building race cars for their first project. From building with LEGO bricks to writing the code on screen, the children have demonstrated fantastic teamwork and perseverance to overcome obstacles, locate missing pieces and connect the robots to their iMacs.

The key to success here was good teamwork and cooperation, something which Class 8 realised from the start. Working in pairs they set about co-ordinating their approach so one had the instructions on screen whilst the other built the model, often switching roles as the process went on.

In forty minutes we all had race cars built, but then it was time for the biggest challenge of all – getting the cars connected to the computers and moving by themselves!

Of course we had to have a race to finish the lesson, check out the breathtakingly fast action on the video below…

Year 6s bring their classrooms to life using Stop Motion

16th May 201910th May 2019 by Mr Woolcock

This week the Year 6’s have been exploring film making by looking at Stop Motion Animation. Using the iPads and a huge amount of their own imagination, they have come up with some incredible short films which they have filmed and directed themselves.

This is a showreel of the films made by Class 13:

00:00

And here are the short films made by Class 14:

00:00

Super Sixes Announced!

17th January 201917th January 2019 by Mr Stanlake

The long awaited announcement of this year’s first crop of ‘Super Six’ pupils took place this week with the awarding of 5 ties and certificates. Becoming a ‘Super Six’ is not simply about academic success but more so recognising excellent role models that demonstrate the shared values and ethos of the school.

Our five pupils have been presented with a certificate signed by all members of teaching staff as well as the Year 6 team. This means that the children’s awarding of the certificate must be agreed by all, a wonderful achievement and one to be very proud of. The children have also signed a contract to show that they now fully understand the responsibilities for their new role.

These particular children share a tremendous work ethic and constant drive to succeed and improve. Through both homework and classwork they have shown immense effort and diligence and we are wholly confident they will continue to set an excellent example for children at Penpol School as they wear their new ties with pride.

We look forward to seeing these children continue to develop and flourish at Penpol as well as looking forward to the opportunity to present more awards to deserving children. For any Years 6 wishing to find out what they need to do, they need look no further than the attached contract.

Below are some photos with some very proud parents who we were glad could join us for the assembly on Christmas jumper Day!

Year 6 Evacuated Back To WW2

16th January 201918th December 2018 by Mr Stanlake

Nearly eighty years after thousands of children and young vulnerable adults were evacuated from cities across the country during WW2, our Year 6 children had a go themselves. To celebrate the end of our ‘Wartime Britain’ topic the children (and adults) dressed themselves in period clothing and lived the life pf an evacuee for the day.

After being collected from the gate by a member of the Home Guard, a U.S. Naval officer and our very own Land Girls they waved a teary goodbye to their parents before being subjected to a roll call and squeezing into a cramped school hall; much like the evacuees of 1939 would have been when they departed the trains.

I really enjoyed WW2 day, I loved making the food. It was great to have the opportunity to dress up in clothes that I borrowed from my Granddad! Throughout the day we had to hide under the tables when the air-raid siren went off, It was especially funny when the parents came in and had no idea what to do! – Jamie, Class 13

It was here the children had chance to act in character and meet their fellow evacuees, discussing the contents of their suitcases as well as their preferred destination. It was in the hall where the children also had to opportunity to look at some genuine WW2 artefacts including a British Army parachute, an army helmet worn during the Battle of Arnem and some U.S. Navy standard issue items.

Once the children had been sorted in the classes for the evacuation they had the opportunity to write a postcard home to their loved ones. The purpose of this was to reassure their loved ones of their safe arrival in the countryside.

For the remainder of the day the evacuees had the opportunity to create 2 pieces of artwork; one Blitz searchlight themed.

The children also tried their hands at some ration inspired baking. using a genuine ration recipe book the children worked under close supervision from the Land Girls to make bread and butter pudding. A dish very popular during the war as it used up many left over ingredients but also those readily available during the tough time.

Evacuee day was so much fun, my favourite part was making the origami spitfire! Closely followed by baking the bread and butter pudding. It gave us an insight into how people survived with rationing during the war- Abi, Class 14

At the close of the day the children were collected by their parents, their evacuation much shorter than those in the war. Many parents came into class to sample some of their cooking but also sit and enjoy their child’s work from the last term, with the majority of literacy and topic being based heavily

These day’s are brilliant, it’s great to see so many of the children and adults getting involved. It’s lovely to come in and look through my child’s work in the classroom as its not something I often get the opportunity to do. Thank you!- Parent