Year 3

Aboriginal Art

20th March 2018 by Colin Jones

For our topic of Weather Around The World, Class 8 have visited Australia. We found out about the climate there and studied some of the Aboriginal culture: Dream stories and artwork. Inspired by some of the pieces that we had studied, the children set about designing and drafting their own animal based picture in the aboriginal style.

I loved looking at all the different pieces of aboriginal art. I especially liked finding Australian animals. – Harry

We then painstakingly completed our final pieces with acrylic on paper, dot by dot by dot! The animal designs were made first using paint on black paper. We then used white paper to make our backgrounds. We had to choose colours that complemented our animal designs so they stood out. To create our dots, we used cotton wool buds liberally loaded with paint and carefully applied onto the paper.

I really enjoyed making the background – Tess

Our finished products will be on display in our classroom.

Merci ma famille!

16th March 2018 by Jack Emery

Class 8 have been enjoying sing-a-longs in French this term to help them learn key vocabulary on the topic of family.

So far, Class 8 can already say who is in their family, including pets, size of the family member and colour of their pet. Mr Emery has been really impressed with their enthusiasm during lessons, which is shown in their singing, classwork and homework.

The song for this week is a song which shows appreciation for the family (merci pour ma famille), as well as friends (mes amis). Each student drew and labelled each of their members of the family, which they then each held up for the song.

If you’d like to hear a little snippet of one of class 8’s song, take a look at the video below.

I am really enjoying our French lessons, especially the songs and games we do in class. Alex, Class 8

I love practising a new language! I also go to language club every Thursday after school to learn an extra language. Corran, Class 8

Next up for Year 3 will be the celebration of “Pâques”, which is the name for Easter in France.

School Council Newsletter Spring Term 1

14th May 201816th March 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Class 8 are Internet Alert

13th March 2018 by Jacob Woolcock

As part of our five week Be Internet Legends program, the children have been learning about how to protect their personal information online by being on the look out for phishing attacks and spam in a module called Be Internet Alert. Using the excellent resources from Google, we’ve discussed how to check if a website is safe, how to spot suspicious messages and how to ensure we’re as safe as possible when we use the internet.

“You shouldn’t send stuff that’s important to people you don’t know. If you aren’t sure you could ask your friends and family if they know that person and if they don’t you don’t send them anything. Always be careful!” – Brodie

As well as learning all about this, we’ve played the Reality River game on Interland to really help the children cement their new found knowledge!

“I really liked playing on Reality River because it was cool and I learnt about how to be safer online.” – Mason

“I learnt that if a website has a green padlock symbol then it’s usually safe to put your password in.” – Freddie

“I’ve leant that you have to look closely at details in messages that you are sent to see if it’s a scam or not.” – Fynn

Announcing Music in the Marquee 2018

24th May 201827th February 2018 by Jacob Woolcock

The last three years have seen sell out performances at our annual Music In The Marquee concerts from Bradley Johnson, Little Chix and last years Yellow. I’m delighted to say that this summer we will be hosting our fourth concert in the Marquee, featuring a somewhat familiar face…

Each year we ask the children which music they are enjoying and what sort of act they’d like to see play in our marquee at the end of the Summer term. This year the overwhelming majority of children told us they’d like to hear Ed Sheeran, with some of the older children asking in particular if Bradley Johnson could make a comeback. I am delighted to say that when I spoke to Bradley he was thrilled that we wanted him back to perform again.

So, for the second time, I’d love to introduce you to Bradley Johnson! Bradley is a singer/songwriter from Liverpool who first came to national attention as a finalist on the X Factor back in 2011 when he amazed judges with his version of Ed Sheeran’s The A Team. Since his television debut he’s been working on his own material and has been crafting his skills to become the UK’s finest Ed Sheeran tribute act. He made his first trip down to Cornwall for a sell-out show in our Marquee back in 2015 and can’t wait to come back again later this year. Bradley says: “I loved playing at your school last time, I still remember it as one of my favourite gigs. I can’t wait to be back again this year, with even more tunes for you all to enjoy!”

Bradley will be playing two sets of live music on the night, the first being a hit-filled Ed Sheeran tribute set including tunes both new and old including ‘Shape of You’, ‘Bloodstream’, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Perfect’, followed by a later set which will also include other popular pop and rock covers as well as a selection of his own material. As always with Music in the Marquee his two sets will be accompanied by local support acts to round off the whole evenings entertainment.

Just like in previous years the event will raise money for the Penpol Friends Association and will also feature a fully licensed bar, BBQ, soft drinks, and food for everyone to enjoy. I hope you’ll agree that Music in the Marquee 2018 is already shaping up to be a phenomenal night of entertainment.

We are opening this event to the whole community, but want to give our Penpol parents the first chance to get tickets. For this reason we’re offering you a special pre-sale of tickets, starting TODAY! Tickets are priced at £8 for adults and £5 for children. Please note that all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Please return this slip and money to the office as soon as you can to secure your tickets. Music in the Marquee has been a sell out for the past three years and tickets will be on a first come first served basis.

Relive last years Music in the Marquee:

Music in the Marquee 2017

Jacob Woolcock 21st July 2017

Sphero Rolls into Penpol School

24th May 201821st February 2018 by Jacob Woolcock

One of the reasons we visit the BETT Show in London each January is to try and find exciting and innovative ideas to bring back into the classroom at Penpol. This year we’ve returned with a dozen brand new Sphero SPRK+ Robots for the children to get to grips with.

These small plastic robots are pretty clever, despite their simple appearance. Each robot can move at up to two meters a second, controlled remotely via iPad and can run complex sequences of code written by the children.

To get to grips with these new resources the children in Key Stage 2 have been spending time learning how to connect to the devices, how to steer and drive them and of course, having a little bit of fun along the way. It’s pretty exciting to have a Computing lesson without being sat in front of a computer!

“It’s a great thing to have races with, if you watch the video we did in the hall it was educational to learn how to code but also fun to race them.” – Phoenix, Class 13

“They’re very fun to play with and they’re great to have races with.” – Jake, Class 13

“I like the Spheros’ because they’re fun and great to learn with and I can’t wait to tell my mum that we had a really fun day in Computing with Mr Woolcock!” – Jowan, Class 13

I think it’s safe to say we’re looking forward to writing lots of interesting programs for the Sphero in the future.

“The Spheros’ are really fun and educational at the same time, I’d recommend them to anyone!” – Joe, Class 13

Penpol Become ‘Supermovers’

8th February 2018 by Nic Stanlake

The BBC have recently launched a new scheme called ‘Supermovers’ which aims to increase the physical activity levels of children in schools with the help of children TV stars and Premier League football mascots. This is done through a series of videos based heavily around areas of the curriculum and involve singing and dancing.

For example there are videos that support the teaching and learning of; times tables, word classes, measures, shape, fractions, punctuation marks and much much more. As a school we have been trialling the videos through KS1 and KS2 with great success. Not only have the videos proved to be a very good teaching resource but also allow the children to be active in the classroom.

Physical activity helps with academic achievement, behaviour, concentration and self-esteem. Research has proven that just five minutes of moderate exercise can significantly improve engagement in lessons – BBC Supermovers

Below are some of our Year 4 children taking part and enjoying learning about verbs and adverbs.

It helps us learn – Amber

It helps me improve my movements and its really fun! – Lewis

In Year 5, Class 11 have been perfecting their 6 times tables with the help of Manchester United’s very own Fred The Red.

I love doing these videos as they are really fun and have helped me with my 6 times table – Connah

Its great, they help with times tables but also with getting us moving in the classroom! – Melissa

The catchiness and simplicity of the songs allow the children to be fully engaged in their learning whilst developing not only their times table knowledge but also their physical literacy. But most importantly they are actively learning with a smile on their faces – Mr Stanlake

CLICK HERE to have a go at all of the amazing videos with your children at home.

After a very successful introduction we hope to continue using the ‘Supermover’ videos alongside our daily wake and shake and in class use of ‘Just Dance’ to engage the children physically as well as mentally to both improve their wellbeing and academic achievements.

Year 3: Ready To Rock

31st January 2018 by Colin Jones

Children in Year Three (classes 7 and 8), have started a terms worth of sessions, learning how to play guitar. With guitars on loan from Cornwall Music Education Hub (CMEH),the children are able to take the instruments home to practise becoming ‘Guitar Legends’.

“It is great learning to play the guitar! I have been practising every day” – Fynn

All of the sessions are provided as part of our music curriculum offer with the hope that some of the children will cary on playing instruments after the lessons have stopped. Children in years 4-6 have also been given the opportunity to join Penpol School’s guitar club, which has seen an immense popularity and all of the 30 spaces filled within a couple of days.

“I like to get up early in the morning and practise” – Alex

The children and I look forward to showing off their guitar skills to parents after Easter.

Advent Boxes for Hayle Food Bank

19th December 2017 by Nic Stanlake

Over the last month each class has been preparing an advent box for Christmas. However, these advent boxes are difference compared to those most children have at home because instead of taking a chocolate or treat out like traditional advent calendar, the children have been bringing food into class to add into their class advent boxes.

Across our fourteen classes, children have been generously bringing in lots of different foods to donate to those in need of a helping hand at this busy time of the year.

The boxes have since been collected by the Hayle Food Bank and are ready for redistribution to those who are supported by the great work done by one of our most local charities.

On behalf of the Hayle Food Bank and those who will receive these wonderful donations, we would like to thank parents and families for their very generous and kind support.

Hour Of Code 2017: A Hero’s Journey

15th December 2017 by Jacob Woolcock

Penpol School have been taking part in the international Hour Of Code this week. The idea behind the Hour of Code is simple, to get every child around the world spending an hour learning a little bit about computer science and programming. This year there are over 514 million children taking part in the Hour, from all around the world.

Countries where the Hour of Code is taking place this year

The challenge the children have been undertaking this year has been designed by the team behind Minecraft and is called Hero’s Journey. On this challenge you have to write your own code to control the robotic ‘Agent’ who can then help your character complete the twelve levels. You can try it yourself at home here.

Everyone in Key Stage 2 took part in the challenge with some children even going the extra mile to collect the hard-to-reach diamonds on each level.

It was really good fun! I didn’t know that I could control my character Steve. – George, C14

The Hour of Code follows on nicely from the lessons the children are currently having in Computing where they are learning how a computer works and how we, as users, can write simple instructions to control the computers. The children are really getting stuck into this logical way of thinking and really deserved their Minecraft inspired treat this week!

Well done Key Stage 2!

You can find out more about the Hour of Code here.

Year 5 Find Their Way Around Orienteering

“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.”