Year 5

Surfing’s on the Curriculum at Penpol

29th June 201817th November 2016 by Mark Pollard

We are very fortunate at Penpol School to be situated by the sea next to three miles of glorious beaches and golden sand. In this area of outstand natural beauty, we have some of the best beaches in Cornwall offering fantastic surfing opportunities.

Living next to the Atlantic, however, does come with its own hazards and dangers, especially when it comes to being safe in the sea.

At Penpol School we take beach safety very seriously.

We have a close connection with several of our community partners including the RNLI, Shore Surf and Hayle Surf-Lifesaving Club. These partners regularly present whole school assemblies, discussing the dangers of the sea and encouraging the children to reflect on the importance of beach safety.

At Penpol School we also believe that our children should be taking full advantage of their geographical location and safely enjoying the unique area in which they live. With this in mind, we have made surfing a compulsory part of our curriculum for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.

Teaming up with Shore Surf School and their fully qualified expert surf-instructors, each pupil has participated in five two-hour surf lessons, working towards Level 2 Shore Surf Award.

This has involved meeting various expectations and demonstrating a number of key skills including:

Changing in and out of a wetsuit unaided.
Working as a team and supporting each other.
Perseverance and determination
Knowledge of water safety and recognising hidden dangers
Developing confidence in the water
Catching a wave
Popping to their feet and surfing for five seconds or more
Demonstrating balance and co-ordination.

This is the second year our pupils have taken part in surfing and it has proved to be a great success.

Pupil comments –

I found the past five Thursdays the most enjoyable days of the week and that was because of the surfing – Zehava

I enjoyed surfing very much this year. I think I have learnt so much in the five weeks. I stood up for the first time ever and caught some really cool waves. The instructors were very kind and taught us how to do some impressive tricks – Erin

I loved going surfing this term even though sometimes the waves were huge! We learnt very quickly how to stand up and then how to go faster, as well as slow down on a wave. Soon after this we were taught to turn and dismount safely – Tilly

I enjoyed surfing so much this term that I think we should go again next term. I think surfing should be on the curriculum because we live by the sea and we learn how to be safe in the water – Jake

Micro:Bits have arrived at Penpol!

14th May 201812th November 2016 by Jacob Woolcock

This term we’ve bought a whole classes worth of BBC Micro:Bits to use with Year 5 and 6!

These tiny computers are incredibly clever and already we’ve had classes using them to make compasses, thermometers and little pocket-sized games. These Micro:Bits have proved such a hit in the last few days that we’re going to make sure everyone in Key Stage 2 gets the chance to learn to code with them this year, starting with Year 5 and 6.

While the children are used to coding using Scratch on the computers, being able to make programs which run on these little devices is even more exciting as they can be taken outdoors and used just about anywhere. Over the year we’ll be using our Micro:Bits for science experiments, music lessons and more. We’ll also make sure they’re available to use at lunchtime Code Club incase anybody wants to try making their own ideas into reality using the Micro:Bits.

Penpol’s Year 5’s Go Back In Time!

14th May 20181st November 2016 by Nic Stanlake

Over the last term Classes 10 and 11 have been studying the Industrial Revolution and its effect on both the town of Hayle and also the County of Cornwall.

This has involved researching all aspects of the revolution, from the mass production of cotton to the harnessing of steam power. However, it was the quality of life for children in the period that really hit home. Comparing their lives to those of the children living and working in the 1800’s allowed the Year 5 children to see how lucky they are.

The research the children did allowed them to collate a fact file in which they chose to write about either the introduction of steam, the mass production of cotton, the development of transport and the increased attention to workers rights.

The links to Cornwall, and the town of Hayle itself, are plenty with the foundries of Copperhouse and of the Harvey family and the harbour being used to bring coal in and out of the duchy to power the host of steam engines used within the mining industry. We used this in Class 10 and 11 as inspiration for our silhouette art work.

The topic culminated with a trip to the National Trust property, East Pool Mine. On this trip the children had the opportunity to explore the site whilst undertaking various activities. Such as dressing up as miners and balmaidens, the making of felt pasties and a tin trail treasure hunt. But by far the fan favourite for the day was the working steam engine. A fully restored working engine is housed in one of the engine houses at East Pool Mine and what better way to see the effect of steam than to see an engine build here in Cornwall powered by one of Richard Trevithick’s boilers.

Pupil comments:

Meghan- I really enjoyed learning about steam and how it changed the way we live, it was great how we got to see the engine working.

Ines- I enjoyed going to east pool mine and dressing up as a balmaiden and seeing how they lived.

Jake- I like walking through the flu tunnel and looking up to the top of the chimney. It was 180 feet tall!

Trystan- It was fun making our silhouette pictures because we had to wash the red sky and build our setting.

Sleeping with the Sharks

“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.”

Surfing’s on the Curriculum at Penpol

Micro:Bits have arrived at Penpol!

Penpol’s Year 5’s Go Back In Time!

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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