Year 5

Year 5’s friendship with French school grows

10th February 202010th February 2020 by Jack Emery

Each half-term, students from Classes 11 and 12 have written a letter or email to a penpal in France. The aim of the French penpal exchange, which has been running successfully for over two years, was for our students at Penpol to better understand the similarities, as well as differences, between school life in France and at Penpol. This opportunity also offers a platform for our students to use their French for a real purpose, being able to ask their French counterparts any questions they may have about life in France.

As Year 5 have recently been studying reflexive verbs to say what they do on a daily basis, the first series of questions sent to France were based on what time their French penpal got up, started school, finished school and how much homework they received. The responses from the French students provided plenty of discussion. Did you know that French students start school at 8.30am and don’t finish school until 4.30pm? However, though the school day is longer on most days, children in France only have a half day on Wednesday, followed by the afternoon off school to take part in extra-curricular activities.

As well as sending emails, which is first drafted in their books, then sent on to France, the children have also received and sent festive cards.

It’s great writing to someone from another country. It’s a fun way to practise French! Isabella, Class 11

Next up, Year 5 will be creating a guess who game centred on the topic of hobbies. Watch this space for more news about Penpol’s thriving Cornish- French email exchange!

Celebrating our first Careers Fair

7th December 202321st November 2019 by Mark 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’.

Penpol School Choir at Camborne Music Festival

21st November 2019 by Colin Jones

On Thursday 14th November, some of our fantastic KS2 choir represented Penpol School excellently at the Camborne Music Festival. The Choir sang two pieces, Human – by Rag ‘N; Bone Man and When I Grow Up from the hit musical Matilda, written by Tim Minchin. The choir sang beautifully and were well received by the audience and adjudicator, receiving 84 marks and being Highly Commended.

During the piece When I Grow Up, there was a well praised solo and a number of duets and small group parts which were highly praised and wonderfully sang by the pupils. We look forward to competing at the festival again another year.

The successes of our school choir have led to a record number of members, which now total a staggering 57 pupils in Key Stage 2. If you missed the performance of the choir at the music festival, please look out for future Christmas Concert dates in the coming month. We shall be performing at the annual Key Stage 2 Christmas Concert at St. Elwyn’s Church on 18th December, as well as other venues in the lead up to Christmas.

Artistic Adjectives

3rd November 20191st November 2019 by Jacob Woolcock

Just before half term we finished an exciting and creative project which involved creating artwork on our iPads. We spent several lessons learning different techniques and building our drawing skills, which was put to good use in the final lesson where everyone created their own Artistic Adjective.

The goal was simple, pick an adjective and create a piece of Word Art which showed that word illustrated as if it were describing itself. So ‘chilly’ had to look really cold, ‘sleepy’ had to look really tired and ‘boring’ had to look really, well, boring!

The children had great fun creating these pieces of art. Keep an eye out around the school for a big Word Art display popping up soon…

All Class 11 Class 12 Class 13 Class 14

Season Opener For Our Netballers!

1st October 20191st October 2019 by Nic Stanlake

Tuesday brought about the opening round of fixtures for our netball team. The children travelled to Mounts Bay Academy where they participate in the Penwith Schools High-5 netball league.

The team consisted of a mixture of year 5 and 6 children, many of whom were playing for the first time.

The match started positively for Penpol but unfortunately they couldn’t make their dominance count with Gulval leading 1-0 at half-time. The second half seemed much more comfortable for the children with them begging to play with confidence and freedom.

An excellent performance from player for the match, Vinnie, who played at both GK and GS was rewarded with two points.

Unfortunately it wasn’t enough as the team fell to a 3-2 defeat. Plenty of positives to take from the game which was played with big smiles on their faces!

If you’d like to give netball a go, netball club in on a Thursday with Mrs Turner for year 5 & 6.

Stone Age and Bronze Aged artefacts land in Class 11 & 12!

1st October 20191st October 2019 by Mark Pollard

On Tuesday the 1st of October, class 11 and 12 were fortunate enough to get their hands on some artefacts which are literally thousands of years old!

Made during the Stone Age and Iron Age, the children worked together to decipher what the items might have been used for. Items included large Stone Age axe heads, chisels and arrows.

Rhys said that he was excited about looking at all of the Stone Age items.

Devon said that it was great to actually hold items which had been handmade so many thousands of years ago.

Thanks goes to Dr M.G Weller – whose fine collection these items came from – and David Lay Auction House in Penzance, who kindly arranged for the loan to happen.

Organic and Mixed Media Art Experience for Year 5!

12th September 2019 by Jack Emery

Year 5 were treated to a week of organic art and mixed media Art with Tracey, an artist from St Ives.

With the amazon being a pivotal part of the Earth’s ecosystem, Year 5 are currently following artist John Dyer as he broadcasts live his travels across the Amazon. His project, ‘Last chance to Paint’ , aims to connect students to the environment and create a global art gallery which highlights what we stand to lose.

In this art session, the students used blackberries, which had been freshly picked by Mr Pollard and Mr Wise, to mimic the Yawanawa tribe’s version of organic art. Using modelling tools, the students created sketches of wildlife in nature, with the results surprisingly pleasant to the eye.

The variety between each piece of work was quite staggering, considering the only ingredients used were blackberries. Mr Wise, Class 12 teacher

Later on in the week, Year 5 were once again treated to another Art session, this time from local artist Tracey from St Ives. Tracey brought in a lot of different materials for the children to use in order to create mixed media art. Using a variety of materials, such as masking tape, coloured paper and doilies, the children were instructed to build up a surface formed from different layers.

I really liked using different colour paper to layer my work and make different objects stand out. Oliver, Class 11

Through lots of experimentation and creativity, both classes then drew different nautical scenes from the surrounding area, with St Ives harbour being a common landscape for the children to draw.
The students used different grading of pencil to add different tones to their work, as well as graphite, pens, pastels and finally paint.

My favourite part was mixing the paints to create the colour I wanted for my drawing! Lydia, Class 12

The final results speak for themselves! The children took great pleasure showing off their art work and it was interesting to see the degree of variety between every piece of art work.
A fantastic effort, check out the results in the gallery below!

Music in the Marquee 2019 – The Movie!

11th February 202018th August 2019 by Jacob Woolcock

This year we had our fifth Music in the Marquee concert here at Penpol School, this year featuring the amazing Leanne Kyte as The Ariana Grande Experience. As is fast becoming a tradition, we’ve made a very special short film of the evening to bring back all of those amazing memories!

As always, these events are held to help raise money for the Penpol Friends Association (PFA) and this year I’m thrilled to say that we’ve raised nearly four and a half thousand pounds – all of which will go to supporting Penpol School in the years to come.

Thank you all so much for supporting our school through events like these.

Year 5 have been learning about the Ancient Greeks

20th June 201920th June 2019 by Jacob Woolcock

This term both Year 5 classes have been learning about the Ancient Greeks. As part of this learning they have built their very own Greek Temples using Keynote on computer and have created these gorgeous animations for you to enjoy.

Each child took a different Greek figure and designed a temple just for them. They then did some research online to create a short fact card for each person.

So sit back, relax and enjoy learning about famous Greek figures whilst marvelling at some stunning animations. Well done Year 5.

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Yr 5 have an awesome time at Porthpean

21st May 201921st May 2019 by Mark Pollard

The eagerly anticipated Y5 Penpol Camp took place last week at Porthpean and what an enjoyable trip it was!

On the first day, the children (and the teachers) took part in climbing and archery before a feast of a tea – a delightful roast dinner. After a contented sleep, drifting off to the sounds of three tractors working away in the field next to us, we woke, had a full English and got on with the day.

Day 2 consisted of cycling, problem solving and a rather exhilarating high-ropes course. It was great to see children and adults push their comfort boundaries with this. In the evening, Penpol, led by dance expert Rocky, busted some moves on the dance floor at the disco before a peaceful sleep ensued.

After packing in the morning of the last day and another fine full english, it was down to the beach to take part in some paddle-boarding, kayaking or coasteering, complete with slate-made make-up!

It was a superb few days made all the better by the glorious weather and friendly experts who guided us through each activity. Thank you, Porthpean!

THE JELLY FRIENDS American blog

Reading Everywhere: Our World Book Day Adventure!

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundation of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”