Learning about aeroplanes and watching our tadpoles grow!

We’ve had another great week in Foundation/ Year 1.

We have been particularly excited the past few weeks as Mr Liddiment has set up our own tadpole tank in the classroom! We have learnt a little bit about the life cycle of a frog and how they change and have enjoyed watching these changes ourselves.

In the curriculum this week, Year 1’s History has been focused on the Wright brothers and the first aeroplane flight. We have been creating freeze frames of the first flight, with one of us being Wilbur Wright, one of us as Orville Wright, one of us as the plane and then an eyewitness. We focused on how the eyewitness would feel to be witnessing something so important. We then talked about what makes an event significant and how certain events have changed people’s lives. Foundation have also joined us by creating their own aeroplanes out of bricks outside. We then used our role play skills to pretend to fly the aeroplanes.

In English, Year 1 have begun to write their own versions of Jack and the Beanstalk, using the features of a traditional tale. I can’t wait to read them when they have finished. Foundation have started learning about adjectives and have begun writing different adjectives in their books to describe the characters in Jack and the Beanstalk.

Well done Foundation / Year 1, another great week of learning.

Foundation / Year 1 Team

A busy week ...

Thank you to all of our wonderful parents who provided gorgeous books and outfits to help us celebrate World Book Day. We had a brilliant time exploring our own and each other’s favourite books and even had the chance to choose a teacher from across the school and listen to them read their favourite book!

Year 1 started their Design and Technology project this week. Over the coming term we will be designing and making our own Paddington finger puppets. This week, the children experimented with different ways to join fabric, including gluing, stapling and safety pinning. None of these methods proved effective so we will look forward to using a running stitch to sew fabric together over the next few weeks.

Throughout the school, we now continue our sketchbook use throughout the year (not just during Art sessions). On Monday, Year 1 divided their sketchbooks into smaller (less intimidating) sections which will be drawn into during our sketchbook activities this term. Reception children made their own mini concertina sketchbooks for the same purpose. We have since had two ‘spiral’ themed drawing activities where children have been inspired by spirals in nature and have used ink to explore their own spirals onto their divided sketchbooks.

Reception children have continued to write daily sentences about Paddington bear this week, please see a fantastic example above!

It has been another super busy week in Class 1. Mr Ottewell-Taylor has been very happy to be back in class after last week’s First Aid training!

February

This term, we are paying particular attention to different life cycles and engaging in the theme 'minibeasts'. 

Our literacy is based around the author Eric Carle. We are having great fun with his books, engaging us in our topic in literacy, science, DT and art. 

We are excited to have our caterpillars, which we hope will transform into beautiful butterflies. We have been on a minibeast hunt, and although we did not find any caterpillars outside, we found worms, centipedes, spiders, woodlice and beetles. 

Our Design Technology, this term is also all about minibeasts. We are busy trying new techniques using levers and pivots so that we can then design and make our own minibeast moving picture.

Finally, we are going to be visiting a farm to continue investigating lifecycles. We are hoping to see some lambs and maybe baby chicks. 

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” Neil Gaiman, Coraline

Thank you for filling our World book Day 2025 with imagination and colour.

A very busy week two!

What a week it has been at school! From celebrating St. Piran’s Day to enjoying the sunshine in our outdoor area, there has been so much to look forward to.

We kicked off the week by celebrating St. Piran’s Day, a special day for Cornwall! Our school was filled with excitement as we all came together in the morning to sing traditional Cornish songs on the playground.
The fun didn’t stop there! In the morning, we got our hands dirty making Cornish pasties. With the help of our teachers and the very kind Will from Ginsters, we mixed, folded and crimped our yummy pasties. 

Thursday was another highlight with World Book Day! The school was buzzing with excitement as everyone arrived dressed as their favorite book characters. From Mog to Matilda, we had a range of creative costumes. It was amazing to see so many of our friends dressed up as characters from the books we love.

As if the week wasn’t already packed with fun, we were lucky enough to have some beautiful sunshine to enjoy! Our outdoor area was the perfect place to play and soak up the sun. We spent time running, playing games, and just enjoying the fresh air. It was so nice to take a break from the classroom and play outside, especially after all the busy events of the week.

In phonics we learnt the sound 'a' a a apple!
In maths we are looking at representing number 1-5 can you count 4 objects and then find the number 4? have a go at home and let us know. 

Come back next week to see what else we get up to. We have special visitors coming in to see us!

Miss Whitty, Miss Ronald and Mrs Evans. 

As last week was Shrove Tuesday, Class 1 and Preschool made pancakes during their Forest School! The children have been learning about Shrove Tuesday and Lent during their RE lessons and they enjoyed incorporating this into their Forest School lesson. 

Another exciting week of learning and fun was had in Class 2. 
In Literacy, we have explored the original story of Paddington Bear and identified a variety of exciting vocabulary we can use in our writing. We have also explored Time Adverbials which we have all had a go at using in our letter to Aunt Lucy. 

In Maths, both Year 1 and year 2 have completed their Cold Tasks this week on Mass, Volume and Capacity. We can't wait for next week where we will have very practical, hands-on (albeit very noisy) lessons on measuring.

In Science, we continued our exploration into the world of Materials by looking at some objects around us that are made of more than one material. In DT, we have started an exciting unit on making hand puppets. We thought it might be a good idea to design and make our own Paddington Bear puppets! This week, we explored some different methods we can use to join fabrics. In Computing, we looked at computers and explored its different parts and have begun looking at what makes them Input and Output devices. 

Thank you so much for sending your children in on World Book Day in their amazing costumes. Entries to our Extreme Reading competition were brilliant – Thank you for sending them in. Rev Richard judged the entries after our St Piran’s Day assembly on Tuesday (there were so many to consider!). Well done to the class winners (Henry, Flora, Nevaeh, Max and Felix) and to Everly, the overall winner. Winners will each receive a book (kindly funded by FOPS). Our book sale raised over £40.00, which school will spend on books for guided reading.

FOPS Quiz FOPS raised over £500 at their quiz night last Friday. Thank you to those who organised an enjoyable evening and to those of you who attended. We have other fundraisers in the pipeline including Easter Discos for the children on Thursday 3rd April. More details to follow.

Comic Relief This year Red Nose Day is on Friday, 21st March. The School Council would like the children to come to school in MUFTI (bright colours/funky clothes!) with a minimum donation of £1 for this MUFTI day. We will be selling Red noses for £2 during the week commencing 17th March.

Parent/Carer Consultations Thank you for attending this week’s parent/carer consultations. We are so pleased that everyone has arranged an appointment. Your involvement and support play a crucial role in helping your child succeed, and we truly appreciate your partnership in their learning journey at our school.

Orwell Project We had a visit this week from Jay Gates, from Bodmin Airfield who spoke to the children in Talland and Chaipel Classes not only about the planes at the Airfield, but also about the wildflower meadow there which has County Wildlife Status and is home to rare orchids and other wildlife. Later in the year, the school will be working with the airfield to rewild some of the school grounds using seeds from the Bodmin Wildlife Meadow.

Wild Wellbeing Sessions The Mental Health Support Team (MHST), along with Natural England and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, are running several Wild Wellbeing sessions over the Easter break. These are nature-based, creative, practical workshops where pupils learn about the Five Ways to Wellbeing: Give, Connect, Take Notice, Be Active and Keep Learning. Details are included in the attached poster.

 
Have a good weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Can You Always See Things Grow?

What a week! This week we launched our enquiry for this half term, 'Can you always see things grow?' by setting up an investigation to grow beans in a bag. We plan to keep a weekly bean diary to document the changes our beans undergo over the next 5 weeks. In PE, we have been loving our Striking and Fielding unit with Mrs Phillips! 

On Thursday, we celebrated World Book Day across the school by dressing up as a book character of our choosing. We had a lovely time designing bookmarks, sketching Dr Seuss and Nathan Bryon book characters and reading stories. Year 3 joined Talland and Chaipel to participate in a Live BBC lesson on the day and Year 2 spent time with Penhallow sharing stories. We had a fabulous day! 

In English, we read the story of Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson. We made comparisons between this version and the original story, and have written some fantastic descriptions using our senses. We also began to plan our stories for our imaginary world stories, inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk.

This week in Maths, Year 2 have been refining their ability to multiply, using arrays to support our understanding of multiplication. Year 3 have continued working hard on length and perimeter, converting between measures. 

I have attached this half terms KIRFS, Knowledge Web and Homework Grid. Of course, let me know if you have any questions. 

We hope you have a lovely weekend and see you on Monday. 

Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton

 Storytellers had a blast celebrating World Book Day this year, and the theme was all about fun and imagination! The children came dressed in their comfiest pajamas, ready to curl up and immerse themselves in the world of stories. The highlight of the day was the reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a classic favorite. The little ones were fascinated by the caterpillar’s journey as he munches through all kinds of food before transforming into a beautiful butterfly.

Adding to the excitement, the children explored their very own pot of baby caterpillars, closely observing them and talking about their growth and changes that might occur. It was a hands-on experience that brought the book to life, making it even more magical as they witnessed the caterpillars move around. 

Another week has flown by and Chaipel have been very busy.

We have been writing a setting description to set the mood for our Anne Boleyn diary writing next week. We have used a range of figurative devices as well as some colloquial language fit for a Queen! We also wrote up our cinquains which we will transfer to a poetry book for all to read.

In Maths, Y5s have been looking into equivalent fractions and decimals and the Y6s have been tackling percentages! We also did an arithmetic assessment and everyone has significantly improved their scores - WELL DONE CHAIPEL!

It was World Book Day on Thursday and we really made the most of it. We took part in a live lesson at 11am and a nationwide 60 second read. In the afternoon, we looked at the characters from a reknown author and one that was not as well-known as they should be. We all agreed that Nizrana Farook has made many children's stories that we are dying to read!

In PE, Chaipel have been brushing up their skills at Rounders, learning the language needed and practising their fielding techniques. In DT, we have investigated materials which make our clothing, together with the stitches, joins and the washing and drying instructions on the labels. In History, we have been looking into the social hierarchy and how 'God's will' determined your status in life. Next week, we will investigate the housing and diet differences between classes.

Sean will be begin our Wednesday afternoon Art from next week so we are very excited regarding what we will produce. 

CONGRATULATIONS to our People of the Week - Harrison, Martha and Phoebe - for demonstratiing our school values.

That's all from me so have a lovely weekend!

Miss Randle, Mrs Clary, Mrs Hodge and Miss Colton.

Class 3 Blog W/E 7th March 2025

Highlight of the week

On Tuesday, we had a great time celebrating St Piran’s Day at Cotehele. A big thank you to Emma and the Lowender group for organising the event. The children did really well, and I’m sure those who watched enjoyed the performance.

DT

In DT, we’ve been learning about seasonal foods and where they come from. It’s been interesting to see how different foods are grown around the world and how seasons affect what’s available.

Maths

In Maths, we’ve now finished our unit on length and perimeter. Everyone has made good progress, and the presentation in maths books has been excellent.

Geography

In Geography, we’ve started learning about the Amazon Rainforest. One interesting fact we found out is that the Amazon produces around 20% of the world’s oxygen. Next week, we’ll be looking at the different layers of the rainforest.

Well done to everyone for their hard work this week.

TALLAND'S BLOG 7.3.25

We hope you have all had a brilliant week! We've had lots of fun here, especially with a special guest from Bodmin airfield coming in to talk to us about how it has the largest wild flower field in the UK, which is amazing for insects and bees. World book day was tremendous fun. The children looked absolute fabulous in their costumes! It was lovely for me to get to chat to so many parents and guardians about how great their children are... thank you so much for coming in for a chat!

Maths:
Year 5 have just finished fractions and are now moving on to decimals and percentages.
Year 4 have been focusing on converting improper fractions into mixed number fractions.

English:
We have jumped straight into diary entries and Talland have had fun by turning themselves into everyday classroom objects and writing a diary entry about their day. E.g. The day in the life of a bit of blue-tac. They will move this on to creating a diary entry about one of the soldiers from Harold Godwinson's army and how they felt whilst marching to face William, Duke of Normandy, and his huge army for one of the most famous British battles of all time... The Battle of Hastings. 1066 was the year and this was the year of the 3 Kings. The beginning of the Norman reign!

History:
Children have been learning all about the battle of Hastings and the year of the 3 Kings. It's has been really interesting so far and we've only just scratched the surface!

Science:
We have looked at the lifecycle of a human and how our bodies change as we grow older. We spoke about what part of a humans lifecycle would you like to be stuck at (baby, toddler, teenager, adult or a senior). What part of the lifecycle would you prefer to be stuck at?

PE:
We had a great time during rounders where Talland were learning a variety of throwing and catching techniques and thinking about when you might use an under arm throw apposed to a shoulder throw.

CONGRATULATIONS:
A huge well done to Chilali for being noticed for her creativity this week. Her diary entry was so imaginative. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! And a massive well done to our 99 club achievers: Tristan and Archie! 

That's all from us. We hope you have a fantastic weekend and can't wait to see you on Monday!

Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop and Miss. Colton.