You helped us to raise £2,374

What a wonderful afternoon we had at our 40th birthday celebration event.  Looe Primary Academy moved from its old site down in West Looe to its new site 40 years ago in November.  We could not resist the opportunity to celebrate the event.  It was a bit of an impromptu reunion for some of the previous staff including Mr Trethowan who was the Headteacher at the time that the school moved and Mr Wardle who was the Headteacher here not too long ago.  We wanted as many organisations in town to join us as possible and we we so pleased that we had so many join us - far too many to mention here!  We were very lucky with the weather and although it got a little cold towards the end, we all enjoyed everything that was on offer.  We are raising money for some new play equipment for both of our play areas and we have made a very good start to add to the money that we have already raised.  Thank you to everyone who made the day successful.  The children raised over £670 with their social enterprise projects, so thank you to them all too.  It was certainly a day to feel proud!

Autumn 1 – Weeks 6 and 7 – Apples, apples and more apples.

We have been making the most of harvest time by collecting and learning with apples. We learnt about the life cycle of an apple tree, we painted with apples, we dissected apples and looked at them under magnifying glasses. We even cooked delicious apple crumble and got to taste it during our Friday morning snack time!

Literacy
Now that we are few weeks into our phonics programme, we kindly ask you to practise their sounds lots and lots at home. By practising saying the sounds and doing the actions daily or a few times a week, the children will become more familiar and confident with them. This helps them to build up their quick recognition of the sounds. Every week, a letter formation sheet is stuck into your child’s Home Learning Phonics Book and an information sheet on every sound will be sent home. Again, by practising forming these letters at home, the children will become more fluent and confident.

Maths
Last week, we were learning to count carefully with both objects and then pictures. The children have been learning to put their objects in a neat line to help them count carefully and accurately without getting in a muddle. When counting pictures that cannot be moved, the children have been using their pointy finger to help them to count. We have been using the apples at the maths table to help facilitate object counting. See if they can show you their awesome, careful counting at home. This week, we have been learning all about the numbers: 1, 2 and 3! We have been learning to recognise these numbers using a range of concrete and pictorial resources. We have also been subitising these numbers.

For the last week of this half term, we will be learning all about pumpkins! We’re so proud of how well the children have settled into school throughout their first half term. It’s been a long one full of lots of learning! We look forward to seeing many of you next week at the parent teacher consultations. 

Have a great weekend, 

The Reception Team

We are excited to share with you what the children have been learning over the past two weeks in Year 5. It’s been a busy and productive time!

Maths
In Maths, the children have been focusing on Multiplication and Division. They’ve worked hard on consolidating their understanding of multiplication tables and have begun learning efficient strategies for solving division problems. We’ve also explored the relationship between the two operations, helping the children to see how multiplication and division are connected. 

English
In English, the students have been exploring Film Narratives. They’ve been analysing a short film all about a time traveller, identifying key features such as plot structure, character development, and themes. The children have particularly enjoyed discussing how the film tells a story through both visual and spoken language, and they are beginning to draft their own creative narratives based on these ideas.

History
The children have continued their learning about ancient Egypt, focusing specifically on Tutankhamun and the role of the River Nile in Egyptian civilisation. They’ve been fascinated by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and have explored how the Nile was vital for farming, transport, and trade in ancient times.

Black History Month
As part of Black History Month celebrations, the children have learned about influential Black figures throughout history. They’ve engaged in discussions about the importance of equality and diversity and have been inspired by the stories of people who have made significant contributions to society.

We are proud of the children’s engagement and enthusiasm as well as their continued progress.

We look forward to seeing many of you at parents evening next week...

Have a lovely weekend,

The Year 5 team. 

What a busy week, again!
We enjoyed our last cricket sessions with Cricket Chris!
We finished our amazing Volcano poems and had a go at writing Tsunami poems, too! We recited them to the class with expression, pace and confidence!
We had a FAB time learning how to street dance on Thursday!
And on Friday, we made cast and imprint fossils! 

Whoop! What a week!

We LOVED learning some street dance on Thursday this week!

FOWPA Bake Off and Cake Sale – Monday 21st October

Don’t forget to bring in your bakes to the Hall next Monday morning. Then join us in the Hall for a HUGE bake sale from 3pm. From FOWPA

Lunchtime Supervisor Vacancies
We are looking to recruit two Lunchtime Supervisors to join our team; Mon-Fri 11:30-13:00. We are looking for someone who:

-Enjoys working with children
-Has high expectations of behaviour and positive strategies to support children
-Will support the school values across lunchtime

For more information, please check our Vacancies page on the website

Dates coming up

Friday 18th October
19:30 FOWPA Quiz Night (Wadebridge Town Hall)

Monday 21st October
08:30 Drop off FOWPA Bake Off entries in Hall
15:00 FOWPA Bake Sale (Hall)
No Teacher-led Extra-Curricular Activities (ECAs) this week (Pro20 and DT Sports running as normal)

Tuesday 22nd October
15:30-18:10 Parent Teacher Consultations (PTCs)

Wednesday 23rd October
NSPCC Workshops for Year 2, 5 & 6
15:30-18:10 Parent Teacher Consultations (PTCs)

Friday 25th October
School Closed – INSET Day

26th October – 3rd November
Half term break

Monday 4th November
Back to school
Extra-Curricular Activities (ECAs) re-start
(pm) Year 6 Secondary Transition PE Session


Have a fantastic weekend, and if you are going to the FOWPA quiz tonight, good luck!
Best wishes,
Chris Wathern

We have all settled in really well into our new routine. Our topic this half term has been ' All about me'  The children have enjoyed telling us all about what they get up to at home .

Also, this half term  we have been learning to count to 5! everyone has done a fantastic job with this. 

Don't forget next Thursday we will be going to the church to celebrate Harvest festival. Even if you are not in on a Thursday you are welcome to meet us there.  

Every Monday afternoon we are very lucky to have Coach James from Kixx football come in and teach us football skills and multi skills. 

Next half term our topic will be - 'Celebrations' we look forward to learning about the day of the dead, Diwali, Remembrance day, Hanukkah, bonfire night and Christmas!  

Please keep checking Seesaw for updates and observations on your child. Please feel free to add pictures of what they get up to at home as well. The children enjoy standing up and telling their friends about what they have been doing. 
* Please also check your Arbour account that you have filled in the consents section, please. 

Have a lovely weekend and we will see you all next week! 

 Remember next Friday is an inset day!
Miss Whitty, Miss Ronald and Miss Selby. 

Singing and Dancing

What an exciting week it's been! The highlight of the week came on Thursday when we were lucky to take part in a street dance workshop run by Toby G. Tregantle children were amazing at learning the moves and showed great focus and attention while learning to street dance. This session was followed by a singing workshop provided by Cornwall Music Service. The children learnt some great songs about the story 'The Princess and the Pea' which they will be performing along with some other local schools in a few weeks. 
Our Year 1 children have had an amazing week of swimming lessons. They have visited Saltash Leisure Centre every afternoon and their confidence has grown massively in the water. The swimming instructors commented on their commitment and progress over the week - Well done Tregantle! 

This week R/1 made smoothies in DT, they practised cutting up fruit, juicing and blending!
In Maths, we have continued to learn about number bonds to 10 and addition problems, in English we have been writing sentences for The Ugly Ducking and The Three Little Pigs!
In ICT we edited photos and we are going to be making a collage soon.
In History we found out facts about Amelia Earhart and Lance Armstrong.
Reception have been working really hard in Phonics and have enjoyed some autumnal art activities.

Just keep swimming... and dancing!

What a week of swimming we have had!  The children are like fish in the water... amazing!  

We all LOVED the street dance lessons with Toby G!  We have got some cool moves - perhaps your child could show you some of the things we learnt?

When not swimming and dancing, we have been reading a book called 'Coming to England' by Floella Benjamin.  I (Mrs Stevens), remember watching her on Playschool when I was a little girl.  We have been learning about her journey from Trinidad to Southampton to be with her parents.  Back then, people were unkind to her because they hadn't seen a black person in school before.  We discussed whether that was OK.  The children all agreed that treating people unkindly was wrong.

                                                                                                                                               
 




















                                                                                                                                                                                                                Today the whole school pulled on their wellies and headed out across the fields to an orchard at Tremadart Barton farm. The children all collected bags of apples to take home and filled crates for the harvest. 

Friday 18th October

Some of this week’s learning in Foundation class:

The foundation children have worked so hard this week, and we have seen some lovely wow moments!

This week the children have explored so many wonderful learning opportunities!

In outdoor learning this week Mrs Gregory set up an amazing nature hunt for the children. They worked in pairs with pictures, and they had to explore the forest area and find the items to match. The children found pine needles, apples, berries, bark and much more. The children used wonderful vocabulary to explore these items, and it was a wonderful session!

In maths this week the children have been learning to count on to 20 and back from 20 verbally! We use a lot of songs to help us with our learning and the children love to join in and sing when they are learning.

On Wednesday Miss Hughes found a big stick insect on Miss Bolgers class door. We took this opportunity to bring ‘Stam’ ( his new name) into class and explore him. We learnt all about stick insects by researching and we even held him , if we felt comfortable to do so! He tickled!!

In English we continued to explore rhyming words and the children were amazing at matching rhyming words and pictures in one of the activities. We then listened to another Edward Lear poem called The Jumblies’ this poem was a long poem but the children loved the adventure within the poem and enjoyed acting out sailing in the sea in a sieve!  

In Phonics we explored diagraphs: ll/ss/ff/ and s saying /z/. The children were soooooo amazing with their phonics this week that they actually 'blew Janets socks off'!!!!!! 

The children have also been practicing their writing, making owl and pussy cat masks , using foil to make boats to float on the water just like the owl and pussy cat and so much more!

Next week is a four day week as we break up for half term on Thursday 24^th at 3:15pm

Have a lovely weekend

The Foundation Team 

What a week at Brunel!

What a vibrant and eventful week it has been at Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy!

Our pupils have been engaged in a variety of activities that not only foster learning but also build community spirit.

Here’s a recap of some highlights from the week:

Seaton Class Assembly: Were the Victorians Really Vile?

We kicked off the week with our very first class assembly delivered by Seaton Class. The children did an outstanding job presenting their research on the Victorian era, raising thought-provoking questions about this fascinating period in history. Their creative approach and confidence truly shone through, making it a memorable experience for everyone in attendance.

Street Dance Workshops
This week, we were joined by Toby Gorniak MBE who dazzled us with his positive messages and dance moves. There was a real buzz around the school as he shared with us his 5 elements for life: Respect, love, peace, unity and having fun. These 5 elements are very close to our hearts at Brunel! It was an incredible day for the whole school community!


Swimming at Saltash Leisure Centre

Years 1 and 2 took a trip to Saltash Leisure Centre for their swimming lessons this week. It’s wonderful to see our young learners gaining confidence in the water while improving their swimming skills. Each session is a step toward ensuring our children not only learn an important life skill but also enjoy the benefits of physical activity.

Food Bank Donations

We are incredibly proud of our school community’s generosity! This week, we organised a collection for the local food bank, and our families responded with kindness and support. The food bank team came to pick up the donations, and it was heart-warming to see our children understand the importance of helping those in need. Thank you for your contributions!

Year 5 Sports Competition

12 of our Year 5 pupils participated in a bench ball and dodgeball competition at Callington. They showcased fantastic teamwork, sportsmanship, and resilience throughout the event. It’s always a joy to watch our children engage in friendly competition, and we couldn’t be prouder of their efforts!

Cricket Sessions with Cricket Chris

We wrapped up our final "Time to Shine" cricket session with Cricket Chris. The children have made remarkable progress in their skills and teamwork over these sessions. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm for the sport grow, and we hope to continue fostering their love for cricket in the future.

School Council’s Terracycling Campaign

Our School Council has been hard at work promoting our TerraCycling campaign, and I’m thrilled to report that we are currently in third place! They designed eye-catching posters to raise awareness about recycling and sustainability within our school. Their commitment to making a positive impact on our environment is truly commendable.

As we reflect on this incredible week at Brunel Primary and Academy Nursery, I’m filled with pride for our pupils, staff, and community. Each event showcases the hard work, creativity, and spirit that define our school. Thank you all for your continued support! 

This week, we have been continuing our learning about 'Animals including humans'.

We have been learning about teeth and their function and today, we have completed the second part of a Science experiment where we found out what happens to teeth when they come into contact with different liquids. 

Don't forget to ask your children about it so they can say what they learned!

(The white on the egg submerged in milk is white from toothpaste drying, however, the white from the apple juice and the energy drink is due to those sugary liquids and the damaging effects of sugar!)

Our learning this week!

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

In English we have started our new learning journey focusing on poetry. We have been looking at the poem Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear. We have learnt the poem through making up some actions and looking at the rhyming words. Foundation have started writing words using their phonics sounds to match pictures and Year 1 have started to make their own verse of a poem, thinking of a new character and new rhyming words!

In Maths, Foundation have been looking at patterns. We have done this in lots of different ways. Our favourite way was looking for patterns in nature and making patterns on a walk outside. Year 1 have started our new addition and subtraction unit and we have been looking at part-whole models.

We also had a special visitor to our class this week! Miss Hughes found a stick insect outside and we have been having a look using our investigation station. We even used our choosing time to draw the stick insect and discuss what it looks like. I think we will be a little bit sad when we have to let him back outside!

In Geography, we have also been looking at hot and cold countries. We have spoken about what clothes you would need for a hot country, and what clothes you would need for a cold country. We have also been locating these countries on a map.

Some important messages:

Please make sure you are sending your child in with their reading record every day. If we get time we will read with the children so it is important that their book is in school.

There is a parent phonics information session next week. This is just to give you some more information of how we run phonics at school and ways you can help your children at home. These will run at 9:30 – 10:00 and 2:30 – 3:00 on Tuesday 22nd October. If you would like to attend please email me. 

Thank you!

The Foundation/Year 1 Team

The class really enjoyed our last cricket session today and the children demonstrated the progress they had made within each skill!