For our final couple of weeks in pre-school, we explored the exciting world of minibeasts!

We have learnt lots of interesting facts about how many legs the insect may have, whether they have wings or not, and what colours or patterns may be on them.

We painted water-colour minibeasts and enjoyed our minibeast garden tuff tray as part of our explore and learn time.

It's been a fun half term learning all about what we can find in a garden, and how we plant seeds and care for them.

The children's young sunflower seedlings have started to be sent home, we would love some photos later in the summer if they flourish into successful sunflowers!

This year pre-school will be entering an art competition at Liskeard show.  Inspired by our recent learning the children have started their 'Spring Time Garden' art to enter into the competition.  

After half term we will be moving on to a new enquiry question, 'How do I stay healthy?'

We will be looking at healthy foods, hygiene and exercise. Perfect timing as we will be practicing for Sports Day when we return too.

More details about Sports Day and other key dates will be available shortly after we return.

On Thursday the children in pre-school got a treat from Miss Edwards when they were able to toast marshmallows over the campfire.  All the children listened well to the instructions to safely hold their marshmallows, and then gave 10 blows to cool them down before eating! Yummy!

We hope everyone has a lovely half-term week and enjoys the planned sunny weather.

We will see you when we return on Monday 1^st June.

The Pre-School Team.

Thursday 21st May- Happy half term 

What an amazing, but quick, half term we have had! 
The children have been progressing so well, and all the adults are extremely proud of them! 

They are definitely ready for a break, and we look forward to welcoming them all back ready for their final half term in Foundation and getting - YEAR 1 READY! WHOOP! 

Year 1 Assembly
This morning Year 1 treated their families to an amazing assembly showcasing some of their recent learning. The children shared their knowledge from science (plants) to the history of the seaside. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it, especially joining the children singing "I do like to be beside the seaside." Well, with this better weather coming up, who knows?!

FOWPA Disco
Thank you to FOWPA for organising the disco yesterday. As well as providing a great event for the children (and staff), it also supported our fundraising efforts. What a lovely way to end the half term.

EYFS Carnival/Sponsored Walk
We would like to thank those of you who attended our Carnival/Sponsored Walk meeting on Tuesday. It was great to see so many faces! For those who were unable to attend, all EYFS parents have been sent an email with the information, including ideas for costumes that can be easily made with your child. We do not expect you to spend money on outfits; you are welcome to collect resources from your child's classroom if needed. If you have any questions, please speak to Mrs Yates or Mrs Divall.
From the EYFS Team

Nursery Open Days
Funded and non-funded places are available for all 2, 3 and 4 year olds. If you'd like to visit us on one of our Open Day sessions: Thursday 18th June 1:30-2:30 or Friday 19th June 9:30-10:30 please call the school: (01208) 814560 or email our Nursery Manager (Mrs Divall): adivall@wadebridgeprimary.co.uk

Class Photos & Year 6 Individual Photos
On Wednesday 3rd June, Tempest Photographers will be taking class photos and individual Year 6 photos. Please ensure your child is wearing their full school uniform that day. For children in Year 4 who have PE on a Wednesday after half term, your child will need to bring in their PE kit to get changed into on this occasion.

School Uniform
As we enter the last half term, please find below a reminder of our uniform policy.

Years 1-6 (all branded items mentioned)
• Burgundy V-neck jumper or cardigan with embroidered school badge (WPA branded)
• Year 6 (after May half term) - can wear their leavers' hoodie if they wish
• White shirt • Grey school trousers, shorts, skirts or pinafores
• Optional Burgundy & gold striped tie (WPA branded)
• Optional Gold & white checked summer dress
• Socks: Plain black, grey or white
• Tights: Plain black or grey
• Shoes: Black school shoes or black trainers of a leather appearance
• Wellington boots for use in school (EYFS and KS1)

Reception
• As above but pale-yellow polo shirt (no tie)

Nursery
• Optional 'Little Bridges' yellow T-shirt and burgundy sweatshirt

PE Kit
• Plain white T-Shirt/Polo shirt or Optional WPA Sports T-Shirt
• Black shorts/skort or black jogging/tracksuit bottoms
• White socks
• Trainers or plimsolls
• School jumper/cardigan or Optional WPA logo training top

Hair accessories and jewellery
• Gold & burgundy hairbands/scrunchies (branded) or plain style only
• Longer hair needs to be tied up during PE or equivalent activities
• Single pierced small stud earrings allowed (need to be covered for PE and swimming)
• Except for watches, we do not allow children to wear any other jewellery

Naming uniform
• Please label all items with your child's name, thank you

PE days after half term
Please note your child's PE days after half term:
Nursery: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
Reception: Thursday
Year 1: Tuesday
Year 2: Thursday
Year 3: Friday
Year 4: Wednesday
Year 5: Thursday
Year 6: Monday

Tom Palmer is visiting Wadebridge Library - Tuesday 26th May 11:30am
Wadebridge Library has been selected to host a 'meet the author' session with Tom Palmer, award winning children's author. He has written an amazing selection of books on football, rugby and historical themes aimed at children in KS2. Tom will be reading an extract from his new book, doing an activity with the children and giving away five copies of his new book to the first five families who arrive! 

MHST Wild Wellbeing Sessions
Following on from the success of previous Wild Wellbeing sessions, the Mental Health Support Team (MHST), along with the National Trust, are running further Wild Wellbeing sessions over the May half term. These sessions are open to children aged 5-12. Each session will be approximately 2 hours long.

MHST Transition Workshop for Y6 Parents/Carers
The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) are also running an hour long online session for parents/carers of Year 6 children. The session will cover how to help and support young people with the transition to secondary school. Please note this group is open to parents/carers of children in Year 6 only.

Rainbow Run for Cornwall Hospice Care
Good luck to Isabelle (in Class RW) who is taking part in the Rainbow Run in Newquay on Saturday 20th June, raising money for Cornwall Hospice Care. If anyone would like support Isabelle by donating to Cornwall Hospice Care, please follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/joe-and-belle?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL

House Points
Congratulations to this week's winners, Swans. Overall, Choughs maintain the lead going into the final half term of the year:
Choughs - 11,460
Puffins - 10,619
Swans - 10,314
Cormorants - 9276

We hope you have a wonderful half term break and look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday 1st June. A reminder that school will be closed on Friday 5th June for a Trust-wide staff training day at Brunel School. Best wishes,

Chris Wathern

This week, we have finished our Space Hotel leaflets. I am extremely proud of their writing and love the time and effort they put into the presentation. 

In geography, we have collated our data from the fieldwork to create a map or Fore Street, tally chart of the types of shops and and overview of the results from the questionnaire. The children then worked in groups to create and present the findings to the class. 

In computing, we found out about Infrared devices and we designed our own creations that could be used in school. Some people thought of machines that use heat to detect germs; others created laser machines to protect the school IPads. 

Today, we bent the rules by wearing mufti, painting our nails and doing colouring in when we should have been doing maths!

Have a great half term everyone.

Miss Burton

The Enormous Turnip

What a fantastic week we have had in Tregantle Class!

This week, we have been learning the story *The Enormous Turnip*. We have really enjoyed bringing the story to life by making up actions to retell it, learning songs about the story and even making our very own turnip soup. It was delicious, and we were very proud to try something new!

On Wednesday, we welcomed our parents and carers into school for a 'Mastering Number' session. Everyone had lots of fun playing number games together and sharing our maths learning. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the children.

Friday was our exciting 'Bend the Rules Day'! We had great fun wearing non-school uniform and especially enjoyed playing football during maths time!

We hope you all have a wonderful half-term break and we look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for the second half of the summer term.

Summer 1

Spelling

We've been busy investigating spelling patterns; identifying these within our reading books and books for pleasure. We discussed the importance of recognising digraphs and trigraphs when decoding new words we come across in our reading.


Reading Fluency

Year 3/4A have improved their reading fluency this Half Term, accessing regular texts. Within the sessions we partner up and listen carefully for the following reading skills: 
pace, volume, articulation, use of punctuation, emphasis of key words and the application of our phoneme knowledge in decoding 'trickier' words.
We then offer 'constructive feedback' in a 'feedback sandwich' in ways to move our reading forward. We love these sessions!

Maths
We are currently at the end of the 'Decimals' unit having applied our knowledge of Place Value and Fractions.

English
Our knights in shining armour have been busy on their quests to save princesses and slay fictional beasts! We've created and innovated our own knightly tales based on a shared WAGOLL. Year 3/4A have reinforced their understanding of the use of DADWAVERS, expanded noun phrases and dialogue within their writing, editing and up-leveling throughout the planning stages. Please pop in and have a read. They'll be making their way home as books complete with title page and blurb tomorrow for you to enjoy too!

A great half term of learning - Well done Year 3/4A!

DT: A Greek Picnic

The children have been learning about Greek cuisine this week, finding out that olive oil, wheat and wine are food staples in Greece. 

The week started with the children putting their taste buds to the test with a Greek taster session including: tzatziki, kalamata olives, pitta, feta, humous, sun dried tomatoes and dalmades (vine leaves). We were very impressed with how the children challenged themselves and tried thing that were new to them.

They then used cucumbers )a key ingredient in Greek salads) to practise using graters and peelers as well as different knife skills.

After considering which ingredients they had enjoyed tasting and would like to try again, the children designed stuffed Greek flat breads and a Greek salad. 

They worked hard across the day today to prepare a Greek-inspired picnic. Using the skills learnt earlier in the week, they chopped ingredients for their Greek salads; measured, mixed and kneaded their ingredients for the dough; and stuffed their flat breads ready for baking.

This afternoon, both classes came together to sample their products-it is safe to say that the flat breads were a huge success!

We are inching closer to the end of the preparations and rehearsals for Thursday's festival. The children were exceptional in the space this morning and we are looking forward to enjoying the festival with them and the wider community. Thank you to the Sterts team from including us in this unique creation and celebration. See you there!

Today, Storytellers Nursery were very excited to welcome David from ZooLab for a fascinating animal encounter linked to this term's topic. The children had an amazing hands-on experience meeting a variety of wonderful creatures and learning all about their habitats, features and how they survive in the wild.

The children met Tiny the gecko, Abbey the snake, Gapoy the millipede, Shelly the snail, Lawla the cockroach and Grumpy the scorpion. David taught the children lots of interesting facts about each creature, including what they eat, where they live and how they protect themselves.

The children showed fantastic listening skills and were incredibly gentle and respectful as they carefully held and stroked the animals. Some children were a little nervous at first, but with encouragement and support they bravely explored and joined in with the experience.

Hello!

This week, Year 1 and 2 have completed some fantastic examples of instructions. We have written our own instructions for 'Marvellous Medicine Number 4' which has been inspired by 'George's Marvellous Medicine'. The story has been Penhallow's class text for the past 2 weeks. It has been a joy to read parts of this story to the children at the end of every day, and see their obviously enjoyment whilst listening to the story. 

We have continued with our learning about algorithms in computing this week. Yesterday we followed some precise, and not so precise instructions about how to draw monsters, which highlighted the fact that instructions need to be clear and in a specific order.

Our history learning this week, focussed on Ellen MacArthur. We watched a clip of her sailing solo across the Atlantic, which highlighted the challenges that she faced. We talked about the idea of bravery and perseverance and wrote a fact file about her. We also revised our learning about Christopher Columbus by learning a song about the events in his life.

Have a lovely weekend,

From The Penhallow Team

Well, it's been a tough week but we can safely say that the SATS are over for us! Everyone has been amazing and we have really worked together as a team to support each other. It was Nuala's birthday on the Thursday, and we celebrated the end of the SATS by having cake and lots of fun! We tie-dyed our T-shirts in the afternoons and they have turned out AMAZING!! Next week, we will be sewing on appliques and really personalising them.

There is no much more to say except, "Have a well-deserved rest this weekend. Everyone has deserved it!"

Miss Randle and Mrs Clary. 

This week, we have had an absolutely fantastic time in school with lots of exciting learning taking place across the curriculum. One of the highlights of the week was our wonderful trip to the Box and the Hoe, which linked closely to our Science learning about living things. The children behaved brilliantly throughout the visit and showed so much enthusiasm and curiosity. They asked lots of thoughtful and brilliant questions, demonstrating just how engaged they were with their learning. It was lovely to see their confidence grow as they explored and discovered new things together.

In Maths, the children have now completed their unit on fractions. They worked incredibly hard to develop their understanding of halves, quarters and equal parts, and they should feel very proud of all the progress they have made. Next week, we will begin our new unit on money, where the children will be learning to recognise coins and notes and use them in practical problem-solving activities.

In Literacy, the children have been busy imitating the story Lost and Found. 

In RE, the children have been learning about the Creation Story and thinking carefully about why it is important to Christians. They enjoyed discussing the world around them and reflecting on the beauty of nature and how we should care for it.

Our History lessons have focused on the Great Fire of London. This week, the children worked collaboratively to diamond-rank different pieces of information about the event, discussing which facts they thought were the most important and explaining their reasoning carefully. They showed excellent teamwork and listening skills during these discussions.

In PSHE, we continued thinking about friendships and what it means to be a good friend. The children shared thoughtful ideas about kindness, listening, helping others and including everyone in games and activities. It has been lovely to see these values being demonstrated around the classroom too.

In PE, we learned compass skills and practised giving and following directions. 

Reception have also had a brilliant week. In Maths, they have been learning more about number composition and understanding what numbers are made up from. For example, they explored how ten and one more makes eleven. They have been developing their confidence using practical resources to represent numbers in different ways. Reception also had great fun learning more fascinating facts about space and enjoyed sharing their knowledge about planets, stars and astronauts.

Well done to all of the children for another wonderful week of learning, hard work and enthusiasm! 

TALLAND'S BLOG 15.5.26

Hoping everyone has had an excellent week and are looking forward to the weekend! The children have been brilliant this week and so respectful to all of the year 6's during their SATS week! 

Here's a snapshot of what we've been learning:

Maths:
Year 5 have been working their way through converting units. We've investigated metric and imperial measurements and have been using our multiplying and dividing skills to convert.
Year 4 have been enjoying their unit on money where they have been solving problems, converting and delving into real world scenarios.

English:
Talland's persuasive letters were brilliant. They were such a joy to read - they're clearly passionate about the health and safety of our beaches, oceans and aquatic life!

Computing:
We have been creating music on an app called 'Scratch'. Children have been using movie genres to produce a sound track which could fit the theme - noisy, but good fun!

RE:
We've been looking at Jesus and his disciples - why he chose them and what they sacrificed to follow him. Why not ask your child what is meant by 'fishers of men'... 

PE:
In PE, children were trying to have rallies and use a range of shots to return the shuttlecock. They were also thinking about their positioning and tactics when working with a doubles partner.

Celebrations:
Congratulations to Renley and Max for earning their new badge and moving on to their next round of the 99 Club. A great effort from Kayla and Arnie this week - they got noticed for excellent pieces of writing and taking their learning home to practice. 

That's all from Talland Class this week. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing everyone next week.

Signing off, Mr. Langley and Mr. Bishop.

The Storytellers have been eagerly waiting for our duck eggs to hatch, but as they are now overdue, we are still keeping our fingers crossed that our little ducklings will arrive soon!

 In the meantime, we were very lucky to have a fabulous parent bring in some newly hatched chicks for the children to see and gently handle. This was such a wonderful experience for the children, giving them the opportunity to observe the tiny chicks up close, talk about how to care for animals, and learn about the life cycle of birds.

The children were incredibly calm, gentle, and caring whilst holding the chicks, and they thoroughly enjoyed watching them cheep, move around, and snuggle together. It was a lovely hands-on learning experience that created lots of excitement, curiosity, and conversation throughout the day.