Welcome to my weekly headteacher blog. This replaces the fortnightly newsletter and is an opportunity for me to celebrate and share some of the wonderful learning experiences enjoyed by children at Harrowbarrow Primary Academy. I will also share information about future events for us all to look forward to.

Please also look at the class blogs, which teachers will add to weekly to share information directly relating to their own classes.

If parents/carers need to contact me about their child or anything related to the school, this can be done through the school office on 01579 350576 or via email: head@harrowbarrowprimary.co.uk

Andrew Hunt
Headteacher

Now we have reached the end of this half term, I'm not sure where the weeks have gone. The staff and children have been working extremely hard and everyone deserves a rest. Hopefully, we will have some better weather next week and when we return on Monday 23rd February. I was told it has been the wettest January on record in Cornwall and it has certainly felt like it.

Art Exhibition
At 3.20pm on Wednesday 25th February, we are inviting parents and carers to join us in classes for our latest art exhibition. Here is a taster of what you will see. Class 3 have been learning about art activism and produced their own artwork with a message they want to share with the world. Class 3 have been learning about repeating patterns and how they are generated for the textile and design industry. They have created their own. We look forward to welcoming you on the 25th.




Football Tournament
Well done to our Year 5 and 6 football team, who completed their tournament fixtures this week. A 5-0 win against Menheniot in the first match was followed by a narrow 3-2 defeat to South Petherwin in the second. I was very proud of their attitude, effort and teamwork. A special thanks to Jacob from Year 4, who stepped in to make up the numbers and support Rioch, Rosie, Belle, Seth, Alfie and Jayden. 

Half Term Activities
I look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday 23rd February but, in the meantime, here are a couple of ideas for half term:





Finally, here is something for the summer term:

This week two classes went on trips in the local area. It is always good for our children to connect with their local community and the environment as it gives them a sense of place.

Tree planting at Cotehele
The National Trust is planting millions of trees across their estates and this week Class 4 helped plant beech, oak, hornbeam, pine, sycamore and lime trees at Cotehele. The children worked in teams of three to plant and stake over 100 trees. They did an amazing job and really understood the value of the contribution they were making to the landscape and the local habitat.



Haye Farm
Class 3 visited Haye Farm to learn how plants get their food. The visit supports their work in science this term. They will be visiting again in March to learn more and may get the opportunity to see some newborn baby animals too.

It's a girl!
Congratulations to Sam Watts and his partner, who welcomed their baby daughter into the world yesterday. Sam is understandably feeling very proud and asked us to share this angelic photo. We will send a congratulatory card and gift on behalf of our school community.

It's always busy at Harrowbarrow and this week is no exception. Here are some examples of what the children have been up to:

Science in Class 2
Class 2 have been investigating the difference between seeds and bulbs.


Art in Class 3
After looking at the work of artist Rachel Parker, the children designed a tile which is going to be transformed into a repeating pattern using a clever trick of quartering it, rearranging the sections and using technology to repeat their design multiple times. We look forward to sharing the final work at the end but here are a few of tiles ready for the next stage of the process.


Writing in Class 4
The children have been using a text about the fantasy world of Pandora as a stimulus for their own writing. Here are some lovely examples that show how hard the children are working to create some quality pieces of writing.:

In the terrain, foliage sprawls in every direction, only stopping when it meets one of the rivers that winds through the land. Beneath the misty sky, trees stand guard and under  the vines that trail from their branches a wilderness teems with life, above which slivers of moonlight shift and shimmer. Pandora is well known for its deadly environment. Lurking beneath vast trees with dangling vines is the camp where the humanoid inhabitants of Pandora hide. Wrapped around the branches, long, shiny vines with spikes dangle, ready to ensnare anything that touches them. All around, the small but glistening fauna float, spinning slowly. Pandora has amazing features and one of them is the Hallelujah Mountains. Hovering above the ground, the Hallelujah Mountains float over the surface of Pandora. Silky vines connect the Hallelujah mountains. Above the silky, glossy vines that to the Hallelujah mountains slide through the mist. Lurking beneath the mist, the Hallelujah Mountains meet together. Hiding beneath the vines, lay the Hallelujah mountains vailed in silver mist. By Leo

Finally, here are a some opportunities for your children outside of school:

It's been another busy week at Harrowbarrow with a class trip, road safety lessons for our older cyclists and the usual range of exciting lessons. For more information on what your children will be learning this term, please look at the class pages on the website. The teachers post an overview of the learning content in each subject area for your information.

Bikeability
Well done to our Year 6 cyclists who successfully completed their Bikeability training this week. After learning some important safety lessons in the covered playground, the group took to the roads to put their skills into practice.




Cornwall Museum Trip
Class 3 visited Cornwall Museum as part of their history project, learning about the ancient Egyptians. The day started with an interactive lesson on how to mummify a body - don't worry, a doll was used for this! The museum has some great artefacts, which the children were able to explore after the workshop, including a 2,500 year old mummy and his sarcophagus. The whole day was really interesting and brought the history of ancient Egypt alive for Class 3. 



Staffing Update
Sam Watts is due to go on paternity leave in the near future. During his absence, Class 3 will be taught by Abi Flashman on Mondays and Tuesdays and by myself from Wednesday to Friday.

Attendance
We appreciate there have been a succession of bugs throughout the winter period that have impacted on pupil attendance. Thank you to all those parents and carers who notify us if their child is going to be away using the telephone answer system. It is important to phone on each day of absence so we know the reason why absent children are not in school. For mild colds and ailments, we are able to administer medication such as Calpol with your consent. If this helps your child attend on a day when they are slightly off colour, please feel free to drop the medication into the school office and complete a form authorising us to administer it. Quite a few children have missed a lot of school this winter and we are concerned they may not be able to catch-up on missed learning.

Physical Education
This half term, Class 4 are learning netball skills in PE. Here are a few nice actions shots from the lesson this week, which was all about shooting.



Year 5/6 football tournament
Unfortunately, due to the unrelenting poor weather, the team is yet to play a match. Fingers crossed for this coming Tuesday, when the team are due to play Tregadillet and then Stoke Climsland. Please can all players arrive at the college for a 4.15pm kick-off. Thank you.

It was lovely to have a full week without any weather interruptions. It meant we could re-establish routines fully after the holiday break. Clubs started again this week with a record number of pupils attending the infant sports club. We also had Year 6 children start their Bikeability road safety course and today was the first cross country race of 2026.

Morning Maths

Following the positive feedback we had after inviting parents and carers in to join the children for their morning maths last term, we invite you to join us again in a few weeks time. To make it more manageable, we are inviting different year groups on different days:
Wednesday 4th February - Reception, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5
Thursday 5th February - Year 1, Year 4 and Year 6
If you are able to join your child for this open door maths lesson, please come in with them at 8.40am and stay whilst they do their maths (until about 9am). We look forward to seeing you.

Art
Across the school, children have been engaging in their new art units. Once again, we hope to invite you in to see the outcomes at class exhibitions at the end of the unit. Class 2 have been experimenting with primary colours and mark making with different tools other than paintbrushes. Some even experimented on their school uniform!



Green Poster Competition
If your child would like to take part in this poster competition, we will collate entries in the school office and arrange for them to be collected by the Lions. Please leave entries no later than Monday 23rd February.

What an action packed first week back it has been, but not for the reasons we were hoping for! With snow and ice disruption for many on Tuesday and an early school closure yesterday due to Storm Goretti, it has been less than perfect. However, the children have been brilliant, taking it in their stride and settling very quickly and calmly into their learning. It was lovely to see them all this week and hopefully we will be back to normal routines from now on - fingers crossed!
Spring may be the the shortest term but is is no less action packed. Here is a flavour of what we have to look forward to:

- Year 5 & 6 football league at Callington College (Year 3 & 4 after half term)
- Rocksteady will continue with multiple band sessions
- Pro20 Sports will offer two after school sports clubs again
- Class 3 will be visiting Truro Museum
- Several more cross country races
- Class 4 will be planting trees at Cotehele as part of our involvement in an exciting project with the George Orwell Society
- Year 1 & 2 swimming after half term
- Barrow Beats to sing to Callington Luncheon Club
- Year 1 & 2 participation in a multiskills event at Callington College
- Participation in a Bridge music event in Liskeard with Canadian environmental folk singer Luke Wallace
- Barrow Beats to participate in Songfest
- Class 1 trip to the Theatre Royal

In between gritting the paths around the site and closing the school early due to Storm Goretti, I have had the more pleasurable task of wandering around the classes this week to see how children have re-engaged with their learning.  I was  blown away by the levels of engagement and progress in maths; there is some really fantastic work across all classes in this subject. Here are some examples from Ella Chapman's book in Year 2. Ella received a Praise Award in Celebration Assembly today for her efforts in maths. We will be inviting you all to join us again for one of our morning maths sessions in the weeks ahead so you can see how your children are progressing. Please remember, for your child to make this most of these short morning maths sessions, they need to arrive at school promptly for 8.40am.



Another activity I observed was the weekly reading partner session, where our Year 6 Learning Ambassadors read books to their Class 1 partner. This activity is beloved of both age groups and helps establish that love of books from a young age. Thank you to our Class 4 children, who do an amazing job with this.


Finally, we welcomed a new member into our school community this week. This is Bob the positive potato!

Each week, Bob will be joined by members of the Positive Potato Police (members of Class 4) who will be looking for examples of positivity from a child's perspective. He will then feedback what he has seen to teachers so they can reward identified children appropriately for their contribution to the school. Today, Seth was nominated by Eli and Josh from the Positive Potato Police for his positive contribution at playtime. Well done to Seth and thank you to Eli and Josh for a positive story to share in our Celebration Assembly. I look forward to sharing some more positive stories as identified by Bob and the Positive Potato Police in the term ahead. 

Christmas Performance



This year's Christmas performance was magical. Our children lit up the stage with their talent, confidence, and passion, delivering a show that left everyone beaming with pride. From the heartfelt singing to the excellent acting and stunning costumes, everything reflected the hard work, joy and creativity that make our school community what it is. What a wonderful way to end the term and celebrate the festive season.

Attendance
You may have seen media coverage of flu and sickness bugs sweeping through schools, causing some to close. Although we're not at that level, we have seen very high absence rates this last week or so. Sickness cannot be helped and is a justifiable reason for children not to attend school. If your child is ill, please remember to report each day of absence first thing in the morning so we can record the reason for their absence. Fingers crossed we have a healthier time next week so the children can enjoy the end of term festivities.

Final week festivities
Monday 15th December - PSA film night from 3.30pm
Wednesday 17th December - Christmas dinner
Friday 19th December - Christmas party day. Children may wear party clothes/Christmas jumpers and bring a game to play (no electrical devices please). They will also need a party picnic - thank you.

A reminder that we finish at 1.30pm on Friday 19th, the last day of term.

Here's what has been going on at Harrowbarrow this week:



Speak Out. Stay Safe.
Following their assembly and workshop on the theme of speaking out to stay safe, Class 4 children created eye catching posters which will be put up around the school to signpost children to Childline should they ever need to talk to someone. I ran the workshop with Class 4 and was really impressed with the maturity they displayed during discussions about the types of abuse young people can suffer and how to keep themselves safe.



Infant Theatre Trip
This week, I had the pleasure of accompanying the infants to Sterts to see a performance of The Ugly Duckling, which was brilliant and, judging by the looks on the children's faces, thoroughly enjoyed by all of them. For children to see stories brought to life through drama is such a powerful thing.

Design Technology
Thank you to those parents who were able to attend the exhibition of soft toys made by Class 4. Weren't they good? Next up, Class 3 are continuing work on their model pavilions. If we have time, we will be inviting parents and carers to come and see the finished work in another after school exhibition.

Father Christmas
In a change to our usual routine, Father Christmas won't be visiting Harrowbarrow before the end of term but don't worry, he is still planning to visit everyone on Christmas Eve! Instead of supporting Santa's visit with a gift for the children, the Parent Staff Association will be sponsoring a special event at the school in the spring term - watch this space!

Contacting the School Office
Please note, Amy Souch works in the school office from 8.30-1.30pm Monday to Friday. At all other times, the office will be unattended. However, we have staff listening for the doorbell and answer phones messages will be picked up by Lesley Connell, who gets an alert on her iPad when one is left.

Where possible, we try to promote local events and activities that are beneficial to our school community. Here are a few things you may be interested in:

Holly Jolly Christmas Fair - always popular with our families



Kelliwik Mini-Kickers - a football opportunity for reception and Year 1 boys and girls



Barnardos Young Carers



Plymouth Argyle - their first team might be having a terrible season, but the club are still running a number of community opportunities!



Flu Immunisation - Cornwall NHS are seeing a spike in flue cases this year. Immunisation rates have been low so, if your child missed out, you can access this through a community clinic:



For more information: 01872 221105 or email kernowhealthcic.schoolimmunisation@nhs.net