This week at nursery we have been learning about dinosaurs and answering our enquiry question "Are dinosaurs real?"
The children have been busy making their own dinosaur masks and have made dinosaurs using different shapes to create the body parts.

On Thursday we enjoyed making savoury dinosaur biscuits and the children practiced their mixing and rolling skills to create them.

At story time we have enjoyed the books "Crunch Munch Dinosaur Lunch" and the children have been using resources in the tuft tray to support their play.
We have also been learning different dinosaur names in our non fiction collection of books and read "Silly Dizzy Dinosaur".

In phonics the children have been clapping the number of beats in different words, beginning to identify simple rhyming words and they took part in an "instrument party" where they identified and played different musical instrumnerts and moved their bodies as they played them.

In maths we have been exploring repeating patterns and the children have been encouraged to create thier own. We have also been naming and ordering numbers.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Julie and Sarah

Year 5 have started preparing their lanterns for the Liskeard Lantern Parade on Saturday 29th November. We hope that some of you will be there to support them and enjoy the spectacle. We were joined by a local artist Biddy Daniel who has started the process off with our children. Our creative staff will continue the preparations with all of year 5 to create their lanterns ready for the big event. It is always a magical event to be part of and another chance for the local community to come together.  

There has been a definite change in the weather this week with a flurry of snow yesterday and a notable nip in the air. Fortunately, the adverse weather conditions weren't extreme enough to force a school closure. If we are ever in a position where we need to close the school due to the weather, we will contact families as early as possible through a Showbie notification and an Arbor email. We will only close the school if we are unable to provide safe staffing levels or it would be unsafe to open. We may also consider later opening to allow staff extra time to complete their journey to work.

Garland
Year 5 pupils participated in the annual Cotehele House flower garland workshop this week. During the summer term, children grew, cut and dried flowers which they used to decorate the garland. The children's garland will appear in the restaurant over the festive period. Whilst there, the children were invited to see the main garland in the great hall, which was being constructed during our visit; it has over 32,000 flowers on it! Both garlands are stunning and well worth a visit if you get the chance. Thank you to volunteer Julie Marples for joining me, ensuring we had enough adults.



Sports Coaching
The coaches from Pro20 have been providing some great afterschool and lunchtime clubs this term. They also teach a PE lesson to each class. Here are some wonderful action shots from Class 4, who have been developing hockey skills this half term.



Staffing Update
Our new school administrator, Amy Souch, will be starting in Monday 1st December. We look forward to welcoming her to the team. Amy will be in the office from 8.30am to 1.30pm daily. 

Online Safety
Some children have been overheard talking about the latest version of Grand Theft Auto which was released recently. This game is rated 18+ as it involves alcohol and drug use, coarse and offensive language, nudity, violence and use of weaponry. We don't know if the same children have accessed the game outside of school via friends, older siblings or unauthorised access, but want to flag this to all parents and carers. Please check you have the necessary safeguards in place at home to ensure underage children don't have access to this game. Thank you.

Road Closure
We have been made aware the road  down through the village (past the Old Post Office) will be shut for roadworks for the whole of next week. If driving, please allow extra time for the school run as the alternative routes may be slower and busy with detour traffic.

A fun filled week! 

What a wonderful week we've had in Tregantle Class!

On Friday, we enjoyed a fantastic trip to Saltash Library. Visiting the library is a great way to nurture our love of books and reading, and the children were so excited to explore a new space filled with stories. We listened to a brand-new story and learned how to use the special machine to check out a book-this was definitely a highlight! Every child was able to borrow a book to take home for the week, and we're already looking forward to returning on Friday to choose new ones.

In PE, we had lots of fun playing with the parachute. We worked together to bounce and catch balls, and even turned the parachute into a cosy little den that we could all sit inside. There was plenty of giggling and teamwork!

Outdoors, the children have been busy in the large sandpit, where lots of imaginative construction has been taking place. It has been lovely to see everyone working collaboratively, building, digging, and creating.

During Forest School, we linked our activities to our class story Room on the Broom. The children gathered natural materials to create their very own magic wands. Each wand was unique, and the children were very proud of their enchanting creations.

It's been a fun, active, and creative week of learning. Well done, Tregantle!

This week in pre-school we enjoyed Julia Donaldson's story, "What the ladybird heard?'

A witty adventure of two crafty robbers, one tiny ladybird and a whole farmyard of fun!

The children enjoyed the story and creating their own paper plate ladybirds. We used some ladybirds and their spots to build on our counting skills.  The children have been working hard to count and say the numbers in sequence up to 10.  We then counted the spots on the ladybirds and placed them by the correct number.  Counting small groups of everyday objects at home is a really good way to teach children that the last number they reach tells us how many objects there are.  

On Tuesday we honored Remembrance Day in our own way, creating a pre-school wreath and our own poppy artwork.  We then took part in the 2-minute silence by watching a beautiful animation following a young rabbit through the poppy fields.  It gave the children an age-appropriate understanding of peace and hope.

Our phonics sessions had a theme of Little Red Riding Hood.  The children have enjoyed using instruments that helped them to tell the story or move like a character. Using our listening skills to move in time to a fast or slow beat.

A reminder that we need a waterproof coat and a pair of wellies for your child for them to enjoy outside play in all weather.

Some dates for your diary;

Wednesday 17^th December - Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day

Friday 19th December  - Lights, Camel, Action 2! The Sequin! at the church

12:30pm - Last day of term and children can be collected from 1.15pm.

Friday 19th December  - Lights, Camel, Action 2! The Sequin!  - Last day of term. Children can be collected from 1.15pm

Monday 22nd December - Friday 2nd January - Christmas Break

This week, Storytellers have been busy learning how to keep our teeth strong, clean and healthy. The children explored a special dental role-play area, complete with mirrors, toothbrushes, and friendly storybooks about visiting the dentist. They enjoyed acting out check-ups, talking about what keeps our teeth strong, and learning why brushing twice a day is so important.

The highlight of the session was using discolouration tablets. The children were so excited to chew the little pink tablets and see precisely where they needed to brush more carefully. Looking closely in the mirrors, they spotted any tricky areas and worked hard to brush away the pink! This hands-on experience helped them understand why brushing properly is essential for keeping their teeth healthy.

We also spent time studying our teeth in the mirror, talking about the different shapes, how they help us eat crunchy foods, and what happens if we don't look after them.

Everyone was incredibly proud of their clean smiles and even more delighted to take home their brand-new toothbrush to keep practising at home.

Storytellers have had a wonderfully busy day in nursery, full of baking, creativity and community spirit. The children worked together beautifully, taking turns to mix ingredients, spoon out cake batter and carefully decorate their sweet treats. Our art table was just as lively, with everyone colouring their own Pudsey Bears to help brighten up our nursery stall. When the cakes were ready, the children proudly helped set up the stall and were so excited to "sell" their bakes to families and friends. They showed fantastic confidence, lovely manners and a real sense of teamwork throughout the whole afternoon. We are incredibly proud of our little Storytellers for their hard work, enthusiasm and the joy they brought to our Children in Need fundraising.

Well done, everyone! We raised an amazing £99 as a group effort. 

It's been a busy week in school, filled with meaningful activities and plenty of colour! Thank you for sending your children in for a cosy day today in their PJs, spots, or bright colours. We are delighted to share that we raised £150 for Children in Need. As part of Anti-Bullying Week, pupils took part in thoughtful discussions in both assemblies and classrooms about what bullying means to us and how we can use our "Power for Good" to stand up against bullying, whether face-to-face or online. We were also very proud of the respect the children showed during the two-minute silence on Tuesday at 11am, as well as the interest and maturity they demonstrated during Rev Richard's Remembrance assembly in the afternoon.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who met with their child's teacher this week. It was a valuable opportunity to hear about the progress pupils are making, the learning they are enjoying, and the ways you can support them at home.

We are entering a very busy time of year and here are the dates of upcoming events for your diary. Further details will follow. Dates are also on our online events diary on this website.
• Christmas Gift MUFTI day - Wednesday 3rd December (see details below under Christmas Gift Room)
• Christmas Fair - Friday 5th December FOPS are currently busy organising our Christmas Fair which will be on Friday 5th December starting at 2.00 pm. We would be grateful for donations of raffle prizes, good condition toys to sell and teddies for the teddy tombola.
• Polperro Lights Switch On - Saturday 6th December The children will be making willow lanterns in school, kindly funded by the Polperro Christmas Lights Committee, for the Lantern Parade from the Village Hall (more details to follow).
• CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCES (in the school hall)
Penhallow Class Nativity Play - Tuesday 9th December at 11am and 2.00 pm.
Landaviddy Class Christmas Play - Thursday 11th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm.
Talland Class and Chaipel Class Christmas Play (joint performance) - Monday 15th December at 2.00 pm and 6.00 pm.
• Christmas Jumper Day Thursday 11th December We are holding our Christmas Jumper Day in aid of the charity 'Save The Children' on Thursday 11th December. We ask for a £1.00 donation for this non-uniform day. We will provide opportunities for children to add some sparkle to a plain jumper if they do not already have a Christmas top to wear.
•  Christmas Gift Room On, Wednesday 17th December, during the school morning, Santa's Workshop will be opening its doors for the children to choose a special gift or two for someone they love. Each gift will cost £2 (maximum of 2 gifts per child). Santa's helpful elves will be on hand to wrap the presents, ready to bring home at the end of the day, perfect to pop under your Christmas tree! To help make this possible, we'll be holding a Christmas Mufti Day on Wednesday 3rd December. Children can come to school in their favourite festive clothes in exchange for a donation of new or unused items (2 items if possible). Gift ideas include chocolates, toiletries, socks, notebooks or any small items you'd be happy to receive yourself. (Please no alcohol, thank you!). All profits will go to the school.
• Christmas Lunch Wednesday 17th December The Christmas lunch will be held on Wednesday 17th December this year. The menu will be on Parent Pay shortly, we will advise you when.

Have a lovely weekend.