Year 4 enjoyed lunch in the shade after an enjoyable morning of sports.  It's hard to choose, but I think my favourite event was the  'Tectonic Plate Race'. I won't spoil the surprise by explaining it to you, and I'm not sure that I could!  Look out for the Year 4 blogs next week - you're in for a treat.

As the government moves to lift many of the Covid -19 restrictions on Monday, the DfE has been sending updates to schools explaining what we are and are not expected to continue in September. The new guidance allows us to end the current bubble system, but we are expected to maintain the enhanced levels of hygiene and ventilation. 

As we are so close to the end of term, the routines for the children will remain the same until the start of the Autumn term. However, one of the restrictions we will remove from Monday is the requirement for adults to wear a face mask when outside and socially distanced. I look forward to seeing some of your faces in their entirety for the first time in several months!

Below are this week's Achievers. We will celebrate their excellent work and attitudes during assembly on Monday. Please visit the class blogs for the rest of the week's news..

This week Year 5 and Year 6 pupils took part in a music session led by a Woodwind Quintet . The children enjoyed activities based on extending understanding regarding tone, rhythm and pitch as well as listening to a mini concert performed by the five very talented musicians. Throughout this term the children have also been taking part in whole class violin lessons and we all agree that the resulting renditions, performed by each class, are surprisingly musical! Well done. 

Please see below for this week's class Achievers. Congratulations to everyone chosen, we will celebrate their successes in Monday's assembly.

One of our talented year 5 pupils entered and won a competition held by a local Saltash estate agent, to design a dream home.  

Here she is seen collecting her prize from Paul Sanders of Wainwrights -  a tablet for herself and one for the school.

Well done and thank you!

Please see below the class Achievers for the week ending 2nd July 2021

Y5/6 swimming lessons

During the past three weeks year 5 and year 6 children have attended swimming lessons of an hour a day in weekly blocks of 5 days. Some evidence suggests that children, particularly those that are less confident in the water, can learn to swim more successfully if attending lessons in an intensive block. 
In swimming activities and water safety lessons pupils will be taught to

• Pace themselves in floating and swimming challenges related to speed distance and personal survival.
• Swim unaided for a sustained period of time over  a distance of 25 metres.
• Use recognised arm and leg actions, lying on their front and back.
• Use a range of recognised strokes and personal survival techniques. 

Good attendance and punctuality are important for achieving success at school and are also important life skills. If children are not in school they are missing vital learning and if they are late they will have missed the start of lessons when important instructions will have been given.

At Brunel we encourage good attendance in a number of ways, a popular one being the weekly awarding of Attendance trophies. We have two trophies; one for the best class attendance in EYFS/KS1 and one for KS2. This week was extra special as both the winning classes, Portwrinkle and Whitsand,  achieved (drum roll) 100% attendance. This photo shows the happy pupils from Portwrinkle class collecting their trophy. 

The poster below is of this week's Achievers showcasing the wide variety and quality of work that happens daily throughout our school. Please visit the class blogs for more information.

This week began with the disappointing news that it is not going to be possible to lift the remaining social distance restrictions on Monday. We are all looking forward to the time when we can gather together as a whole school but in the meantime are enjoying the larger bubble groupings and our regular get-togethers via TEAMs.

This is a lovely time of year to be attending Brunel. The extensive grounds and patio areas provide many opportunities for outdoor learning and I've seen them put to good use in a number of ways this week. Please visit the class blogs and have a look at the Achievers poster below for examples of this week's activities.

We would like to sat a huge thank you for your contributions to the recent BFA funding events. Your generous donations have amounted to over £1,000. 

Congratulations to all the children who took part in The Captain Tom challenge which raised an amazing £885. What a fantastic effort - well done!

Relax the Rules day raised another £206. The children and staff thoroughly enjoyed this event. They were able to, among other things, enjoy snacks at random times throughout the day, listen to music, wear non-uniform and do lessons backwards.

Some of the money you have raised has been used to purchase exciting new reading books for the KS2 classrooms and a total of eight picnic benches which have provided the opportunity for the children to work and eat their lunch outside. 

Thank you also to the Brunel Friend's Association members for coming up with the ideas and organising everything. It really is appreciated.

Suzanne Cooper
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

Please see below the report from the recent Ofsted monitoring visit; it will be published on the Ofsted website next week. We are very pleased that Her Majesty's Inspectors recognised the many improvements that have continued to be made despite the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Leaders, including governors, are driving effective improvement across the school' and 'their vision for pupils to succeed academically, socially and emotionally is shared by all staff'.

This half term seems to have flown by. The children have worked extremely hard, and we have all been very impressed with the progress they have made. Hopefully, some of you will already have been made aware of this during your recent parent/teacher consultations. As always, we thank you for the support you continue to give to your children at home. Reading really is the key to learning and we appreciate the time you take to help them practice.

The Brunel Friend’s Association ‘Relax the Rules’ event has been enjoyed by everyone. Thank you for your generous donations, the BFA will let you know how much was raised very soon.

During my walk around the school today I have seen and heard things that I have never encountered before at Brunel and I’m rather relieved that it was for one day only!

Here are just a few of my discoveries:

·       A space hopper race instead of guided reading.

·       Being greeted with ‘Good afternoon’ at 9:30 am.

·       Classes answering the phone with random beach names such as Bondi Class.

·       Children and staff eating unhealthy snacks such as Pringles, ice poles and chocolate, sometimes with their feet up on the tables.

·       Faces and hands decorated with glitter, nail varnish and tattoos.

·       Children and staff wearing all manner of clothing including slippers, sunglasses, hats, blankets and even underpants on their heads.

Below are this week's class Achievers. Please visit the class blogs to see more examples of Brunel learning.