Virtual LIVE tour of MVV Energy from Waste Facility , Plymouth.


Thursday 22nd of April was international Earth Day, to promote awareness of environmental protection, and Brunel children have been investigating  how they can help by recycling. 
One of the bonuses of the current situation is that instead of the usual visit for just one year group, all Brunel pupils were able to experience a live virtual tour of The Energy from Waste Facility in Devonport.
They learned about the inner workings of the facility and about the reduce, reuse, recycle and recover hierarchy. During the tour the children impressed Jane and Colin, the guides, with a range of very inquisitive questions. Here are some of the facts they found out.

Dear Parents, Carers and Staff,

We are finally at the end of what seems to have been an incredibly long term. As always, I want to say a massive thank you to all of you for your support over the challenging past few months. You have all adapted and taken on board the changes that we have had to make and supported the school so much during another incredibly tough time. This situation is not quite over yet so we hope that you will continue to support us as we move through the summer term.

Education has been different whether at home or in school, but pupils have really stepped up to the plate and have again adapted so well to the new circumstances. With rules and regulations changing frequently, they have been flexible in their approach and have taken things on board with minimal fuss. This is a testament to the hard work that you put in as parents but also the work we do at school and shows that we have a consistent approach together. One of the bonuses of the lockdowns has been more contact between staff and many parents/carers and we aim to continue to foster the positive relationships we’ve made.

Finally, the staff and governors have been brilliant over the course of the past term. It has been difficult at times, but they have all remained committed to providing the best education possible for your children. Thanks in part to their vigilance and adherence to standards, we have been lucky to have had a very low rate of COVID related absences and cases in school. A special mention must go out to our crucial team of cleaners who have been working extemely hard following the enhanced regulations and to Jane and the kitchen staff who have been put through an intense daily exercise regime delivering all the food to the classrooms!

I hope you enjoy a relaxing Easter break and look forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday 19th April.

Yours sincerely,

Suzanne Cooper
Headteacher

Friday Update

Today was the last Friday before the Easter holiday (we break up next Thursday) and the last Friday that we will be finishing at lunchtime. We thank you very much for your cooperation during this transition period and look forward to keeping your children in school on Friday afternoons from the 23rd of April. We hope that they will be excited about this but judging by this morning we're going to have some very tired children by the end of the day!
Below are our class Achievers; congratulations to all the children chosen, I will see them at our virtual Achievers Assembly first thing on Monday Morning. 

Thank you very much for supporting our Bad Hair Day in aid of Comic Relief. THe children looked amazing and we had lots of laughs during out TEAMS assemby this morning. Your generosity means that we will be able to donate over £180. Please visit the class blogs for a selection of photos of the children.

Below is the latest Brunel Achievers. Congratulations to everyone who has been chosen this week.

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am pleased to be writing to you at the end of a week that has seen Brunel return to something approaching normal. We are really grateful to be a whole school community again and I have seen many smiles and happy children (and staff) as I walked around the classrooms.

Thank you for bearing with us while we embed the new pick up and drop off routines. Please can Year 3 parents and carers wait with their children until a teacher is present, if you need to walk along the drive to do so that is fine. All other year groups seem to be working well but we may need to tweak things as we go along.

Obviously we are still in a national lockdown and remain ensconced in our class bubbles so some of our usual events will continue to take place virtually. This morning the school council met online and voted to support Comic Relief Red Nose Day on Friday 19th March by holding a Bad Hair Day. It will be uniforms as usual with the addition of any hairstyle your child would like to wear! Donation amounts of your choice can be handed in to class teachers on the day.

The photographer is in to take class photos on Monday 15th March so make sure your children look like their usual smart selves at the start of the week!

Below are this week's Achievers, congratulations and well done to everyone chosen.

Have a lovely weekend.

Yours sincerely

Suzanne Cooper
Headteacher

We've missed you!

We hope you're as excited as we are and look forward to welcoming you back as follows:

Monday 8th March
Reception, Looe, Cawsand and Seaton

Tuesday 9th March
Polzeath, Kingsand Sennen and Mousehole

Wednesday 10th March
Constantine, Whitsand and Kids Club

Please refer to class emails for arrival and pick up times.

Thank you for taking part in our dress a potato for World Book Day event. We were very impressed with all the different designs and hope you enjoyed creating your own and admiring each other's. Here are some more for you to see.

Welcome Back

Yesterday we had a glimpse that the warmth of Spring is on its way and despite the difference in the weather today , the atmosphere at school is one of hope that things are beginning to change for the better. Everyone at Brunel is so looking forward to welcoming all children back to school from the 8th March and we will be spending the next few days discussing what we need to do to prepare for a safe return and how we will continue to build on the learning that the children have been doing both at home and at school. An email will be sent out with more details as soon as all arrangements are finalised. There are many exciting events to look forward to this half term including World Book Day on Thursday 4th March, immediately followed by St Piran's Day on Friday 5th March. Teachers will let you know on their learning grids how we intend to celebrate this year. Above are some of the Art Club 'Seascape' submissions - keep your wondeful paintings coming in.
We are looking forward to seeing the children in their TEAMs lessons throughout this week and everyone in person very soon. We've missed you all!

This week I've taken part in an exciting TEAMS meeting with KS1 and 'Fossil Hunter - John' who had the Y1/2 children discussing such terms as extant and extinct, Triassic and Jurassic and naming fossils such as ammonites and its modern equivalent, nautilus. The children showed and named fossils that they themselves owned. The best part was that many of the children (and John) were wearing their fossil hunting hats!