Head's Blog

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Brunel Achievers 

Please see below the Achievers so far this term. Congratulations and well done to all who've been chosen. From now on the Achievers poster will also include those children who attended the weekly Always Club.
Always club attendees are chosen by the class teacher for following the school rule of always being in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing. The emphasis is on the word ALWAYS, not just in one lesson or for one week or for a couple of months but ALWAYS. 
Achievers are chosen by the class teacher or TAs for exceptional work or behaviour in school.
For achievements out of school we have our 'Good to be Me' assembly. Please let the class teacher know if your child's achievement deserves a mention in school and send in a photo so that we can put it on our board.

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Newsletter 

Smeaton's Tower This week Tregantle and Lantic classes have been on an educational visit to Smeaton's Tower on Plymouth Hoe. Children often learn best through first hand experiences and it can increase their motivation to learn when investigating places and objects in real life. All the children were enthusiastic 'Have a Go Horses' and climbed the circular stairs to the top of the lighthouse. It was made all the more exciting by storm Agnes threatening to blow everyone out to sea!

BFA Disco We had great fun at the discos yesterday but I'm surprised the children have managed to get out of bed this morning - I've rarely seen so much energy in one room! Thank you to the BFA for organising and to the parents, carers and staff who helped with supervision and refreshments.

Royal Institution Visit We are delighted to announce that as a result of our successful bid to fund a Science Extravaganza, we are lucky to welcome The Royal Institution to Brunel on Thursday 5th October. They will be putting on a show for the children which promises to be both exciting and also hopefully inspiring to our scientists of the future. During the afternoon, from 1.30-2.30pm there will be a community show, to which you are invited. Tickets are free, but will be limited, due to fire regulations. If you would like to attend, tickets will be available from the Brunel school reception from Friday 29th September. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the show, it will not be suitable for children of pre-reception class age. We look forward to welcoming you to this exciting event!

School dinners On Thursday 5th October we have a special menu organised to encourage children to try a school meal if they haven't already. The choices are cheese and tomato pizza with chips or tomato and vegetable pasta bake with ice cream or fruit for dessert. Please can you help us by ensuring you always book your child's school lunches via ParentPay by 8.30am at the latest. If you miss the deadline, please call the office and we will book it for you. Our cook, Jane, needs to know accurate numbers in order to provide the right amount of food and at the moment she is finding that there are too many children who are expecting a lunch but have not been booked in.

Diary Dates 

9th October Y2 swimming week. School photographer in.

10th October World Mental Health Day

20th October INSET day – school closed to children

23rd – 27th October – half term holiday

30th October – back to school

19th December – last day of Autumn term

20th December – 3rd January – Christmas holiday

4th January – start of Spring term 

 


 

Gold Medal Winners!

Congratulations to Brunel's tenpin bowling team who came first at the Panathlon tenpin bowling competition at Trethorne Leisure Park this week. 

 


Welcome Back! 

We hope that you and your children have had a lovely summer break and have found some time to relax and enjoy yourselves away from the school routine.

We'd like to say a big hello and welcome to all our new pupils and their families. Congratulations on choosing Brunel - we're sure you're going to enjoy your time with us. To all our returning pupils and their families, welcome back - we've missed you!

As always we started our new school year with a whole school assembly. Here is a reminder of the Cornish greetings that we use. Some of it is written phonetically to help with pronunciation.

Mrs Cooper or another adult begins: Dayth da oll - Good day all/everyone

Children reply: Dayth da Mestres Cooper, dayth da thew whee oll - Good day Mrs Cooper, good day to you all

Our logo has the motto - Degemer an jydh (pronounced jeeth) which means the same as seize the day. We use it to end assemblies.

Below is a reminder of the names of all our new classes and teachers for the 2023 to 2024 school year.


Issy's Nursery (pre-school) - Mrs Ruth Smith (manager)

Tregantle (Reception/Year 1) - Mrs K Grinsted, Mrs D McIntyre (HLTA)

Lantic (Year 2) - Mrs H Stevens

Mousehole (Year 3) - Miss J Pentreath (Mon-Thur), Mrs J Morris (Fri)

Whitsand (Year 4) - Mrs S McKillop

Talland (Year 5) - Mr D Parry (Mon,Tues) Mrs L Swabey (Wed-Fri)

Pendower (Year 6) - Mrs L Cabello, Assistant headteacher, (Mon Tues Fri) Mrs J Morris (Wed, Thur)

Seaton (Year 6) - Miss S Burton

SENDCo - Mrs A Linsley (Mon, Tue, Thur)

We are looking forward to a successful and enjoyable new school year and thank you for your continued support.

 


Happy Holidays 

Dear Parents and Carers,

On behalf of the staff at Brunel, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support over the last 12 months. Whether this has been helping with homework, attending meetings, watching performances, joining us for Sports Day and our Celebratory Afternoon, or supporting the BFA fundraising events, your involvement makes a real difference to your children and to the success of Brunel.

I would also like to thank our committed staff: teachers, TAs, lunchtime, kitchen, admin, cleaning and site staff who, like a well-oiled machine, work so hard to provide the very best education and environment for your children.

This has certainly been a memorable year at Brunel and a hectic finish to the summer term. We have taken part in so many events, both during and outside the school day and we know you appreciate our efforts to give your children a wide range of experiences.

As always at the end of the school year, we need to say some goodbyes. From Downderry Class, Miss Turner is off to University in September and Miss Millar will have her vey own little person to keep her busy. To Miss Millar and Miss Turner we say thank you for all your hard work and wish you every success for the future.

Mr Arnold is leaving to take up the position of senior head of school at Beechwood Primary Academy in Plymouth. This is a wonderful opportunity for Mr Arnold, and we wish him every success, but we will miss his hard working enthusiasm and endless energy. (However, not his jokes!)

Mrs Karen Matthews has made the decision to retire after teaching at Brunel for over 36 years. The school was Longstone Infants when she first joined and I know that many of you, as well as your children, have been taught by her during this time. She has had a hugely successful career and will be retiring on a high after leading the EYFS to outstanding in last year's Ofsted inspection.

Thank you to all our leavers - we will miss you very much.

We also say goodbye to our current Year 6 pupils. In our leavers assembly today we reflected on everything that's happened during their time at Brunel and how they've matured and are ready for their next steps. We wish them the best of luck in their new schools and will miss them all.

Below are the remaining achievers for this term. Congratulations and well done to all who were chosen.

School finishes today and re-opens on Tuesday 5th September and we hope you all have a lovely relaxing summer break.

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Newsletter 

We are only a few weeks away from the end of term but there is still so much to look forward to:

BFA Shorts and Shades Day - Friday 23rd June.

Instead of cash donations for this non-uniform day the Brunel Friends Association are asking that you send in items for the Summer Fair 'House Raffle'. If possible, please can your child bring in a prize related to the colour of the house teams, so Red, Blue, Yellow or Green.

Plymouth Armed Forces Day - Saturday 24th June on Plymouth Hoe 

Brunel Blues Field Gun Crew will be competing along with other schools and members of the armed forces. Supporters will be able to see first hand how smart they look in their new kit which has been sponsored by local businesses, and parents of Brunel children, Designed Surfaces and Let Us Sprays Ltd. Thank you, Katherine Martin and Dan McKillop.

Please come along and join us, it's a really exciting day with lots to look at. The Hoe is full of vehicles such as helicopters and tanks, representatives of all the armed forces, and stalls and activities, making it a really enjoyable day out. Fortunately the Brunel gazebo will be easily spotted due to our lovely new feather flag which arrived this week. Thank you, BFA.

Sports Day and Picnic - Tuesday 4th July 

Our sports day for the whole school will take place during the morning of Tuesday 4th July, weather permitting. All parents and carers are invited to watch from the bank (picnic rug and sunscreen advised). You are then invited to stay for a picnic lunch with your children on the school field. Please book school provided picnic lunches in the usual way. If you have already made a choice for that day you will need to login and reselect. The children will return to their classrooms at 1.00 pm for afternoon school. Please ensure your child wears their Brunel PE kit on this day, team colours will be identified by bibs or bands (Zennor - red, Chyanor - yellow, Cormellian - blue Tregeagle - green).

Celebration Afternoon - Thursday July 13th 2.00 pm

You are invited to join us for an end of year celebration on the field where the children will entertain you with a variety of songs and maybe some dancing! You will then be able to visit the classrooms to allow the children to show off their work in their books and classroom displays.

Saltash Songs and Shanties Festival: 18-25 June 23

Events include concerts and workshops featuring jazz, folk, classical, pop and much more -visit the festival website for further details. I am pleased to be able to tell you that one of the joint winners of the 'Create a Design for our Community Street Piano' competition was our very own Raphael in Y1.  You can see the piano, incorporating Raphael's designs, in various locations throughout next week.

Below are the past few week's Achievers. Congratulations and well done to all who were chosen.

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Coronation Celebrations.

On Friday 5th May, our celebrations in honour of the coronation of King Charles lll were enjoyed by all despite the inclement weather.

The classrooms corridors and halls were decorated with Union Jacks and bunting and the children looked very patriotic in their red, white and blue.

Unfortunately,  our 'Street Party' lunch had to be moved inside and split into Key Stages but this didn't dampen the children's enthusiasm.

On Saturday, children, parents and staff braved the rain to take part in the Parade of Youth as part of Saltash May fair and Coronation Celebrations but fortunately the weather was kinder for the picnic in Longstone Park on Sunday.


 


Happy Holidays 

We are very nearly at the end of what has been an incredibly busy and exciting term. Brunel pupils have been actively engaged in a wide variety of subjects and activities, some of which have featured in class blogs, Facebook, Twitter and the local press. In March alone, for example, we have had visits to the library for Science Week, Red Nose Day, Bikeability, St Piran's Day, Trelawny Shout, World Book Day, Virtual author sessions, Trust Values Day, Muddy Run and St Stephen's church visits. These are all in addition to the hard work and effort that the children have put into their daily classroom learning. It's no wonder that we're all looking forward to a rest!

 

Below are the Achievers for the Spring term. Well done and congratulations to all who were chosen.

 

Just a reminder that as the school is closed for training on Friday, the last day of term is tomorrow; Thursday 30th March. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of your child's education. Your involvement, enthusiasm and encouragement are greatly appreciated and have helped to make this term a success.  We reopen after the holiday on Monday 17th April 

 

We wish you all a lovely relaxing break and have our fingers crossed for some Easter sunshine.

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British Science Week

To celebrate British Science Week, Brunel children and staff have taken part in a range of exciting activities. We are so lucky to have a close partnership with Saltash Library, who have hosted our children from Reception through to Year 6.

To kick off the week, Year 5 listened to a talk by Fritha Durham from Spaceport Cornwall. This captivated the children’s interest and they responded by asking some really searching questions. Fritha complimented the children on their extensive knowledge and willingness to explore the topic further. Quotes from children included that it was ‘cool, fun and exciting’ and that they were ‘amazed by how many jobs you could do in the space industry, apart from being an astronaut’.

The second day saw Year 6 receiving a lecture from Professor Richard Handy (University of Plymouth) all about nanotechnology and its ability to solve some pf the world’s most pressing problems. These included how to feed a world population of greater than 7 billion, to provide them with fresh water and consider the issues of disease and pollution. It was mind-blowing!

On Thursday, we were delighted to meet up, for the second year in a row, with Environmental Scientist Dr James Buckley, who talked to us about how climate change could impact upon food production globally. We are hoping to welcome him back in the Summer term to conduct a ‘Bio-Blitz’; surveying the species in the wonderfully, vast grounds of Brunel Primary.

Throughout the week, small groups visited the interactive sessions which included robotic hands, microscopes, virtual reality experiences, plasma balls and the chance to try a 3D space walk! Children were enthralled as they were transported to different worlds; from outer space to the microscopic.

The week concluded with a workshop for Years 3 and 4, based on ‘Bridges of the Future’ which is particularly pertinent to our namesake Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Many thanks to Dave Orton, the staff of the library and all the guest speakers. It was week to be remembered!
 

 


 

This half term has flown by and both staff and children are looking forward to a relaxing break. The children have been very busy as evidenced in the amount and quality of work in their books. We look forward to sharing these with you at the forthcoming parents evenings.

Staff changes

Today we are saying goodbye and thank you to Miss Amber Cruddace who has taught the children of Downderry class since September. Miss Cruddace has become a valued colleague and friend during her time at Brunel and we will miss her very much. We wish her every success in the future.

Mental Health Week

The theme of this week's Children's Mental Health week has been Let's Connect. The children have been playing games, listening to stories and taking part in activities looking at how, even though we are all different, we are still connected in many ways. Making connections is about spending time with other people and forming friendships. These connections help us to keep our brains happy and positive whilst looking after our wellbeing. A good activity for positive mental health is to challenge yourself to make one connection with someone new. For more information visit http://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk

We rounded off Children's Mental Health Week by wearing whatever makes us happy as part of the BFA's 'Love Yourself' Day. Thank you very much for all your donations - the BFA will let you know how much was raised once all the money has been counted.

World Book Day – Thursday 2nd March

Children are invited to come to school in their pyjamas and onesies as if ready to settle down to a bedtime story. There is also the option of entering a competition by decorating a potato to look like a book character. Best dressed potatoes on the day will win prizes.

Boot Room

Our boot room has so far loaned over 24 pairs of boots to children joining our football clubs and representing Brunel in competitions. As you know, children regularly outgrow football boots before they wear them out. New donations of boots are always appreciated, especially as some of the boots we have loaned are now being returned for the next size up! Any spare shin pads would also be gratefully received.

Achievers

Below are this half term's Achievers, congratulations and well done to all who were chosen. Please visit the class blogs for a round up of this week's learning across the school.

Have a lovely half term and we will see you and the children back at school on Monday 20th February.

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Our Values...

Creativity

Creative

We are bold and innovative in our approach to find new solutions to the challenges we face.

Curiosity

Curious

We are inspired by the awe and wonder of the world.

Integrity

Responsible

We take responsibility for our actions in an environment of mutual respect.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiastic

We are passionate about learning.

Excellence

Excellent

We are the best we can be.

Determination

Determined

We overcome all barriers to reach our potential, developing a capacity to improve further.

Brunel is an Ofsted graded 'GOOD' school with 'OUTSTANDING' Personal Development and Early Years Provision - click here to see the full report


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