Okehampton 2022-Day 3

Year 6 had a very active day bodyboarding and surfing at Widemouth Bay followed by an evening entertainment show where they exhibited a wide variety of hidden talents.

Okehampton 2022 - Day 2

Today our Y6 pupils have enjoyed a really active day of rock climbing, gorge scrambling and cycling, with the added challenge of intermittent rain showers.  I enjoyed seeing everyone during my surprise visit this evening and am pleased to report that every single pupil is happy and having a great time. For further updates please visit our Twitter feed @Brunel_Academy and Facebook page - Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy.

Okehampton 2022 - Day 1

Having arrived and unpacked Year 6 enjoyed an afternoon of team building activities, followed by a delicious and filling meal ahead of this evening's walk on Dartmoor. 

Thank you to all parents, carers, children and staff who joined Brunel for the parade of youth at Saltash May Fair last weekend. We think it is important to support our local community whenever possible and really appreciate your efforts in helping us to do so.

We will be marking HRH Queen Elizabeth ll's Platinum Jubilee by holding a whole school tea party during the afternoon of Thursday 9th June. In celebration of the seven and a half decades that the Queen has reigned we are inviting the children to come dressed in the fashions of one of the following: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s or present day. The pupils will also be looking at some of the significant events that happened during these decades and what life was like for children at those times. 

Below are our fantastic Brunel Achievers. Congratulations and well done to all who were chosen. A special mention must go to our Year 6 children who have taken their SATs this week. They have all worked incredibly hard and remained calm and collected throughout - a real credit to Brunel. Thank you also to Year 5 who supported their friends by keeping exceptionally quiet; you could hear a pin drop in the UKS2 corridor. 

Six intrepid Year 6 swimmers represented Brunel at the East Cornwall Swimming Festival in Bodmin on Friday.  They competed in a number of tricky swimming challenges including under water retrieval, giant float herding and a final whole team relay. 

They acquitted themselves particularly well and, thanks in no small part to their own motivational verbal encouragement, came out on top, winning first prize and claiming for the school a rather splendid trophy.

Well done to all of you.

Welcome back to the final part of this school year. I hope you had a lovely Easter; the children report that a lot of chocolate was enjoyed!

Shakespeare Week

Last week at Brunel we were able to celebrate Shakespeare Week in fine style with a visit from the famous Minack Theatre at Porthcurno. This is the first time we've been able to welcome them to our school and we were not disapointed. A mixed group of 30 students representing each class from Y4-6, took part in a workshop based on Shakespeare's The Tempest.

The afternoon was a resounding success with quotes from the children including:

'This was the best afternoon ever!'

It was fascinating to see the Minack Theatre and how it started.'

'I can't wait to visit the Minack Theatre and see it for myself.'

'It was a wonderful experience, the time went exceedingly quickly!'

At the end, we were delighted to hear the fulsome praise heaped on our talented pupils by the Minack team, who started by saying what a credit the children were to Brunel. They went on to state how amazed they were with how much the group already knew about William Shakespeare and that they could recall a great deal about the Ancient Greeks too. The pupils were also commended for their storytelling voices, being a great audience and even for their comic timing. All in all, a most successful afternoon and one we would like to repeat.

For those of you travelling to west Cornwall over the Easter break, there are all sorts of activities taking place at the Minack, so do check it out!

Below are our March Achievers. Congratulations and well done to everyone chosen.

Science Week 

This week Brunel have been celebrating British Science week and we have enjoyed visiting Saltash library for a variety of workshops and lectures delivered by a series of guest speakers, based at various universities and other institutions.
We started on Monday when Reception, Y3 and some Y4 were invited to the library for a workshop based on 'Fun with Magnets'. Both workshops were led by Dr Vincebt Smith MBE from the School of Physics at the University of Bristol. As well as testing various materials to see if they were magnetic, the Y3/4 children explored different uses of magnetism and lokked at types of compass. Portwrinkle class were excited to finf out that magnets attract and repel each other. They made magnets dance on a table and discovered that UK coins can stick to a magnet but US coins do not. Finally, they explored all of the places in the library that can stick to a magnet. They are going to be exploring more about magnets in their classroom.
On Tuesday, the rest of Y4 went to a talk on the effects of Climate Change on UK Wildlife by Dr James Buckley, an ecologist from the University of Plymouth. The children were fascinated to hear all about how various animals adapt (or not) to temperature rises and how we might all help our native animals to flourish. The children were so full of questions that they had to be dragged away when their time was up.
This was followed by Y6 on Thursday with a talk on 'It's a Small World - The Wonders of Nanotechnology' by Dr Richard Handy (School of Biological and Marine Sciences - Faculty of Science and Engineering. University of Plymouth). This presentation explored the idea of new teechnology and its application in biology, medicine, engineering, electronics etc. It invited the children to think about where new technology might lead, in this case to cybernetics, with nanotech merging with synthetic biology. For example, helping with creating new limbs, colour changing cars, self-repairing buildings, self-cleaning teeth and the ethics involved. Quite a mind-boggling afternoon all-in-all!
Friday's sessions with Y5 were workshop based on bridge building and 'Bridging the Tamar' with Mark Tebbs from Tamar Crossing. It was a really fun session with the children being very attentive and showing great interest.
Finally, our amazing Science week ended with a talk about careers in engineering and ' How Engineering Can Change the World'. This was presented by Trevor Gill specially for our school. Trevor discussed how engineering influences our medicine, sports, clothig, buildings, cars, food, water and so on. This was a fitting end for a school named after our one of the greatest and definitely our favourite engineer - Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Tuesday 8th February was Safer Internet Day and across the school children have been taking part in lessons aimed at keeping them safe online. Many children access the internet at home and below are some Top Tips for parents from the UK Safer Internet Centre.
Have conversations without judgement.
Whether by playing games, watching videos, or doing things your child enjoys, spending time together online is a great way to start conversations about the online world and how they’re finding being a part of it.It is important to ask questions and take an interest in what your child enjoys online.An essential part of having this open dialogue is to not judge, even if their behaviour or life online isn’t what you wanted or expected. This ensures that your child feels they can come to you if ever they make a mistake or experience a problem online.
Knowing where you can learn more about their favourite apps and games.
Websites like Common Sense Media or The Family Gaming Database can be invaluable sources of information. When your child starts talking about a new game or app, why not do some research into the reporting and blocking options available? Then you can help your child if they come to you with an issue.
Getting support if things go wrong.There are lots of organisations who are there to support you and your family if something has gone wrong. The Report Harmful Content website can help you with issues such as cyberbullying, impersonation and threats. You can report worrying behaviour towards children to CEOP. Find out more on Childnet’s Get Help page.
Reassuring your child that whatever happens online, you are there to support them.Let your child know that the best way to address any problem they have online, is to tell a trusted adult immediately. For example, this might include someone sending them a friend request; an online message; telling them to visit a specific website, or app; or asking them for their personal information. Reassure them that if anything happens online that they are unsure about, or makes them feel worried or upset, they can come to you for help.

Further information is available under the Keeping Safe tab - online safety.

On Monday 14th February the Brunel Friends Association are holding a Valentine ‘Love Yourself’ day. Children are invited to pay £1 to wear clothing that makes them happy. I look forward to seeing their choices!

Below are this week’s Achievers. Congratulations to all those chosen.