Remembrance

All classes gathered together in the hall this morning for a special assembly.
Led by David Newman, chair of the Saltash and District Royal British Legion,  Paul Newman and Richard Hall lowered the standards for  a two minute silence.
Mr Parry piped a lament as the whole school stood still in reflection.
Our service concluded as the Y6 children read the famous lines from Robert Binyon's poem 'For the Fallen'
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them. 

Dear Parents and Carers,

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.