Welcome to the Vicious Vikings!

Welcome back after Half Term - we hope that you had some lovely family time and a chance to relax and chill; ready for new, exciting learning in Spring 2.

Our new History unit is based upon the Vikings. This week we have begun by learning at where they fit chronologically within history. The children worked in groups to order historical events, in and around the time of the Vikings, on a timeline.

Our new science topic is 'Changing Materials'. We started by considering changes of state. The children were set a conundrum: if they were to find two unlabelled bottles of water on a desert island (one sea water, one fresh water), how could they find out which was which? They successfully came up with a solution to the problem and identified that bottle A was sea water, as indicated by the salt crystals left behind after evaporation. Nothing will stop our class if they find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere!

Smart with Switches...

This week in Science, Duckpool have been learning how electrical switches work. They also then investigated how to create their own switch using a range of given items - they could choose from things like cardboard, brass split pins, paperclips, straws and pencils.
There were some great successes and they found it very satisfying to design and create their own circuits and circuit components.

What a busy week it has been at Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy. Please enjoy catching up with all the latest news and events in this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin. Have a wonderful weekend and we can't wait to see you all on Monday for another incredible week at our school. 

Outside learning

This week in Tregantle Class, we have made the most of the wonderful weather by taking our learning outside into our fantastic school grounds. From exciting obstacle courses to splashing fun with water play, it has been a joy to learn in the sunshine!

Our learning about life cycles has truly come to life this week. The children have been fascinated to see our tadpoles growing their tiny little legs, and there has been great excitement as our caterpillars have started forming their cocoons. It has sparked so many wonderful conversations and curiosity in the classroom.

We have also been enjoying our class story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has supported our learning beautifully. The children have impressed us with their ability to re-tell the story and confidently order the life cycle stages using our toys, naming each stage correctly.

What fantastic learners we have in Tregantle Class!

We are incredibly proud of the many leadership roles our children take on across the school. These opportunities help our pupils develop confidence, responsibility and a strong sense of community.

Today we are celebrating our wonderful Brunel Buddies, who support our Reception and KS1 children at lunchtime. They help younger pupils play together, solve small problems and make sure everyone feels included and happy during their break times. All of our Brunel Buddies had to advertise for their positions, sharing why they would be great for the role and how they would support others. Thus week, they were officially recognised and awarded their Brunel Buddy hats - a proud moment for them all. We are so proud of the kindness, leadership and responsibility they show in helping the younger children in our school community. Well done, Brunel Buddies.

We are incredibly proud of our School Council. They visited Wesley Methodist Church to deliver their Winter Warmer Bags for members of the homeless community. The bags were thoughtfully prepared to provide warmth, comfort and a reminder that people care. It was wonderful to see our pupils showing such kindness, empathy and commitment to supporting others in the local community. Well done, School Council - you are fantastic ambassadors for our school.

Tregantle Class - Science Week Fun!

Science Week has been so much fun in Tregantle Class! The children have loved getting involved in lots of exciting activities and experiments. One of our favourite experiments was investigating what happens to wax crayons when they are heated. The children watched carefully as the crayons melted and changed, and then used the melted wax to create some beautiful, colourful pictures. It was fascinating to see how the crayons changed when heat was applied!

We also enjoyed exploring our school pond. During our visit, we released our class newt and some tadpoles so they could live in their natural habitat. The children were very gentle and excited to watch them swim away into the pond.

In maths, the children are doing brilliantly. They have been working hard to find different ways to make 10 using Numicon, and they are becoming much more confident with their number bonds.

Our new gravel pit has also been a huge hit with the class! The children have loved digging, scooping and exploring, and it has led to lots of imaginative play and teamwork.

Well done, Tregantle Class, for such a fantastic week of learning and fun!

It has been an incredibly busy week at Brunel. Please enjoy catching up with the latest news and events in our weekly Brunel Bulletin.

Curiosity and Questions

This week we have been writing our sonnets in English based on cats after midnight. We used Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 for inspiration and the children have enjoyed using archaic language.

In maths, we have been learning about metric measures and how to convert between them. We have been using our knowledge of how to multiply and divide by 10,100 and 1000 to help us. 

In science, we conducted an experiment to find out what the best material for a phone screen is. The children tested a range of materials to see if they conducted electricity, if they were magnetic and if they were transparent. We discovered that the marble was the best material even though it doesn't conduct electricity because it was not magnetic but it was transparent. Through research, we found out that the glass used in phone screens has a special layer of metal called indium tin oxide added to it which enables it to conduct electricity from our fingertips to the phone. This is what makes it work and why we cannot wear gloves when using the phone. 

Have a great weekend!

Miss Burton

w/e 6.3.26

Our Week in Perranporth Class

It has been a busy and enjoyable week in Perranporth Class, with lots of fantastic learning and creativity across the curriculum.

World Book Day

One of the highlights of the week (the year?!) was World Book Day. The children came to school in some brilliant costumes and it was wonderful to see so many favourite book characters brought to life. We shared stories together, took part in a character hunt and spent time celebrating our love of reading. There was a great atmosphere throughout the day and the children showed real enthusiasm for books and storytelling.

Design and Technology

In DT, the children worked very hard sewing their book covers. They carefully stitched the fabric and added fastenings so that their books can be safely kept inside. Sewing requires patience and concentration, and the class did an excellent job. We were really impressed with their perseverance and the finished results look fantastic.

English

In English we continued working on writing clear instructions. The children explored how to organise steps carefully and make their writing easy for the reader to follow. They are becoming increasingly confident at structuring their ideas and explaining processes clearly.

Maths

In maths we finished our unit on multiplication and division and began learning about fractions. The children have also continued practising their number skills through mini maths activities and Times Table Rock Stars.

History

Our Viking topic continued this week. The class have been learning more about Viking life and discussing how and why the Vikings travelled and settled in different places.

PE

In PE we had our second cricket lesson. The children practised their control and coordination using bats and balls and showed great determination as they developed their skills.

Computing

In computing we continued our work on programming, thinking about how instructions are given and followed in computer code.

Art

We really enjoyed our first Art lesson this week. We learned about the artist Magdalene Odundo. She creates art out of clay that follows large, fluid shapes. So we went outside to allow for large, sweeping movements. It was great fun!

Well done for a great week, everyone! Have a wonderful weekend. 

Our new focus story is 'Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what do you hear?'

We have been listening to the story together and talking about the different animals and their different 'voices'.

We have also found the story online and a song about it too.

Can your child tell you the story?

We have been using our ears to listen to the sounds that we hear around school or in the garden.

We have come to the end of another exciting week at Brunel, and what a week it has been!

We embraced World Book Day 2026 with great enthusiasm, celebrating reading and creativity across the school. To top it off, our school made a very special appearance on Radio Cornwall, sharing the fantastic things happening here at Brunel. Exciting developments have also been taking place around our school grounds. A brand-new pergola has been fitted, providing a wonderful space for learning and outdoor activities. Thank you to one of our parents, Mr Flukes, for supporting us with this and of course Mrs. Williamson's incredible volunteers on a Wednesday evening.

Our school pond is coming to life, and it's been wonderful to watch nature flourish right on our doorstep. Meanwhile, our School Council and Eco Council continue to do an incredible job in shaping our school, representing the voices of our students and driving positive change. Next week promises to be another incredibly busy and exciting week at Brunel, with lots for the children (and parents!) to get involved in:

All week: National Science Week - the children will be embracing this year's focus on Curiosity - What's your question?
All week: Book Fair after school in the KS2 foyer
Monday: Brunel Friends Association AGM, 8:45am-9:00am in the School Garden (croissants on arrival!) - we hope to see as many parents as possible
Duckpool Class Assembly, 2:40pm start
Choir performing at Burraton Church with the Men's Choir, 7:00pm

Tuesday - Two Trye Tuesday - KS2 children are able to bring in their scooters and helmets into school.

Wednesday: School Council visit to Wesley Church
Wednesday: Wheely Wednesday - YR and KS1 are welcome to bring their scooters and helmets into school.
Wednesday: Mrs Williamson's Nature Park Club - Parent's and carers are welcome to attend from 3:15-4:15pm as we continue to turn a grey area green.

Thursday & Friday: Perranporth residential to Dartmoor Zoo
Friday: Special Lady in My Life event, 2:40pm

We wish you a wonderful weekend and hope you enjoy browsing through this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin.

Lantic Class have had a fantastic week of learning and fun!

In Literacy, we have been enjoying the story Poles Apart. The children have worked hard to make their writing more exciting by using adjectives and nouns. We described different characters and places from the story, thinking carefully about words that would help the reader imagine them. We came up with some brilliant descriptions and the children were very proud of their work.

In Maths, we have been learning about place value to 50. The children have been exploring tens and ones, building numbers and showing them in different ways. They used practical resources to help them understand how numbers are made, and everyone showed great determination when solving number challenges.

We also have some very exciting news! We have transformed our second classroom space into an area for continuous provision. The children were so excited to explore it and it already looks amazing. It has lots of opportunities for exploring, creating, building and learning through play, and we are looking forward to using it even more in the coming weeks.

To finish the week, we celebrated World Book Day. The children came to school dressed as a huge variety of wonderful characters. It was fantastic to see so many creative costumes and to celebrate our love of reading together.

Well done Lantic Class for a brilliant week of learning!

"Gool Peran Lowen!"

We have really enjoyed the sunshine this week in Tregantle Class! The garden has been full of imaginative and creative play, with the children making the most of the warm weather and spending lots of time outdoors. Our new stage area has been especially popular, inspiring plenty of performances and role play. This week we even had a yoga class led by the children themselves - what a wonderful and relaxing activity to see them organise and share with their friends!

Thursday was a very special day as we celebrated St Piran's Day. We were incredibly proud to perform our school anthem, Trelawny, live on Radio Cornwall. Tregantle children joined the whole school and sang their hearts out. It was such an honour to take part and celebrate this important Cornish occasion together.

World Book Day was also incredible. The costumes the children arrived in were imaginative and beautifully designed, and it was lovely to see so many favourite book characters come to life around the school. Throughout the day we enjoyed stories read by different teachers, made our own bookmarks, and went on an exciting 'character hunt' around the school grounds. What a fantastic way to celebrate our love of reading!

w/e 13.2.26

A Busy and Brilliant Week in Perranporth class! 

In English, we continued our poetry unit. The children explored different poems, performed them, and wrote their own across the week. We were so impressed with their creativity and the ambitious language they used.

In Maths, we focused on multiplication and division, developing our number sense and building confidence with times tables.

Our wider curriculum was packed full of interesting learning:

• In Geography, we completed our learning about deserts and created a double-page spread to showcase everything we had discovered.
• In Science, we finished our electricity topic, again presenting our understanding in a detailed double-page spread.
• In French, we learned about habitats, while in Music we continued with Classroom Jazz.
• On Tuesday, we marked Safer Internet Day with special computing activities, including a live lesson.
• In PSHE, we recognised Children's Mental Health Awareness Week and continued our learning about relationships.

There was plenty happening beyond the classroom too! We played dodgeball for our team match in PE, explored fastenings in DT, celebrated achievements in Friday's assembly, and enjoyed meeting many of you at Parents' Evening.

It was a full, fun and focused week of learning - we were very proud of all our superstars!

This week in English, we started our new poetry unit. We are creating a sonnet about cats based on Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. The children have spent this week exploring the sonnet, finding out about the structure, researching Shakespeare and using archaic language, such as: thus, thee and thou.
This afternoon, the children used their story maps to learn the poem by heart and practise their oracy skills . I was proud of each group because they had to learn to pronounce words they had never seen before. 

In maths, we have started a unit on ratio and proportion. Today we focused on scaling recipes up and down and they commented on what a useful life skill it was. 

In History, we have been finding out about the census and looking at old extracts. We then had a go at creating a class census by interviewing each other and collecting data. 

Please find the knowledge web for this half term below. 

Have a fantastic weekend, Miss Burton.

As we come to the end of another busy and productive week, I would like to take a moment to thank you for your continued support. It truly makes a difference to our school community.

A special thank you to the parents who attended the Nature Parks Club on Wednesday evening. It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm as we work together to turn some of our grey spaces green. Watch this space - next week a pergola will be going into the area near our school garden, which is an exciting step forward in developing this space for our children.

Next week is set to be another busy one. Please see the key dates and reminders below:

Monday - Class Photos
Please ensure your children come to school in their Brunel blue correct uniform, as these are class photographs which will be proudly displayed in our school foyer.

Tuesday - Two Tyre Tuesday
KS2 children are welcome to bring in their scooters and helmets to enjoy during the school day.

Wednesday - Wheely Wednesday (Reception and KS1)
Reception and KS1 children are welcome to bring their scooters and helmets to school.

Wednesday - Little Locomotives Toddler Group (10:00am-11:00am)
Our free, teacher-led toddler group is open to children aged 18 months to 4 years old. We look forward to welcoming families from our local community.
Also on Wednesday: Vision Screening for our Reception children.

Thursday - World Book Day
Children are warmly invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. We can't wait to see all of the creative costumes and celebrate a shared love of reading.

A reminder to Duckpool Class parents that your class assembly is coming up on Monday 9th March at 2:40pm. Parents and carers are warmly welcomed to attend - we look forward to seeing you there.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Please do enjoy browsing through this week's Brunel Bulletin.