It's May!

This week in Treyarnon has been fun because we have been looking at different types of art. For example, perspective drawing, scaling up and graffiti.
Here are some of our wonderful creations. I'm sure you will be as impressed as I am!

In English, we have been writing our paragraphs for the persuasive leaflet about a space hotel. In particular, we have focused on the subheadings on food and accommodation. Some of their ideas have been imaginative and they have used some carefully chosen adventurous vocabulary. 

In maths, we have been revising 2d and 3d shapes, money and angles. We have also been working on our arithmetic and practicing the questions we are still finding tricky. 

In science, we investigated the solubility of substances by seeing if the temperature of water impacts how quickly something dissolves. We tried sugar and a teabag. Our results showed that the hotter the water, the quicker it dissolved. 

I hope you all have a wonderful bank holiday weekend!

Miss Burton

Singing and Planting!

What a fantastic week we've had in Tregantle Class! The children have really immersed themselves in our topic on transport and vehicles. They have been busy creating hot air balloons, cars, and aeroplanes, which are now proudly on display in our classroom. It's wonderful to see their creativity and hard work showcased for everyone to enjoy.

On Monday, we welcomed a specialist music teacher who led the class in fun pulse and rhythm games. The session was full of energy and excitement, and the children especially loved playing the ukulele and joining in with singing. It was a truly enjoyable experience for all.

We have also been getting our hands dirty in the garden by planting seeds. The children learned how to carefully plant and look after them, and we are now eagerly watching and waiting to see them grow! In literacy, the children produced some fantastic "have a go" writing about planting seeds. They showed great confidence using their phonics knowledge and tricky words-well done!

In maths, we have been practising accurate counting of objects up to 20. The children have been working hard to develop their confidence and accuracy.

It has been a very busy, productive, and fun-filled week. We are so proud of everything the children have achieved! 

Thank you for your ongoing support this week. We are so lucky to have such a supportive parent community.

Just a reminder that Mrs Grinsted will be at Victoria Gardens tomorrow morning from 9:40am for the start of the Youth Parade which with symbolise the start of the Saltash May Fair. It would be wonderful for as many Brunel families as possible to join this annual event.

We wish you a wonderful bank holiday weekend and look forward to seeing you all back at school on Tuesday. In the meantime, please enjoy this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin.

This week in Lantic Class, we have been working incredibly hard across all of our learning!

In Maths, we have been learning all about quarters. We have now finished our fractions unit and completed our assessments - the children have shown great understanding and should feel very proud of themselves.

In English, we have begun planning our pirate persuasive adverts. The children have had lots of fun thinking of exciting ways to persuade people to join our pirate crew - we can't wait to start writing them onto special paper!

In DT, we have been exploring different fruits and vegetables, using our senses to describe them and thinking about what we might like to use in our designs. We have also been working really hard on our handwriting, focusing on forming our letters neatly and carefully.

We are all very excited for our upcoming trip to Porfell Wildlife Park & Sanctuary on 19th May! If you have not yet returned your permission slip, please make sure you do so as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued support.
Please keep reading at home each day with your children as much as possible and continue to access Anton maths where the children love to play games and explore.

Mrs Scott, Miss Sleep and Mrs Quick.

Roars and snores!

What a way to end Spring term! Duckpool students had the opportunity to take part in Dartmoor Zoo's 'Snooze at the Zoo' experience.

On an action-packed first day we had a guided tour of the zoo, educational workshops based upon conservation and endangered species, as well as a 'close encounters' session where we came face-to-face with a giant stick-insect and a bearded dragon.

After completing a tricky zoo trail in teams, we were served a delicious dinner before watching 'We Bought a Zoo': the film adaptation of the story behind the current owner of the zoo. After darkness fell we embarked on an 'after dark' tour and spotted some of the nocturnal creatures.

On day 2, after filling ourselves up with a range of lovely fruit, pastries and cereals we were ready to explore the zoo ourselves privately, before it was open to the public! We visited the reptile house, played on the play equipment and went back to say our farewells to our favourite animals. We had a picnic lunch in the glorious sunshine in the 'calm garden' before heading back to Brunel.

The children behaved impeccably and were an utter joy to take. Members of the public also commented upon how well they conducted themselves. What an incredible couple of days of learning, fun and excitement!

Check out lots more photos in the document below...

Mysterious Musical Instruments!

Mr Jane treated Duckpool to an introduction to the unusual musical instrument called the piano accordian in music this week. He played some familiar tunes to the children, as well as showing them clips of how they work and how they are made.

At the end of the session, the children were extremely lucky to have a go at holding and playing the piano accordian - despite it almost matching some students in size! It was a wonderful opportunity to access a lesser-known instrument: both inspiring and interesting!

Woven Wonders!

Duckpool class have outdone themselves with their 3D sculpture final pieces this week.

We learned about the work and inspiration of the artist El Anatsui, who is known for producing interesting 3D structures from recycled and reused materials.

Our task was to use offcuts of paper to create an interesting 3D design. A variety of weaving techniques, as well as overlapping 'tiles' was combined and thoughtfully attached to a backboard in order to bring energy and movement to materials that are usually 2-dimensional.

Fiddly but fun!

This week, in our 3D sculpture art unit, we were learning about the use of wire to create shape and frames.

We used techniques such as twisting, bending and shaping over the top of a pre-planned sketch.

It took a great deal of patience and resilience in order to get to these fantastic final pieces! We had shells, astronauts, birds, flowers, cars, shoes, and even more... We were very proud of our efforts.

What a wonderful start to the Summer Term it has been. Thank you for your continued support. Please enjoy catching up with all of the latest events at Brunel in our Brunel Bulletin. Have a lovely weekend. 

Year 2 & 3 Weekly Learning Update

Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely Easter break. It has been wonderful to see the children return to school so positively-they have settled back into routines brilliantly and have been eager to get started with their new learning.

Topic - "Why is our world wonderful?"

We launched our new topic with a fun and engaging "wow starter". The children worked together to create a gallery showcasing both physical and human features of the Earth. They also wrote interesting facts about the different oceans, demonstrating great curiosity and teamwork.

English

In English, we have begun our new genre: descriptive settings. The children explored what they already know and identified key features of this type of writing. We also started to look at adverbials of time and subordination, helping us to build more detailed and interesting sentences.

Maths

In maths, both year groups have been busy developing new skills:

• Year 3 have started learning about length and perimeter, measuring and comparing different objects.
• Year 2 have been working on multiplying and dividing by 2, as well as practising doubling and halving.

PSHE

We began our new PSHE topic, Relationships, by discussing roles and responsibilities both at home and in different jobs. The children shared some thoughtful ideas and made great links to their own experiences.

RE

In RE, we started our new unit: "What do Christians learn from the creation story?" The children worked collaboratively to explore and represent different parts of the Genesis creation narrative, thinking about what Christians believe about how the world was made.

Art

In art, the children revisited and showcased the skills they developed last term in observational drawing. They practised sketching shape, adding tone through shading, experimenting with cross-hatching, and using mark making to create patterns. It was fantastic to see their growing confidence and attention to detail.

PE

In PE, we started our athletics unit, focusing on how to sprint effectively. The children showed great energy and determination as they practised their running technique.

These are just some of the highlights from a busy and productive first week back. It's been lovely to see such enthusiasm for learning across the class-we're excited for the term ahead!

Summer Term

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter Holiday and enjoyed some of the lovely sunshine. 

We have had a busy first week back with many learning opportunties.

In English, we have continued with our unit on persuasive writing. We are creating a leaflet for a space hotel. This week has mostly been focusing on different sentence types and a varied use of vocabulary to include. 

In Maths, we have been focusing on time. We have reminded ourselves about the different measurements and converting between seconds, minutes and hours. Then we looked at timetables, converting between analogue and digital and solving word problems. Please practise telling the time at home as it is an important life skill. 

In science, we continued our learning on properties of materials. We conducted an investigation to see which substances dissolved in water. We discussed the difference between dissolving an suspension by looking at what happens to the particles in the solutions. The children were amazed by adding oil to the water and watching it separate on the top. They learned a new word - hydrophobic. 

I have attached the new learning journey below.

Enjoy the weekend.

Miss Burton

Summer Term! 

It has been wonderful to welcome everyone back after the Easter holidays. The children have returned full of energy and enthusiasm, ready for a busy and exciting term ahead.

This week, we have begun our fantastic new topic on Transport and Vehicles. The children are already showing great curiosity, and we are looking forward to exploring this theme in lots of creative and engaging ways including a trip to Saltash Fire Station! Please see the attached information for more details about what we will be learning.

We have also been delighted to welcome our early transition children from Nursery-hello to the Dolphins! They have settled into their new classroom beautifully and are already becoming part of our Tregantle family. On Monday, we enjoyed a truly special visit to St Anne's Residential Home. The children brought so much joy to the residents with their singing, poems, and storytelling. It was a lovely experience for everyone involved and a great opportunity for the children to connect with the wider community.

Thursday afternoon was equally special as we welcomed parents into the classroom for our Books and Pastries event. It was wonderful to see everyone sharing stories together, both indoors and outside, and enjoying such a relaxed and happy end to the day.

We are so pleased to be back and are looking forward to a fantastic summer term filled with learning, fun, and new experiences.

Earth Day Celebration at Our School! 

Earth Day Celebration at Our School! Today, we are proud to celebrate Earth Day - a special time to raise awareness about environmental issues and learn how we can all take better care of our planet. To mark the occasion, we are delighted to celebrate the grand opening of our KS1 Nature Park Garden! Our new garden space has been carefully created to support greater biodiversity while giving our children the opportunity to explore, enjoy, and nurture the natural world around them. We look forward to welcoming parents and children straight after school today to join us in celebrating this wonderful new addition to our school community!

Happy Easter!

What an exciting and busy time we have had in Tregantle Class!

This week, we were thrilled to release another butterfly into the wild. It was a very special moment for all of us as we watched it spread its wings and fly away. To celebrate our butterflies, we learnt a beautiful poem called "Oh to Be a Butterfly" and proudly performed it from memory.

We have also made the most of the lovely weather by spending time in our wonderful garden. The children have enjoyed being creative outdoors and exploring nature around them.

In class, we have been learning about the Easter story and have taken part in a range of fun, Easter-themed activities. It has been a great way to understand the meaning of Easter while also enjoying some seasonal crafts and learning.

Our PE lessons have been full of energy and laughter, especially when using the parachute. We had lots of fun bouncing balls, running underneath, and working together as a team.

As the spring term draws to a close, we would like to wish you all a very happy Easter. We look forward to more fun, learning, and exciting experiences in the summer term! 

Caterpillar Celebration Day!

Tregantle Class celebrated National Caterpillar Day in style this week. The highlight of our celebrations was creating a paper chain caterpillar that stretched the entire length of our classroom. All of the children joined in, using good fine motor skills to carefully manipulate and glue the paper strips together. We were so pleased with the finished result and loved seeing our giant caterpillar come to life.

With perfect timing, just a few days later, our first class caterpillar hatched out of its cocoon and we now have our first butterfly. The children have been so excited to observe it, especially its lovely fluttery wings. It has been a wonderful opportunity to see real life changes happening right before our eyes.

To top it all off, we have seen some incredible writing from Tregantle children this week. They have been using their Fred Fingers to help spell words and label a spring picture. We were even impressed to see some children writing full sentences.

What an amazing week for Tregantle Class. We are so proud of all the children and their fantastic efforts.

Thank you for your continued support. Please find this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin.