What a fantastic week of learning we've had in Year 2/3! The children have shown such enthusiasm and curiosity across all of our subjects - it's been lovely to see them so engaged and eager to share what they've discovered.

Maths:
In Maths, we have continued our work on addition and subtraction, building on our understanding of place value to help us add and subtract larger numbers confidently. The children have been using their knowledge of tens and ones to partition numbers and find efficient strategies for solving problems. It's been wonderful to see how they are becoming more independent in explaining how and why they chose a particular method.

English:
This week we began our new whole-school genre focus - traditional tales - with the much-loved story of Jack and the Beanstalk! The children have enjoyed retelling the story in their own words, identifying key features of a traditional tale, and practising their comprehension skills by retrieving and summarising important information. There's been lots of great discussion about characters, settings, and what lessons we can learn from Jack's adventure!

RE:
In Religious Education, we started our new topic: How do festivals and family life show what matters to Jewish people? We began by learning about Shabbat, exploring how Jewish families prepare for and celebrate this special day of rest. The children were fascinated by the traditions and rituals, and they reflected thoughtfully on what makes family time special in their own homes too.

PSHE:
Our new PSHE unit, Celebrating Difference, got off to a great start. We talked about how every family is unique, and how these differences make us all special. The children spoke beautifully about the love and care that families share, no matter what they look like or how they are made up.

Topic - 'Who lives in Antarctica?'
Thursday was a particularly exciting day as we launched our brand-new Geography and Art topic: Who lives in Antarctica? The children revisited the seven continents and discussed their relative sizes before using maps to explore the lines of latitude and locate the icy continent itself. In Art, we looked at cold colours to begin our Antarctic-inspired paintings and created our own adorable penguin families using oil pastels - they look fantastic! The children are already brimming with questions about life in such an extreme environment.

Science:
In Science, we began our new unit on Forces and Magnets. The children explored different types of pushes and pulls and thought about where we can see forces in action in our everyday lives. They are very excited to start experimenting with magnets next week!

It's been a busy and inspiring week of learning - well done, Year 2/3!

Please see the attached document for more about what we will be learning this half term in Mousehole class.

What a wonderful first week it has been back after the half term break.

We wish you all a wonderful weekend and hope you enjoy looking through this week's Brunel Bulletin.

Just a gentle reminder that next week we are marking Anti-Bullying Week with the theme ' The Power of Good.' On Monday, the children are welcome to wear Odd Socks to school as we celebrate us all being different and unique. On Tuesday, we warmly welcome our families and local community to join us for our Remembrance Service. The gates by the side of the library will open at 10:40am. We hope as many of our school community will be able to join us for this important date in our country's calendar.

Let's Celebrate! 

This week in Tregantle Class, we have been getting creative with the theme of celebrations and festivals. The children had a fantastic time making firework art, splatting coloured paint onto paper to create bright, explosive patterns that lit up our classroom!

We've also been busy crafting poppies in preparation for Remembrance Day next week. The children showed great thoughtfulness as we talked about the importance of remembering and honouring others. What a lovely way to think about special times of the year.

Our learning through play has continued to shine this week, too. In our music area, we've been linking music with phonics. The children were set the challenge of finding different sounds on the xylophone to create their own tunes - a wonderful way to explore sound and rhythm!

Over in maths, the children have been working hard to become experts at ordering numbers and matching Numicon shapes to the correct numerals.

Their confidence is growing every day, and it's been fantastic to see their enthusiasm and teamwork. What a fun, creative and inspiring week it has been in Tregantle Class! Well done, everyone!

Welcome back, everyone! We hope you had a lovely, restful half-term break. Thank you for all your support throughout Autumn 1 - the children have already achieved so much! A huge shout-out to the families who joined our Make a Difference Morning - the school looks fantastic thanks to your hard work tidying, painting and brightening our grounds. As we head into Autumn 2, we've got lots to look forward to:
Christmas productions & Christingle Service
Cinema & theatre trips
Educational visits & coding workshops
Remembrance Service - Tues 11th Nov, 10:40am (all welcome)
Dress Bright for Bonfire Night - Fri 7th Nov
Anti-Bullying Week & Odd Socks Day - from Mon 10th Nov
Saltash Light Switch-On - Fri 14th Nov
Open Day - Thurs 6th Nov, 9:30am

Plus, we'll be welcoming our School Improvement Partner on Tuesday 18th November to celebrate the brilliant progress being made across Brunel. Thank you, as always, for your continued support - it truly makes a difference.

Here's to an exciting and joyful half term ahead!

So it's been another very busy week with so many exciting events, including an African Dance workshop and research to commemorate Black History Month.

Also, Perranporth have been producing some super fact files to show off their knowledge from this half term's learning on Rivers. They have been speaking like Geographers and writing like Geographers; using key (tier3) vocabulary such as 'evaporation, precipitation and condensation' ...

Excitingly, we teamed up with Mousehole class to read them our fantastic Beastie Stories, we think you can see from their faces how much they enjoyed our stories.

Well, that's just about it for this half term, thank you for reading our blog and have a great holiday!

w/e 17.10.25

What a fantastic final week before the half term break it has been for Mousehole Class! The children have worked incredibly hard and shown such enthusiasm across all areas of their learning.

In History, the class has been busy creating double-page knowledge spreads to answer the question: "How important was Ancient Egypt?" The children explored fascinating themes including the River Nile and how it supported daily life, the afterlife and mummification, hieroglyphics, and a range of artefacts and inventions that tell us so much about this remarkable civilisation. Their work beautifully showcased both their historical understanding and creativity.

In English, the focus has been on writing non-chronological reports. The children have used their research and planning skills brilliantly to produce well-structured and informative pieces of writing. It's been wonderful to see their confidence as writers continue to grow.

On Thursday, we celebrated Black History Day. The children learnt about Rosa Parks and discussed her courage, determination, and the lasting impact she had on the civil rights movement. They also thoroughly enjoyed taking part in an African dance workshop, moving to the rhythms of traditional music and exploring another vibrant aspect of African culture.

Mousehole Class have truly been marvellous this week-their positive attitudes, teamwork, and effort have shone through in everything they've done.

Have a restful and enjoyable half term break, and I look forward to another exciting half term of learning when we return!

Tregantle Class Blog - A Fantastic First Half Term!

What a wonderful first half term it has been in Tregantle Class!

This week, we found out all about Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light. The children loved listening to the story of Rama and Sita and learning how Diwali is celebrated around the world. We had lots of fun making our own diva lamps from clay, retelling the story with puppets, and creating colourful Diwali decorations to brighten up our classroom.

We've also been enjoying lots of autumnal activities. The children worked together to make delicious pumpkin soup - scraping out the pumpkins, adding onion, sweet potato and herbs, and of course, tasting their tasty creation!

During our Forest School session, we became potion-makers! Using natural materials and a sprinkle of sparkly dust, the children created imaginative potions and thought carefully about what their magic spells could do - complete with their own special magic words.

To celebrate Black History Month, we took part in an exciting African dance workshop. The children were amazing at learning the moves and dancing to the lively rhythms.

It's been a busy and brilliant start to the year, full of fun, creativity and learning. We can't wait to see what adventures await us next half term!

Duckpool update...

So it's been another very busy week with so many exciting events, including an African Dance workshop and research to commemorate Black History Month.

Also, Duckpool have been producing some super factfiles to show off their knowledge from this half term's learning on Rivers. They have been speaking like Geographers and writing like Geographers; using key (tier3) vocabulary such as 'evaporation, precipitation and condensation' ...




Excitingly, we teamed up with Lantic class to read them our fantastic Beastie Stories, we think you can see from their faces how much they enjoyed our stories.

Well, that's just about it for this half term, thank you for reading our blog and have a great holiday!

This week in Lantic we have had loads of fun learning how to write instructions for carving a pumpkin. We all had a go at scooping out the seeds and pumpkin flesh! We then wrote our set of instructions using bossy verbs to make our writing accurate and interesting.

Lantic have really loved this and they should be really proud of their writing. In maths, we have been exploring addition and subtraction, learning to subtract within 10. We have been using counters to help us. In DT we finished our wheel and axle pull along toys which all look very colourful and fun! We then evaluated our end products and decided what we liked and what we could improve on. In PE, we have been playing mini cricket and got some amazing games on the go.There are some very talented cricketers in Lantic!

On Friday we had an amazing skipping workshop where we developed our skills. We then saw a skipping show from our professional which was absolutely fascinating - she even did 'pretzel skipping'! What a week! As usual please continue to read with your children at home for 10-15 minutes per day. Anton maths should be all working well now and there is work set for this week. Have an amazing weekend - 4 days left until half term for the children! 

Another Fantastic Week of Fun and Learning!

What a busy and exciting week it's been in Tregantle Class!

The children have been fully immersed in our class story "Whatever Next!" by Jill Murphy. We've been learning lots of new words from the story, acting out Baby Bear's wonderful adventure to the moon, and sequencing the key parts to help us remember what happens first, next, and last. Everyone has shown amazing enthusiasm and imagination!

In our Wild Tribe session, we took inspiration from our rhyme of the week, "Dingle Dangle Scarecrow." The children worked brilliantly together, drawing around each other and using natural materials to create giant scarecrows! There were some very creative designs and plenty of teamwork on show.

Over in our Exploration Area, the children have been busy investigating bugs and soil. They've shown fantastic curiosity as they've dug, discovered, and talked about all the little creatures they found living underground.

We finished the week with a fun skipping workshop, where everyone had a go at learning new skipping techniques. The hall was full of smiles, laughter, and lots of jumping feet!

Another brilliant week in Tregantle Class - full of fun, learning, and adventure!

What a wonderful week it has been at Brunel with Open Days, Skipping Workshops and a new orienteering course in situ at our wonderful school. Please enjoy browsing through this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin. Have a wonderful weekend!

This week has been full of fantastic learning opportunities. 

In English, we have started writing our non-chronological reports about where energy comes from. The children have been working really hard to include scientific language, interesting facts and structure their work so that it has cohesion. They are looking wonderful and I am amazed by how creative they are. 

In maths, we have moved onto our new unit of fractions. We started by finding equivalent fractions and simplifying them. Next, we will learn how to add and subtract them. 

We were lucky to have a skipping workshop today in the hall. It was hilarious and we learned many new skills. We started with simple skipping, then skipping backwards, hopping on one foot, crossing our arms and then jumping into a long rope. All of the children learned something new and I was impressed with their abilities.

We have also had the opportunity to take part in some orienteering outside using the new stations around school. In the first session, we went hunting for different animals and in the second session, we answered some questions about Mary Seacole and Nelson Mandela for Black History Month. We had to check each station for a number to see if we had got the answer correct. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Miss Burton

Year 2 and 3 Weekly Learning Round-Up!

What a fantastic week it's been in Years 2 and 3! The children have been full of enthusiasm and curiosity as they've explored a wide range of topics across the curriculum. Here's a look at what we've been up to:

English

We've started our brand-new unit on non-chronological reports. The children have enjoyed retelling information, finding key features of reports, and exploring how to make their writing more interesting using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (for example, and, but, because, when). It's been wonderful to see them becoming more confident and creative writers!

 Maths

In maths, we've been building on our understanding of addition and subtraction. Using base 10 equipment, the children have been adding and subtracting ones, helping them to see how numbers are made up and how we can manipulate them. Lots of hands-on practice and problem-solving this week!

 History

Our journey through Ancient Egypt has taken an exciting turn as we discovered the fascinating process of mummification. The children were captivated by learning why and how the Ancient Egyptians mummified people - a perfect blend of curiosity and a few giggles!

 PE

In PE, we've been developing our netball skills, focusing on shooting techniques and key game skills like passing, spacing, and teamwork. The children are becoming much more confident on the court!

 RE

Our focus in Religious Education has been how Jewish people belong to their faith. We've discussed traditions, celebrations, and what belonging means in different communities - thoughtful and respectful conversations all around.

 French

Bonjour! We've been learning all about France and the French language. The children have been exploring greetings, simple words and phrases, and learning a little about French culture. They're already saying bonjour and au revoir with confidence!

 Science

We've been assessing our knowledge in our 'Animals Including Humans' topic. The children have shown a fantastic understanding of body parts, life cycles, and how humans and animals grow and change.

Special Event: Skipping Workshop!

Friday brought a burst of energy with an exciting skipping workshop! The children had great fun learning new skipping tricks and working together to keep those ropes moving - a brilliant way to combine fitness and fun.

 Reading

Throughout the week, we've been focusing on reading fluency - helping children to read more smoothly, accurately, and quickly. They've been working hard on understanding and answering questions about the texts they read, showing real progress in comprehension.

It's been a busy and rewarding week full of learning, laughter, and new discoveries. We're so proud of how hard the children are working and can't wait to see what next week brings!

Duckpool authors...

and mathematicians...

w/e 10.10.25

We were so delighted this week to stage a musical extravaganza at Brunel which was attended by representatives from 10 different schools, including our Y5 pupils. Ages ranged from Y5-Y13 and the event was staged by The Gabriel Explore Vocal workshop. Only two schools in Cornwall were chosen to host, with a view to performing in Truro Cathedral next year and we were thrilled to take part. Many thanks to Mrs Swabey and Mr Jane for organising.

Our Y4 children are continuing with their weekly violin lessons and we've been impressed with how they are progressing each week - so very well done to them!

Mental Health Awareness Day was a ray of sunshine in October, as we all wore yellow this Friday and completed some mindful activities.

Thank you also for your support with Harvest Festival and contributing to the wonderful Saltash Food Bank. It was lovely to celebrate with so many parents and carers in assembly on Monday.

We really enjoyed our mixed media portraits lesson on Friday too! 

Have a great weekend everyone.

W/E 10.10.25

Y4/5 Music Maestros

We were so delighted this week to stage a musical extravaganza at Brunel which was attended by representatives from 10 different schools, including our Y5 pupils. Ages ranged from Y5-Y13 and the event was staged by The Gabriel Explore Vocal workshop. Only two schools in Cornwall were chosen to host, with a view to performing in Truro Cathedral next year and we were thrilled to take part. Many thanks to Mrs Swabey and Mr Jane for organising.

Our Y4 children are continuing with their weekly violin lessons and we've been impressed with how they are progressing each week - so very well done to them!

Mental Health Awareness Day was a ray of sunshine in October, as we all wore yellow this Friday and completed some mindful activities.

Thank you also for your support with Harvest Festival and contributing to the wonderful Saltash Food Bank. It was lovely to celebrate with so many parents and carers in assembly on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone.
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