We've had a truly fantastic week, filled with excitement and lots of memorable moments. One of the biggest highlights was our trip to see Aladdin at the Hall for Cornwall. The children were absolutely captivated by the performance-their faces lit up with wonder, and it was magical to see how much they enjoyed every moment of the show.

Back at school, we've been incredibly busy preparing for our nativity performance next week. The children have been working hard learning their lines, practicing their roles, and perfecting the songs. Their enthusiasm and effort have been wonderful to watch.

This afternoon, we will visit the church. They are so excited to share their songs with you, and we can't wait for you to see all their hard work come together. It's going to be a special and joyful occasion!

Tonight we steal the Moooon!

Well - not quite!  As part of our science learning about space we have been learning about the solar system.  We have learned about the different planets and asteroid belts.  We have also looked at some historical theories about the Solar System and how the earth's orbit creates different seasons.

Finally, we looked at what causes Earth to have night and day - and then we learned about why the moon appears to look different at different times of the month.  Our learning about the phases of the moon was made memorable by using Jaffa cakes to replicate the different phases.

Good fun - and delicious!

Santa's Elves visit St Cleer

ELF DAY ARRIVED!  Hundreds of excited and Christmassy elves descended on St Cleer to raise funds to Alzheimers UK.

We had a great day full of Christmas learning, from 'Naughty Elf adventure stories' to Christmas codebreakers - we had a great day, learned lots and raised money for a great cause!

Fantastic gymnastics

Our PE theme this half term has been Gymnastics.  We have learned lots of different ways to lead, balance and travel.  Our lessons started by learning how to complete the Stag leap and the Split leap using mats on the floor.

We then moved onto the apparatus, looking at different ways we can travel using different apparatus and also different ways to balance.  Finally, we introduced the springboard and had great fun using the springboard to leap higher and try to complete more complex gymnastics moves.

Its been great fun - but Mr H finds it difficult to capture good photos when children are moving so fast!!

This Week in Reception and Year 1

We've had a wonderfully full and exciting week of learning across both Reception and Year 1, with lots of enthusiasm and brilliant effort from all the children.

In History, Year 1 have been delving into the story of the Gunpowder Plot. We spent time discussing what went wrong for Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters, and the children really enjoyed exploring the events through both primary and secondary sources. They are beginning to understand how we know about things that happened long ago, and why different types of sources can give us different information.

In Maths, Year 1 successfully completed their unit on place value to 100. We revisited counting forwards and backwards, comparing numbers, and partitioning tens and ones. The children showed great progress and confidence. Next week, we will be moving on to an exciting new unit all about shape, where the children will explore 2D and 3D shapes, talk about their properties, and begin to sort and classify them.

Year 1 have also been working incredibly hard on their assessments this week. We are very proud of the effort, resilience, and concentration they have shown. They should all feel very proud of themselves.

In Science, the focus has been on the life cycle of a butterfly. The children learned about the four stages-egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly-and were fascinated to discover how dramatically a butterfly changes as it grows. We looked at pictures, discussed each stage, and had some lovely conversations about other animals that also change as they grow.

In English, both the children and teachers had a real treat as we began exploring performance poetry. The class watched Michael Rosen's famous poem Chocolate Cake, and they were completely mesmerised by his expression, gestures, and humour. This led to lots of laughter and brilliant discussions about how poets use their voices and actions to bring their words to life. We will continue exploring performance poetry next week as the children start to have a go at performing lines themselves.

Meanwhile, both Reception and Year 1 have been deeply involved in their nativity practice. Songs are being sung with growing confidence, lines are being learned, and the children are really starting to bring the story to life. Their hard work and enthusiasm are shining through, and it is already looking absolutely fantastic. We can't wait to share it with you!

We finished the week off dressed as elves, what a week!!

Thank you to Duchy College for hosting a great cross country event. Some of our running club members took it to the field and all placed in the top 50 of their age categories - well done to you all. A special nod to one of our runners who placed 2nd and received a lovely certificate of congratulations! 

Well done to Year 5 and their families who paraded their fantastic lanterns through Liskeard on Saturday evening. It was lovely to be there with you all and watch the tree illuminated followed by fireworks and entertainment! A lovely event that was very well organised and attended. A fitting start to this festive period.

This week has been a wonderfully busy and exciting one in school, filled with learning, creativity and lots of seasonal activities. We have continued practicing for the nativity, working hard to learn our dance routines and singing plenty of festive songs. The children are growing in confidence each day, and it has been lovely to see their enthusiasm and teamwork as they rehearse together.

In English, we enjoyed a special activity where we toasted marshmallows and used the experience as inspiration for our writing. The children wrote thoughtful notes and then moved on to independently creating their own sets of instructions. They focused on using bossy verbs and time conjunctions to make their writing clear and easy to follow. Next week, we will be using our writing toolkit to edit and improve these instructions, helping the children develop their proofreading and revising skills.

In maths, we have been exploring number lines to 100, concentrating on identifying and filling in missing numbers. This has helped strengthen the children's understanding of number order, place value and counting in different intervals.

For PSHE, we had an important discussion about bullying. The children shared ideas about how it feels to be left out and the emotions that come with it. We talked about the importance of kindness and identified trusted people they can talk to if they ever feel worried or upset.

In History, the children completed their timelines for the Gunpowder Plot. They showed great recall of key events and enjoyed sequencing the story to build a clearer understanding of how and why it happened.

During PE, we took part in a winter-themed dance session. The children expressed themselves through movement, developing coordination, rhythm and confidence while embracing the festive spirit.

In Science, we have been learning about life cycles. The children explored how different living things grow and change over time, making links between animals, plants and the stages they go through as they develop.

Reception have also had a fantastic week. They have been working very hard on blending sounds in phonics and are making great progress. In maths, they have been exploring odd and even numbers through fun, practical activities. They have also been learning about different celebrations, building their understanding of traditions and special events from a range of cultures.

This week has been a very busy and exciting one for the children. In English, we have been learning all about writing clear instructions. We focused on using imperative verbs-our bossy words-and time connectives to help our writing flow in the correct order. The children especially enjoyed applying their new skills to something they know very well: how to make a jam sandwich! They loved talking through each step and making sure they didn't miss any important instructions.

In Maths, we have been exploring place value, concentrating on tens and ones up to 100. The children have been using place value charts, equipment, and drawings to show numbers in different ways, and they are becoming much more confident in recognising how numbers are built.

PE was a real highlight this week. The children became Chinese dragons, working together to move, weave, and perform just like the traditional dragons seen in celebrations. They particularly enjoyed creating their own dragon-inspired movements and performing them as a team.

In PSHE, our discussions focused on bullying. We talked about what bullying looks like, how it makes people feel, and what we can do if we ever see it happening. The children shared thoughtful ideas and showed great empathy during the conversation.

During Learning Adventure, we continued our work on historical events and acted out the story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The children loved stepping into character and bringing the story to life through role play.

Reception have also had a wonderful week. They have been practising their special friends in phonics, working on number formation, and even wrote their very own letters to Father Christmas-a magical moment for everyone!

Year 5 have started preparing their lanterns for the Liskeard Lantern Parade on Saturday 29th November. We hope that some of you will be there to support them and enjoy the spectacle. We were joined by a local artist Biddy Daniel who has started the process off with our children. Our creative staff will continue the preparations with all of year 5 to create their lanterns ready for the big event. It is always a magical event to be part of and another chance for the local community to come together.