The Penpol Times

One ‘Wicked’ London trip

15th September 2019 by Jono Peck

On the 11th June 2019, many of the Y6 travelled to London for 4 days of sightseeing, visiting attractions and the many things our nations capital has on offer. With a jam packed itinerary planned, we set off at 7am by executive coach for the long road ahead. Following a number of “Are we nearly there yets?” just after lunchtime we pulled up outside the Natural History Museum.

The children were excited by the beautiful exterior and size of the building even before going in. As we entered the Natural History Museum this was the scene that greeted us:

We saw many exciting exhibits:

Then it was off for dinner at Pizza Express before going to check in at the hotel for our first nights stay.

Our second day in London started at the Houses of Parliament where we had a special tour through the buildings including the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in most areas. There were lots of MP’s coming in to discuss Brexit. The former Prime Minister Theresa May was also arriving for questions – we left and I don’t think she was long after us!

We then went sightseeing around Central London:

Dinner at Garfunkel’s and then a West End show – Wicked. Wicked was absolutely wicked!!!

The next day we visited HMS Belfast on the River Thames in the morning by the Tower Bridge. It was used during World War II and was fascinating to tour around. It was interesting to look at and experience some of the things we had been learning about from our Wartime Britain topic. We also bumped into the Hollywood actor John Malkovich. Not somebody you see in a ship’s navigating room very often!

We then went on a river cruise down the River Thames setting off from just outside the Tower of London. Unfortunately it was rather damp outside so we viewed it all from the inside. At least we ate lunch in the dry. The commentator was very funny. Docking at Westminster next.

It was time for a flight on the London Eye. We watched a 4D show first which was really cool. Looking up at the big wheel up into the sky, it was our turn to go on and we were very excited. All except one frightened adult! Mrs Turner didn’t look down or even up once!

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe – there were some strange rumblings going on. We kept seeing wild and hairy things – wait…was that just Mr Stanlake and Mr Peck?

A nice evening stroll then followed, through the lights of Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square before heading back to the hotel.

It was our last day in London. All the bags on the coach and we were heading to the Science Museum and The Wonderlab. The Wonderlab is the most amazing hands on science laboratory/gallery/play room/museum/fun room you can imagine. We had so much fun, investigated lots and maybe even learnt a little along the way! After clearing out the shop we then went for a quick tour around some of the Science Museum.

Now the long journey home. Happy life-long memories and amazing experiences. Oh, and a few ‘Bongo Bandit’ songs on the way back. It was too much for some!

Year Six – London 2019

Organic and Mixed Media Art Experience for Year 5!

12th September 2019 by Jack Emery

Year 5 were treated to a week of organic art and mixed media Art with Tracey, an artist from St Ives.

With the amazon being a pivotal part of the Earth’s ecosystem, Year 5 are currently following artist John Dyer as he broadcasts live his travels across the Amazon. His project, ‘Last chance to Paint’ , aims to connect students to the environment and create a global art gallery which highlights what we stand to lose.

In this art session, the students used blackberries, which had been freshly picked by Mr Pollard and Mr Wise, to mimic the Yawanawa tribe’s version of organic art. Using modelling tools, the students created sketches of wildlife in nature, with the results surprisingly pleasant to the eye.

The variety between each piece of work was quite staggering, considering the only ingredients used were blackberries. Mr Wise, Class 12 teacher

Later on in the week, Year 5 were once again treated to another Art session, this time from local artist Tracey from St Ives. Tracey brought in a lot of different materials for the children to use in order to create mixed media art. Using a variety of materials, such as masking tape, coloured paper and doilies, the children were instructed to build up a surface formed from different layers.

I really liked using different colour paper to layer my work and make different objects stand out. Oliver, Class 11

Through lots of experimentation and creativity, both classes then drew different nautical scenes from the surrounding area, with St Ives harbour being a common landscape for the children to draw.
The students used different grading of pencil to add different tones to their work, as well as graphite, pens, pastels and finally paint.

My favourite part was mixing the paints to create the colour I wanted for my drawing! Lydia, Class 12

The final results speak for themselves! The children took great pleasure showing off their art work and it was interesting to see the degree of variety between every piece of art work.
A fantastic effort, check out the results in the gallery below!

Music in the Marquee 2019 – The Movie!

11th February 202018th August 2019 by Jacob Woolcock

This year we had our fifth Music in the Marquee concert here at Penpol School, this year featuring the amazing Leanne Kyte as The Ariana Grande Experience. As is fast becoming a tradition, we’ve made a very special short film of the evening to bring back all of those amazing memories!

As always, these events are held to help raise money for the Penpol Friends Association (PFA) and this year I’m thrilled to say that we’ve raised nearly four and a half thousand pounds – all of which will go to supporting Penpol School in the years to come.

Thank you all so much for supporting our school through events like these.

Class 6 visit Tremenheere Gardens

25th June 201925th June 2019 by Linda Ruffell

At last the sun was shining and Class 6 were able to go on their educational visit to the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, without wearing wellington boots, coats and hats. Whilst at the gardens, the children got to observe a variety of sculptures and exotic plants, which they were then able to draw into their sketchbooks. The children also got to go inside the camera obscure, where they were able to see a 360 degree view of the gardens in a hypnotic and magical way.

Year 5 have been learning about the Ancient Greeks

20th June 201920th June 2019 by Jacob Woolcock

This term both Year 5 classes have been learning about the Ancient Greeks. As part of this learning they have built their very own Greek Temples using Keynote on computer and have created these gorgeous animations for you to enjoy.

Each child took a different Greek figure and designed a temple just for them. They then did some research online to create a short fact card for each person.

So sit back, relax and enjoy learning about famous Greek figures whilst marvelling at some stunning animations. Well done Year 5.

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Class 6 will not be beaten by the weather!

15th June 2019 by Linda Ruffell

Despite the awful weather conditions, Class 6 had an enjoyable day out at Trevaskis Farm. During their visit the children heard interesting facts about a range of fruit and vegetables and then went to meet some of the animals, who were brave enough to venture out in the rain to meet them. Before heading back to school, the children got to pick and eat the best strawberry they could find.

Fun at the Vets

11th February 202012th June 2019 by Amanda Aspden

Class I had the best time at the Animal Vets in Hayle. Claire, Jonathon and Patrick McCotter, along with their amazing team gave the children the most fantastic experience.

We learnt all about farms and farming from Patrick McCotter. He was great with the children telling them all about how to look after different animals on farms and what types of produce we can get from them if looked after properly.

You can get milk from cows and you can get milk from goats which is made into goats cheese – Violet

We also learnt all about what is inside the animals bodies. We studied some X-rays, one of a cat and another of a dog with a broken bone, one with a stone in his tummy and one with a needle in his tummy. The children were fascinated as Jonathon talked about what the animals have inside their bodies and related it to what the children have inside their bodies. They even got the opportunity to bandage a very gentle and tolerant Chester the dog.

I know pigs and cows have different meat – Luke

We saw a dogs broken bone and a dog swallowed a stone in the X-rays – Henry

Next we learnt all about some tortoises. For example they like to live in warm climates and generally most tortoises hibernate during the winter. The tortoises we met didn’t hibernate, they had fun trying to race each other to the finish line. We found out that they can live up to 100 years old and they like eating strawberries.

The tortoises came from the desert – Albie

The rabbits were a big hit with the children. They loved learning all about what to feed them and how to look after them. We learnt that rabbits like to eat hay to keep their ever growing teeth small and they don’t really like being picked up because they sometimes will feel threatened. The rabbits we met were very friendly and full of character.

I learnt rabbits have 28 teeth and their teeth keep growing and dogs are not aloud chocolate – Albie

Finally the children got scrubbed up into their surgery attire to perform a very delicate operation on a poorly dog that had eaten too many chocolates. The anaesthetist did a great job of ensuring the dog was asleep during the operation whilst the surgeons were busy at work.

I learnt that rabbits eat their own poo. We learnt what tortoises eat, strawberries. But really my favourite was eating the chocolate because Harold the dog eated too much chocolate then we got tweezers and picked it out of his tummy. Henry

The whole experience was fantastic. Class one would like to thank the whole team at the animal vets for all their hard work, organisation and exciting activities they provided for the children to support their learning about animals and pet care.

Penpol Tennis Champ!

11th June 201911th June 2019 by Penpol School

This weekend Ruby travelled to Bodmin to take part in a Cornwall County tennis competition. She was playing against 8 other really talented children but she managed to beat them all by winning the most points and won the competition!

Her prize was to take home two very special t-shirts – one of which she is wearing in her photo below.

Ruby says “I felt amazed that I’d won, because I was playing against some really good people. I practice my tennis at least three times a week and I think all that hard work is why I managed to win.”

“Tennis is such a good sport because when you’re playing it’s not like football where only so many people can play, it’ s game where anyone can play and take it in turns whenever they like. It’s great fun!”

Teamwork and Cooperation help Class 8 race to success with LEGO Race Cars

10th June 201910th June 2019 by Jacob Woolcock

Year 3s have started using LEGO WeDo 2.0 robotics sets for the first time this week! After much excitement and anticipation, Class 8 have been building race cars for their first project. From building with LEGO bricks to writing the code on screen, the children have demonstrated fantastic teamwork and perseverance to overcome obstacles, locate missing pieces and connect the robots to their iMacs.

The key to success here was good teamwork and cooperation, something which Class 8 realised from the start. Working in pairs they set about co-ordinating their approach so one had the instructions on screen whilst the other built the model, often switching roles as the process went on.

In forty minutes we all had race cars built, but then it was time for the biggest challenge of all – getting the cars connected to the computers and moving by themselves!

Of course we had to have a race to finish the lesson, check out the breathtakingly fast action on the video below…

Cornwall Schools Finals Touch Rugby Champions

30th May 2019 by Jono Peck

Penpol School were crowned Cornwall Finals Plate Champions on Tuesday 21st May at Redruth RFC. With 22 of the area finalist schools attending, competition was certainly tough. In the first round of matches it was certainly tight and it took Penpol a couple of games to kick into gear.

Once up and running, the children played some fantastic rugby and always looked like the side that was going to score at some point. The defence was solid and they worked hard as a team to deny the other teams. In fact, during the whole tournament, we only let in 3 tries!

Following the rounds we then went into the Plate competition. The quarter final was against Marlborough School and we won 3-2 with a late try. Into the semi-finals against Mount Hawke – this was a tight affair and even though we were nearly scored so many times we just couldn’t get across the try line. The game went into extra time and then extra-extra time until it was eventually stopped and the officials went back to the tries scored in the previous game which meant we were through to the final.

The final was played against Stithians School. In front of the main grandstand, a number of people were watching this one. Again this was a tight game. You could see both teams now starting to tire and Dom saw a gap, burst through and scored the winning try.

Penpol had won the final! The children received their medals supported by the other schools.

I was so proud of the teamwork, effort and their conduct throughout the entire tournament. I was also pleased that we had some Y4 and Y5’s playing so the future looks bright as well!

Mr Peck

Penpol win the Mayor’s Cup

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundations of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”