What a busy week it has been at Team Brunel. With the Storytelling Caravan and Space Odyssey Dome making a visit to our school as well as a theatre trip by train. It has yet again been quite a week at our wonderful school. Sit back, relax and enjoy this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin.

w/e 28.3.25

Wow, these weeks are flying past, they're so jam packed! Let's see what's been going on this week!

It started off with the most AMAZING visit to the Space Dome - as we lay on our backs admiring the night sky, we were transported to space stations, moons, meteors and even back in time! A wonderful, memorable experience had by all!

English - we are planning our balanced arguments about digging up our school field for the Roman remains - will they turn out to be genuine or not? Will we lose our field?

On Monday, some children from each class visited the 'Story Caravan', a truly magical place full of awe and wonder! What a special treat!

History - we learned about Hadrian's wall and Vindolanda fort - some amazing artefacts from Roman times have been found there and we analysed some of these to see what we could learn about the Romans that lived there. Fascinating stuff!

In RE, we learned about the weird and wonderful Penzance festival of Golowen. We were all really taken by the Obby Oss! What a strange creature it is! It looks like a really exciting festival, too!

Science - we learned about how different surface textures affect the speed of objects moving down them - we used ramps and toy cars to experiment with the hypothesis that a rougher surface creates more friction and will therefore slow the car down. We were right!

Also on Friday, Year 4 were taken over to the library to take part in 'Biowatch' and do some arts and crafts about the world around us! Can they tell you all about it?

Have a lovely weekend and we'll see you all back on Monday for the final week of term!

We have been thoroughly enjoying the spring sunshine and being able to open the doors and venture outside without wellies and waterproofs!

For a change we got out all of the bikes, trikes, scooters and push along toys.

The children enjoyed a different type of play and were developing a different range of skills and muscle toning as they played.

w/e 28.3.25

Wow, these weeks are flying past, they're so jam packed! Let's see what's been going on this week!

It started off with the most AMAZING visit to the Space Dome - as we lay on our backs admiring the night sky, we were transported to space stations, moons, meteors and even back in time! A wonderful, memorable experience had by all!

English - we are planning our balanced arguments about digging up our school field for the Roman remains - will they turn out to be genuine or not? Will we lose our field?

On Monday, some children from each class visited the 'Story Caravan', a truly magical place full of awe and wonder! What a special treat!

History - we learned about Hadrian's wall and Vindolanda fort - some amazing artefacts from Roman times have been found there and we analysed some of these to see what we could learn about the Romans that lived there. Fascinating stuff!

In RE, we learned about the weird and wonderful Penzance festival of Golowen. We were all really taken by the Obby Oss! What a strange creature it is! It looks like a really exciting festival, too!

Science - we learned about how different surface textures affect the speed of objects moving down them - we used ramps and toy cars to experiment with the hypothesis that a rougher surface creates more friction and will therefore slow the car down. We were right!

Also on Friday, Year 4 were taken over to the library to take part in 'Biowatch' and do some arts and crafts about the world around us! Can they tell you all about it?

Have a lovely weekend and we'll see you all back on Monday for the final week of term! 

Theatre Trip!

Tregantle and Lantic classes have had the most incredible trip to Plymouth Theatre Royal to watch The Little Red Hen! They walked all the way from school to Saltash Train Station where they eagerly awaited their train to Plymouth. There was much excitement when the train arrived! Traveling over Brunel Bridge was wonderful - the children saw the road bridge and lots of boats below. Next was another walk from Plymouth Station to the Theatre Royal. The show was just fantastic - the children were so engrossed from start to finish. There was time for a picnic in the theatre before walking back to the train station to return home. All of our children behaved impeccably and were a joy to take out!

Heading Out to Space

Another action packed week for Talland Class. The highlights this week were: a visit to a Cornwall based story caravan where the children heard traditional stories; a morning spent in a Space Dome where they learned about the Universe, the cycle of the moon and other amazing facts, for example, 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level is the altitude of the Kármán line, a conventionally used boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.

Some of the children have also been honing in on their own self-development, especially using musical instruments.  It's fantastic to watch the enthusiasm, concentration and self-confidence ooze from these children. Well done, Talland Class.

best wishes, 

Mrs Swabey, Mr Parry and Mrs Walters.

An Exciting Expedition to Dartmoor Zoo

 
The highlight of the children's learning this week has been the exciting expedition to Dartmoor Zoo. The visit included seeing the animals at feeding time, from otters to lions; hearing the lion's proud roar; watching the tiger confidently patrolling his environment; a nighttime visit around the zoo and participating in workshops and discussing how we can protect and improve the natural environment for all living things. The children's confidence oozed and the questions asked by the children were well thought through: for example, how could these animals be returned to their natural environment? Despite the long day of walking and viewing the animals, the children were a credit not only to Talland Class but to their parents/guardians and Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy School. The excitement, fresh air and the abundance of activities helped them to sleep soundly ready for a Friday morning stroll around the Zoo and team building games.

Best wishes, Mrs Swabey, Mr Parry and Mrs Walters.

Another busy time in Lantic class this week!

We have been learning in English the story of the Little Red Hen - ready for out trip next week, discovering why Christian's believe 'Good Friday' is good, we learnt that the weather is different in different parts of the UK in Geography.   

We made pledges in Science about what we can do to solve the plastic pollution and during PE we followed a yoga program based on Minecraft! The year 2's have been multiplying and dividing in their math's lessons...

On Friday we dressing in red for Red Nose Day - I think we looked good!

What another wonderful week we have had at Brunel! It has been a week full of exciting learning opportunities for all our children. Please take a look at the Brunel Bulletin to find out what our incredible school community have been up to. Have a wonderful weekend.

The Little Red Hen

This week in Tregantle Class, our Year 1 and EYFS children have been immersed in a variety of engaging activities to introduce our new text, 'The Little Red Hen.' To introduce the classic tale of The Little Red Hen, our Year 1 children embarked on a hands-on bread-making adventure! They measured ingredients, mixed dough, and observed the transformation as their creations baked into delicious bread rolls. This activity not only brought the story to life but also reinforced practical maths skills through accurate measuring.


Our EYFS children have been busy writing sentences and words inspired by The Little Red Hen. Their creativity flourished as they described their ideas and used their Fred fingers to write the words they wanted. Additionally, they delved into the world of patterns and 3D shapes, identifying and creating repeating patterns and learning the names of various 3D shapes.

On Red Nose Day, both Year 1 and EYFS children joined in the festivities by wearing red attire. Thank you so much for all of your contributions!

With the arrival of warmer weather, we've taken our learning outside and enjoyed our amazing outside spaces. The children have relished the opportunity to engage in outdoor activities and enjoy the sunshine.

We are all very much looking forward to our theatre trip next week to watch The Little Red Hen!

w/e 21/3/25 

We’ve had an action-packed and exciting week in Year 3 and 4, full of discoveries, creativity, and teamwork!

Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to:

English – A Mysterious Discovery! A thrilling discovery on the school field has sparked curiosity and debate in our classroom! The children have been formulating arguments for and against various possibilities, using the language of debate in their writing. They have also been practising their amazing oracy skills, confidently discussing their viewpoints in preparation for their balanced argument writing.

Maths – Measuring Up and Mastering Numbers. Year 3 have embarked on their new topic of length and perimeter, exploring how to measure and calculate distances and boundaries. Meanwhile, Year 4 have been delving into fractions and decimals, developing their understanding of how numbers can be represented in different ways.

History – Marching Like Romans. The children had a fantastic time drilling like Roman soldiers! They researched what made the Roman army so powerful and put their knowledge into practice with some impressive marching and formation exercises.

Science – Investigating Forces Our new science topic, Forces and Magnetism, began with an exciting investigation into how different forces affect moving objects. The children loved experimenting and observing how things move in different ways.

Computing - the Year 3 children learned lots about 'Fake News' in their Online Safety lesson and the Year 4 children tried out the Data loggers, collecting data from various places around school. Which places were the quietest, brightest or hottest, for example?

RE – A Special Visit to St Stephen’s Church On Thursday - we had a wonderful visit to St Stephen’s Church, where we learned all about the creation story and how to be stewards of our Earth. The children behaved beautifully and participated enthusiastically in discussions and activities.

Dance – A Creative Collaboration Many children had the amazing opportunity to take part in a dance workshop on Monday, where they worked with children from other schools to explore creative dance and build friendships. It was a truly inspiring experience!

PE – Fielding Skills in Cricket. In PE, we focused on fielding techniques in cricket, practising catching, throwing, and teamwork to improve our game.

PSHE – Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Our PSHE lessons this week centered around the importance of exercise. The children explored what happens to their bodies and minds when they exercise and why staying active is vital for their well-being.

It has been a fantastic week of learning, and we can’t wait to see what next week brings!

Best wishes, The Year 3 & 4 Team

What an amazing science week we've had in Tregantle! Our focus has been of floating and sinking and looking at how we can help to keep our planet clean. The children have been amazing at experimenting and talking about their ideas. We also had some great designs for our competition to design something to help clear the plastic from the ocean. We even had a prize winner which was fantastic! We certainly have some budding scientists in Tregantle class!  

The children were eager to take up books to share at St Anne's this week.

We took a selection of favourite traditional tales, and some newer books that we hadn't read before.

The Grannies loved sharing the stories with the children and they loved it, too.



 

This week, we have been treated to some wonderful weather and Team Brunel have made the most of the sunshine. In addition to the wonderful learning that the children have been experiencing in school, we have also had residentials to Dartmoor, a Songfest concert and many other exciting events that you can share with us in our Brunel Bulletin. Have a wonderful weekend. 

Emergency First Aid - The Recovery Position

The children have had so much fun learning how to place a casualty in to the recovery position. They all remembered the emergency ABC (airway, breathing and circulation) procedure prior to putting the casualty in a safe recovery position. Well done, Talland Class.


Maths
The children are becoming proficient experts in mathematical problem solving. They can confidently apply their knowledge of adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying fractions to solve simple one step and two step problems. 


English
We have some natural poets in Talland Class who intuitively use figurative language to enhance the verses within their poems. Most children are able to competently use metaphors, personification and alliteration effectively to enhance the poems they have written. Some children were able to recognise and include rhythm to allow their poems to flow when being read. Keep up the good work, Talland Class.


Best wishes, Mrs Swabey, Mr Parry, Mrs Walters and Mrs Payne.

w/e 7.3.25

We have had another busy week!

English – Poems from the past - This week, we finished writing our Stone Age poems and turned to celebrating the end of WWII by writing VE80 poems for a local competition!

Maths – Year 4 have continued using Peri the snail to help them learn about perimeter and Year 3 have been continuing their work on multiplication and division.

History – When did the Romans come to Britain and why? We used our Historian skills to set up a timeline of events and discussed why the Romans came over to little ole Blighty!

RE – Cornish Folktales - This week, we learned the strange and interesting story of St Piran - it tied in brilliantly with it being St Pirans day and Talland class's assembly all about St Piran, too! We loved watching the Furry Dance!

Science - More Shadows! We had great fun creating shadow puppets, learning about how to change the shape and size of shadows.

Thank you for your continued support!