Safer Internet Day - 5th February
We marked Safer Internet Day a day early this year, as we had a very exciting Cornish Heritage day planned for the actual day on 6th February (see below). On the 5th, we talked to children about online safety, completed special lessons to remind, reteach and introduced new concepts about keeping safe while using the internet. We taught specifically about the safety and use of smart phones, particularly to our older classes. Please follow this link to ensure you have parental controls set up on your child's smart phones and other devices - Smartphones and tablets | Parent Zone | At the heart of digital family life As some of you know, we have recently had some issues with group chats and keeping our children safe while online, including the amount of time they are spending on their devices and how late at night they are on them. The guide above explores how you can add content and screen time restrictions as well as protections over downloads and in-game and in-app purchases.
Will Keating: Cornish Heritage Day - 6th February
Will Keating delivered a whole school assembly and individual class workshops which included songs and stories all around Cornish Heritage. The work achieved prepared the whole school to take part in an upcoming event at The Hall for Cornwall with other schools from the Camborne area on 6th March to celebrate St Piran's Day the day before. The transport costs have all been covered for the day as part of the event and a subsidy for schools for the workshops too! Our whole school will get the experience to perform at The Hall for Cornwall with other schools - such an incredible experience for all! When we know more information about it we will share it with you. What a great addition to Children's Mental Health Week
Express Yourself - My Voice Matters - Children's Mental Health Week - Friday 9th February
On the last day of Children's Mental Health week and the last day before half term, we are invited children to come to school 'Dressed to Express'. This means they could come to school wearing whatever they liked that expresses themselves. It could be a hobby that they love, a uniform from an organisation they are part of, it could be their favourite colour - it could be anything! WE had a wonderful array of outfits that truly expressed the children of Penponds. The theme for this year is Express Yourself - My Voice Matters.
In addition to the 'dress up day', FOPS are also held a sponsored event - Keep the Wheels Turning
As we know, exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. Furthermore, exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits. It pumps up your endorphins - your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters. So to end Children's Mental Health Week and to start half term with a boost, we held our sponsored FOPS event - Keep the Wheels Turning.
This involved 'keeping the wheels turning' on static exercise bikes and a turbo trainer for littler legs, in the hall from 8am until the end of the school day. And we did it!
Now we have completed the challenge, it's time to get the sponsorship forms back in . I wonder how much we have managed to raise for FOPS.
ALL MONEY RAISED WILL GO TOWARDS FOPS - BUYING LOVELY THINGS FOR OUR SCHOOL AS WELL AS CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS TRANSPORT FOR TRIPS AND RESIDENTIALS.
After her two-week trial at Cornwall AFC, she has been offered a place!
Kelyn also plays for Troon AFC and has worked so hard in training over the last three seasons to earn this opportunity. Well done!
Have a look at the photos and videos below if you were unable to attend or to revisit the music.
Thank you so much to Hermione for stepping in to drum for one of our bands last minute - what a pro! Unfortunately, Maddie was unable to drum due to her poorly arm. Maddie, we really missed your performance and cannot wait to see you back behind the drums with your sticks ready to rock out again. Get Well Soon from us all!
Kaira - I don't think there is another child in this school who this means more to. When Kaira's name was announced as a new prefect she burst into tears - happy tears. She said 'it means everything to me'. Kaira is a real people pleaser and always wants to help. If there is a job that needs doing, Kaira is always the first to raise her hand and offer her assistance. Kaira has exceptional manners and makes the perfect role model for younger children. Congratulations Kaira!
Emily - Emily is a very special young person. She is a true advocate for others and an ambassador of rights. Emily single handedly organised the Food Bank Christmas Appeal in school and even arranged to have it delivered too! Emily always puts other's needs first and if she sees any injustice, is always first to investigate how things can be changed for the better. Emily is always a huge advocate for animal rights as well! Watch this space for the next project!
Mia - Mia has become a prefect through her relentless support of others. She is the perfect mediator when things go wrong and she always tries to help smooth out disagreements between others. Mia is very mature and understand the importance of tolerance and understanding. She always keeps out of drama, preferring to be the peace maker. What a wonderful attribute to have at such a young age.
Well done to all of our prefects of 2023!
We asked for donations as detailed below...
Reception: Chocolate, Sweets and Biscuits
Year 1 : Luxury Tins, Packets, Jars (soup, beans, stuffing mix, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, Yorkshire pudding mix, pasta and sauces etc)
Year 2: Gifts (bed socks and blankets, colouring pencils and activity books, make and do art sets, top trumps, playing cards etc)
Year 3: Drinks (fizzy pop, squash, tea, coffee, hot chocolate - no alcohol)
Year 4: Household necessities (loo roll, cleaning products, shampoo, soaps, tin foil, cling film, black bin liners etc)
Year 5: Snacks (crisps, crackers, bread sticks, fruit cakes etc)
Year 6: Christmas Extras (crackers, party poppers, festive hats, treats, mince pies, custard, Christmas pudding etc)
...and we were inundated with donations!
Emily and one of of our newly appointed prefects, Mia, went to the Food Bank this morning to drop off your kind donations.
Well done to Emily for this thoughtful gesture and thank you to all for supporting her so generously. The children using the Foodbank at this time time of year will certainly have their right to nutritious food and drink (Article 24).
Another PUBLISHED author at Penponds
Congratulations to Holly, who has followed in her sister's footsteps to become a published author. We are so proud that Freya, wrote her debut book while she was with us at Penponds and now so has Holly. I wonder how many more will follow.
Holly's book is entitled The Mighty Heroes - The Movies That Came to Life and can be purchased via amazon here The Mighty Heroes: The Movie That Came to Life : Dickenson, Holly: Amazon.co.uk: Books
BBC Children in Need
We celebrated BBC Children in Need today.
Children came to school in SPOTacular clothing and colourful non-uniform.
Donations can still be made on Parent Pay. There is a default amount of £1 set up on Parent Pay, with the option to donate more as I know lots of you did last year.
See the photos of our celebrations today
Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal
Our two oldest School Council: Rights Ambassadors represented Penponds at the Royal British Legion Youth Remembrance Service on Friday 10th November 2023 at Camborne Parish Church and War Memorial. The service which remembered the fallen of both World Wars and all conflicts since, respected those with traditional prayers leading towards the eleventh hour, Last Post, Reveille and poppy wreath laying.
On Monday 13th November children who attend groups like cadets, guides, brownies etc came to school in their uniforms. We held our Remembrance service, marked the silence and learnt all about Armistice Day.
Another prefect
Congratulations to Maisy for being the third prefect this academic year.
Maisy always has a bright smile on her face every morning and 'works the room' to ensure that everyone is 'ok' every morning. She is a perfect advocate for others, always whooping and cheering when others win awards and certificates in school. When Maisy was presented with her badge and tie in assembly this afternoon she burst into 'happy tears' - it just shows how much it means to her. She was certainly not expecting it and was really shocked - bless her. Congratulations Maisy! We are so proud of you - keep being you.
International Day of Tolerance
We marked the International Day of Tolerance this week alongside Anti-bullying Week.
To mark these two events, children came to school wearing odd socks to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion.
We also united as a whole school with an activity. Every child made a link for a paper chain. They decorated their link with pictures and words linked to Tolerance and Anti-bullying, each class then joined their links into a class paper chain. Each class then brought their class chain to assembly, where they were linked together to make a whole school chain - marking that - we all unite in the tolerance of others and celebrate individuality, diversity and are inclusive to all.
Camborne Regeneration Forum Youth Conference 2023
Our junior school councillors attended Camborne Regeneration Forum Youth Conference today at the Fiibre Hub, Pool.
The theme was: Cornwall Space for Good.
The children received complimentary refreshments on arrival at the Fibre Hub. The conference was introduced and all welcomed by George Le Hunte, Chairman of Camborne Regeneration Forum.
There were guest speakers throughout the day, to inspire the children about making a difference to life in their local area.
Film Cornwall Space for Good – Fritha Durhan
Launching from Spaceport Cornwall - Fritha Durhan
Communication from Goonhilly Earth Satellite Station – Tom Winterton
‘Goldilocks, the three rocks, Earth observation and Fairtrade’ - Brian Terry
The children then stopped for lunch, which was sponsored by Camborne Town Council & Camborne Regeneration Forum, then it was back to the conference for:
Space Users from Cornwall
Cornwall Space Cluster – James Fairbairn
Aspia Space - Chris Roberts
Tremap – Jonathon Jones
We are all looking forward to hearing all about it, where our councillors can feedback all they have learnt to the classes and the rest of the school council. Right to a Voice.
Lily and Zara have been selected to be part of the Cornwall ADC/ETC (Cornwall Football Girl’s Emerging Talent Centre) Girls ETC/ADC!
Cornwall FA - The Emerging Talent Centre sits as part of the national Lionesses talent pathway with the ultimate aim of helping to produce players to play at international level.
This is where Newquay's Katie Robinson started and look where she is now! Congratulations!
Elijah, Mie, Zaci and Aurora came to school, proudly dressed in their national dress. We enjoyed some delicious, traditional cinnamon buns to mark the occasion kindly baked by Nina. Thank you for getting up super early to bake over 100 of these Nina! They were certainly much appreciated - so were the staff ones!
It was also fascinating to hear the family story of fighting for freedom and Norway's resistance during WWII and the direct impact and involvement the Dahl family had during this time. You could hear a pin drop as the children sat wide mouthed listening to the story.
Trevithick Day – Saturday 29th April
We were so proud of the many children who turned out in their very best costumes to represent Penponds dancing in the Trevithick Day procession last week. The children clearly had a fabulous time from their beaming faces and giggles. They danced brilliantly!
We were so proud to have received a 'Highly Commended' award for our Trevithick Display too! Our display was based around the Harry Glasson song, 'Cornwall My Home'. All classes created artwork in different media to represent the imagery in the lyrics.
Pop into school if you were not able to view the display 'in the flesh' during the Trevithick festivities.
Thank you to all the parents, carers and staff who turned out to support and help us on the day.
New Prefects
We couldn’t be prouder to announce that we have two new prefects at Penponds. I would like to introduce you to Prefect Freya and Prefect Harry. They have been chosen for very unique reasons special to them. Freya as you know is a fantastic role model in all that she does but we are particular proud of her independence and drive to succeed as an author. Harry has overcome many hurdles in his time at Penponds and his natural sense of justice and caring personality exudes from him. We are so proud of you both. Congratulations.
Lovely letter from Oll an Gwella
We have recently received a letter from Oll an Gwella following our Cornwall Day at the beginning of term saying:
On behalf of all in Oll an Gwella I would like to thank you for your most generous donation of £500 (including £8 for a CD) following our visit on Tuesday 18th April.
I think it was quite clear to everyone that our singing went down well with the pupils, staff and parents alike. I know we were all greatly impressed by the ‘feel’ of the school and its culture.
Once again, our most grateful thanks for your most generous donation which will enhance our charitable donations to Cornwall Blood Bikes and Penhaligan’s Friends.
Tony Mills
(on behalf of Oll an Gwella)
‘Cornwall my Home’
What an amazing start to the summer term?! On Tuesday we had a day to celebrate our Cornish Heritage in preparation for Trevithick Day, and what better way to do so than to focus the day on the song ‘Cornwall my Home’ written by Harry Glasson.
We started the day with a whole school assembly to learn all about the history of Richard Trevithick and why we celebrate Trevithick Day in this part of Cornwall. We looked at how Penponds support and take part in Trevithick Day, with our older children joining in the traditional dance through the streets and by the school entering a display competition. This year we decided to focus our display on the song ‘Cornwall My Home’ written by Harry Glasson. During assembly, we listened to a recording of Cornish a cappella shanty male voice choir, Oll an Gwella, singing ‘Cornwall My Home’ and we picked out the imagery from the lyrics in the song.
Each class, then spent the morning taking part in art workshops, looking at specific lyrics from the song and responding to them through an array of art mediums.
Carn Brea class looked at Chapel Carn Brea and using their collaging skills to make a 3D model of the chapel.
'First thing in the morning, on Chapel Carn Brea
To gaze at the Scillies in the blue far away'
Godolphin class looked at Newlyn Harbour and designed and modelled a whole fishing fleet using recycled materials and papier mâché.
'I've stood on Cape Cornwall in the sun's evening glow
On Chywoone Hill at Newlyn to watch the fishing fleets go'
Trencrom class worked in different groups looking at Sennen Cove and the Isles of Scilly. They painted Sennen Cove using water colour, made a 3D model of the Isles of Scilly, using newspaper and mod-roc and even managed to squeeze in writing some travel guides about the islands too!
‘I've left childish footsteps in the soft Sennen sand’ ‘To gaze at the Scillies in the blue far away'
Tregonning class also worked in different groups looking at Geevor Tin Mine. The children used willow withies to build a 3D model of the Geevor mine, and different sketching techniques to draw it. They also took part in a class ‘response to reading’ where they listened to the song ‘Cornwall my Home’ and responded through drawing.
'Watched the sheave wheels at Geevor as they spun around
And heard the men singing as they go underground'
In the afternoon, we were visited by Oll an Gwella, (Cornish for ‘all the best’) the Cornish acapella male voice shanty choir that we had listened to in assembly in the morning, and each class took part in music workshops with them learning the songs ‘Cornwall My Home’, ‘Trelawney’ and ‘Camborne Hill’. Members of our school and local community joined us later in the afternoon and we all enjoyed a delicious Cornish Community Tea outside, whilst being entertained with an open air concert from Oll an Gwella and then a combined choir of the children an Oll an Gwella singing the songs they had learnt in the workshops. A massive thank you to the amazing Oll an Gwella for giving us their time!
The Friends of Penponds (FOPS) ensured there was a tasty Cornish spread and items were sold to raise money for the amazing charities Penhaligon’s Friends and Cornwall Blood Bikes. A huge thank you to the FOPS.
Finally, we are so proud to announce that all your kindness and support has resulted in raising a staggering £500 for Penhaligon’s Friends and Cornwall Blood Bikes, which is just the cherry on top! All in all, it’s safe to say the day was a great success. A heartfelt thank you to all who were able to come along and help raise money for these worthwhile charities, all while the children learnt about their Cornish heritage and much, much more!
See below for our video celebrating this truly exceptional day.
We now have a published author at Penponds School!
Freya Dickenson has written her own book and had it published.
Three Dragons of Element.
It is now on sale on Amazon, so if you’ve just finished your book or fancy a change - try out Freya’s first Novel - it’s a real page turner!
Follow the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C2S7N7VZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1XS9R547MCGJJ&keywords=three+dragons+of+element&qid=1681921988&sprefix=three+dragons+of+element%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-4
Freya has always written comics which we have printed and sold at school, but now she is writing novels! Congratulations to Freya and well done, what an amazing accomplishment!
Hermione and Maddie have made an activity book all about Space for younger children! The book includes 'Dot to Dot', 'Sentence Jumblers', 'Spot the Difference' and much more. We have made copies of the book so it is ready to be shared. Well done to you both!
Special Visitor - Jessica Roper
We were very excited to welcome top athlete Jessica Roper, GB Kickboxing Champion to Penponds School on Wednesday, 15 March 2023.
Jessica led a sponsored fitness circuit with all pupils and followed-up with an inspirational assembly, and question and answer session. The aim of the event was to inspire the children to be more physically active, but just as importantly, encourage them to discover and pursue their passion in life.
The event both connected the children to an extraordinary athlete role model and raised money to improve physical activity in the school, while also supporting both athletes and para-athletes, so that they can continue to inspire the next generation.
Thank you to all the families who sponsored the children in the worthwhile event.
We are planning a community event on the first day back after Easter and would like you to be involved and to spread the word in the local community.
We are planning a workshop day to prepare for our display entry for Trevithick Day. This year are focusing on the song, Cornwall My Home, by Harry Glasson. Each class is representing the imagery presented in the lyrics through poems, artwork, models etc.
In the morning, we will hold an assembly to learn about the history of Trevithick Day and about our chosen focus, the song, Cornwall My Home. We will also be visited by Cornish Acapella Male Chorus shanty group, Oll an Gwella. They will be teaching the children the song, Cornwall My Home, in class workshops and will be performing live too. Oll an Gwella are a fundraising group, who only recoup costs for transport and insist on charity donation for services for their chosen charities, Cornwall Blood Bikes and Penhaligan Friends.
In the afternoon, we will hold a Cornish Community Tea event, where we will sell teas, coffees, donated scones, cakes etc, Oll an Gwella will perform with the children and on their own, the children will share what they have been working on towards the school Trevithick Day display and hopefully we will have a lovely community event too.
All proceeds raised will go towards Cornwall Blood Bikes and Penhaligan's Friends.
See the video below to hear Oll an Gwella singing, Cornwall My Home and click the 'Trevithick Day' image to see a flipbook of our launch assembly for this event.
Spread the word!
As we prepared to celebrate World Book Day 2023, every night leading up to the big day , we shared a bedtime book virtually. The videos were posted on Facebook, here on our website and on Class Dojo to enjoy at home.
Visit our reading page to see the videos
Youth Speaks
Congratulations to our fabulous finalists for Youth Speaks!
All children spoke wonderfully and were all presented with a certificate, voucher and chocolate egg for getting to this stage. After much deliberation by the judging panel, the winning team was announced as Olivia, Janise and Laurie!
Well done - we are so lucky to have fabulous ambassadors for our school.
Happy 80th Birthday to former pupil Les!
We were delighted to welcome Les and Helen into school this week to help celebrate Les' 80th birthday. Les attended Penponds from 1950(!) and said that his happiest years were spent here. He contacted us to ask if he could come into school on his birthday to take a photograph of himself at the old school entrance.
We were more than happy to do this but thought we could do more...
Les and Helen had a tour of the school, where Les pointed out what was the same and different - Godolphin Class used to be the canteen - we then walked around the outside and Les shared photographs of his time here and identified where these photos had been taken. We ended in the hall with a special assembly for Les to mark his birthday. We shared photographs of Penponds from years gone by and children identified similarities and differences. No birthday can be marked without a cake, so the children all sang 'Happy Birthday' while the candles were blown out off a Colin the Caterpillar cake - you can never be too old for a Colin cake!
While Les was here, he shared some brilliant photographs of how he and Penponds school celebrated the late Queen's coronation in 1953 with a pageant. So, we have invited Les to come back into school later in the year to help plan the coronation of King Charles III.
Les and Helen sent this email after the visit:
Les and I would like to take this opportunity to say a sincere thank you for today. It was very emotional for us both to see the effort that was made in welcoming us into your school and the assembly you arranged to celebrate his 80th birthday. The children singing happy birthday and the cake moved us both to tears. The genuine interest shown in his attendance at the school was greatly appreciated. Thank you again for making wonderful memories of this special day. Les looks forward to continuing his connection with you and the school.
Choir - Remembrance
We are incredibly proud of our Penponds School Choir. This week they represented our school at The Camborne Music Festival – and we came back with a trophy!
The children were excellent advocates for the school and it was lovely to see our very own Chair of Governors, Mrs Alvine Holmes there too.
The children sang two contrasting pieces - Please Don’t Buy Me A… by Mark and Helen Johnson, a song about unwanted Christmas presents, sung with gusto and full of funny actions and a very poignant and reflective piece, Remember by Emily Bardon, a timely song about Armistice Day. The choir performed this piece today as well during our Remembrance service which included a respectful two-minutes silence.
See the video below
Lantern Making
We made lanterns in school for the Camborne Lantern Parade on Friday 25th November. Children helped made a large lantern in the hall and their own lanterns to take along. Parents and Grandparents enjoyed coming into school to help. Thank you to our special visitor and expert, Amanda Lorens for coming in to help us.
Well done to our School Council: Rights Ambassador children! They attended and represetned the CRF Youth Conference at the Fibre Hub. They were a perfect ambassadors for our school and contributed to issues affecting our local community.
Message from George Le Hunte:
Thank you for attending our 2022 CRF Youth Conference at the Fibre Hub on Friday. 57 students, plus staff, were there from 10 Camborne & Pool schools. It was a wonderful event in a great venue. Please thank all your students that attended for their brilliant engagement in the conference & for their immaculate behaviour. I am sure they learnt a lot and I hope they pass that on to all their colleagues at school.
Thank you for partaking in our Youth Conference.
George Le Hunte
Camborne Regeneration Forum
We were delighted to welcome Simon Bailey, international bass-baritone opera singer (and Mrs Bailey's brother-in law) into school today. Simon spoke to children across the school about: *alternative careers and job opportunities
*to think outside the box
*to follow their dreams with hard work
* live out our school vision of 'Aiming High, Achieving Our Best'.
He shared his own journey of being a boy who grew up in musical family and the love for singing and the stage. He shared how he started out, his education and where he is now, travelling and singing across the world.
The children also experienced live music and listened to Simon sing, He explored his use of voice and range and took questions from the children.
To find out more about Simon Bailey visit www.simon-bailey.com or go and see him currently performing in the Welsh National Opera tour of Don Giovanni - nearest venue to us is Plymouth Theatre Royal Don Giovanni Mozart | WNO
Lunchtime Awards – Top Table
We have re-introduced certificates for children each week for good manners/behaviour at lunchtime. The children get to sit on the ‘top table’ with a friend of their choice.
