Head's Blog

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Week ending 29th September 2023 

A great start!

It has been a real pleasure  to see the children return to school and settle into their new classes, getting to know their new teachers, teaching assistants and classrooms.

Both school bases are looking really bright and fresh and the walls are gradually filling up with the children's learning.

Our new Reception class have settled in really well and are having a fantastic time learning all about themselves and their bodies!

Year 1 are looking at where they are in the world and covering lots of geography objectives. 
Year 2 are studying the 'Great Fire of London' and have made some very authentic looking Tudor houses. 
Year 3 are reading 'Stig of the Dump' and using this as a springboard to find out about the Stone Age.
Y4 are learning about the impact of climate change.
At the Gunnislake base Y5 are discovering about life in World War Two.
Y6 are looking at are looking at the Anglo Saxons through the question "Why do people invade and settle?"
Our priorities fro this academic year are to improve spelling across both bases. We are using a scheme called Twinkl spelling to help with this. We also want to get better at our handwriting and times tables. We have also made some changes to our behaviour plan. I will email all parents separately about this. Have a fantastic weekend!.





 


The end of the school year! 

 know that I probably write the same thing every year at this time, but I truly am astonished at how quickly this year has gone. What a fantastic final week we had with the children. They were tired, that was true, but it was lovely to see them saying goodbye to classmate who are moving to different schools after the holidays. This was especially true of the lovely Year 6 leavers. There was a special gathering on Friday for Tommy from the Arc where his class mates remembered his journey and his achievements- particularly his incredible piano playing. Then it was time for the Year 6 to say goodbye to one another and the Primary School phase of their learning journey. It was, in part a joyful celebration of the individual pupils and their achievements and an emotional farewell to the school bases, teachers and friends. It was made even more poignant by the fact that we said farewell to Mr Jamie Clatworthy and Mrs Becky Marshall. I know that this will not be goodbye for ever and that we will see them again and be updated on their new career paths.
I, myself have enjoyed this year. As ever, there have been challenges but it has been an absolute pleasure to be with your wonderful children and lead a team of incredible, kind, compassionate staff who work so very hard to make Delaware and Gunnislake such a special place to be. I wish you a safe summer filled with happy memories. See you on September 5th!

 


Weeks ending 14th July 2023 

How the weeks are flying by in this final half term! All of the children spent some time in their September classes, whilst our Year 6's visited their next schools. We had a fantastic sport's day at the Delaware base, despite one very early, heavy shower! The Year 6 pupils showed us their enterprising nature by selling a whole host of food and craft items to the parents who attended sport's day. They made £250 towards their end of year adventure. The following day the Year 6 were put through their paces in the traditional 'Gun Run'. Well done to the winning team who are pictured below.
In the week commencing 10th July over 260 family members enjoyed three fantastic performances of the Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 production of 'Jill and Fred's Outrageous Adventures'. The story saw two children being guided by a range of 'search engines', through many periods of history- all to help them to complete an end of term History project. They get into a few scrapes on the way but all ends well! Audiences were delighted by the story which included some truly amazing singing. A bit thank you to Miss Owen who actually wrote the production and to all staff who helped with rehearsals, costumes, prompts, music etc.- it was a great team effort!
On Thursday 13th the Year 6 spent the day at Tamar Trails. They really supported each other with a range of challenging activities and show great resilience, over coming personal fears to try new experiences. They then spent the night at the Gunnislake base- I don't think that there was too much sleeping involved! Thank you to all staff who supported them and experienced a sleepless night! 
Unfortunately the Year 3/Year 4 beach trip had to be postponed on Friday due to torrential rain- it will be re-scheduled at some point in the future. 
We look forward to a final, busy week before the summer break! 

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Week ending 23rd June 2023 

Another sunny and busy week at Delaware and Gunnislake! The children have been taking part in the Trust Sport's Week. There completed a range of activities and we have just submitted their scores for each event to the Trust. We wait to see who has won!
The reception pupils enjoyed a fantastic trip to the Donkey Sanctuary. They had a wonderful day meeting the residents and playing in the soft play zone!
Last week two  great grandparents of a pupil at the Delaware base, Mrs and Mrs Mears, held a plant sale locally. The proceeds of this and a previous one were generously donated to the school. This has enabled us to replace the ancient- and I do mean ancient!- dining room chairs. Have a look at the photographs below as I am sure that you will agree how wonderful they look. The most common reaction from the children was "Wow', 'these are lovely', 'the dining room looks so bright.'
We are all so grateful to Mr and Mrs Mears and will be inviting them into school, in the near future, to thank them in person.
Finally, this week saw the first whole key stage rehearsal of the upcoming production of 'Jill and Fred's Outrageous Adventures'. It's looking great already and I can't wait to see the finished product!
Enjoy the weekend!

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Weeks ending 16th June 2023 

Two weeks into a packed term already!
Year 3 enjoyed a trip to the incinerator just outside Plymouth. This enhanced their learning about recycling. I was fortunate to accompany them and it was fascinating to find out about the further energy that could be created by burning rubbish that would have previously ended up in landfill. The children represented Delaware and Gunnislake fantastically- especially when they were on board the train. Some were happily chatting to members of the public sitting opposite.
All year groups took part in 'Keeping Safe' lessons where they learnt about medicines, electrical safety, sun and beach safety and road safety. Year 5 and 6 had visits from a trainer from Barnardo's who led a workshop on healthy relationships. They  were also visited by representatives from Jay's Aim who showed them the basics of CPR.
The pupils in Year 4 took their multiplication check and Year 1 pupils had their phonics screening check.
Year 2 also took a train trip to Plymouth to visit 'The Box'.
I wrote to all parents to introduce the food boxes via Calstock Parish Council. If, for some reason you didn't receive this then please contact me and I can give you a paper copy of the information.
Let's hope that the sun continues to shine but maybe it would be good to have slightly cooler temperatures as it's feeling a bit warm in school!



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Half term already! 

This half term has absolutely flown by! The last couple of weeks have seen some exciting trips. Y5 and Y6 visited Morwhellam Quay and were transported back in time to the Victorian era. Y3 and Y4 had an experience at the Delaware base when they found out lots of information about the environment and climate change inside a massive 360 degree 'Dome'. 
This term we have replaced on of the scratch card prizes of 'hot chocolate with the Head' to 'ice lolly with the Head'. This has been very welcomed in the hot weather and I had over 12 children sharing their lollies with me this week!
This afternoon (Friday) the term ended in spectacular fashion with 'Delaware and Gunnislake Got's Talent'. During the last couple of weeks the children have been showcasing their acts to their teachers. The top 3 to 4 acts were put through to this afternoon's final. All of the children who performed were fantastic and fearlessly stood up in front of the whole school to perform. Our panel of esteemed judges- Mrs Hannaford, Mrs Speare and Mr Clatworthy had the unenviable task of selecting the winners.
Results:
KS1:

3rd place- Jessica (singing)
3rd place- Albie (dancing)
2nd place- Violet (gymnastics)
2nd place- Elsie, Aurora, Sophie L, Roxanne, Olivia N and Lexi (dancing)
1st place- Ayla and Saphyire- (singing)
1st place- Ethan H- Taekwondo
Results:
KS2:

3rd place- Edwin and Edward (rapping)
3rd place- Allana, Sally and Georgia (gymnastics)
2nd place- Matthew, Liam and Oli (playing football and telling jokes)
2nd place- Amelia (Ventriloquist)
1st place- Tommy- (playing the piano)
1st place- Veronica and Sophia (dancing)
I will present the medals at the beginning of next half term. 
It only remain for me to thank you for your continued support, and to publicly thank the amazing staff at both bases for their hard work and dedication to learning, safeguarding and care of the children.
The weather forecast is incredible for the next week so please enjoy it with your lovely children.

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Week ending 12th May 2023 


This week was all about Year 6. They had a very busy week taking their end of year assessments AKA SATs. They started each day with breakfast- my goodness they got through a huge amount of crumpets and pan cakes! All of the children tried their very best and we are all proud of them. Thank you to all staff who helped out last week!
On Friday we were treated to a fantastic live theatre performance of Katie's Black Hole Adventure. Everyone enjoyed it greatly and we were lucky to have the performance for no charge as part of Callington Mayfest.
Saturday proved to be a beautiful sunny Mayfest. It was a pleasure to parade our amazing giant around the town. It was very popular with the crowd. Thank you to everyone who came to support on the day. Particular thanks go to Mr and Mrs Symons for transporting the giant and all parents and children who walked with the giant. Also, thanks to Mrs Trapp and Miss Johnson who finished the giant's exterior.


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Weeks ending 5th May 2023 

Welcome to the summer term. The weeks have already flown by and the children are really getting back into the flow of school. Some of the Year 4 and Year 5 pupils have been hard at work creating our giant for Mayest (which is next Saturday.) This year the theme is 'space' so the children have created a six-armed alien. Miss Johnson is finishing it off with some pink and purple spots. I will post some photos next week of the finished giant.
Year 5 and Year 6 have spent time during the last few weeks creating props to be used in photographs of scenes which they have imagined- that might be a battle or a still from a cafe or a picnic! These photographs, taken by professional photographer, Sarah Brittain-Edwards, were exhibited last week at the Gunnislake base . Parents were invited to view their children's creative projects and each child was given a copy of the photograph to take home.
Today, saw our special Coronation Event. The pupils from Nursery to Year 5 spend some of the morning decorating 'crowns'- they were then able to wear them for lunch. We were aiming to have a picnic lunch in the playground set up like our very own 'street party'. Unfortunately, the weather put pay to that so we had a mass gathering in the hall and dining room. Each child also enjoyed a cupcake to celebrate the occasion. This was followed with a drizzly hour of fun activities and games in the playground and in the classrooms. The children were able to choose which activities to take part in. At 2.00pm we were joined but a great many family members for some memorable activities in the hall. Firstly, the children delighted the audience with some fabulous singing. Their renditions of 'We're having a street party", "Sing for the King" and the "National Anthem" were really brilliant.
The children then had the opportunity to show off their decorated crowns on our special 'cat walk'! 
The winners in each class for the best decorated crowns were presented with medals. The winners were as follows.
Nursery:
1st- Ivar
2nd- Star
3rd- Henry
Reception:
1st- Angel
2nd- Arlie
3rd- Daniel
Y1:
1st-Paige
2nd- Einar Dorian
3rd- Olivia
Y2:
1st- Alice
2nd- Flo
3rd- Isabella
Y3:
1st- Bella
2nd- Keira
3rd- Fynley
Y4:
1st- Elsie
2nd-Bettsie
3rd- Allana
Y5:
1st- Edwin
2nd- Isabella
3rd- Edward
Following the crowns procession, it was time for some dancing. The forecasted heavy rain thankfully held off, so everyone was able to go out into the playground. Families and children danced the Callington Furry dance together under the expert direction of Miss Owen. A great deal of fun was had by all!
The final act of the afternoon was for Mr Trapp to distribute a commemorative mug and some seeds to each child. These were a gift from Calstock Parish Council. The Friends comittee also presented each child with a commemorative medal and seeds. It was a really lovely afternoon.
I would like to thank all staff for their hard work. Special mentions to Mrs and Miss Wood who made multiple packed lunches and cleared up after over 180 cupcakes were eaten! Miss Owen and staff at Gunnislake provided some lovely painted faces. Mrs Wright organised the decorations, the materials for the crown making and the activities after lunch. Miss Owen organised the singing and dancing. Mrs Marshall shopped for all of the cup cakes. Finally, a huge thank you to those of you who came to see your children and join in with our special celebrations for King Charles III. I hope that you all enjoy the Coronation and the long weekend!

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Week ending 24th March 2023 

A busy week at school culminated in a brilliant Trust values day. We were pleased to be able to host this event at the Gunnislake base. Small groups of pupils from Year 4 and Year 5 from all of the 14 Trust schools gathered together to engage in activities relating to our values of being Curious, Determined, Responsible, Excellent, Creative and Enthusiastic. They did some great art and design activities, created some fantastic dances, wrote some amazing poetry, animated some lego and created some verses to a 'Stronger Together' song written especially for the Trust.
The 10 pupils from Year 4 and Year 5 had an amazing time and represented our schools perfectly!
Congratulations to runners up in the Comic Relief lego competition- Logan, Sophie and Tommy. Well done to Merryn who was the winner!

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Week ending 17th March 2023 

This week some of the children from Y3 and Y4 represented the schools at the Cornwall Music Festival , where they took part in a "Sing-in" workshop. Thank you to Miss Owen and Miss Johnson for accompanying them. Well done to all concerned.
On Wednesday the pupils from the Year 5 class visited a Junior Life Skills exhibition at Liskeard fire station. They learnt about safety on railway tracks, electrical safety,  basic CPR techniques, what action to take when someone is choking and how traffic wardens operate!
Mr. Clatworthy, Miss Cunningham, Miss Johnson and Miss Wood went with them and had a really enjoyable afternoon.
Friday was of course Comic Relief. Each base had a mufti day. Gunnislake spend the whole day engaged in an photography/arts day. (Watch this space for details of an upcoming exhibition of this work.) At Delaware, pupils brought their lunches and school equipment in something that wasn't a bag! What an interesting array of items came into school- small shopping trollies, cat baskets, mini wheelbarrows, fishing nets, cereal boxes, suitcases and even saucepans. The funniest from each class won a small prize. There were also competitions which ran across both bases- guess the number of sweets in the jar and chose a name for the sloth! There were in fact 452 sweets in the jar - this was won by Max who had the closest guess of 431! We drew the name of the sloth from the many suggestions and the winner was Dylan who chose the name Milo. There was also a lego competition where the children had to make something in lego to make someone smile! The school winner is currently being judged- they will win a set of lego (of course). The entries are going to be sent to a National Competition too. There was also a bring and buy/book sale which took place after school. A big thank you to Mrs Wright for coordinating the competitions and providing the prizes- she even counted the sweets!
In total we raised £170 for Comic Relief- thank you!  

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Our Values...

Creativity

Creative

We are bold and innovative in our approach to find new solutions to the challenges we face.

Curiosity

Curious

We are inspired by the awe and wonder of the world.

Integrity

Responsible

We take responsibility for our actions in an environment of mutual respect.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiastic

We are passionate about learning.

Excellence

Excellent

We are the best we can be.

Determination

Determined

We overcome all barriers to reach our potential, developing a capacity to improve further.

We are open for all of our pupils. Nursery, Reception, Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4 will be taught at the Delaware base. Y5 and Y6 will be taught at the Gunnislake base.


© 2024 Bridge Schools trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Registration number 7736425. It is an exempt charity.