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!

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!

We've been learning about minibeasts so we went on a minibeast hunt during forest school and looked closely at what we found. We identified what they were and then asked questions about them. We then watched some short video clips and looked at some non-fiction books to find the answers to the questions we asked. We wrote sentences about them and sorted pictures into sets according to whether they were insects or not. We drew minibeast pictures on the iPads, made clay models and created transient art pictures. We talked about the facts we could remember during all the activities.

We listened to a story which explained why worms are important in the garden as they make tunnels under the ground for water, air and plant roots and because they eat dead plants. During one of our forest school sessions we worked with a partner to create a wormery in a plastic bottle. We filled the bottles with layers of sand and soil before putting some dead leaves on the top for the worms to eat. We then hunted for worms to put in their new homes. We put them in a dark place and then checked on them a few days later to look at the tunnels that they had created.

In our music lessons we've been exploring how to use our bodies, our voices and instruments to represent various minibeasts. We've also been learning about rhythm and have used minibeast pictures to copy various sound patterns. We've also been very lucky as we've been part of a music project for the last few months and the teacher has brought in various instruments for us to listen to and explore. We also had great fun maypole dancing in one of our sessions.

Over the last couple of weeks we've been focusing on how to be a good friend. Myself and Mrs Feakins have modelled various scenarios and the children have discussed whether we were being good friends or not. They then came up with ideas of how we could be better friends. They were then given various activities to do with a partner where they had to focus on listening to each other and helping each other. I was very impressed with how they worked together to create minibeast pictures. They were all very kind and worked together brilliantly. There have been many other opportunities for the children to work together during continuous provision. One of the children's favourites has been building dens together to keep cool in the shade.

To celebrate the King's Coronation we dressed up in red, white and blue clothes or wore beautiful dresses or suits. We painted our faces and decorated crowns. We enjoyed a picnic together and played royal themed games which were run by the older children. We then sang some songs, took part in a whole school dance and had a crown parade.

To finish the half term we had a whole school talent show. I was so proud of everyone who had a go during the classroom auditions and was amazed at the confidence of the winners who took part in the final in front of the whole school! It was brilliant! 

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.