Prep Life

How many rehearsals do you have in a day? Do you get taught how to sing? Do you have to wear a ruff? Boys from across the county joined our choristers on Saturday at the annual ‘Be a Chorister for a Day’ event, where they discovered what it’s really like to be a chorister.

They explored the Cathedral crypt, saw and heard the organ up close, played games and asked many excellent questions about being a chorister.

At the end of the event, the boys joined the choristers in performing a special cushion concert for mums, dads, grandparents and siblings to enjoy.

We were delighted to welcome new cubs and leaders to the 3rd Truro Cubs Division. We had great fun working in team-building assault courses. There were diverse obstacles made using wood, ladders, the environment and even some maths problems!

Eight Year 5 Pupils were given a chance to ‘take over’ the Kresen Kernow (Cornwall Record Office) last week to celebrate National Kids’ Takeover Day.

They learnt how to digitise documents and how to clean and preserve books. They learnt the technique of cataloguing maps and plans and were given the opportunity to research old maps of Truro and their homes. Lastly, they led a behind-the-scenes tour of the Strongrooms for their parents and grandparents.

Year 6 also spent a day at Kresen Kernow investigating the idea of ‘Parcels for Boys’. During World War I, parcels and letters from home was a vital form of support and connection for soldiers on the front line. Our children investigated letters and other documents which had been sent to and from Cornish soldiers and families.

The children were lucky enough to be given a tour around the Record Office’s Strongroom as well.

The Year 4s got to be miniadventurers on a wonderful walk around St Anthony Head this week. Located on the tip of the Roseland, St Anthony Head guards Falmouth Harbour and gave our pupils brilliant views over to the Lizard.

As they walked along the South West Coast Path, the pupils learned about Place Manor, Pendennis Castle and the St Anthony Lighthouse. They also took time to listen to nature as they walked through the woods, and very much enjoyed their time outside together in the beautiful autumn sunshine.

Year 3 went on a walk through the woods at Trelissick, ending up at Roundwood Quay, where they had their packed lunches. They had a great morning of walking, talking and nature-spotting.

A huge Truro School Prep congratulations to Millie from Year 5! Not only was Millie crowned County U11 girls champ, County U10 champ and County U10 doubles champ, she was also the Whirlwind Green Ball League winner for Cornwall, the Heron Open U10 doubles champ and Heron Club junior winner, defeating girls and boys many years her senior. Well done Millie!

Budding scientists have been busy at Truro School Prep this week. The Year 5s have been making mini lava lamps as a part of their studies of Mixtures. They found that water and oil are immiscible liquids, discussed density and learned about the chemical reaction involved in the experiment and why the bubbles rose and then fell down again.

Meanwhile, the Year 6 classes have been looking at burning. They investigated the “fire triangle”; by making carbon dioxide gas and pouring it over a lit candle, they showed that removing oxygen and replacing it with carbon dioxide extinguishes the flame. Year 4 have been exploring animal habitats and sorting animals and plants accordingly. Pupils had to think up their own questions to help them to sort and identify their living things, in a lively and fun lesson.

The art room was a hive of industry when 3LL had their final art lesson of the term. The children created monoprints of their shoes. This process started in an earlier lesson when they each did an observational drawing of their shoe.

They then traced their drawings to help them achieve the final stage of the process: the monoprints. This was great fun and involved squeezing printing ink directly onto the tables, much to the children’s delight! The children followed instructions really well and the end results were excellent. Once they had completed their prints, they were then free to create some wonderful, colourful Christmas cards to take home with them.

The Year 3 classes have been busy honing their DT skills. They have been practising using a coping saw, marking out where to cut, safely operating the tools and finding out about the importance of safety equipment. Settling into the workshop environment is an essential part of the DT process, and they have been brilliant at showing Mrs Sparkes how ready they are to learn even more!

It was a packed schedule for the Truro School Prep Cubs as they began their camp weekend at Tomperrow in Truro. The Cubs (representing Years 3 to 6) were welcomed with games and lunch before putting up their tents.

They were then treated to an afternoon of activities, including pumpkin carving, giant bubble wands, bicarb-and-vinegar rockets and a treasure hunt. The evening finished with dinner and a campfire where the cubs shared stories and songs and guzzled hot chocolate and marshmallows before everyone settled down for bed. It was a wonderful weekend, and the weather stayed fine. The cubs showed great teamwork, curiosity and creativity, and it was fantastic to see the year groups mixing so well and new friendships formed.

As the autumn sun shone down, the children at Truro School Prep were busy doing all manner of challenges one Thursday afternoon.

While some of the Year 5s were perfecting their dance moves, others tested their cycling skills, preparing for their Coast to Coast ride for the John Muir Award next year.

In the DT lab, the Year 3s used their best listening skills to craft spinning tops successfully and safely. They used a pillar drill, clamps and saws during their lesson with Mrs Sparkes.

Finally, there was a delicious smell in the air as some Year 6s made sponge cakes. Light, yellow and fluffy, the cakes looked delicious, and the class was eager to sample their work.

There was some marvellous maths for some of our Year 6 pupils today as Mr Goddard hosted a lively and inspiring mini-maths Olympics.

The children were split into pairs to tackle three tantalisingly tricky rounds of mathsbased questions. The first round had questions written on balloons with separate answers to match them to. The bonus round was hidden inside the balloon, so there was much excitement and popping in class!

The second round was outside on the netball courts; the teams had to race around solving questions within a set time limit. Some of the questions were extremely hard, but the children relished the challenge. There were bonus points on offer for finishing first and top behaviour, and the children loved getting stuck into such an exciting lesson

The Year 4 Classes all agreed that today’s lesson from visiting volcanologist, Dr James Hickey, was their best lesson ever! Dr James Hickey, Senior Lecturer in Geophysics and Volcanology at the University of Exeter, had the children thrilled and enraptured as he talked to them about his studies of volcanoes.

The children learnt that, as the magma rises up the conduit, tiny bubbles in the magma grow bigger and multiply. These bubbles eventually turn into a stream of gas with bits of magma stuck into it. The magma literally gets blown apart by the pressure of these bubbles. The children then found out that there were two types of eruption: effusive and explosive. The high point of the lesson was undoubtedly the volcano experiment. Using coke bottles as the magma and conduit, Dr Hickey added mentos to create bubbles and simulate an eruption. The children found that the more bubbles created, the bigger the explosion and the larger the displacement of magma (or cola). By changing the size of the vent (or the cap of the bottle), they could increase the pressure and make the explosion stronger. It was fabulous to see the joy on the children’s faces as the reactions occurred.

A huge thanks to Dr Hickey for taking the time to visit us today and for creating such an exciting lesson for us all.

Creativity was given free reign as the Year 3 pupils met for their weekly lunchtime Lego Club. Hosted by Mrs Lovett, the lego-loving pupils are allowed to build and create to their heart’s content every Wednesday during lunch.

There is an additional club for the Year 4s which Mrs Lovett runs on Thursdays. We think some of these creations are some possible transport concepts for the future!

The usual hush in the Truro School Prep Library was exchanged for excitement as pupils enjoyed exploring their new-look library. With fresh displays and new books to enjoy, the library is an even more popular place for all.

A huge thank you to Annabel Gregory, the Year 5 pupils and everyone involved in the fabulous performance of Ebenezer. Based on the novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer is a musical adaptation by Malcolm Sircom.

The story of the mean-spirited miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner and then by three spirits who reveal to him his own Christmases past, present and future, is one that makes us all stop and think but, most importantly, puts us firmly in the Christmas spirit.

The Year 5s finished off their term of dance with Miss Lisa from Cornwall Dance Academy with a bang.

They worked incredibly hard to put together a final performance, which they presented to an enthusiastic group of peers. The afternoon finished with an impromptu flash mob, with the audience joining in for a final rendition. Even Mrs Luxton got into her groove!

With thanks to Miss Lisa for being so inspiring and well done to everyone for your outstanding confidence, courage and creativity.

The Year 6s have been learning basic first aid as a part of their Prep Diploma. Sessions, led by Mrs Cameron, teach essential skills, including how to safely use an EpiPen.

The children learnt about the different types of pens (AAI and JEXT) and how to administer them to someone in anaphylactic shock. They then practised on themselves and a partner using a dummy pen. Well done to everyone who listened so beautifully and showed curiosity, confidence and compassion in abundance.

At Truro School Prep, we try to inspire our core values of curiosity, confidence, compassion, creativity and courage in all of our children through all that we do. Curiosity was most definitely on display during some fantastic Year 6 Science lessons this week.

While one class was exploring how to improve their lung capacity, others were making elephant’s toothpaste, a fun experiment that combines just a few ingredients to create a fantastic chemical reaction.

With thanks to Mr Piper and all of our teachers for being so inspiring.

Year 6 had an exciting day on Thursday as they travelled to St Ives for a literacy and art trip. Organised by Miss Ashdown and Ms Cadwallader, the classes were split across a rotation of three inspiring activities.

The first group headed to Porthmeor Beach, looking for inspiration for their art and literacy. They sketched land and seascapes, paying attention to texture and detail, in their concertina books. They were encouraged to write down snippets of sights, sounds and feelings to use later in their writing. They then busied themselves making sand sculptures and sand art, using natural materials to capture the essence of the sea.

The second group began with a guided tour of the Tate St Ives. With a focus on the sculpture of Barbara Hepworth, the class explored how artists move between landscape, figure drawing, still life and surrealism and use different styles, media and techniques. Our guide taught us that Barbara Hepworth was the first sculptor to use holes in her work, promoting the idea that holes can be points of connection (as our photos of the children peeping through them show!).

The third group started with a tour of the brilliant Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Barbara’s former home and studios. The children were given time to examine the texture and techniques she used to create her beautiful sculptures, and to explore the gardens and studios that inspired her works.

The groups rotated through the activities with time for lunch and a run around on the beach. It was wonderful to walk back to the coach in the sunshine, see the remains of their sand art from above, and listen to the children chatter about things they had seen during the day.

Dumbledore and Hagrid led the way, as over 100 Year 6 children joined together at Truro School for the annual Year 6 Activity Day. The Sorting Hat arranged the children into houses before they began their day of activities including spell casting, wand making, potions and quidditch.

Year 5 pupils have been investigating the density of substances by measuring the mass and calculating the volume of different items.

They then used the density equation to work out the density of various materials. They concluded that those substances with a density of less than 1g/cm3 floated, and those with a density of more than water (greater than 1g/cm3) sank.

The sports field and netball courts were buzzing with activity as the Year 5 and 6s tested their hands at a range of skills and sports. Courage was needed to improve their tackling in rugby, whilst their teamwork and ball control was tested out in football and netball.

The Truro School Prep’s annual Christmas Concert took place, and it was lovely to be able to welcome parents and other guests along to enjoy the concert. We would like to thank Mrs Renshaw and all of the staff, pupils and supporters who made this concert such a success.

Excitement levels were high as Santa arrived in his sleigh with a very festive School minibus. He made a grand entrance through the wooden gates and the children were delighted to see him as he passed around the roundabout. What a merry start to the last day of term!

Crackers were pulled, Christmas music was on, hats were adorned and tummies were filled at Truro School Prep today as they tucked into their delicious Christmas lunch.

A traditional feast, the children were treated to turkey (or a brie and beetroot chutney tart) with all the trimmings: pigs in blankets, stuffing, sprouts and more. Of course, there was a mouth-watering pudding of Yarde Farm Christmas pudding ice cream, topped with a gingerbread tree to finish!