We were disappointed that the pandemic still prevents us from attending the Annual Act of Remembrance in Looe Town this year.  However, it didn't stop us joining in.  In the picture here you can see a beautiful slate that Mrs Gregory  helped our youngest children in Foundation class to make.  They used their fingerprints to make the poppies and when it comes back to school we will display it with pride.  We also laid two further wreaths on behalf of all of the children.

In school, the House Captains did a great job of helping to sell poppies and the lovely range of items that we can buy and we are delighted that the collection box is so full, we have had to find another one!

Each class had their own act of remembrance and the whole school observed the two minute silence; the school was very peaceful and all of the children were very respectful.  I joined Mr Bowden's Yr 6 class and as I arrived, they were talking about the significance of the event.  We then carried on thinking about how important it will be to make sure that we do not forget as we all get older.  We also talked about the difference of war now and what that might mean, remembering that this special day is not just about those who fought in the two World Wars.

We are very much hoping that we will be able to remember at the war memorial next year, but we are pleased that we were still able to pay our respects again this year.

It has been a very busy first half term of the academic year and it always seems so special when we get to the end of the first term.  It means that we have found our feet, that learning is well on the way and that we begin to appreciate the power of the seasons on our lives as the days and nights change.

The Year 4 and 5 pupils have been looking at Autumn and Harvest in more detail and as you can see from this beautful display, they have been very creative too.  Each of the leaves describes something that the children feel thankful for and there are some wonderful contributions.  We have also been helping children to remember the importance of the harvest and its link to the moon.  Did you know that harvest is linked to the moon so that the harvest is brought in at the time of the year when a full moon provides the most light along with a long day to enable the farmers to harvest their crops safely?  Did you also know that the tradition of celebrating the harvest in this country is only 160 years old and was introduced by a vicar in Cornwall?

We also held virtual harvest celeberations in each class.  Thank you for all of the contributions of food.  As usual we are donating the food to the Looe and Liskeard food bank where we know it will be very well received.  Thank you to Miss Newcombe for organising this.  It is a very wholesome feeling to know that your actions benefit others less fortunate and as a school, we are very thankful that we can do this every year.  We continue to hope for a more inclusive harvest celebration next year.  Fingers crossed!

The Year 1 'big question' for the beginning of the new academic year is, 'Why didn't Paddington Bear come to Looe?'  I would really like to know the answer to the question because not only is Paddington one of my favourite characters, I am also quite fond of a marmalade sandwich too!

We were delighted to welcome Sean Hewitt back into school for the Year 1 pupils and he was helping them to draw their own bears using a variety of drawing techniques.  They followed Sean one step at a time focusing on the lines and the shapes that he was showing them.  It is always a lovely day when we can welcome Sean to school and the children had a great time.

There is lots going on to think about Paddington and his adventures and I know that the children might be redesigning his favourite sandwich!  Year 1 parents watch out too, as I heard a rumour that there is a teddy bears' picnic coming soon!

It has been an amazing start to the term here at Looe Primary, with so much happening.  We have been relatively covid free and we have been focussing very much on helping the puipis settle back into their learning routine.  It was a bit of a surprise this week when I arrived at school and found Mr Provost, a parent of the school, unloading this wonderful house from his van.  It took me straight back to last term when the children were looking at one of their 'big questions' , 'What in the world can I be?'  This wider curriculum topic was about helping the children to think about all of the different careers and jobs that could be available to them.  It encouraged them to think about builders and buildings, about interior design, about being a vet or a doctor, or a farmer etc.  It was quite a surprise when they the wrote to me to ask if they could have a guinea pig as part of this wider question.  So - to cut a long story short - Mr Provost has kindly made a hutch for the guinea pigs to live in becasue the persuasive writing of the children worked it's magic and I said yes. 


We still have a little way to go to be ready, but a huge thank you to Mr Provost and his team for helping us out and showing us some of the great things that being a builder can achieve.  Lucky guinea pigs! 

Having missed out on a residential experience last year, it was great to be able to organise a safe and exciting opportunity for them this year - a 3 day visit to the Ultimate Adventure Centre in Bideford, Devon.  The pictures speak for themselves, but what they do not show is some of the personal obstacles that some of the children (and staff) had to face to be able to succeed with some of the activities.   A highlight was a child who did not want to climb to the top of the ladder at all, but step by step, through tears and cries, of 'I can't do this' she got there!  They still found time amongst all of that to watch the England vs Germany game if they wished and to warmly welcome back Mrs Burtoft.  She was able to pay a visit as she now lives very close to the activity centre.  It's such a shame we cannot show you videos as there are many that tell a tale of the fun and learning experiences to be had during the visit - Miss Hearnden taking a big dive from the big balls and Mrs Yeo getting stuck in the rollers at the Big Sheep, to name but a few!  I wish I had gone with them now!

As you know, yesterday was the Summer Solstice; the longest day of the year.  What you may not know is that Looe Primary has some very brave and committed swimmers, who love to swim in the sea.    Many of you will also know Mrs Gregory.  She  works at Looe Primary and is very well known in the town for her community work, but she is always out and about and very active doing all sorts of things.  She has an electric bike to cope with the hills; she cycles to work most days, she is a member of the Looe Pioneers, she walks her dogs every day, she went paddle-boarding on her birthday last week - I am sure you are getting the picture!  You can see Mrs Gregory at the front of this picture.  Only Mrs Atkinson and Miss Masters were brave enough to join her from school but along with more than 50 swimmers, there was a 5.00am swim from Looe Beach to celebrate the Summer Solstice.  Mrs Atkinson said that she felt very tired for the rest of the day, but Miss Masters said that she felt amazing and full of energy.  Do you think that you would be able to swim in the sea at 5.00am in the morning and then spend a day at school?  Well done to you all and to Mrs Gregory for encouraging everyone to take part.

Change at Looe Primary

We hope that you all had a lovely half term and that the sunshine stayed with you.  Once again, we saw some change over the half term at Looe Primary.  We are delighted to share with you that Miss Bowden got married over the holiday and she became Mrs Miles.  This was a lovely moment because Miss Bowden had to postpone her wedding last year because of the pandemic.  We are all working hard to remember Mrs Miles' new name and I am sure that you will join me in wishing Mr and Mrs Miles lots of happiness for the future.  

We were also excited to welcome Mrs Smerdon back to school following her maternity leave.  Mrs Smerdon is joining us each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and for the time being, she will be working with groups of children across the school, rather than having a class of her own.  Mrs Smerdon's return means that sadly, Miss White will not be returning to Looe Primary. It has been a little while since we have seen Miss White, but we have kept in touch and we hope very much that we will see her again at some point in the future.  We wish her lots of good luck.

As our Year 1 class has been getting on so well with Miss Alderson and Mrs Lister, they will continue to teach Year 1 until the end of term, rather than Mrs Smerdon, to ensure that there is no disruption to their learning.  It is lovely that Miss Alderson can stay with us for a little longer.  We have loved having Miss Alderson as part of our team, so it is great that she can stay with us until the end of term.

We have and action packed half term to look forward to and we are keeping everything crossed that we can continue to ease on some of our safer distancing rules.  All of the staff at Looe Primary have now had at least one vaccination and many have now had both injections.  We are now a school of two bigger bubbles, rather than lots of smaller bubbles and this has worked very well.  We are now working to move to the point when we can welcome parents back into the building and we are very much hoping that we can have a Sports Day this year and Year 6 are busy practising their drama production of 'The X Factory' in the hope that they can have a 'real' audience!

Hopefully, we will be able to welcome you in to school before the end of the Summer Term.

Remembering Prince Philip

It was lovely to welcome the pupils and staff back to school after what has been a much needed break, with some great weather to help.  The children and staff had worked so hard in the lead up to the holiday, with some great progress with learning.  This meant that we were all ready for a rest.

Although we were all happy to see each other, we also felt that it was appropriate to spend some time together to reflect on the life of Prince Philip. 

It was very poignant in some ways that the winning egg display in our Easter egg competition by one of our Year 4 pupils was an image of the Queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace, titled 'tomorrow will be a better day'.  Sadly this was not to be the case for the Queen and Prince Philip, but the display produced by the Year 4 pupil brought much joy and laughter and now reflection on what we did not know what was to come over the coming weeks.

During the day, each class spent time talking about Prince Philip and the Royal Family and gave thanks for all that the Prince achieved; especially for the work that he championed for young children and adults.  We also took time to look at the Royal Family and carried out some research, or watched video footage research and discuss many aspects, including the family tree of the Royal Family and especially Her majesty the Queen and Prince Philip.  The Year 2/3 class also looked at images of Prince Philip and a portrait of a younger Prince Philip by a Year 3 is shown here.  I am sure you will agree that it is a very good likeness!

Times like these, while sad and revolving around grief, are also perfect for reflecting on the British Values that we hold dear and for thinking about the values that guide the work that we carry out at school.  We also gave thanks for the service of Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip.  All that we value can be seen in the work that they both carried out in service for so many years.  We hope that in years to come, some of the children at Looe Primary will be able to benefit from the legacies that Prince Philip leaves behind, not least the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the Prince's Trust.







As a school, Looe Primary Academy is partnered with Trenode Primary Academy which is a Church of England school.  We pray often at Looe, but it is a daily routine at Trenode.  Therefore, we would like to share a prayer that was used at Trenode to give thanks for the life of Prince Philip.  It was provided by the Diocese of Truro for the children:

A prayer for the death of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh

God of our lives,
we give thanks for the life of Prince Philip,
for his love of our country,
and for his devotion to duty.
We entrust him now to your love and mercy,
through our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Amen