Copper Valley Junior
Academy
Blog Time Line
Year 5
Posted 07/04/2025
by Caroline Hambly
March 2025
It has been a really busy month in Year 5 and throughout Copper Valley Academy!
At the beginning of March, we had an excellent Careers Day where we learnt about many different careers, from mobile dog groomers to HGV driving, health & safety to dentistry. We ALL learnt so much and the day was really enjoyable. Also this month, it has been World Book Day, so many members of the class came in dressed as book characters and we completed some exciting activities about amazing books! Then, it was Comic Relief. We came in dressed in pyjamas mainly, because, why wouldn't you? And our brave school councillors were 'pied' in efforts to help raise money for the charity.
In the classroom, we have been learning about Earth and Space , which has sparked an interest from many Year Five pupils. We have looked at the size and order of the planets, how they move in our solar system and how the sun creates night and day and the seasons. This has linked nicely with our Geography this term, where we have been learning about the make-up of the Earth, the tectonic plates and how these can cause disasters on our planet.
Told you it's been busy!
Head's Blog Weeks ending 4th April 2025
Posted 04/04/2025
by Lynn Cox
Latest Head's Blog
What an absolutely jam-packed last two weeks of term it has been.I am delighted to let you know that we raised £229 for Comic Relief- thank you to all of you who donated generously to this worthy cause.
It was the last matches of the Callington football league and our team had a great evening where they won a match and then lost one. I was very impressed with their sporting behaviour and superb teamwork.
The Reception class visited Ferry Farm at Calstock last week and had an amazing time meeting a whole host of interesting animals.
This week we were visited by Plymouth Argyle, featuring some of their players, including one of the trainers who is an ex pupil of Delaware. Pilgrim Pete also made in an appearance. Pupils from Y3 to Y6 wore Green mulfti and raised £40 for Project 35 which supports families living in poverty in Plymouth.
Miss Owen and Mrs Birkenshaw accompanied some of our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils to Songfest. They represented our schools so well and really enjoyed the experience.
This week we also had Ofsted at the Infant ands Nursery School to check that we are still a good school. Once the report is published we will share the findings with you. I want to publicly thank all of the staff and pupils for showing the school at its absolute best.
Finally, some of our Y4 pupils took part in the Bridge Schools Alternative Sports Day which took place at Looe Primary Academy. Mrs Hannaford accompanied them and the amazing news is that we won the competition! What a perfect end to the spring term! I wish you all a restful Easter holidays with your fantastic children.
Head's Blog Weeks ending 21st March 2025
Posted 21/03/2025
by Lynn Cox
Red Nose Day and more!Thank you to those of you who came and supported us at the Jumble Sale at the Junior school a couple of Saturday's ago. We raised over £240 which has gone to the Junior base to invest in some equipment for the children to use at break times.
Some of our Y3 and Y4 pupils were busy last week helping to create the new giant for Mayfest which takes place in Callington on Saturday May 10th. Our Phoenix is all set to transform into a huge ostrich this year with some colourful bugs to accompany her!
Today (21st) was a very successful Comic Relief/Red Nose Day. We really appreciated your support with this event which is raising funds for good causes in this country and in Africa. The children really enjoyed coming to school in their pyjamas, dressed as superheroes or teachers!
The school council based at the Infant school did a fantastic job painting red noses on people and giving them superhero tattoos.
The brave school council from Year 5 and Year 6 were 'splatted' with 'pies'.
Once we have counted up the money, I will let you know what your generous contributions have raised.
Please take the time to sign up to the parental consultations which are taking place next week. I will be around on Monday and Tuesday after school if you would also like to talk to me - just pop into the office at the Junior school on the Monday night or the Infant school on the Tuesday night.
I hope that you all have a great weekend with your families.
Some of our Y3 and Y4 pupils were busy last week helping to create the new giant for Mayfest which takes place in Callington on Saturday May 10th. Our Phoenix is all set to transform into a huge ostrich this year with some colourful bugs to accompany her!
Today (21st) was a very successful Comic Relief/Red Nose Day. We really appreciated your support with this event which is raising funds for good causes in this country and in Africa. The children really enjoyed coming to school in their pyjamas, dressed as superheroes or teachers!
The school council based at the Infant school did a fantastic job painting red noses on people and giving them superhero tattoos.
The brave school council from Year 5 and Year 6 were 'splatted' with 'pies'.
Once we have counted up the money, I will let you know what your generous contributions have raised.
Please take the time to sign up to the parental consultations which are taking place next week. I will be around on Monday and Tuesday after school if you would also like to talk to me - just pop into the office at the Junior school on the Monday night or the Infant school on the Tuesday night.
I hope that you all have a great weekend with your families.
ARC February
Posted 11/03/2025
by Jane Cansdale
February
This term, we are paying particular attention to different life cycles and engaging in the theme 'minibeasts'.
Our literacy is based around the author Eric Carle. We are having great fun with his books, engaging us in our topic in literacy, science, DT and art.
We are excited to have our caterpillars, which we hope will transform into beautiful butterflies. We have been on a minibeast hunt, and although we did not find any caterpillars outside, we found worms, centipedes, spiders, woodlice and beetles.
Our Design Technology, this term is also all about minibeasts. We are busy trying new techniques using levers and pivots so that we can then design and make our own minibeast moving picture.
Finally, we are going to be visiting a farm to continue investigating lifecycles. We are hoping to see some lambs and maybe baby chicks.
Head's Blog Week ending 7th March 2025
Posted 07/03/2025
by Lynn Cox
A busy week at Copper Valley!
What an incredibly busy week it has been. On Thursday we celebrated World Book Day. It was so lovely to see so many children dressed up as characters from books. They enjoyed lots of stories being read to them during the day and loved discussing their favourite books.
Friday was a very special day as we held our first ever Career Fair at the Infant and Nursery school. Our Year 5 and Year 6 joined us for a day finding out about a range of jobs. The children found out, first hand, what it takes to become a vet, a health and safety consultant, a tanker delivery driver, a dog groomer, an engineer, a dog walker and Taekwondo teachers. Evaluations from the children were overwhelmingly positive and the adults leading the sessions were very complimentary of the pupils.
I would like to send a massive thanks to the volunteers we gave up their day to lead the sessions, all the staff for supervising the groups and a special thanks to Mrs Wright who, with Mr Wright, ensured that the appropriate risk assessments were in place for the event. Mrs Wright also contacted the participants and organised the complex timetable.
We hope that this will be an annual event as it was so valuable to see our children inspired by the adults from the workplace.
We ended the day with some Cornish dancing and a beautiful dance solo by Ivy Symons from Year 6.
Our enterprising pupils Bella, Harper, Georgia and Charlie made £55 selling drinks and cakes in aid of Gables animal shelter- thank you for supporting them and well done to you- what a lovely, thoughtful act.
I hope that you all have a lovely weekend.
Year 5
Posted 25/02/2025
by Caroline Hambly
February 2025
Even though it is the shortest month, February has still been busy in Year 5!
We have been learning about forces in Science; this has included air resistance. We have designed and tested parachutes which aimed to increase the amount of air resistance that could act on an object, therefore slowing its descent.
In continuation of our Romans history topic, we have designed and begun to make Roman style clay pots. These had to be shaped like those used by the Romans, meet specific dimensions and use repeated patterns within the design. We also has a visit from the Education Library Service who brought in some Roman artefacts for us to look at and experience.
We have also been lucky enough this month to have a first aid trainer visit from Callington Rotary Club and teach us all how to administer emergency aid. This included: how to get help, check for danger, move someone into the recovery position, dress small wounds and to help someone who is choking.
Year 3 February 2025
Posted 25/02/2025
by Louise Owen
In February we continued learning...
--> How to use texture in art.
--> How magnets could be different strengths.
--> How to use a compass.
--> How Muslims celebrated Ramadan.
--> The features of a river, and where those are in the River Tamar.
--> How to divide a 2-digit number with remainders.
--> To design a garden for someone with a need.
--> To use TurtleLogo to create a sign, and Tinkercad to create a 3D model of a garden.
Year 4
Posted 25/02/2025
by Michaela Wright
February 2025
This month in Year 4 we have finished off all of our Spring Term One units of learning. In English we completed a non-fiction unit on Tutankhamun where we wrote newspaper articles from when Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. We started by recapping the features of a newspaper and looking at some examples before recapping what we knew about the tombs discovery.
In History, we completed work to answer our topic question; "Who was Tutankhamun and how did his life compare to mine as a nine year old?" the children found this fascinating and enjoyed comparing their life to that of Tutankhamun when he was the same age as them. They discovered just how different his life was and how he had so many more responsibilities than them. They also looked at all of the factors that contributed to these differences.
In Science, we completed our unit on animals including humans by carrying out an experiment which involved us leaving six eggs in different liquids to test how different liquids can effect the enamel on our teeth. We recapped how to conduct a fair test and carried out lots of discussions around our experiment.
In PE, the children finished their Gymnastics unit by showing contrasting shapes, actions and travelling movements within their sequences and showing different levels in their sequences.
Head's Blog Week ending 7th February 2025
Posted 09/02/2025
by Lynn Cox
Latest Head's Blog
At the end of last week some of our Year 3 and Year 4 took place in part in a multi skills festival. They all reported back that they had a great time and they represented the school fantastically.
Last week the Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 were treated to a special assembly about rivers and science - delivered by two scientists (Alice and Reg) from Exeter University. The children learnt about the ways in which scientists test water quality in order to keep our river water safe. The Year 4 class are going to be taking part in a Freshwater Monitoring project with a focus on the River Tamar in Gunnislake.
Congratulations also to a group of our Y4 children who represent the Junior school in the Bridge Dodgeball Tournament at Callywith College. Mrs Hannaford and Mrs Pearce, who accompanied them to the tournament, were so impressed with the ways in which they showed excellent sportsmanship throughout the competition. Mrs Hannaford also accompanied our mixed football team to the Arena tournament in Callington where they lost one match and drew the other. Fantastic effort to all!
Pupils from Year 5 and Year 6 learnt some of the important basics of First Aid this week. They learnt how to operate a defibrillator and perform CPR-. They were rewarded with some lovely certificates, which were presented during Friday's celebration assembly.
Thank you to all of you who sent in your unwanted clothes for the Bag2School initiative. We raised £30! Thank you also to those of you who have already signed up on the Easy Fundraising website www.easyfundraising.org.uk. every time you shop online through this website you will make money for both schools and it won't cost you a penny extra!
We are collecting Easter egg donations for the children in Petrykivka, Ukraine. If you are able to donate an egg then can you send it into school by 26th February.
Wow are now collecting any unwanted items for a Jumble Sale to be held in the Junior base on Saturday 8th March.
A reminder that Friday 14th February is an INSET day and the school will not be open for pupils on that day.
Year 5
Posted 04/02/2025
by Caroline Hambly
January 2025
Welcome back to a new year in Year 5!
Our key topic for the first half of the spring term is... The Romans. So far, we have looked at time lines to see how long ago The Romans invaded Britain and what else was going on in Britain and the rest of the world at a similar time. We have looked at some of the technological advancements the Romans made once they had settled in Britain, mainly through looking at the changes in houses at this time. We listened to the story about Boudicca and why she acted the way she did during the time period of Roman Britain.
In art and DT, we have been looking at Roman pottery and how this was heavily influenced by the Ancient Greeks. We have researched the shapes and patterns commonly used in Roman pottery and compared their designs to those of the Greeks.
We had a visit from the NSPCC this month; helping us to understand how we can keep ourselves safe and who the safe adults are that we can talk to about any worries we may have.
Year 4
Posted 04/02/2025
by Michaela Wright
January 2025
We started the month with an Ancient Egyptian day which involved the children exploring the Liverpool museums virtual Egyptian exhibition, locating Egypt on maps and atlases, assessing what they already knew about Ancient Egypt and using different art techniques to transform themselves into pharaohs. During the course of the month the children continued to study Ancient Egypt, becoming historians by firstly, asking and answering lots of questions about the past and evaluating the reliability of their evidence. Then, they used different primary and secondary sources of evidence to learn about this period of history. Finally, they compared now and then to look at how things have or haven’t changed over time looking for similarities and differences to answer our question ‘What was it like to be Tutankhamun and how does it compare to my life as a nine-year-old?’.
In English we studied the book "The Secrets of the Sun King" dragon’ We read the story as a class over the course of the month whilst completing VIPER activities and using our Fab Four characters to investigate the story in more detail. The children completed lots of SPaG work, particularly focusing on expanded noun phrases, direct speech and fronted adverbials before eventually planning, writing and editing their very own alternative endings for the story.
In Maths we completed lots of work on multiplication and division. The children spent time using various different written methods to help them complete the given calculations.
In music the children have started to learn the glockenspiel. After recapping some of the vocabulary and terminology the children have learnt to play several different notes and have begun playing these alongside different tunes, many recognisable to them.
PE this month has been gymnastics, the children have enjoyed linking movements and using the apparatus.
Year 3 JANUARY 2026
Posted 30/01/2025
by Louise Owen
What is a river?
This is our key question this half term. We're learning about key UK and world rivers and using atlas' to find them. We'll also be learning about how a river is formed and the different parts along its journey from source to sea. We're also going to be looking at how human life is impacted by living close to a river and how a river is impacted from us.
In RE we're learning about the Muslim faith, in music we are learning to play the recorder. In art we are learning about the colour wheel and how colours and textures go together in a piece of art. In science we are exploring magnets and forces.
Head's Blog Week ending 24/1/25
Posted 24/01/2025
by Lynn Cox
Head's BlogAs we reach the end of a busy couple of weeks I just wnated to let you know about some of the highlights and some reminders.
Year 2 enjoyed a fantastic trip to Ferry Farm in Calstock last Friday. They really enjoyed learning about the animals on the farm and exploring different habitats. This visit was linked into their Science learning about different types of habitats.
The Year 3/4 football team, with their wonderful coach Mrs Hannford, travelled to the local Arena School League on two occasions. They showed great improvement in their playing and scored some fantastic goals. Mrs Hannaford is delighted with their progress. I want to publicly thank Mrs Hannaford for, not only coaching the team, but also driving them to fixtures in the minibus.
A couple of reminders about how you can support the schools with some recent fundraising initiatives. Firstly, we are collecting unwanted cloths, shoe, handbags etc. for Bag2school. These items can be sent into school in bin bags. Please send any bags into school by 4th February.
Do you shop online? Amazon,? Supermarket delivery? Buying insurance? If so, you can help to support the schools in one easy step. Just sign up to www.easyfundraising.org.uk and look for the school. There is no charge to do so and every time you shop you raise funds for the school as long as you remember to visit the easy fundraising website first. Your items will not be more expensive by shopping in this way. We already have 23 supporters but it would be great to have more. etc.
We still discover lots of unnamed uniform/drinks bottles/hats in lost property. To try to alleviate this we have teamed up with 'Tiger Tags'. If you visit their website at www.tigertags.co.uk you can design labels for your child (either stickers or iron-on) They are competitively priced at £12.95 for 52 labels or only £16.95 for 52 iron-on labels and 52 stickers (see photograph below for an example.) For every order you make and link to the school with code 5577, the school will receive £1.
I hope that you all enjoy the weekend.
Year 2 enjoyed a fantastic trip to Ferry Farm in Calstock last Friday. They really enjoyed learning about the animals on the farm and exploring different habitats. This visit was linked into their Science learning about different types of habitats.
The Year 3/4 football team, with their wonderful coach Mrs Hannford, travelled to the local Arena School League on two occasions. They showed great improvement in their playing and scored some fantastic goals. Mrs Hannaford is delighted with their progress. I want to publicly thank Mrs Hannaford for, not only coaching the team, but also driving them to fixtures in the minibus.
A couple of reminders about how you can support the schools with some recent fundraising initiatives. Firstly, we are collecting unwanted cloths, shoe, handbags etc. for Bag2school. These items can be sent into school in bin bags. Please send any bags into school by 4th February.
Do you shop online? Amazon,? Supermarket delivery? Buying insurance? If so, you can help to support the schools in one easy step. Just sign up to www.easyfundraising.org.uk and look for the school. There is no charge to do so and every time you shop you raise funds for the school as long as you remember to visit the easy fundraising website first. Your items will not be more expensive by shopping in this way. We already have 23 supporters but it would be great to have more. etc.
We still discover lots of unnamed uniform/drinks bottles/hats in lost property. To try to alleviate this we have teamed up with 'Tiger Tags'. If you visit their website at www.tigertags.co.uk you can design labels for your child (either stickers or iron-on) They are competitively priced at £12.95 for 52 labels or only £16.95 for 52 iron-on labels and 52 stickers (see photograph below for an example.) For every order you make and link to the school with code 5577, the school will receive £1.
I hope that you all enjoy the weekend.
Year 6 Year 6 - January
Posted 21/01/2025
by Susanne David
Staying safe & being flexible!
Year 6 have come back to school in 2025 and hit the ground running!
In Science, we are learning about 'Living Things & their Habitats'. So far, we have learned about classification, MRS GREN and we have researched a variety of living things from all of the different Kingdoms.
In History, we have been learning about Bias and how to decide how reliable information presented to us about the past may or may not be in relation to a local History study about Cornwall.
In French, we have linked our unit to Science, learning all about Habitats.
Our English this half term is a revision unit, helping us to prepare for SATs, but using the first Harry Potter book, 'Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone' and in Maths, we have just completed a unit about Ratio & Proportion.
In Computing, we are learning all about online safety and we have had a visit from the NSPCC, talking about how to keep ourselves safe both online and in real life. The children know how to talk to a safe adult and that they can also contact Childline: 08001111 - 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
In PE, we have been revising our use of balance, using the apparatus and in PSHE, our unit is helping us to discuss our future dreams and goals.
Year 6 Year 6 - December
Posted 15/01/2025
by Susanne David
Year 6 are steaming ahead!
This week, Year 6 worked with Rebecca Catterall, who is the Development Officer for the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, in conjunction with the University of Plymouth. We took part in their 'Day Trips to Happiness' project.
We met Rebecca and Sally - with her wonderful pink hair and guitar - at Gunnislake train station and we took the train to Bere Ferrers. When we arrived in Bere Ferrers, we were met by a lovely gentleman named Chris, who owns much of the land down there.
Chris runs a B&B down there and has been collecting train memorabilia for decades! He allowed us to use one of his carriages to do some fun activities; we made 'parcel pets' edible poetry and Sally composed a song for us, which we sang together!
After lunch, Chris showed us the signal box and we all had a go at changing the signals - much strength was needed for this!
At the end of the day, we got the train back to Gunnislake and walked back to school along the back roads, exploring our local neighborhood - Year 6 were an absolute credit to their families and to us. A member of the public, who had been on the train while we were there, made a point of popping in to see Mrs Cox to tell her how wonderful the children had been!
Year 6 Year 6 - November
Posted 15/01/2025
by Susanne David
Year 6 crack the code!
Year 6 were fortunate to have a visit from Robert Wiltshire, who is the Youth Programme Coordinator for Tech Cornwall. Mr Wiltshire showed the children how to use the microbits, connected to our Ipads.
We learnt how to write simple codes that would turn on and off various LEDs. We also learnt how to change the colours of the LEDs as well as alter their brightness.
Being able to do this meant that the children could then create patterns and shapes which would change and repeat on the microbits.
If the children want to practise at home and program for free, they can visit:
https://microbit.org/
Microbits can also be borrowed free-of-charge from your local Library.
For information about your nearest Library, please see below:
https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/libraries-museums-and-archives/libraries/
Year 3 November / December 2024
Posted 13/01/2025
by Louise Owen
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2024
We had a really busy half term learning about rocks and soils in science, volcanoes and other natural disasters in geography, learning how to design, make and evaluate lanterns in DT, the Holy Trinity in RE, how to name some verbs in French and write reports on volcanoes based on the book Escape from Pompeii...phew time for a couple of weeks' rest!
Year 4
Posted 10/01/2025
by Michaela Wright
December 2024
Year 4 have had a very exciting month which ended with a fantastic Christmas Dinner, Christingle service and Carols around the Christmas tree. They also thoroughly enjoyed both KS1 nativity performances with a few of our class being given the opportunity to be narrators for the foundation stage performance.
This month also saw us complete our Geography unit on Tudor exploration and it impact on our lives today. The children looked at different trade links that had been established during this time and how some links remained. They also completed research on a specific aspect of Tudor travel in small groups and then presented this to the rest of the class. The children all made notes about what they had learnt from each others presentations before answering our overall questions 'What impact did travel during the time of the Tudors have on the world as we know it?'
In English, after finishing our Mr Stink unit, we moved on to looking at biographies, in particular biographies of inventors. We investigated the features of biographies and used our VIPER skills to learn more about particular inventors. At the end of the unit, after researching Leonardo Da Vinci the children wrote a potted biography for him.
In Art/DT this month we made our own Christmas felt decorations. We researched different examples and different materials and textiles and then investigated different sewing and joining techniques before planning our own. We created templates for ours and then cut our the fabric and joined it together. We also evaluated our final product.
Year 4
Posted 10/01/2025
by Michaela Wright
November 2024
We have had another busy month in Year 4. For Geography, we investigated how travel during the time of the Tudors impacted our life as we know it. We recapped what we already knew about the Tudors before spending time studying Sir Francis Drake and his voyages. The used maps and atlases to plot out his voyage. The children also learnt about other explorers during this time and some of the things they all discovered. They then looked at map projection and how maps were created back in the Tudor times compared to how advances in technology changed how maps were made and drawn up.
In science are focus was 'All Living Things and their Habitats'. We looked at how animals could be grouped, classification keys and a selection of different habitats and the animals that live there.
In English we completed a unit based on the story 'Mr Stink' by David Walliams. This was a modern fiction unit which saw the children using their VIPER skills to learn more about the story and the characters before planning and re-writing part of the story but from the point of view of Mr Stink.
PE this month was basketball which the children really enjoyed. They learnt the skills needed and then put these into practice whilst playing several basketball games/matches.
Head's Blog Week ending 10th January 2025
Posted 09/01/2025
by Lynn Cox
Welcome back and Happy New Year!
Welcome back to school and 2025! I hope that you all had a fantastic Christmas with your families. I wanted to thank you all for supporting our Christmas events last term- it was so wonderful to see so many of you- especially at the magical Christingle and Carol Service.
You will remember that back in October we asked for donations so that we could make up some shoe boxes to send to Ukraine for the children to open at Christmas. Calstock parish council have arranged a twinning between this area and a town called Petrykivka and have sent us some lovely photographs of the children with their boxes. They send a huge 'Thank you' to everyone who donated items to give them a lovely Christmas surprise!
Look out for the latest newsletter coming to you via email soon- it contains dates for this term and details of fundraising.
Our Values...
Creative
We are bold and innovative in our approach to find new solutions to the challenges we face.
Curious
We are inspired by the awe and wonder of the world.
Responsible
We take responsibility for our actions in an environment of mutual respect.
Enthusiastic
We are passionate about learning.
Excellent
We are the best we can be.
Determined
We overcome all barriers to reach our potential, developing a capacity to improve further.
Quick Links
Contact Us
Find Us
Join Our Trust
Governors Page
Term Dates
Vacancies
Downloads
Privacy & Cookies
Find Us
Copper valley Junior Academy
Chapel Street
Gunnislake
Cornwall
PL18 9NA
01822 832685
secretary@coppervalleyacademy.co.uk
Back to Top
© 2025 Bridge Schools trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Registration number 7736425. It is an exempt charity.