29th Nov 24

We had another assembly on Tuesday about the upcoming reindeer run in aid of St Luke’s Hospice. The children remembered our visitor and were keen to find out more. The sponsorship forms should have come home this week in readiness for the run on Wednesday. Again, as the children were reminded, there is no obligation to raise any sponsorship in order to take part. We know that times are still hard for many families and anything that can be spared will go to St Luke’s. If it is only a few pence in spare change, please attach it to the form and send it back. On Wednesday, the children will run around the school grounds wearing their antlers to keep fit, have fun and hopefully raise some money. I would like to say a huge thank-you from the school and PTFA for the kind donations for the Christmas hamper raffle. This is always popular and looking at the donations from the non-uniform day today, the hampers this year will be as good as ever! If you have any other donations, please feel free to drop them into the office. As part of the Liskeard Lights Up festival tomorrow, the children have been busy making lanterns that those families able to go to the festival will be able to take along. They look amazing and the children took such pride in creating them. Also, to celebrate the festival and Cornish heritage, we welcomed Maureen and Rod from the Cornish Language group into school on Wednesday for a lesson in Cornish. It is great to see the language still spoken and the children had a great time. Thank-you so much to them both for giving up their time. On Thursday afternoon, some of our KS2 children were selected to attend a Football Tournament at Callywith College, they all had a fantastic time and came 5th overall. Well done!

Weekly Blog

It's hard to believe that we only have 4 days left of this first half term. It feels like yesterday that the children were coming into their new classes after the summer break. We are all very proud of the way that the children have worked hard and applied themselves to the learning this half term. What an amazing place Darite is to work. I am looking forward to seeing some of you next week for our first parent consultation evenings. This is a chance for you to find out how the children have settled into this year and ask any questions. If you have any concerns at any time, please let us know and we will try to help out. Because of this, there are no clubs running next week. Good luck to the children running in the first cross-country race this afternoon. Hopefully the weather stays dry and it's not too muddy! A reminder also that next Friday is an INSET day and school will be closed to children. The staff will be having some training alongside the other schools in the trust on how to make writing even better

It's the end of week 3 and learning is in full swing at Darite. Class 2 have been coding wearable technology for their DT sessions and Class 1 have been doing some fantastic writing. The children also have enjoyed their session of Wild Tribe this afternoon. It is a great time to see the children working cooperatively together to work and learn outside. I have also invited children to bring in any achievements they have done outside of school to celebrate in our Friday assembly. If they have progressed in a Judo belt, been awarded a trophy or certificate, they are welcome to bring it in to celebrate on Friday. Thank-you to those who have managed to book a slot for the parent consultations this half term. It is an opportunity for Mrs Lake and myself to give you a little information about how the children have settled into the new year. Appointments can be booked using Arbor but, as always, if these times are not convenient or you have any other questions, please let Mrs Norris know in the office and we can see how we can help. Please make sure that you keep yourself up to date with upcoming events from the newsletter or website. Next week is our whole-school trip to Pendennis Castle. 

Weekly News 22nd Nov 24

Well, what an interesting week it’s been! I am always slightly sceptical when the children tell me that it’s going to snow but they were certainly right this week! I hope that everyone managed to enjoy the snow if possible and that you all stayed safe. Thank-you for your understanding on Thursday. As you know, staff work at Darite from all over the county and making a decision to open or close is very tricky. We know how much parents and carers rely on schools to support their work and that we never close the school unless it is absolutely necessary. In this case, safety of the staff, pupils and parents is paramount which is why the decision was taken to close. Again, thank-you for your understanding in this matter.


In addition to the fun of the snow, Class 2 had a visit from Will from Biffa. This workshop taught the children all about recycling and what happens to waste in Cornwall. They had an amazing time in the workshop and all went away with a real sense of the importance of recycling. This workshop all came about because of one of our Year 3 pupils wrote to them asking to donate some litter pickers for school. I am delighted to say that they were successful and, when the ice melts, the school council will be using them a lot!

Our School Councillors

After a hotly debated discussion and several rounds of voting, Class 2 have selected their school councillors. They are all looking forward to working with Mr Whipps and the councillors from Class 1 to make a real difference to the school. 

How has crime and punishment changed in Cornwall?

Class 3 had a very interesting trip to Bodmin Jail where we discovered how crime, punishment and prisons have changed in the last few hundred years. The class, as always, demonstrated their curiosity for learning by asking perceptive questions and linking new discoveries to previous learning. 

We hope you all had a lovely half term break and are as excited as we are for the busy term ahead. Our enquiry question for our work in the wider curriculum this half term is "how has crime and punishment changed in Britain?" An overview of the areas of learning for this half term can be found below along with the homework menu and spelling packs for this half term. 

Busy week for all

It’s hard to believe that there are only 4 more days until half term! The last few weeks have been so busy with learning, trips, events and so much more that we have blinked and missed it! We break up next Thursday as the 24th is a staff training day. We have lots to get through before then though so please stay posted through the blog and website!

Year 6 had a fantastic "Breakfast week" this week. They enjoyed delicious bacon and egg sandwiches cooked by Lisa - and completed some tests as well. We were, as always, blown away by their hard work, dedication and resilience for the SATs and each and every one of them gave 100% all week. We could not be more proud of them and they can now relax, ready for their final few weeks at Darite. They celebrated today by destroying their practice papers outside and using them to toast marshmallows. They folded their paper into various shapes and said a little personal goodbye before burning them. The children were thankful for all their hard work to prepare for the SATS! Miss Edwards said that the group were wonderful and it was lovely to hear their reflections on the work that they had put in and improvements they had made. Well done Year 6!

Thank-you also to those of you who were able to attend the reading breakfast in aid of the Book Trust. The donations helped us raise a fantastic amount of money to give to this worthy cause. It is a real bonus for the children to have an audience for their reading, and being able to raise money as well is a bonus. The children joined in with PJ day fantastically - even though some of the pyjamas were a bit warm! 

Have a fantastic weekend. 

Mini Police

Class 3 pupils have taken part in the Mini Police programme with its focus on crime prevention including internet safety, anti-social behaviour, road safety and environmental activities. The class have been very engaged and demonstrated their curiosity through asking interesting questions and sharing their views and ideas.
The class are currently creating internet safety posters to share their learning with the whole school and our wider community.