St Pirans Magazine 2021 by Barley House

The Millstone 2020-2021

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

HEADMASTER’S INTRODUCTION Two years at the helm of St Piran’s and steering the school through the turbulent times of the Covid pandemic has meant this is my first edition of The Millstone. 2019-20 brought us somewhat unfamiliar territory which tested us all, as staff and pupils, but a year on, we have become accustomed to changes of direction and dealing with challenges head-on and it is with enormous pleasure that I bring you our reflection of the past school year, 2020-21. This year has brought into sharp focus the realisation that we have so much to celebrate; without some of the magnitude of our larger school events, it really is the small things that really matter. The smallest pupils were welcomed in our Nursery this year. I recall during the Christmas Term seeing two figures approaching, smiling, with conkers in hand. Their jogging bottoms covered their shoes and their hands were just visible under their sleeves as they escorted two members of staff around the school. Yes, I thought to myself, our two year olds are here! The briefest of interactions around school can bring the most joy to a day and stay long in the memory. Two girls greeted me in the Lower School corridor, excitedly showing me their friendship jigsaw, no doubt thrilled they were able to collaborate together again in school after a lengthy period of lockdown from their friends. The pupil-drawn Christmas card, carefully created by a Year 6 pupil, which caught my eye has now become our school card, sending much-needed warm wishes at a Christmas time which was soon to bring the closure of schools once more. New Year brought a blanket of snow as the children hunkered down at home with online learning, but their joy and spirit was undeterred and the images we received of pets, snowmen, siblings and family life kept us all buoyant. Balloons and bubbles welcomed everyone back in March to everyone’s delight, and as the country, and our two School Nurses, embarked on the vaccination programme, the St Piran’s spirit was well and truly alive. Last year I finished my Headmaster’s address with the four words: ‘We brought them back.’ This year I am proud to say that, when allowed by the government, ‘We kept them here.’ I remain immensely proud that through the effort and sacrifice of all my wonderful staff, the support of our parents and the maturity of our pupils we have not seen a bubble burst in term time at St Piran’s. By the end of this year, some sporting fixtures returned to the calendar; Sports Days were carefully planned to allow at least some of our parents to watch despite increasing virus transmission rates; we managed to squeeze in some residential trips despite the cancellation of many days out over the past 18 months. The red carpet was rolled out at Speech Day with pride, in recognition of the motivation and engagement of our leavers who move on with their journey, taking with them that little bit of St Piran’s that matters. This edition of The Millstone is a chance for reflection and an opportunity to capture the special moments. It is about painting a picture that encapsulates the heart of the school and I hope you enjoy all it brings. > Sebastian Sales Headmaster

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

CONTENTS

Leaders, Members & Captains Prefect Perspectives Reflections from our Head Girl and Boy

2 3 6

Christmas Term 2020 Bubbles and Balloons! Peer Mentors History in Action Maths Mastery Thinking of Others Christmas Productions Christmas Comes at Last

9 10 11 12 13 15 16

Easter Term 2021 A Snowy Lockdown Start 19 Morning Motivators and Lockdown Legends 21 Nursery Takeover! 22 Red Nose Day Superheroes 24 St Piran’s Day 25 Science Week 26 Our Nursing Angels 27 Digital Leading 28 Historical Adventures 30 Exploring Life’s Questions 31 One Year On 32

Summer Term 2021 Tales as Old as Time Summer in Early Years Inside Chapel International Day Outdoor Learning Drama Department

35 37 38 39 40 41

Great British Fun Getaway Goals! Pupil Parliaments Speech Day Art and DT Gallery Sport at St Piran’s Sports Day Staff News

44 45 48 50 52 65 68 72

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

2020-21 LEADERS, MENTORS AND CAPTAINS Our Head Boy and Head Girl this year are Freddie Fuggle and Pippa Lloyd

PREFECTS 2020-21 Archie Wann Olivia Davies George Clarke Margherita De Dominicis James Leach Sophia Phelps Freddie Patterson Year 6 are our best ambassadors. They are role models for the younger children and all have skills and strengths which are suited to different roles within school, so we like to offer them a role to reflect this as part of our leadership focus. We rolled out the red carpet at the start of the year as our leaders were appointed at a special assembly.

Maisie Fielder Florence Good Kieran Clayton

“Prefects’ Tea in the Headmaster’s Study”

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

PREFECT PERSPECTIVES

My time as a Prefect has been fabulous! Being awarded a Prefect has given me confidence and belief. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the teas with Mr Sales and all the other Prefects - the sandwiches, biscuits and cakes have all been delicious! In lockdown, the Teams calls were all so interesting because everyone would bake something to eat. > Sophia Phelps My time as a Prefect was short, but incredibly fulfilling. I have felt very responsible and honoured to be trusted enough to be the last Prefect out of so many amazing girls in my year. Even though I only had a few weeks of being one, I am really pleased I got the opportunity. > Flo Good During my period of being a Prefect I have had an amazing time. On Thursdays, we have delicious Prefects’ teas with sandwiches and tempting desserts that no one could ever turn down, so much so that everyone wanted seconds of everything! It has been a very challenging and tough year so it was always nice that we could get some time out of the busy school schedule to relax and talk to Mr Sales and all of the other 11 Prefects. It has always been fun and I am so grateful and proud to be one of the 12 Prefects in this year of 2021. > Maisie Fielder

I really enjoyed the Teams calls that we did in lockdown and all the challenges given to us like the cake baking competitions and doing some judging for the pet competitions. A few months ago, we were even lucky enough to go to the outdoor learning classroom with the burning fire! We have also done two fundraising events for Remembrance Day and Red Nose Day. Altogether, being a Prefect has been a wonderful experience and has created many different opportunities! > Margherita De Dominicis Although for some time we couldn’t have Prefects’ tea in person, I still thoroughly enjoyed logging in every Thursday for tea via Teams! Some weeks we would have a topic on what to do/wear when we joined the call, but my favourite time was when we had to wear a funny hat, bake something St Piran’s-themed and wear our Prefects’ tie somewhere other than around our neck! All of these fun and exciting events, not only at Prefects’ Tea, but in regular lessons too, made home learning an amazing experience for me!

St Piran's Leadership Habits

> Olivia Davies

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

PREFECT PERSPECTIVES

Chapel Monitors Head Chapel Monitor Beatrice Groffman

Art Captains

Sports Captains

Ben Brocas

Netball Captain

Rugby Captain

Alexa Phelps

Freddie Fuggle

Samuel Voss Ben Patchett

Chapel Monitors

Olivia Davies

Football Captain

Gymnastic Captain

Theo Atkinson

Margherita De Dominicis

Oumar Dandi

Oliver Edmundson

George Clarke

Girls’ Hockey Captain

Boys’ Hockey Captain

Amelie Elsdon

Archie Wann

Girls’ Cricket Captain

Boys’ Cricket Captain

Peggy Swankie

Ben Wilkinson

Boys’ Trampoline Captain

Girls’ Trampoline Captain

Evie Bannatyne

Sam Nicholson

Florence Good

James Almond

Margherita De Dominicis

Swimming Captains

Kabir Sehmi

Florence Good

Ben Wilkinson

Oliver Edmundson

Aniela Batterberry

Sam Nicholson

Toby Croxford

Olivia Davies

Maisie Fielder

Amelie Eldson

Sophia Phelps

Ione Gaskin

Oliver Royden James Leach Sophia Phelps Aiden Kells Freddie Patterson Tom Patchett

Peer Mentors Kabir Sehmi Morgan Munn Toby Croxford

Digital Leaders Johnta Kosaka-Harding

James Almond

Lucia Parise

LRC & Accelerated Reader Leaders Tom Patchett Henry Jackson Rufus Plumb Pippa Lloyd James Leach Holly Saunders Tanish Nori

Pippa Lloyd Florence BeresfordJones Ione Gaskin

Times Tables Rock Stars Leaders Damola Alabi Tanish Nori Kieran Clayton

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

Clan Leaders East Clan

North Clan

South Clan

West Clan

Meribelle Hayward

James Cranfield

Rufus Plumb

Ivo Chamberlain

Oumar Dandi

Lucia Parise

George Goldstone

Evie Bannatyne

Joe Swankie

Ione Gaskin

Sylvie Mandeville

Holly Saunders

Kieran Clayton

Florence BeresfordJones

Max Phillis

Alexa Phelps

Council Leaders Eco Council

Learning Council

Safety Council

Wellbeing Council

Ben Patchett

Samuel Voss

Sam Brasher

Peter Babcock

Peggy Swankie

Toby Croxford

James Almond

Aniela Batterberry

Rory McLaren

Kabir Sehmi

Josh Kells

Morgan Munn

Council Members

Siddharth Raj Krishnamurthy

Balraj Dhinsa

Jake Richmond

Eliza Cannon

Harry Bark-Jones

Rory Macdonald

Isabella Sales

Thomas Hocking

Riya Srinivas

Carolina Jeronimo

Milla Savidge

Lana Wolfenden

Devangi Kalra

Seb Fordham

Flossie Harry

Amelie Mertes

Isobel Leach

Daniel Weaver

Millie Easton

Scarlett Pettifer

Jessica Bowley

Sanaa Fergusson

Katy Tudor-Morgan

Amelia Williams

Georgia Welch

Idris Iqbal

Jack Reinisch

Aurelia Hargroves

Scarlett Owens Max Richmond

Theo EdmonstoneWest

Jace Ralfs

Florence Wright Olivia Truman

Archie Peake

Maisie Holmes

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

REFLECTIONS FROM OUR HEAD GIRL AND HEAD BOY

Head Girl, Pippa Lloyd I joined St Piran’s when I was in Nursery and I have absolutely loved my 8 years here. One of my first memories is the pinafore dress I had to wear for Nursery. I felt so grown up in it. I thought it was meant to hang down to the floor and it is only now - that I realise this was the first example of the “She’ll grow into it!” approach to uniformbuying, adopted by my mum! St Piran’s has wonderful sport facilities and I have gratefully taken advantage of everything the school has had to offer me. I really enjoyed it when we started competing against other schools in Year 3. We even went to the Isle of Wight for a trampolining competition, the ferry ride being a particular highlight – thank you, Mrs Holmes! My best sporting memory is probably the IAPS Hockey Competition in 2019. I was honoured to be one of a few girls from Year 5 chosen to play with the Year 6s and we won the Plate competition! I was also lucky enough to get my half colours then as well. My worst sporting memory (and my first) was being clonked on the head with a hockey stick in Year 2 by a boy. I was proud of that black eye though! There are a lot of special teachers at St Piran’s who I will never forget. Obviously, Mrs Holmes and Mrs Robertson feature highly because of my love of sport! We learned a lot but had fun at the same time. Mrs Burnage was such an encouraging swimming coach. Her “Goggle Game” was cherished by all of us and I don’t think I ever actually won it in all those years! I will never forget our hilarious history lessons with Mr Grice. His ability to deliver important life lessons alongside historical facts will ensure he goes down as one of my favourites. Mrs Bersier turned us into a Chapel Choir that I am really proud of. I admit that, at times, it was a challenge for me to stay quiet and not to get carried away chatting with my friends during practice. Although our Year 6 production plans were curbed, we enjoyed putting together the Showcase this year. I had a Hollywood moment when I was cast as Doc in our Year 4 production of Back to the Future. It took a considerable

amount of time and hairspray to get me looking the part – plenty of back combing! Time travelling was lots of fun, I have to admit. From one scientist to another, Miss Cowley has, in the short time she has been at the school, made science so much more fun for me. Mrs Girdler has spent much time helping me with my English during our weekly Tutor Point lessons. She must be the most patient person in the world for which I am eternally grateful. Mrs Bailey’s English lessons have been something else. I have so enjoyed them. We have such fun discussions in class. Having her as a tutor has meant I have been doubly lucky. She listens. She cares. Thank you, Mrs Bailey, for all that you have done for me this year. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school Matrons who I have visited with various issues and ailments over the years! Thank you for your kindness and for looking after me. It has been a great privilege being Head Girl. I was genuinely surprised when I was announced, but also deeply proud and chuffed. Because of COVID, my role has been a bit different to usual. However, we still got to attend a fair number of Prefects’ Teas with Mr Sales on a Thursday afternoon. These have been a great opportunity to get to know Mr Sales whilst at the same time tucking into some seriously tasty cakes! Thank you Mr Sales for making such great efforts to keep us all safe in the face of COVID and for helping Year 6 to have the best final year you could in difficult times. I am very sad to leave St Piran’s. I have been really happy here and I couldn’t have asked for more.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Intro

After the year we have had and with so many things not happening in the way I had hoped for in my final year at St Piran’s, I couldn’t quite allow myself to believe we would actually make it on our Year 6 residential. But, with thanks to Mrs Wadsworth, we did! And I can report that it was absolutely amazing: camping, paddle boarding, eating marshmallows and just relaxing with my friends meant that my penultimate week here was one of my favourites.

Head Boy, Freddie Fuggle Despite the homeschooling, virtual open days, class bubbles and no match teas, every year of my 8 years at St Piran’s has still created so many happy memories which have helped me grow and develop into the person I am today. Someone who is not just excited for the next step but someone who is ready. I feel it is extremely important to mention that my journey through St Piran’s has been made so special by the many amazing teachers that I have been lucky enough to have. Over the years you have not only inspired me to learn but supported me when I have needed help. Notably Mrs Bailey, who I would not have got through the last lockdown without her daily quizzes and presents in the post! My St Piran’s adventure began in Nursery where I loved playing with the cars, creating chaos with the water play and, would you believe, we even had a slide in the classroom! One of my strongest memories was our trip to Odds Farm. My dad was a parent helper for the day and seemed to have a few rules of his own, which involved playing mini golf and eating ice cream, which I am sure were not in the parent briefing!

The other huge influence in helping me grow my confidence and develop my interests have been the vast number of sporting opportunities I have had at St Piran’s: football, cross country, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, cricket AND rugby….. the list is endless. Swim squad with Mrs Burnage, qualifying for IAPS swimming, football with Mr Barker and Mr Smith and cricket with Mr Lambert have been a few of my favourites. Oh, and not forgetting that I have consumed many a delicious match tea along the way! As I embark on my next journey at Reading Blue Coat, I am excited to say that many friends from St Piran’s will be moving with me and I look forward to creating many more memories and experiencing many new things with them. However, one thing I will really miss about St Piran’s is my family. Throughout my time here I have been lucky enough to share sports days, school plays with my older sister Izzy and my cousin Archie, as well as giving my little sister Georgie and cousin Immy a wave and cuddle during the day. St Piran’s is a truly special place, as under normal times it creates a feeling of family and belonging which for me has been so important. To other pupils at the school, I would say take every opportunity you have and give things a go, value the incredible teachers you have (who I will miss very much) and to next year’s rugby captain - I set you the challenge of maintaining my history as undefeated rugby captain…. but don’t tell ANYONE…….. we never had a fixture!

Christmas Term

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

BUBBLES AND BALLOONS!

September started the new school year afresh with enthusiasm and smiles at St Piran’s, and the chance to see our friends once again! As we were assigned our ‘bubbles’ to keep us safe, our wonderful teachers and School Nurses were on hand with a warm welcome and a quick temperature check!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

PEER MENTORS

Showing responsibility and encouragement towards younger children in the playground, our Year 6 Peer Mentors were introduced this year. Their role is to be a friendly face and rolemodel to children in Middle School, helping them to resolve minor playtime problems and encourage them to join in with their peers. After finishing their training at the end of November, they were soon ‘on duty’ in their purple hats at lunchtime. Although socially distanced from the younger children, they were excited to be starting their new roles.

This year’s Peer Mentor team: Kabir Sehmi Morgan Munn Toby Croxford James Almond Evie Bannatyne Margherita De Dominicis Florence Good Aniela Batterberry Olivia Davies Sophia Phelps Lucia Parise Pippa Lloyd Florence Beresford-Jones Ione Gaskin

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

HISTORY IN ACTION

After half term, Year 1 children were transported to ‘A Day in the Life of a Fairy Tale Castle’, provided by History Off The Page. The day was fun-filled with activities and crafts, ending with an array of performances at the fairy tale banquet.

The phrase living history contains a verb and an adjective, depending on how one interprets it. This ‘living history’ is often trotted out without due regard for its true import – one that thankfully we have never had to question before. All that changed in 2020. Our children are living through a period in our history that chimes somewhat interestingly with those great pestilences of the past – from the Black Death of the 14th century to the global influenza epidemic of 1918-1920… It’s been a boon to history teachers – proof that history can predict what humans will do in the future, in similar circumstances, is not lost on our children in school. History is very much a tool of the present and a guide for what will come. Our Christmas Term saw Romans and the Egyptians visiting, younger children experienced a day in the life of a fairy tale castle, and we had a reminder of the cleansing effects of the Great Fire of London. Furthermore, the epic clash between King Harold II of England and the Norman Duke William has been debated and argued over, and we have walked into the school woods to gather flints and rocks and to identify some of the edible plants and pliable saplings our forebears would have encountered in the Mesolithic era. We have handled the Swiss Army tools of the Stone Age in the form of flint arrowheads, hand axes and spear points, all the while marvelling at the ingenuity of our ancestors. I think that much the same will be said of the people who have worked hard to overcome the current pestilence, and that we too shall go down in the history books of the future. We had plenty to talk about and a great deal of fun this term. History never seems to go out of fashion and is the subject du jour, because we all talk about the time before, and how we live now… > Mr J E Grice, Head of History

Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed our ‘London Then and Now’ topic and learned so much from our fabulous ‘Great Fire of London’ day with so many hands-on activities taking them back to 1666. Year 3 were guided through life in Roman times and helped to create some super craft items, all whilst learning about the Roman period. It was a step back in time for Year 4 and a chance to sample how things were done in Egyptian times. Queen Nefertiti (alias Mrs Tse) organised a day steeped in history for Year 4 to immerse themselves in. There were various craft workshops making scarab beetle soaps, oil candles, clay amulets and plaited bread. The children worked on their own Egyptian entertainment and then shared it whilst enjoying an Egyptian banquet of “wine”, grapes, pomegranates, figs, bread and cheese. The children were, however, glad to return to Year 4 afterwards as the cruelty of the Pharaoh (Antony) and his Queen (Devangi) had farreaching consequences!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

MATHS MASTERY

Life Skills Week At the beginning of November, the whole school took part in Maths Week England. During the week, pupils experienced a variety of fun maths activities, including a maths trail around the school grounds. Children were encouraged to share their mathematical understanding and discuss different ways to solve problems. Year 5 and 6 pupils enjoyed trying out some maths puzzles set by Douglas Buchanan via Zoom (Douglas runs the maths challenges at other schools that we usually take part in). In addition, 41 children from Years 5 and 6 competed in the Primary Maths Challenge, a national competition designed to make pupils think outside of the box. 5 pupils were awarded gold certificates, 3 silver and 8 bronze. Early Years played plenty of maths games, embarked on a shape hunt and sang number songs. Times Tables Rock Stars! We encourage challenge and aspiration in St Piran’s pupils and these are frequently shown in our commitment to quick recall of times tables through the Times Tables Rock Stars programme. Our current whole school average rock speed is an impressive 3.33 seconds a question with a 92% accuracy rate. We also took part in some competitions – an inter-clan “Battle of the Bands” and a National Rock Out. The winning clan in the Battle of the Bands was West and the winning class in the Rock Out was 4T. Although there have been no in-person maths challenges this year, it was lovely to see a team of Year 2 and Year 4 pupils compete via Zoom in the Rotary Club Mighty Maths and Mathemagician Competitions. The children worked as a team to answer some very tricky maths problems and had great fun in the process! In addition, some Years 3 and 4 children took part in the First Mathematics Challenge. This is a national competition run by the Mathematical Association. Our children did brilliantly in this challenge, with 7 Gold Certificates, 14 Silver and 2 Bronze. Special congratulations to Antony Vazhappilly who scored an amazing 100% in the challenge. > Mrs Wadsworth, Head of Maths

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

THINKING OF OTHERS

At the start of term, the children were set a challenge to think creatively and include everyone in their play. We encourage them to demonstrate courtesy and consideration towards others as part of our values and we highlight this with focused events throughout the year. Harvest thanks One focus in the first half of the Christmas Term is how thankful we are for the food we have and an awareness that others are not so fortunate. Donations to Maidenhead Foodshare and the One Can Trust were even more important this year in local efforts to look after those suffering food poverty during the pandemic. While we were not able to visit our local care homes and pass on food parcels this year due to the risks of the pandemic, we thank our families for helping us to pass on so many goods to the charities we support instead. Friendship Week In November, Nursery Ducklings celebrated friendship by having a photo taken with their friends. Year 3 each made a bookmark for another member of the class. Year 2 learned that we are all a piece of the puzzle and enjoyed putting their friendship jigsaws together. At the end of the week, there were many nominations in Friday’s assembly for children whose thoughtful, caring actions helped their peers and made new classmates feel welcome. Remembrance Our wonderful Chapel provides a perfect setting for reflection and commemoration. This year’s Remembrance Day was honoured with a special service and, of course, poppy-selling, with the help of our Head Boy and Girl and Prefects.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

THINKING OF OTHERS

Raising money Our Children In Need non-uniform day was a fantastic way to help other young people while wearing our own comfortable clothes! The theme was ‘Come As Yourself’ and we managed to raise £679.46. In lieu of our usual toy donations for the Father Christmas Assembly this year, we had a fantastic response to a call for Tesco and Sainsbury’s vouchers to give to the Link Foundation. Over £1400 was donated in vouchers for the charity to use for local families and Mr Sales was delighted to present these in person, all sociallydistanced! The last day of term we dug out our best Christmas sweaters, or improvised with some tinsel and decorations, to take part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, raising £510 to ‘make life better with a sweater’. It was great to see everyone looking so festive too!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

CHRISTMAS PRODUCTIONS

Social confidence is fostered at an early age at St Piran’s and appearing on the school stage in a Christmas show is often the first experience of this for our youngest children. Learning songs, rhymes and lines to say gives the children responsibility and an outlet for their inner performer; it’s no wonder many of our performances revolve around Christmas stars!

Year 1 bring us ‘Christmas Rhyme’ All the children showed such confidence and bravery and all our ‘movie stars’ should be proud of their final show!

This year, we were unable to invite parents to watch us live in action, but all our productions were recorded for our families to watch at home and the pride which comes from a brilliant performance was no less evident. Year 2 present ‘Penguin Pete’ We are so proud of Year 2 for their fantastic festive performance of ‘Penguin Pete’! What a super round off to the term with our amazing ‘Penguin Pete’ Christmas extravaganza, where all the children performed and sang so brilliantly.

Early Years sparkle with angels and stars After half-term, it was time to start rehearsals for our Christmas productions! Nursery’s show was ‘Whoops a Daisy Angel’ and Reception staged ‘Shine Star Shine’. We all learnt new songs, had lines to say and had great fun being on stage. It was very strange performing without an audience and not being together as a team, but we all did a fantastic job!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

CHRISTMAS COMES AT LAST!

Bringing 2020 to a close, we welcomed the arrival of the Christmas season with our Advent Chapel Service and relished a performance from our hand bell ringers. After a year of unprecedented events and much disruption to our usual routines, it was fantastic to see the familiar sign of the outdoor Christmas tree and driveway festive lighting which looked better than ever this year!

Father Christmas visits Our friend, Father Christmas, took time out of his busy schedule to stop by and remind us all to be good and keep up our positive spirit, on a misty and wintery day.

Delicious Christmas lunches Our catering team excelled themselves once more by providing us all with a truly mouth-watering Christmas lunch! The dining room was filled with fun and laughter as we pulled crackers and enjoyed tucking into our turkey with our friends. We took a moment to be silent and appreciate our food and company with a prayer read by our Head Boy.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Christmas Term

A new format for our Carol Service We settled at home with our parents and families for our online Carol Service this year instead of visiting St Luke’s Church as a congregation. Despite watching remotely, the Carol Service brought the real meaning of Christmas to our homes and included clips recorded in the Chapel, animations of the Christmas story and a chance to sing some carols.

Colourful Cards With increasingly proficient IT skills developed over the past year, the children were well-placed to create some vibrant and intricate Christmas cards on the computer for the IT Department’s competition in December. Here are a selection of our winning entries! Winter woodland Our outdoor learning area has become one of our favourite places to spend time, especially in a period when it has been difficult for groups to meet indoors. It was no surprise then that Year 5 took advantage of using the space for a magical afternoon of woodland festivity, enjoying ‘smores and hot chocolate by the fire, accompanied by a Christmas story and obligatory twinkling fairy lights!

Class Christmas parties and discos brought the term to an excitable end as we closed the door on our first term.

Nursery wrapping up warm for woodland learning

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

Easter Term

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

A SNOWY LOCKDOWN START

The one thing of which we can all be confident is that there was no term quite like this one! A blend of online learning, face-toface teaching and a whole new world of technology emerged and will long live in the memory of us all. Full of expectation of returning to school after Christmas, we were hastily instructed to ‘stay at home’ and school became home to pupils solely from our Nursery and those of critical worker parents. Home learning for the rest enabled us all to embrace creativity in so many subjects. Year 4 were motivated to write acrostic poems to keep us positive through lockdown.

Lockdown is fun if you spend time with your parents. Only you and your household can go for walks together. Call your friends and family to keep in contact on the phone. Keep eating healthily so you don’t get ill. Do lots of exciting activities at home. Only for one month. We are helping the NHS by doing this. Never stop being positive about lockdown.

Living happily with my family. Our family has a dog now and she is very funny and playful. Computer time is increased so we can play on the computer more. Keeping safe by limiting contact with other people. During this lockdown we get more time to play with our family. Outdoors can still be enjoyed. We are helping to keep the NHS safe. Now schools are open so I can play with my friends.

Lexie Welham 4T

Sebastian Fordham 4T

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

A SNOWY LOCKDOWN START

The school was blanketed in heavy snow in January and photos of outdoor fun came flooding into our inboxes as you all made the most of building snowmen, sledging and snowballing in the fresh winter air!

For some added fun during the dark winter days, we launched our very own Virtual Pet Show; a chance to put our pets in the spotlight and maybe even win a prize! Categories ranged from ‘Most Intelligent Pet’ to ‘Funniest Pet’ and for those who are not pet owners, we welcomed artistic entries of all kinds too. Who knew we had such a talented selection of pooches and furry friends?

Harley and Chocco

Theo’s cat (and fish)

Mrs Hayward’s intelligent dog

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

MORNING MOTIVATORS AND LOCKDOWN LEGENDS

Teamwork, engagement and motivatios are some of the qualities our Games Department strive to nurture in each and every child in lessons, and with school closed for a while, getting involved in our usual training was a little tricky. They had a plan to get us on our feet…..

It was time to get up and shine! Each morning our motivators (aka Mr Smith, Mr Barker and Miss Holloway) encouraged us out of bed and onto our feet with a 3-minute workout on our YouTube channel, preparing us for the day ahead. Along with our Wake Up and Shake Up sessions, which we know were enjoyed by the whole family, Mr Barker and his team behind the scenes inspired us to get to our feet and join in! By the end of term, these evolved into a special staff edition and even a parents’ version, both of which brought a smile to our faces! Mr Barker became famous for his Brainteasers, a puzzle to keep our grey cells working – “what was the missing item on the conveyor belt?” – as well as bringing in some famous faces as a weekly surprise in our Celebrity Wednesdays! Among others, Basil Brush, Sooty and Sweep, the real Mr Motivator, Paul Chuckle from the Chuckle Brothers, S Club 7’s Jo and Bobby Davro popped up on our screens to spread some positivity and encouragement with a special message for St Piran’s.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

NURSERY TAKEOVER!

An absolute highlight for all of our Nursery children has been having the run of the school during the first half of term, and they certainly made the most of it!  We celebrated the new year in January, Chinese New Year and Shrove Tuesday in February, Science Week and Mother’s Day in March, and of course, the hotly contested Millstone Race was run by the Nursery children to celebrate St Piran’s Day!  The beginning of term saw our Nursery Caterpillars relocated to their newly refurbished home in White Lodge, where they quickly settled in to life at St Piran’s. The class stood confidently in front of their peers and other mummies to say ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ at our virtual event to tell their Mummy why they are so special to them.

A rather popular new addition to the weekly routine has been enjoying hot chocolate and a special snack in the woodland each week! It is a wonderful space which provided an opportunity for the Nursery children to make their own lunches, cook their own pasta and vegetables and learn about fire safety and how to build a fire this term. They progressed to making a stir-fry and melting chocolate to make delicious Easter nests. No wonder there were such mouth-watering food smells coming from the school grounds!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

The chance to see and feel the snow, frost and ice outside sparked the children’s curiosity. There is no doubt that taking over the school for a few months was a unique opportunity to experience all parts of school in a more relaxed and quieter setting, stimulating their minds with new sights, smells and tastes.

Nursery Butterflies took full advantage of having the sports facilities available to them and loved developing their gymnastics skills using the large equipment.  The children learned a new game; ‘Floor is Lava’ which is now a popular request at home too!  The lack of older children on site allowed us the chance to bring in our bikes and scooters for a ride around, plus they welcomed some new members of the class in the form of frogs spawn which hatched into tadpoles; they have learned so much from seeing these creatures grow and turn into froglets.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

RED NOSE DAY SUPERHEROES

The last year has taught us that life can be unpredictable, but we can always rely on the power of laughter, so the children were encouraged to come to school ready with their favourite jokes for Comic Relief on 19th March. Everyone followed a theme of superheroes, some dressing in capes in familiar costumes, others came as doctors or nurses, and many created their own! Mr Sales adorned a cape as he flew around the school giving out the week’s assembly certificates.

We even took the red nose concept into the classroom where Years 5 and 6 made 3D noses of their own in maths!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

ST PIRAN’S DAY Lana Wolfenden 5B

Freddie Patterson 6G

Maia Lajusticia Urbina 1W

Oliver Spray RO

On 5th March we raised the flag of Saint Piran! This year, our hotly contested annual Millstone Race involved predominantly Nursery children while the rest of the school donned black and white and set to baking and making from home with a day of St Piran’s Day-themed projects. A challenge to think independently and use their skills and the resources available, the children produced some initiative-led work reflecting the pride in their school and our Cornish patron saint.

Aarit Patel 2Wi

Mela and Maya Panesar’s poem

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

SCIENCE WEEK

Learning kicked off with a bang in March as we were given the all-clear to return to school again after a lengthy period of home schooling. Science Week gave pupils time to explore and take part in various hands-on scientific investigations.

Year 5 turned into engineers for the week, designing robots to tackle challenges faced by the world and making their own robotic hands. Year 6 tackled the issue of dirty drinking water and built simple filters using a range of materials. They all rose to the challenge while having lots of fun.

Year 5 also created chemical reactions in the lab with lots of elephant’s toothpaste produced – no elephants were harmed in the process! Year 6 looked at micro-organisms and learning about the importance of washing their hands after looking at how much bacteria was harbouring on them.

We launched a competition to design a science poster over Easter, with some very clever ideas proposed – from heated smart jackets, a hydrogen plane to a water-powered car with a St Piran’s crest! All examples of great thinking motivated by the world around us.

It has been hands-on, exciting, and very busy in the lab since returning to school.

Our winners were Elliot Gleeson (1M), Flo Good (6W) and Avaani Sehmi (3KH).

> Miss Cowley Head of Science

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

OUR NURSING ANGELS

They are fondly known to us as Nurse Lynne and Nurse Alyssa, patching us up when we hurt ourselves, offering a listening ear when we are worried, looking after us when we feel unwell. During the pandemic, they became community heroes, rising to the challenge of vaccinating our local community and we are so proud of them both!

“I have been very humbled by the gratefulness of the people receiving vaccines - they have brought me to tears. I feel very proud to be part of a profession helping to conquer this awful virus” > Nurse Alyssa

“To be part of history in a battle against this dreadful disease has been very humbling. Although I cannot see a person’s smile, I know the patients are appreciative and so joyful by looking in their eyes. What counts is not the fact I have lived but the difference I have made in the lives of others.” > Nurse Lynne It was with great pride that during the summer we were informed that Lynne and her husband, Philip, were honoured in the Queen’s Birthday List! They will receive the BEM for their volunteering and helping others during the pandemic. What great role models for us all, showing that empathy and initiative can do such good in the world.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

DIGITAL LEADING

Throughout the year, the children have thrived in IT lessons, trying out all the new devices in school, working hard on their word processing skills, building on their coding knowledge and taking part in many e-safety discussions. Hybrid learning was key, with children engaging in the curriculum and lessons from home, but more importantly, they have impressed their teachers by showing creativity in responding to activities, experimenting with their new-found IT skills and relishing exciting tasks such as creating stop-motion animations in Year 2 and using green screens to create films in iMovie in Year 4. Even our Reception children became videographers for the day. Year 6 have been writing their own blogs and we are proud that all Upper School children now have their own 1:1 devices which they use daily in lessons to support their learning.

We used Safer Internet Day in February to help empower the children in order to build an internet we can trust.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

We appointed our Digital Leaders who have done an excellent job in managing our new equipment as well as being a great digital support to their peers in the classroom. Here’s what they had to say about their roles this year. > Mrs Mackenzie, Head of IT I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that I have been chosen to be a Digital leader to represent 2Wi. It felt amazing to get a shining badge. I was also excited to wear my prestigious badge with pride on my school’s uniform. I was also happy that I got to help my friends in IT and work with other digital leaders in a group to share and learn more about IT. Learning new apps was fun. For our first activity, I used Flipgrid to record my introduction video to other digital leaders and got to listen and know them from home. I also posted and read comments on our videos. I was also looking forward to more challenges! It was also exciting to know where the computers are kept and to handout some of the computers to my classmates and go around to help them when I can. This year was quite different, but it didn’t stop us from learning and upgrading our digital skills. > Aradhya Aggarwal 2Wi

A man once said, “Technology will never replace great teachers, but in the hands of great teachers, it’s transformational.” Our teachers at St Piran’s have done just that by trusting us year 5 students with our very own tablets and introducing us to a new way of learning through Microsoft Teams, a new way of improving through Century Tech and a new way of relaxing through educational minecraft. As a digital leader, I feel that I have a responsibility and the power to help my friends and teachers to resolve any technology issues they are faced with. > Aadi Batta 5L

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

HISTORICAL ADVENTURES!

Sir Heath Newington

Sir Aarit Patel

Sir Joshua Cleale-Pickup

Sir George Farmer

Sir Evan Jones

Year 2 amazed their teachers with their enthusiasm for learning, whether on screen or back in the classroom. Memorably, once the children were back, their topic-themed Knights and Castles day was a huge hit, immersing the children in a variety of practical activities which included a knight’s sword fencing lesson with King Arthur, making beautiful clay coats of arms, and even a Teams meeting with Sir Thomas the Knight dressed in full armour from Warwick Castle!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

EXPLORING LIFE’S QUESTIONS

PSHCE has been positively blooming this year as many children have displayed such resilience through such tricky times. There have been moments of kindness, challenges and children being supportive of their peers. Back together, books, reflection and interaction times have been the highlights of returning to our forms.  In RE, the Year 5s discovered more about resisting temptation and the consequences of poor decisions. They had to do their utmost not to succumb to temptation, especially when it took the form of one of Duncan’s delicious cupcakes! The Year 6s posed the question, ‘Why are there so many different religions in the world?’ Usually they would visit the Maidenhead Mosque and Gurdwara on their quest for answers. However, this year they have been on virtual tours to some of the largest Mosques in the world. It has sparked much enthusiasm and interest in world faiths. Poignantly, Year 6 focused on being kind and used facts from a range of sources to start a rather heated debate about whether the resurrection really happened. Challenging others’ views and communicating in debates help to build the engaged thinkers we seek to develop at St Piran’s. Pupils even managed to enjoy a virtual ‘Christmas Unwrapped’ and ‘Easter Cracked’ hosted by St Mary’s Church, Maidenhead. We are thrilled  to have been able to cover our usual curriculum in a new and exciting way. Some traditions simply have to go on! > Mrs Bailey, Head of RE & PSHCE

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

ONE YEAR ON

Covid Reflection Day Amid the end of term hustle and bustle, we stopped on Tuesday 23rd March at midday for a minute to reflect on the past year; a year since the country locked down and the pandemic took its hold on all of our lives. It is important for the children to understand and appreciate how far we have all come in the last twelve months. Around the country, we shined our lights for hope for a brighter future.

“Tomorrow will be a good day” One of our heroes of lockdown who inspired many of our children was Captain Sir Tom Moore. We remembered his charitable endeavours to raise money for the NHS as well as his positive attitude during a time of adversity.

Aradhya Aggarwal in Year 2 was especially inspired by Sir Tom’s quote, ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’ and learned more about him.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Easter Term

Colour for Clara Court The staff of Clara Court Care Home were delighted to receive some beautiful and colourful framed pictures from St Piran’s to brighten up their rooms! After a long winter of lockdown without contact with friends and relatives, colour was the key,

offering some hope of brighter days ahead. The pictures were completed by some of the critical worker pupils who were in school during lockdown. We know they added some cheer for the elderly residents in our community.

Summer Term

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

TALES AS OLD AS TIME

Year 3 started the Summer Term with a fabulous performance from the Aesop’s Touring Theatre Company who both entertained and educated, teaching us about Aesop himself and performing both popular and lesserknown fables. The morals of the fables inspired some new ones from the children.

The Fish Who Cried Shark by Ben Tomlinson, Year 3 Once there was a fish and this fish you see, was very boastful. He did try to make friends but they never were for long. He lived on a reef with coral of many shapes and sizes. There were big ones, small ones and even ones that looked like something. It was a wonderful place. One day, the fish had no one to boast to so he came up with a plan. I know how to attract some attention, he giggled. He swam up on top of a red piece of coral and shouted, “Shark shark! A shark is chasing me - help!” All of the fish came rushing to his aid but when they got there, there was no shark. “Don’t do that again!” snapped some fish and then they all swam off and got on with what they were doing. The fish looked all over the reef for someone to boast to but had no success. Alright, he chuckled, I guess I’ll just have to use the trick so once again he swam on top of the red coral and shouted at the top of his voice, “Shark shark! A shark is really chasing me this time!” Once again the fish came rushing to his aid. A few mumbled it had better be real this time but once again there was no shark. The shoal fumed at him, puce with rage, but in the end got on with what they were doing. But one day a real shark came. The fish screamed in terror and swam as fast as he could but the shark was ready and he gave chase, weaving in and out of coral, desperately shouting for help. But no one came so the fish was left alone. Soon his fins got tired but he knew he had to keep going. He swam on and on but eventually the shark caught him but the fish managed to get out of the sharks grasp and hide in coral. When he got back to the shoal he was panting heavily. He said, “Where were you? I was being chased by a shark!” “How could we have known as you have lied to us twice?”

Moral: No one believes a liar, even when he tells the truth.

Jamie Chaplin

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

TALES AS OLD AS TIME

Tudor Times Tudor morning and afternoon was enjoyed by Year 4 as Ufton Court came in to entertain us with a carousel of activities learning about Tudor games, monarchs, explorers and rich and poor lifestyles. The visit was finished with the children learning and taking part in a Tudor dance to music traditional of the time. The children came away with a real appreciation of life at this crucial time in history.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

SUMMER IN EARLY YEARS

This was a busy term! There were tadpoles and caterpillars growing and emerging, showing the wonders of nature to the children in Early Years. Animals and our environment have prompted learning on a wonderful level for our youngest children this summer.

Reception were able to venture off site with a trip to Braywick Nature Centre. They enjoyed time with the ranger who took them on a nature walk around the site and then pond dipping, tapping into their natural curiosity.

We had a virtual Father’s Day event, with a story and smiles, plus we welcomed parents back on site to witness our Sports Days!

Nursery stayed on-site with a wonderful visit from a mobile farm. They were able to get hands on with the animals, feeding the goats, brushing the pony and holding the mice! While familiar for many with pets at home, for other children the leap of faith in touching a new creature took a little courage. The interaction with the animals gave the children such joy and pride.

The children practised new skills and showed them off with pride! At the end of another school year, there were celebrations in the woodland as the older Nursery children were awarded certificates and the special medals they made using real tools. Reception enjoyed their graduation assembly, with everyone proudly wearing their graduation hats as they received their certificates. After a special assembly with Mr Sales, Nursery had a fun fairground themed party to celebrate their year with a visit from an ice cream man! > Mrs Arnott, Early Years Co-ordinator

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

INSIDE CHAPEL

April was a month to remember, and our Chapel continues to provide the perfect place to reflect, celebrate and worship. We celebrated our wonderful Queen, St George’s Day and the announcement of two new Prefects. We also took time to remember Prince Phillip, loyal companion and steadfast support to our Queen. Our grateful thanks to Rev. Sally Lynch, who is also one of our Governors, for her involvement in many of our services.

Our bell ringers continue to delight us with their melodies and received their Black Gloves and awards at the end of term.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

INTERNATIONAL DAY

Lower School’s International Day was a feast of the senses and a day to remember, along with plenty of facts about other countries and their cultures and customs. Year 1 enjoyed dressing up in various international costumes and focused on learning all about Italy, using the children’s kitchen to bake pizzas as well as designing and making gondolas and Venetian masks. It was lovely to hear the children sharing all the different languages they know! Year 2 had great fun celebrating and learning about Mexico for International Day. They started the day with a salsa lesson from Miss Williams. They tried so hard and demonstrated their super salsa hips and rhythm! Mexican art followed this, creating a sideways face combined with a forwards facing face in vibrant pastels.

The children took part in a little Spanish lesson, learning the alphabet, numbers and colours. They were also introduced to the country of Mexico with information about the country, finishing off the day by making guacamole. The best part of the day for some children was trying the delicious guacamole, accompanied by tortilla crisps, sour cream, cucumber and carrot sticks!!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

OUTDOOR LEARNING While travel has been curtailed for us all this year, we have used geography lessons and our outdoor spaces to even greater effect. Year groups continue to use Digimap to learn new GIS skills - Year 5 used it alongside their coastal processes unit and have created their own maps, labelling features and adding photographs. Year 3 used Digimap to explore the continent of Australia and had a go at measuring how big it is. It also allowed Year 4 to compare OS maps and aerial photographs of Maidenhead and Bruton and provided them with some advance knowledge of the places they would be going to visit prior to their residential trip to Mill on the Brue.

The warmer weather allowed Year 4 to venture out to Braywick to investigate some pond creatures and discover nature around them.

The Year 5 and 6 trips in the Summer Term drew on their geographical studies of landscapes and Year 6 were able to make use of some of our outdoor teambuilding exercises during their residential, communicating and working together to solve puzzles and problems, all in preparation for their transition to senior school.

Back in school, the outdoor classroom has been used by all year groups and for all subjects; it has seen story time, maths investigations, RE topic representations, play performances, and much, much more! > Mrs Bambridge, Head of Geography

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

DRAMA DEPARTMENT The aim of drama at St Piran’s is to develop self-confidence, self-esteem and freedom of expression; all pupils have the opportunity to realise their dramatic potential. Our drama curriculum is able to reflect and enrich English, history and geography topics, and a wide range of dramatic skills are covered during lessons to learn about all aspects of drama, including characterisation and voice technique. Pupils are also given opportunities to play drama games, recite performance poems, speak in assemblies, perform monologues, create mini plays and contribute to discussions in class, just to name a few!

In drama, Year 3 became superheroes and villains and explored characterisation using devised role plays through character-led narratives.

Shakespeare Workshops even made a welcome appearance in Upper School. Our talented pupils acted out the entire play of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, meeting each character and thinking through the twists and turns of the plot using physical performance and discussion.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

DRAMA DEPARTMENT

Year 5 pupils were inspired by the true story of Baroness Floella Benjamin, who travelled from Trinidad to London as part of the Windrush Generation. The pupils were able to understand the historical, cultural context behind her story and used movement and physicality to explore the characters’ experiences, as well as exploring how mood and atmosphere are created and altered. Some of their drama lessons were dedicated to rehearsing and performing The Listeners poem by Walter de la Mare. Pupils studied creative exploration through effective levels, spacial awareness, interaction with other performers and expression of mood. The pupils explored playscripts and developed their own unique character monologues to perform in front of an audience. They also entered a competition linked to Kensuke’s Kingdom and saving the orang-utans and have since adopted one through WWF!

“Year 5 performance poetry”

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

As well as an inspiring online workshop on ‘The World of War Horse’, celebrating the classic story, Year 6 pupils developed their speaking, group discussion and interaction skills throughout the dramatic study of ‘The Highwayman’, through a range of dramatic techniques. Pupils were also able to participate in class discussions, to improvise and devise work, to create and sustain roles, and to respond thoughtfully to the work of others, enabling the poetry to be performed as part of the Year 6 Summer Showcase. In lieu of a conventional school production, the Showcase was a triumphant first at St Piran’s. The Showcase saw Year 6 reflecting on the monumental events that have shaped our lives in recent times. Featuring snapshots of these situations, we saw that amongst the sadness and

frustration there were moments of hope, heroism, and even humour! The children were truly amazing during the Showcase filming, and the videographers were full of praise for them all. It was such a pleasure to watch Year 6 blossom in front of the camera and really give of their absolute best. Some children even became so involved that they took to stage directing, requesting effects, and even collaborating with the videographers to ensure that their visions were truly understood and could be brought to life. It was such a delight to witness as part of their leadership skills and development this year. The Showcase has delivered so much more than anticipated, and the children have had the opportunity to fully submerge themselves into the project and be creative.

We are always so very proud of our pupils’ achievements in our school’s academic and enrichment programme and opportunities. Their development in confidence and self-esteem throughout the year is clearly evident in the progression we see in drama. > Miss Galloso, Head of English & Drama

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

GREAT BRITISH FUN!

A step back in time to Britain of bygone days for Year 1 and Year 3 this term, linking their topic and history work to practical experiences and celebrations! Seaside Day Year 1 were transported to the Victorian Seaside with their colourful History Off The Page day. As well as a day busily making crafts, all the children boarded the train to the seaside pier, where they were able to practise their problemsolving skills with money and enjoy taking charge of an attraction stall to run. This inspired the children to use their creativity and independence to make their own seaside beach huts during DT day.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

GETAWAY GOALS! Five head to Dorset Our annual Year 5 residential visit to Osmington Bay sadly had to be cancelled this year. The children were understandably disappointed – and so were the staff, as the trip is a highlight of Upper School. Not wanting the children to miss out on out-of-classroom opportunities altogether, we arranged a day trip to Dorset and, on Tuesday 29th June, our coach rolled down the drive to take us out for the day. The children were incredibly excited as we set off for the south coast. Mrs Bambridge explained the geological features of Durdle Door and history of the extraordinary and beautiful arch, before we then set off, on foot, to Lulworth Cove. The walk to Lulworth was long, but not one of the children complained. We ate our lunch by the water’s edge, and then the children attempted to skim stones, although most need a lot more practice! From Lulworth, we hopped back onto the coach and headed for Corfe Castle, where our guides were waiting for us. The children were taken around the castle in three groups, which gave them the chance to ask questions of the highly knowledgeable volunteers. At the end of our tours, the guides made a point of complimenting our children on their fabulous behaviour, which had been exemplary throughout. Whilst the geographical and historical elements of the trip were significant and educational, it may be that the highlight, for many of the children, was the ice cream we all ate before setting off for home! The children absolutely deserved a treat, as they have been wonderful all year, and they all really seemed to enjoy their day out – their first school trip for twenty-one months! We are so proud of them. A huge thank you must go to the accompanying staff: Mrs Bambridge, Miss Cowley, Mrs Holmes, Mr Grice, Miss Wright-Warhurst, Matron Lynne and Mr Scaldwell. Their hard work and good humour all day made the outing so special for the children. > Ms Lowe, Head of Year 5 & MFL

Bruton-bound As we headed into our last week of term, Year 4 celebrated with a fun-filled, action-packed and goal-breaking 3-day trip to Mill on the Brue in Bruton, Somerset. For some Year 4 children, this is their first experience of a residential trip and they always return that little bit more independent, with memories to cherish and new skills to foster.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

GETAWAY GOALS!

Brilliant Battisborough Seeing the fun and sheer joy on Year 6 pupils’ faces while coasteering together on their final residential trip brought it home why we work so hard to give our pupils the very best experiences possible. The children were absolutely brilliant at Battisborough House in Devon, displaying the very best of St Piran’s personal qualities – awe-inspiring leadership, teamwork, courage, curiosity, emotional intelligence and, indeed, kindness. Paddleboarding, rafting and breadmaking were amongst the vast array of activities on offer. The children delighted in each other’s company and filled their tummies with some of the most delicious food ever. How wonderful it was to see them all push themselves to the limit and find time to relax. Kieran Clayton and Peggy Swankie explained how risk-taking, determination and teamwork brought exhilaration: Coasteering was really fun! At the beginning we had to swim quite far in the sea which was tiring. We clambered up the first rock which was quite low and learnt how to jump off safely with our arms crossed across our chests. Our first jump was at a low height, but it quickly got higher. We set off to a larger rock, which we struggled to climb up and made the second jump. Then we swam to the next rocks and had to scramble across a rockface to get to a ledge which was about 4m up. It was really scary when we were waiting to jump but after we had leapt off and were in the air we felt really exhilarated. Some people were hesitant at first, but the people in the water were encouraging everyone else to jump and everyone in our group did it. At the end we even swam through a cave which we got to by sliding down a rock. Our instructor lifted a pinky coloured jellyfish out of the water to show us. It was pretty and harmless. Tonight, we are having a BBQ outside. The food has been so good. The trip is going to finish with a bang – our Year 6 disco! Mr Sales joined the children for a few days (even making the brave 6m leap into the sea himself!) and remarked: “I am so proud of Year 6 and their journey to become confident, mature and level-headed children, which is wonderful to see as they prepare themselves for their next chapter at senior schools.”

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Summer Term

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Pupil Parliaments

PUPIL PARLIAMENTS

Our Pupil Parliament, made up of four School Councils, gives pupils plenty of say over decisions made in all aspects of school life and fosters independence and responsibility. Understanding how decisions are made, listening to their peers, collaborating and pulling together as a team are habits which will stand them in good stead as they grow up.

We were delighted to welcome Mrs May to our meeting in February. She answered some very thought provoking questions sent in by our council members and offered very useful advice to our Eco, Learning, Safety and Wellbeing Councils. She was keen to listen to St Piran’s pupils’ opinions and said how important it is that MPs listen to the younger generation on issues such as the environment in particular. Outside of politics, we learned that Theresa loved school (particularly maths and geography) and is a very keen cook with over 150 recipe books on her shelves! We did explain Wake Up and Shake Up which she seemed to like the sound of. Our members left the meeting feeling very inspired!

Eco Council The Eco-Council have been very busy making St Piran’s greener. Some of the initiatives we have undertaken are glue stick and pen recycling, battery collections and litter picking. Even though we were not at school we kept our eco hats on by making bug hotels in our gardens, growing plants in our gardens and allotments and using our printers less. Going forward we plan to: • Provide bird boxes, baths and feeders • Increase our recycling efforts • Be more mindful of using electricity A special visitor Who better to offer advice and wisdom to our hardworking Pupil Parliament than our local MP and former PM, Theresa May?

• Respect our school’s nature areas and protect the wildlife that lives there • Bring bees to St Piran’s!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Pupil Parliaments

WHAT HAVE OUR COUNCILS BEEN DOING THIS YEAR?

Wellbeing Council

Safety Council

This has been our first opportunity to be on a council and in Year 3, we are really proud to be part of the Wellbeing Council. At first, it was quite daunting to meet with the older council members, but we have found it really useful to listen to them and they have listened to our feelings and given some good advice.

Members of our safety council reflected on their year.

We have really enjoyed representing Year 4 on the Wellbeing Council because we can help people and feel special for doing so. This year has been different in so many ways but we were pleased our meetings were still held, even though they were online. Reflecting on this year, we have been very excited to be involved in making decisions that make people happy, particularly with regards to Wellbeing Week.

“It is important to get the message about e-safety out to everyone. My favourite bit has been getting the gate up to help keep everybody safe inside the school grounds.” James A

Next year is going to be great as us Year 5 members will see the results of our hard work in helping to create the school Wellbeing Room. Being on the council is both exciting and a privilege, and we have learned that a positive council member lets people know that they are there for them.

“I have liked helping make the school safer. During home learning we helped with online safety.” Josh K

“I have enjoyed being part of the council because we made a Wake Up and Shake Up that the school will see! I think it is important to be part of the council because you can make new ideas and be part of their excitement.” Carolina “The safety council is important because we always need to be safe, even when we are online.” Seb “It is nice how children can make the school safer online and offline.” Sam B Learning Council

As we look to leave St. Piran’s, in Year 6 we are proud of the impact we have had in helping to support the wellbeing of pupils coming up through the school. It takes a certain set of skills to be an effective council member but on the Wellbeing Council you have to be especially patient, empathetic and kind. When we met Theresa May online in February, she inspired us to develop our leadership skills at our next school and beyond.

Among other subjects, the Learning Council looked at new names for the classes for the next academic year in their last two meetings. They went with a theme of ‘Motivated Engaged Thinking’ – from the centre of our Leadership Habits wheel (a big focus in our meetings). They looked at things from very small to very large – representing their growth, physically, socially, emotionally and educationally, at St Piran’s. ----------------------------------We are sure with all the great work our Pupil Parliaments have done this year, that they will become great listeners and leaders!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Speech Day

SPEECH DAY

Last year our Speech Day followed a very different year with our outgoing Year 6 pupils in attendance, but sadly no parents. After another turbulent year, we were delighted to welcome our Year 6 pupils alongside their parents to our 2021 Speech Day. Pupils and staff watched in their classrooms while parents logged in from home to watch our end of year celebration and farewells to our leavers. After speeches from our Head Boy and Head Girl, we handed over to Kate Taylor, our Chair of Governors, who gave a short review from the governing body and passed on thanks and good wishes to the staff and pupils.

We were delighted to hear some motivational words from our guest speaker, Hannah Joseph, England and Netball Superleague Player. Hannah made her senior debut for England in 2016 in the test series against Australia and earned two more caps that year. She is one of the longest serving players for Loughborough Lightning. We were treated to a surprise recorded Wake Up and Shake Up from our Year 6 pupils, a nostalgic look back at their journey through St Piran’s and heard from each one of them with their plans for the future. Certificates were handed out along with a round of applause for every pupil as they came up to the stage. We wish all our leavers the very best as they move on to the next stage of their education and hope they leave St Piran’s with memories which will last a lifetime.

“West win the Clan Trophy!”

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Speech Day

Leavers’ Destination Schools Damola Alabi

Papplewick (then Tonbridge at Y9)

James Almond

Pangbourne

Theo Atkinson

Leighton Park

Peter Babcock

Reading Blue Coat

Evie Bannatyne

Piper’s Corner

Aniela Batterberry

Sir William Borlase

Florence Beresford Jones

Queen Anne’s

Sam Brasher

Leighton Park

Ben Brocas

Furze Platt Senior

Ivo Chamberlain

Great Marlow

George Clarke

Sir William Borlase

Kieran Clayton

Sir William Borlase

James Cranfield

Holme Grange

Toby Croxford

Holme Grange

Aidan Kells

Sir William Borlase

Joshua Kells

Sir William Borlase

Johnta Kosaka-Harding

Reading Blue Coat

James Leach

Reading Blue Coat

Pippa Lloyd

Piper’s Corner

Sylvie Mandeville

Sir William Borlase

Rory McLaren

Abingdon

Morgan Munn

John Hampden

Sam Nicholson

Sir William Borlase

Tanish Nori

Queen Elizabeth, Barnet

Lucia Parise

The Oratory

Ben Patchett

Leighton Park

Tom Patchett

Leighton Park

Freddie Patterson

Reading Blue Coat

Oumar Dandi

Reading Blue Coat

Olivia Davies

Piper’s Corner

Margherita De Dominicis

The Abbey

Oliver Edmundson

Cranleigh International

Amelie Elsdon

The Abbey

Maisie Fielder

The Marist

Freddie Fuggle

Reading Blue Coat

Ione Gaskin

Sir William Borlase

George Goldstone

Sir William Borlase

Florence Good

Queen Anne’s

Beatrice Groffman

Sir William Borlase

Meribelle Hayward

Holme Grange

Henry Jackson

Reading Blue Coat

Alexa Phelps

Beaconsfield High

Sophia Phelps

The Abbey

Max Phillis

Reading Blue Coat

Rufus Plumb

Reading Blue Coat

Oliver Royden

Sir William Borlase

Holly Saunders

Heathfield

Kabir Sehmi

Reading Blue Coat

Joseph Swankie

Shiplake

Peggy Swankie

Headington

Samuel Voss

Reading Blue Coat

Archie Wann

Reading Blue Coat

Ben Wilkinson

Reading Blue Coat

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

The Art Room has been a buzz of activity and creativity this year. By December we had wrapping paper, cards, gift tags, hats, Christmas wreaths and an explosion of glitter! During the Easter Term, the children were involved in a range of activities for their home learning, and those in school enjoyed creative processes as part of their wellbeing. It was fantastic to get back to the art studio and design technology lab after lockdown and make every use of the resources available to fulfil our creativity once more.

Year 1 produced amazing paintings of dinosaurs and fairy tale castles to tie into their topic work along with different types of portraits inspired by Andy Goldsworthy and Andy Warhol.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

Year 1 Monet and daffodils

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

In Year 2, the children produced so much amazing work about their topic ‘London, Then and Now’ ranging from collages of London buses to intricate line drawings of famous London landmarks.

2W studied expressionistic artists and looked at Kandinsky and Paul Klee among other artists. Using pastels, they were asked to create a piece to show how they were feeling.

Hugo created ‘The Diamond’ and said he feels excited around people. Grace created ‘The Friends’ and said that each square is a friend and it makes her grateful to have so many.

Inspired by the book ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’, they sculpted vegetables out of clay and painted them; they looked good enough to eat!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

Their still life pictures formed part of a fantastic display on our Global Gardens topic and some outdoor hunting reaped rewards in colourful natural resources to make beautiful sun catchers.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

Year 3 created wonderful drawings of Roman helmets in oil pastel and enjoyed learning about colour theory. They applied their colour knowledge to some lovely festive cards and wrapping paper. They produced fantastic Cubist self-portraits as well as printmaking using the work of contemporary surface pattern designer Andrea Lauren. Year 3 pupils also expressed their creativity through their paintings of rainforest birds and by making moving sloths!

We also enjoyed combining DT and science by making shadow puppet theatres.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

Year 4 learned watercolour techniques to create a line and wash illustration. They have also learned about Bridget Riley and have created some abstract art inspired by her work, along with some beautiful Egyptian sarcophagi and Hockney landscapes. Scarlett Pettifer 4H

Sanaa Fergusson 4CM

Lexie Welham 4T

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

Always a fun project, the pupils’ Tudor portraits seem to turn them into Tudor royalty!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

Year 4 produced clay coat of arms shields and, inspired by the artist Paul Klee, worked on ‘taking a line for a walk’.

Electro Palette - Millie Easton

The Sea Palette - Reina Speirs

Racing Stripes Palette - Arian Bajaj

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

Year 5 created a tree of hopes and dreams based upon Klimt’s Tree of Life. They also spent a term working in a range of black and white media to produce observational drawings, prints and paintings of their soft toys brought from home. Year 5 also completed Van Gogh inspired landscapes and Julian Opie inspired portraits.

In DT, Year 5 made fantastic wall hanging thermometers using MDF and thermochromic strips and stuffed felt monsters to test our design and sewing skills.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

It was fantastic to see the children back in the DT room using the equipment with such enjoyment!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

While we spent most of the start of the year at home, Years 5 and 6 worked on some amazing nature inspired hats and some brilliant chair designs inspired by the work of different artists as a joint project with art and DT.

In Year 6, they produced excellent Van Gogh-inspired drawings of different locations around the school site and thought about how to use colour to reflect their emotions. They also made some fantastic mixed media Pop Art portraits of themselves inspired by the work of Roy Lichtenstein, along with a Pop Art style collage.

Oliver Edmundson

Peggie Swankie

Toby Croxford

Ione Gaskin

Alexa Phelps

George Clarke

Year 2 Pop Art

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

In the Summer Term, Year 6 were busy finishing and painting self-identity sculptures, taking inspiration from artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

Toby Croxford

Holly Saunders

Beatrice Groffman

Olivia Davies

Johnta Kosaka-Harding

Sophia Phelps

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Art and Design

ART AND DT GALLERY

The still life flower paintings of the children filled the walls with colour and took a great deal of their concentration to represent the details. It was also a wonderful way to relax and focus on our mental wellbeing for a while.

Margherita De Dominicis 6B

Soren Chambers 5B

Sanaa Fergusson 4CM

Ione Gaskin 6B

Aurora Taylor 4T

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Sport

SPORT AT ST PIRAN’S

We are sure you’ll agree that 2020/2021 has been a very strange year for sport, not just at St Piran’s! Due to the Covid pandemic, fixtures and external events weren’t able to happen. We turned this to our advantage and adapted by using the time to enable us to give the children more variety in sports that they could participate in. The girls played football, both boys and girls played basketball and the boys practised some hockey. It was great to see them all exploring these new activities and the joy that they got from doing them. All our boys and girls rose to the challenge with a positive attitude to the changing circumstances and it was wonderful to give them an opportunity to explore different sports. Each and every one stepped up with great enthusiasm and the effort every child has put into training has been outstanding. The games teachers have been thrilled with the progress that they have made and the skills that they have refined. We welcomed two new national coaches for hockey and tennis who enriched our sport provision in the Christmas Term and have been a welcome addition to our teaching team.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | St Piran’s Society

SPORT AT ST PIRAN’S

The children enjoyed playing matches against their peers, in mixed ability groups and boys v girls. It was great to see how they could adapt to playing with different people and the encouragement that they all gave each other was great. We were able to use the pool at the start of the Christmas Term and offer pupils of all ages swimming lessons which rewarded us with achievements across all levels - from Ducklings Awards in Early Years to Speed Awards in Upper School. Swimming does not come easily to all pupils, but it is often these pupils who have made the most progress. We were amazed by the children attending extra lessons and swim squads and their energy, enthusiasm and hard work. Of course, there is always time for some fun in the pool too!

While most of the children had to find new ways to keep fit at home during lockdown, the Easter Term provided an excellent opportunity for Nursery children to have some additional games lessons alongside their normal PE lesson while they were the only pupils in the school! Our Sponsored Challenge kept everyone on their toes, raising money for Thames Hospice and Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity as we clocked up kilometres to walk, run and cycle our way to South Africa, all virtually.

Mrs Holmes and Mr Smith get us moving

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Sport

The Summer Term saw the start of some cricket fixtures and all boys and girls from Years 3-6 participated in a fixture, which was wonderful to see. We had some good results, but the highlight was the joy on the children’s faces to be out playing again. They demonstrated a high standard of play and had a good understanding of the game.

Mr Thomas tries out lacrosse!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Sport

SPORTS DAY 2021

It was fantastic that we were able to run Sports Days this year and have parents on site, albeit in a reduced capacity due to restrictions in schools. The children loved the day and got fully involved in every activity; a few school records were broken, and the introduction of the inflatable obstacle course was a highlight of the day for the children!

Mr Smith & Mrs Holmes Head of Boys’ and Girls’ Games

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Sport

SPORT AT ST PIRAN’S

The best treat on poolside has been the return of the afterschool swimming and the return to Piranhas Swimming Club. Since then, many children have stormed on to achieving new certificates and levels. New toys and floats have delighted swimmers as well as our recent emoji large floats. We now have the majority of the Nursery - Year 6 swimming, including 2 year olds. It has been a delight to see all ages enjoy and progress in their lessons. Swim squads have had early mornings and worked exceptionally hard on their technique and stamina. They love the swimming and the wellearned breakfast afterwards!!

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Sport

In the Summer Term, many families took part in the Maidenhead Swimarathon raising money for the Lions Club. The Year 6s had the fabulous end of Year 6 swimming gala and water polo competition, demonstrating the excellent level of skill and experience these pupils have achieved in their time at St Piran’s.

We are hopeful for a return to our full sporting calendar next year when we can really show what we are made of! > Mr Smith and Mrs Holmes Heads of Boys’ and Girls’ Games and Miss Holloway Interim Head of Swimming

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Staff News

STAFF NEWS Celebrations of service to St Piran’s In December, we acknowledged Mrs Sandra Warman’s 25 years of brilliant teaching at the school! We celebrated her success (and St Piran’s luck!) with some gifts and champagne presented by our Chair of Governors.

Quick interview with Mrs Warman! What do you love about your job?

I love working with children and making learning fun for them. Also working with many amazing teachers has been inspiring. How would you sum up your time at St Piran’s so far in 3 words? Engaging, enjoyment and entertaining. What is the best school trip you have been on? In 2018 I went to South Africa with some Year 6 children on a school exchange. What amazing people and country. What is your happiest memory over your 25 years at St Piran’s? years at St Piran’s? Seeing my two children go through the school from Nursery to Year 6 as well as my husband being on the St Piran’s Society for a number of years. A great family experience. What is your funniest memory of working here? The Olympic Torch went by the school in 2012. Miss Sultana was waving her flag but hadn’t realised that a forerunner with the team had run by and ripped her flag so she was happily waving a stick! If you were in charge for the day, what school rule would you make? Chocolate all day!! Hot chocolate, chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake!!

It was a year to mark momentous milestones as we congratulated our longest serving member of staff, Mrs Carrie Rogers, for 30 years working in the Finance Office. Mr Sales presented her with a beautiful glass bowl and extended our gratitude for three decades of service as we headed into 2021.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Staff News

Quick interview with Mrs Rogers! How many Headteachers and Bursars have you worked for in your time at St Piran’s? 3 Headteachers and 4 Bursars! What do you love about your job? Diversity of duties, and working with really great people. How would you sum up your time at St Piran’s so far in 3 words? Doesn’t time fly! What is your happiest memory over your 30 years at St Piran’s? Bellringing with the children outside the school on Gringer Hill, when the Olympic Torch went past in 2012. What is your funniest memory of working here? When Mr Carroll was judging the “Guy” competition, and Mr Barker was dressed up as a “Guy”, hid amongst the other entries and jumped out at him! If you were in charge for the day, what school rule would you make? Not a rule as such, but I would like classical music played in the background all round the school.

This year we said fond farewells to the following staff, wishing them well for the future and thanking them for their commitment and the qualities they have brought to St Piran’s in their time with us. In the early part of the year, Mrs Paula Plank, known to many who have used our wraparound care and holiday clubs, left us to move away from the area and is enjoying her new life further north. Mrs Carol Frost, one of our Receptionists, took the decision to step back and spend more time with her family and new grandchildren. Mrs Zoe Peck moved on to take on a more full-time role after almost seven years’ teaching at St Piran’s. As more staff in Middle School returned from their respective maternity leave this year, we said goodbye to Mrs Nicola Huxley who has been a wonderful part of our teaching team and much-loved by the children. Mrs Judith Forster made a great impact on our music at St Piran’s before taking on English teaching in Upper School. She will be very much missed as she leaves us this summer. From our team of lunchtime supervisors, Mrs Caroline Radford has helped look after the children for many years and we wish her well. With us for a short time, we also say goodbye to Mrs Laura Randall in our Nursery department. With a long association with St Piran’s, Mrs Janny Peppiatt, whose now grownup children attended the school, leaves us for some well-earned rest and to spend time travelling. Her work in Tutor Point for many years, along with her role on the St Piran’s Alumni Committee, have been much appreciated. In the games department, we lost Mr Tom Lambert rather suddenly as he was called to take up a role as Head Coach for the England cricket team! We will watch with intent to see how the team progresses under his expertise, which we have been lucky to take advantage of on our school pitches. Mrs Cate Stevens has been a valued member of our staff, heading our Art Department for the last four years. Her passion and positive inspiration have challenged the children to produce some incredible work during her time here. She moves on to a school in Oxford as Head of Art. Mrs Alison Bersier, Director of Music, has filled our hall and Chapel with some wonderful music in her time at St Piran’s, ensuring the continued success of our Chapel Choir and bringing our plays and concerts to life. She will be missed by us all as she moves on to pastures new. We said farewell at Speech Day to Mrs Jo Ogden, our Bursar, who takes up a new role as Bursar at a school in Esher, and thanked her for her devotion to the school over the last 5 years. She has transformed many areas of school life, overseeing numerous successful projects and we are sure she will continue this success in the next stage of her career.

St Piran’s | The Millstone | Staff News

STAFF NEWS

Miss Amy Edmundson has seen some of our pupils all the way through school from Nursery, where she has held the role of Head of Early Years, nurturing our youngest children. She leaves with her own Year 6 son this year, heading abroad to take up an exciting new role in the Middle East. We look forward to hearing all about her new adventures!

Remembering Mrs Burnage It was with deep sadness that we announced in August the passing of our much-loved Head of Swimming, Alix Burnage. Alix joined St Piran’s on 1 September 2004 and, since then, thousands of St Piran’s pupils have benefitted from her talent and verve for swimming. She also provided support to so many staff and families and holds a special place in the hearts of many. As a school, we lowered the St Piran’s flag as a mark of respect and will be paying tribute to Alix with a memorial service in the new school year. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and all those touched by her spirit.

St Piran’s School Gringer Hill, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 7LZ 01628 594300 www.stpirans.co.uk

St Pirans Magazine 2021

Articles inside

Staff News

Sports Day

Sport at St Piran’s

Art and DT Gallery

Pupil Parliaments

Getaway Goals

Drama Department

International Day

Inside Chapel

Outdoor Learning

Great British Fun

Summer in Early Years

One Year On

Tales as Old as Time

Exploring Life’s Questions

Historical Adventures

Science Week

Our Nursing Angels

St Piran’s Day

Nursery Takeover

Digital Leading

Red Nose Day Superheroes

Legends

History in Action

A Snowy Lockdown Start Morning Motivators and Lockdown

Thinking of Others

Maths Mastery

Christmas Productions

and Boy

Christmas Comes at Last

Leaders, Members & Captains