It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  All at Trenode Primary Academy are saddened by this news.  We held a collective worship this morning where we gave thanks and a prayed for the Queen.

We would like to express our condolences and our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time. 

The Bishop of Truro, Bishop Philip, has shared the following words: 

“I am greatly saddened to hear the news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. She was born to a unique vocation, and it was one she took on with utmost seriousness.  Her long reign spanned some fundamental shifts within our society – among them seismic changes to the way we, as a society, view both the monarchy and religion.  And yet throughout that time she bridged different worlds and epochs in a remarkable manner and in way that provided a rare thread of stability and consistency. That speaks volumes about the faith which was the sure foundation of her life. She was not merely a titular figurehead in her role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, but someone with a strong, firm, foundational and personal faith.

As Queen, she was the very embodiment of the virtue of duty: a sense of duty founded firmly on her faith. Her commitment, stamina and wisdom were rare, unquestionable and deeply admirable. She has shaped all our lives in incalculable ways.  We mourn her passing, and give our God great thanks for her.”

Gracious God, we give thanks
for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth,
for her faith and her dedication to duty.
Bless our nation as we mourn her death
and may her example continue to inspire us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen."

We had been waiting so long for Her Majesty's Inspector's to visit Trenode Primary Academy, so when we received 'the call' to tell us that they would be visiting on 10th and 11th May, we were delighted, although as you would expect, there was some trepidation.  We knew that the school was providing a wonderful education for the children, so it was a privilege to be able to share all that we have achieved with the two inspectors who spent time with us.

The staff and children have been working very hard and while it was about the whole school, the children really shone and showed that they love their school and that they knew how to learn.  The school was looking wonderful, the sun shone (some of the time!), the learning was engaging and inspiring and the inspectors were very impressed.

One of the comments in the report really showcased the school as a passionate church school: 'Pupils value the strong links with the church and use their 'Christian golden rules' to take responsibility for their words and actions.  They are kind and respectful towards everyone.'  What more could we ask for?

The job of being a headteacher is a varied and at times tough job to get right every day.  However, when I stood back and watched the inspection taking place and clearly saw the passion and dedication from literally everyone involved, from Trust level to the staff and children in the school, it was an extremely proud moment.  The staff are some of the most dedicated, talented and hardworking staff that I have ever had the privilege of working with.

Our school vision is, growing in faith; flourishing through hope and aspiration; reaching out in love and community', so perhaps the best comment of all was the confirmation that the pupils, 'embody the school's vision to 'reach out in love and community'.

Once Ofsted leave, it can feel a little flat after all of that adrenalin and the long days.  After a good sleep, we carried on and will ensure that this amazing small rural church school, with a rich history, keeps on going from strength to strength.

It is interesting to think about all of the things that have changed in a positive way since the pandemic.  One of the good things for a small church school like Trenode, is that it has given us easier access to our wider community, both in Cornwall and further afield.  On Tuesday, we came together as a whole school to join other Cornish church schools for a 'Choristers' Mega Zoom Assembly' at Truro Cathedral.  It was the first time that Trenode have taken part and despite the usual few technology issues we all enjoyed taking part.

We were able to watch the choristers rehearse and sing and then we took part in a service that looked at Psalm 23 - 'The Lord is my Shepherd'.  As well as a sermon from an archdeacon, we listened to different versions of the same psalm and joined in with the singing and prayer.  Two of our pupils read the prayers that they had written and this was a proud moment.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for my family who always make me feel better when I am upset.
Thank you for sending me such a kind and generous family, who are always there for me.
Help me to be a good and kind sibling too.


Dear Lord,
Help me to have the patience to help those around me.
Help me to have the right words to say.
Help me to treat others as I would like to be treated.
Please give us the skill to notice when someone needs help.

I am sure you will agree that these are beautiful prayers.  It was an occasion that we will join again, but it was made even better this time as we had the company of our CEO Mr Massey and we even caught him singing in a very high voice - the choristers certainly make it look easy!

We had tried to visit Truro Cathedral on many occasions, but sadly the pandemic and staff absence had prevented this.  We were therefore delighted to finally be able to make the visit.  As you can see from the pic-collage, the children had a wonderful experience, including to play the organ!  We really enjoy it when our school is able to celebrate it's Church of England heritage and we learn a great deal when visitors come.  We have been very pleased to welcome our new rector, Reverend Ben Morgan-Lundie and two of our pupils had the honour of being present at his licensing service held during half-term.  It becomes even more special when the children can experience the cathedral and begin to understand why a cathedral is built like it is and who all of the various people are who serve God as part of their work.  An very inspiring and spiritual day that has given us lots to think about back in school. 

The children at Trenode made a great job of acting as the waves while our two RNLI visitors helped to rescue two of the children in distress on their body boards!  We are really enjoying having visitors into school again and now that the weather is improving and a few of the children have at least dipped their toes into the sea, this was a very timely visit. 

The talk was very interactive and the children were helped to understand how floating can help them if they are in distress and how to call for help using their voice and hands at the same time.  They also learned about the dangerous rip tide currents that could take them out to sea, with some great advice on how to make sure this doesn't happen.  Finally they were reminded how to use 999 or 112 if they see someone in distress.  

Living in this beautiful part of the country is a privilege but it is also so important that the children learn how to repsect where they live and to understand the dangers of the sea, at the same time as using it as an amazing playground and adventure opportunity.

I have no doubt that we will be seeing some of these children wearing those yellow shirts on the beach one day, helping others and doing their bit to be courageous advocates; serving the community in which they live.

We are a little 'late to the party' on this, but we had a wonderful World Book day again this year.  We started the day with a reading breakfast in the school hall.  Parents joined us for the event and we read together while eating toast and drinking juice.

The theme for the day this year was words, so everyone was encouraged to come dressed as a 'word'.  It was interesting that so many of the children chose a sleep themed word, including Mrs David, who was many sleep and comfort themed words throughout the day!  The word of the day went to Mrs Burrows, one of our lovely TAs, who came as 'MAGNARA'.  Can you guess who she was?

... ANAGRAM of course!  We also celebrated the fact that World Book day is 25 years old this year and we reflected on the theme for the year based on reading for joy.

We love to sing at Trenode, but we think we might like reading just that little bit more!

We were very pleased that the Safter Internet Day this year celebrates 'Respect and Relationships' as it fits into so many of our Church school values.  Our act of worship today looked at respect for others on the internet in particular, and it helped to remind us all that it is so important to be respectful, thankful, kind and caring in the way in which we communicate with others online.

We know that over 48% of children will have been contacted by someone they do not know online, but it was reassuring that the children could tell us why it was so important not to respond.  One of the children shared one of their house rules at home, which is never to talk to someone online who you do not know as a friend, or if you do not have permission from your parents to chat or game with them.

We read the fabulous story of 'Digi-duck and The Magic Castle' which helped us all to understand that when you are gaming, if you share your password, others can then use it to spend money on games and other things.  We enjoyed listening to the adventures of Cool.com and Shy_sheep too!

We will spend more than a day looking at online safety this year as the topic is so important for our young children.  They do know what is right and wrong but we found out that they worry about peer pressure to join in with things harder to deal with; this will be a big topic of conversation as a result.

As I write on my laptop, having used my phone to find infomation and play music to concentrate as I write, we cannot ignore the amazing positive influence of the internet on our lives and we need to celebrate its value as well as taking care to be safe and careful in all that we do.  We would like to share our prayer for the day:  


Dear God,
We thank you for the amazing advances in technology
Thank you for the wonderful resource of the internet
We ask that you help us to use it wisely - to broaden our minds and not to harm others.
Amen

We were delighted this morning to welcome parents to the first Reading Breakfast at Trenode Primary.  Parents were invited in to school by Mrs Pike half an hour early to join us for breakfast and to read a favourite  book with their child.  It was a beautiful sunrise over the valley as everyone was arriving and the atmosphere was wonderful as the children settled in the warmth of the school hall to read.  There was toast and orange juice in abundance and families were joined by other children as they arrived for the start of the school day.  We finished it off with a whole school act of worship.  Our focus this week is on well-being and today, we talked about the simple things in life that make us happy (like a beautiful sunrise) and how showing happiness, even when we might be feeling a little down, helps to lift us all.  The perfect start to a school day and one of many more we hope!