St Pius X Catholic Primary School

WW2 Rationing and Baking As part of our ongoing study of the WW2 Home Front, the class explored the concept of rationing by creating a Pear Crumble using a WW2 recipe. The cooking activity allowed pupils to experience the challenges of cooking with limited ingredients while developing practical cooking skills. They enjoyed using various kitchen tools to prepare their crumbles, gaining a deeper understanding of wartime food rationing and its impact on daily life. Well done Year 6! 

  On Wednesday 18th March, Year 6 went on an exciting school trip to the Imperial War Museum Duxford. From the moment we arrived, we were surrounded by incredible aircraft, tanks, and exhibitions that brought history to life in a thrilling way. We started our visit with a guided tour of the WW2 aircraft where the children explored and then created documentaries about the WW2 planes. It was amazing to hear how these aircraft played a crucial role during wartime. We explored the Battle of Britain Exhibition, where we learned about the brave pilots who defended Britain during World War II. Seeing the planes they flew and listening to real stories of their experiences made us truly appreciate their courage and sacrifice. We also explored the Land Warfare Hanger and Ameri, where we saw tanks and military vehicles used throughout history. Walking through the recreated war trenches gave us a real sense of what life was like for soldiers on the battlefield. We also took a walk on Concorde!...

 This half term year 3 have been following the mighty oak programme, which aids the children in learning how to speak in front of an audience. The Mighty Oak Programme is a powerful tool for nurturing young public speakers. Through its supportive, interactive approach, Year 3 students gained confidence, improved their communication skills, and developed a love for speaking in front of others. Public speaking is a skill that will benefit them for years to come—whether they’re presenting in school, speaking to a group, or simply expressing their ideas clearly and confidently in everyday situations. As the children continue to grow, they will carry the lessons learned from the programme with them, becoming strong, confident communicators ready to face the world. I really enjoyed speaking in front of the class and using my helping hands -  Soriyah

  Join us at the SEND Roadshow in Chelmsford! Date:  Tuesday, 25th March 2025 Time:  Drop in anytime 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM (all ages) 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM (0-5 year olds) Quieter times:  Prefer a quieter visit? Pop in after 11:30 AM or in the afternoon. Location:  Hamptons Sports and Leisure, Tydemans, Beehive Lane, Great Baddow, Chelmsford CM2 9FH Cost:  FREE   What to Expect: Have questions about your child's needs and the best support available? The SEND Roadshow brings together a variety of professionals under one roof, including local support groups, education professionals, health teams, and social care teams. You can: access support and information understand the different services available discover local support, such as parent groups and inclusive activities attend free talks   Special Afternoon Session for Ages 0-5:  The afternoon is tailored for younger children, with interactive story times and activities run by Essex Libraries.  ...

 This week in Year One, our focus text has been 'Katie and the Sunflowers' . Miss. Flanagan brought a bouquet of flowers in to class and the students used watercolour paint to create an observational painting. We focused on colour mixing to dsicover secondary colours. Then, students wrote sentences describing the flowers using amazing adjectives! We linked this to our current IPC unit 'Green Fingers' as we are learning about the differences between garden plants and wild plants! Great work Year One! We have some amazing artists! "These are garden flowers. I know this because they were grown somewhere on purpose to be sold in a store" - Isla "I mixed red and yellow to make orange" - David "These are garden flowers, not wild flowers. You need to buy seeds to plant these types of flowers" - Catherine "Flowers grow in the spring. Some garden flowers can grow inside" - Mia "Wild flowers start to bloom in spring" - Gianni ...

We have really enjoyed learning about the life cycles and reproduction of plants and animals.  Earlier in this topic each child tried to create their own spider plant by taking cuttings from the adult spider plant.  Over the last 2 weeks we have used our enquiry skill of observing over time to see what happens to our cuttings.  We have noticed that the cuttings have now started to sprout brand new roots. As our exit point to the topic, we took the cuttings with roots out of the water and then placed them in soil for the roots to take hold. These are now ready to be taken home to be planted somewhere they can grow into an adult spider plant.  ' The roots grew quite long. I think this will grow into a bigger spider plant.' - Daniel  'The plant now has roots. It needs to soil to grow further now.' - Ryan  The children have shown a good understanding of asexual reproduction as they have created genetic clones of the adult plant in their new plants.  Well d...

We had a special delivery this week... 10 tiny caterpillars! We have been excited to watch them grow.... they have already grown so much! This links to our recent Science work, learning about life cycles. Soon we hope to see them turn into chrysalides before eventually transforming into butterflies.

  The Scholastic Book fair is coming to St Pius X next week!  The Book fair will be running after school in the main hall on: Thursday 27th March  Friday 28th March Monday 31st March  Tuesday 1st April This will be a cashless event. All payments to be made online via the QR code at the fair.  Please remember that you can use your world book day tokens at the book fair to receive £1 off books! 

The school netball team had their second match of the year today against Great Leighs. As hosts, it was a chance for them to get a home win on the score sheet. The weather was cold and not particularly pleasant,  however the girls were eager to play and improve on their score from their last game. The match was packed with some lovely passing, movements and constant communication between the team. Shooting was fabulous which gave them a well deserved 9-2 win. Everyone was involved and have a go at goal when an opportunity arose.  I am very proud of the team and I look forward to the other games we have arranged. " It was really fun" Jessica  "We played extremely well" Estera  "It was amazing and I can't wait to play again" Grace 

We started our new topic - Lent - by celebrating Ash Wednesday Mass together in the hall, led by Fr Paul.  Today we were reminded of the importance of Palm Sunday. We read the scripture (Mark 11 v 1-11) and discussed the events, including the crowd's reaction to Jesus entering on a donkey. We then thought about why they cried 'Hosanna!' As a reminder, we made our own palm leaves before acting out the story. Hosanna means joy and happiness! It was how they praised Jesus. The palm leaves are burnt at a special church service. The ashes will be saved until next year.

The children at St. Pius X have access to a wide variety of activities at lunchtime, creating an engaging and inclusive environment. Our regular sports offerings, including basketball, football, and tennis, remain popular. Additionally, we have introduced 'Fun Friday' as a special event each week. A highlight of today's lunchtime activities was a special dance session led by Mrs. Wiseman. The children thoroughly enjoyed moving to the rhythm, expressing themselves creatively, and embracing the joy of dance. Children also have access to calming activities such as reading spaces, Times Table Rock Stars, and the Board Games Club.  Our wonderful Year 6 Play Rangers continue to help run activities to support children to enjoy their playtime.

 This week at school was Science Week . Year One students were tasked with designing a poster to promote different things we can do to improve air quality at school! We began with a lesson on air pollution. We learned that humans can have a negative impact on our environment by things such as driving cars with fossil fuels.  Some of our ideas to improve air quality at the school included; - planting trees - walking or riding bikes to school - turning off the lights in our classroom when we don't need them - turning off our screen when we don't need it - keeping windows in the classroom open when it is warmer We linked our learning to our current IPC topic 'Green Fingers' . Students decided they wanted to make posters about planting more trees as they have been learning about the different types of trees (evergreen and deciduous) and the benefit of them (they produce oxygen). Students used different colour tissue paper or paint to represent a deciduous tree in different ...

Today at school was 'International Day of Mathematics'. We focused on using our previous knowledge to complete some different riddles and maths puzzles! "We are being detectives and finding the answers to these riddles!" - Hannah "I'm using my subtraction skills to solve this puzzle" - Benjamin

Today, children across the school participated in various puzzle activities to celebrate International Maths Day. The activities encouraged children to develop their problem-solving, logical thinking, and teamwork skills.  Below are some puzzle websites that you might find fun! Sudoku     Maths Bot Puzzles   The Times Puzzles  

  ACL have recently released FREE Family First Aid Sessions.  Sessions available to book now (for sessions running in March through to July 2025) Chelmsford, Colchester or Witham   Here is there Facebook Page if you wish to book https://www.facebook.com/groups/552150055488898/permalink/1588304951873398/

  NAYC is a local youth Centre in Melbourne, lead by a qualified youth worker and a team of experienced and trained youth support workers. They run sessions and activities for young people aged 8-18.   They also offer a wide variety of support for families and young people. Please feel free to contact them for further information and support. charlienayc@gmailcom

For Science week, Year 5 had the amazing opportunity to visit St John Payne for a taster science lesson in their science labs.  It was exciting for our pupils to have this chance to experience working in a science lab and using a range of new and exciting equipment to them. They had the chance to use the Bunsen burners and test different chemicals in the flame to see the colour it changed the flame to.  'I think it was really fun, the best bit was getting to use the fire.' Lisandra  'The roaring flame was blue.' - Poppy  'We tested different chemicals in the flame. Barium went yellow, Calcium went orange, Copper went green. They were like the northern lights.' - Fran Our students were impeccably well behaved and represented our school and our values really well. 

To celebrate British Science Week , Year 2 have been exploring flight and air resistance. We made paper helicopters and investigated to see if the size of the helicopter made a difference to how fast it fell to the ground. We also discussed the importance of a fair test because Mrs Griffiths didn't drop them from the same height! Mila: I think the odd one out is the sugar glider because it is the only animal. Alex: I think the odd one out is the paper plane because it can't travel a long distance like the aeroplane and helicopter can. Olivia: I think the parachute is the odd one out because it doesn't have an engine. Melvin: I think the plane is the odd one out because it is the only one that has wings! Then we made a start on our posters - what can we do to improve air quality around our school? Year 2 are somewhat experts on ways to look after our environment so had some fantastic ideas such as carpooling, planting trees and riding your bike instead of using a car! We wat...

Our new focus in Maths is measuring (height and length). After discussing what we already knew, we listed equipment we could use such as a ruler, tape measure and metre stick. We estimated the length and height of classroom objects before practising using the equipment accurately, starting at zero. We then took our learning outside, using trundle wheels to measure longer distances such as the length of the playground. Nina: You have to listen for the click on the trundle wheel. William: There are 100cm in 1m. Alex and Bow: It was 54m from goal to goal! We also used the ' Topmarks' website to play a measuring game.