St Pius X Catholic Primary School

  We have been learning about the properties of 2d and 3d shapes. Today we worked collaboratively to sort our 2d shapes into 2 groups. We had to carefully consider how to sort them using mathematical vocabulary eg: curved or straight sides, triangles, squares, less than 3 sides. This involved some trial and improvement to ensure all the shapes fit into the criteria we had chosen! Arsha - 'We need to change our group because it says squares but there are also rectangles! We could change it to shapes with 4 sides instead.' Cairo - 'There are only triangles and circles in this group.' Eva - 'We have put all the shapes with 4 or more sides in one group. There are hexagons, rectangles and pentagons.'

 Year 4 have been getting ready for Christmas. The class has made our own personalised advent calendar. Each window has a part of the nativity story made by a different student. We're starting off each day opening a window and then adding characters to our crib. The three wise men have also been travelling around the classroom as they make their way to baby Jesus. In RE, we learned about Jesse trees and how the readings during Advent help Catholics welcome Jesus into their hearts. Each student took a day and created little baubles to put on our tree. One the back, we wrote the readings and on the front we put the traditional symbols linked to the readings. Our Christmas activities have even spilled into Maths. This week we started our area unit and created shapes with certain areas. We then created lots of rectangles and created paper chains for our class. We thought about which area and shapes worked best and found that if the width was too long in comparison to the length, it mad...

  🌟 Year 1 Shine in Busy, Busy Bethlehem 🌟 This week our Year 1 children took part in the KS1 Christmas Nativity, Busy, Busy Bethlehem , and what a joyful celebration it was! The hall was filled with excitement as our shepherds, angels, and bustling street crowd took to the stage. We even had children playing instruments to bring the story to life. Every child had an important role to play, and together they told the story of the very first Christmas with energy and enthusiasm. The singing was simply beautiful. One of the highlights was the heartfelt performance of Did You See Some Shepherds in Bethlehem , which was sung with such confidence and joy that it brought smiles to everyone watching. The costumes looked amazing too – from shimmering angel wings to shepherds with their traditional robes, and the colourful outfits of the busy Bethlehem crowd. The children truly looked the part and helped transport us back to that special night. We are so proud of how well Year 1 performe...

Purity testing her panpipe Our Year 3 class had a wonderful time combining creativity, design, and a touch of science during their recent DT lesson by making their very own panpipes using lollipop sticks and straws. Using brightly coloured straws, the children measured and cut them into different lengths before carefully arranging them in order, from longest to shortest. They then used lollipop sticks as support, fixing the straws in place with tape and glue.  Once completed, it was time for the exciting part, testing their instruments. The classroom was filled with a range of sounds as pupils blew gently across the tops of their straws, making different notes. They experimented with the pitch, comparing the sounds of short straws to longer ones and even trying to play simple tunes together as a class.

 This week, the children have loved playing and engaging in our Christmas Post Office. They have had access to postcards, Christmas cards, stamps and other writing materials for them to mark make on and write words. Everyone has loved using the postbox that Mrs Wiseman made us to 'post' our letters and cards. Later in the week, we enhanced the provision by adding letters to Santa for the children to write on. There's been some great conversations happening in the role play area.  'I want a big car to ride in, so big like me'- Esther 'Come in what do you want to buy?'- Grace 'Let's write to Santa'- Immanuel 

EYFS and KS1 have been busy, busy, busy rehearsing for the highly anticipated nativity performance  ' Busy, Busy Bethlehem!' The children had a wonderful dress rehearsal in front of KS2 today and we have to say we are SO PROUD of them all! From dazzling stars and graceful angels, vital narrators to stern innkeepers, important soldiers and noble kings, keen crowds and eager market sellers, noisy shepherds and percussionists....  Everyone had their part to play in bringing the story of Mary and Joseph's journey to life.  Well done children, and a big thank you to parents and families for their support with learning lines and providing costumes. Thank you to the staff who have also worked behind the scenes to ensure the children perform brilliantly and enjoy their time on stage! We are all feeling a bit more festive and reflective. Here are a few pictures from today's performance:

🎨Today Year 2 had fun experimenting with creating ' movement ' in their art work. After looking at some examples and analysing the techniques, they tried to apply them in their own work. This is the video we watched for inspiration: Art Video 'I can see swirls and wavy lines. It looks windy.' Aibel 'The cyclist is leaning forward like he is riding the bike.' Qmari 'The dancer has her arms up like she is spinning.' Isla 'I'm doing a wave.' Naomi

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to design a front cover for our upcoming nativity - Busy, Busy Bethlehem! We have been astounded by some of the amazing entries and it was very difficult to choose the winners! All of the designs will be displayed around the school. The winners are: Reception - Idrees and Macie Year 1 - Coby and Joelle Year 2 - Cairo and Hannah We are excited to perform this week and to remember the true reason for our celebrations at Christmas.

  Our recent English unit has been an epic adventure, starting with diving into the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The students were instantly hooked on the tales of demigods, monsters, and the mysterious training ground known as Camp Half-Blood. Reading the novel provided a rich, exciting context that fuelled their final writing project. The main focus of this unit was persuasive writing. The goal was to create a travel brochure for Camp Half-Blood designed to convince demigod teenagers to pack their bags and enroll! The children became marketing experts, mastering several key techniques: Catchy Slogans: They brainstormed brilliant taglines like "Don't just read the myths, live them!" and "Your destiny awaits!" to immediately grab the reader's attention. Emotive Adjectives: To make the camp sound irresistible, they chose powerful, feeling-evoking words, describing the experience as "thrilling," "unforgettable," and "abso...

 This week, the children have loved consolidating and extending their learning through our continuous provision. The children used small world characters from the Nativity Story to act out the Birth of Jesus. We used lentils and porridge oats to make the desert and used sticks and houses as the stable and path for Mary and Joseph. Everyone loved the multi-sensory element and were able to show a good understanding of the Nativity Story through their play.  "You're having a baby, Mary"- Quinn (while holding the angel) "Let's go to the stable"- Jessica 

  All Emotions Are OK  A free, family-friendly resource from Essex CAMHS 📘  Help your child (ages 3 to 9) understand and express their feelings through engaging stories, fun activities and clear science explanations.  Includes: • Read-aloud pages to spark conversation • Interactive tools and exercises • Insightful science section on stress and emotion Download your copy now and support emotional well-being at home.  Visit the link below 👇 🔗 https://camhs.essexfamilywellbeing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/All_Emotions_Are_OK_approved_for_print.pdf 

  This week  in Year 1 we explored a very special question: “What do angels do in the stories about Jesus?” We began by looking closely at the Christmas story . The children listened carefully to how angels were sent from God to speak to Mary, bringing her the important message that she would have a very special baby. We talked about how angels are messengers, and how they bring words of hope, love, and joy. After hearing the story, we thought about what we could learn from angels . The children shared ideas about the kinds of messages angels might give to people today Anishka - "Say sorry when you make a mistake." Emilia - "Try your best everyday" Freddie - "Help your friends when they need it" To make our learning hands‑on, we created our own angels using paper plates, pipe cleaners, and shiny gold stars. The classroom was full of creativity as each child designed their angel with care. Once the angels were finished, we wrote a short message that an ang...

 Year 2 have been exploring the forces of gravity and air resistance in science. We discussed ideas prompted by these questions: Why do our feet stay on the ground? Why don't we float in the air? If I drop two objects that are the same size, which will reach the floor first? Why? What makes things slow down when they are travelling in the air? We also looked at pictures of different flying things (helicopters, parachutes, flying squirrels) and discussed the 'odd one out' to practise our reasoning skills. ' We stay on the ground because of gravity. ' Logan ' It wasn't fair because Gianni dropped the paper from lower down - you were higher up. That's not fair! ' Eva In order to understand how air resistance slows things down, we made paper helicopters of different sizes and compared how quickly they fell to the ground. We worked scientifically to make predictions, explain our thinking and test out our ideas. We also tried to make sure our test was f...

Our fantastic Year 5 class enjoyed a special, extra-curricular excursion to the glorious Everyman Cinema to catch an exclusive viewing of the highly anticipated Paddington in Peru! The comfy sofas and armchairs made everyone feel right at home, instantly elevating the experience from a simple cinema trip to a truly cosy event. Extracurricular trips like this are incredibly valuable for several reasons: Building Bonds: Sharing a fun experience helps strengthen the friendships and sense of community within the Year 5 class. Developing Independence: Navigating a public space and following instructions in a new environment helps to build their confidence and independence. Appreciating the Arts: It allows the children to appreciate the creative arts in a modern, engaging setting. Our Year 5 students were an absolute credit to the school. Their excellent behaviour and enthusiasm made the day a joy for all the accompanying staff. They listened beautifully, walked sensibly, and most importa...

 Yesterday, the Year 4s were transported thousands of years to the Stone Age. We had an exciting day in which we learned all about the different developments in human pre-history. First we looked at early art, both in the form of sculptures and paintings. We carved acient figures into soap and created our own cave wall to paint onto.  The class also tried its hand at weaving. It was tricky at times, but the class showed excellent resilience and kept going. We also learned about some of the first pots, coil pots, where the sides are built through a series of coils and then smoothed down. This was one of the class' favourite activities of the day. Next we moved to the beginning of the Bronze Age and looked at the first writing system: cuneiform. This was createdin  Mesopotamia. We made clay tablets and then wrote our intials in cuneiform.  We then looked at the first coins made in Turkey how they were made, why and what images  they had on them.  What a fun d...