St Pius X Catholic Primary School

 This week in Reception, we have been building on our previous learning of 2D shapes, by now exploring 3D shapes.  Throughout the week, we learnt the names of the shapes and looked at their characteristics, e.g what shape faces they had, how many corners there are and whether the edges are straight or curved. The children used their knowledge of 2D shape names to help them with identifying the faces on the 3D shapes.  We then went on a shape hunt outside to see if we could find any real life objects which matched our 3D shapes. 

As we come to the end of another successful term, I would like to take a moment to thank all of our staff for their continued hard work and dedication. Their commitment ensures that our pupils continue to thrive and it's important to pause and reflect on how lucky we all are to be part of such a great school community.  It has been wonderful to see the progress the children have made across the school. A special thank you goes to our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils for their truly wonderful Easter production. The children brought the story of Holy Week and Jesus’ resurrection to life with confidence and enthusiasm. Their acting was excellent, especially remembering all those lines and we were treated to some beautiful singing, including impressive solo performances. They told the story with great care and helped remind us all of the true meaning of Easter: a message of hope, love and new life, as we reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, and the promise of eternal ...

 This week, all of Year 3 and 4's hard work has paid off for the Easter production: Easter Praise. Both classes did an amazing job and are very proud of themselves. Year 3 sang beautifully while the Year 4s dazzled us with some brilliant acting. Harley took the lead as Jesus, while Olive (Judas) and Florence (Peter) delighted the audience with a solo each. The play drew to a close with a duet from Tolu and Michelle (the Marys). All of their hard work came together in the highly enjoyable play.  On Monday, they performed in front of the school for their dress rehearsal.  Guests for our local community. For the first time, on Wednesday, we opened the performance to the local community. We were joined by Mr Coen (the Head Teacher of Saint John Payne), Some representatives of the Knight of Saint Columba, the SVP, the Wisdom Club and others in the local churches. It was very nerve-racking to perform in front of strangers, but they did a super job and our guests thoroughly enjo...

 Year 2 have had lots of fun this half term during their Forest School sessions! This outdoor learning is a great opportunity to foster a love for nature, as well as learn new skills. Today Year 2 celebrated their last session by oasting marshmallows on the camp fire!

  Pupils from St Pius X School enjoyed an exciting and action-packed day of padel at Beaulieu Padel Club, showing great enthusiasm and sportsmanship throughout. The team played brilliantly across their matches, securing two impressive wins in their league games. Even in their two losses, they showed incredible determination—missing out by just two points each time, which is a testament to how closely contested the matches were. It was a special day filled with teamwork, effort, and smiles all around. The children represented their school superbly and should be very proud of their performances. Well done to everyone involved! That was so much fun, I'm going to go back and play again in the holidays! Alfie 

  Our Key Stage 2 hockey team recently put in a fantastic performance at a tournament held at Chelmer Park . Competing as one of 30 teams, they showed great determination, teamwork and skill throughout the day. The players worked brilliantly together, supporting each other in both attack and defence and gained valuable experience in a series of exciting matches. Finishing 8th overall is an excellent achievement and a real credit to their hard work and positive attitude. Well done to the whole team!

Over the last few weeks, Year 5 have been transformed into scientists, and last week, we finally reached the "graduation day" for our very own spider plants. To understand where these new plants came from, we’ve been diving deep into the world of plant reproduction . The children learned that while many plants grow from seeds (sexual reproduction), others are masters of cloning themselves! We discovered that spider plants are experts at asexual reproduction . They send out long stems called "runners," which grow tiny baby plants—or plantlets —at the ends. Because these plantlets are genetically identical to the parent, every child is essentially taking home a "mini-me" of our classroom plant! There was a real buzz in the room as everyone got their hands dirty! The children carefully tucked their plantlets into their new pots, ensuring the soil was firm but not too tight. These plants are now ready to head home to brighten up windowsills across the communit...

Year 2's RE topic is called 'Desert to Garden.'  They have been exploring the important parts of the Easter story, including the Last Supper and Good Friday. They looked at the famous painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and explained what was being shown. They were familiar with Mass and the important symbols of the bread and wine. They then applied this to their own lives by thinking about how they could share with and care for others, just like Jesus did! When learning about Good Friday , the children had to think deeply about this difficult event. They considered why we call it Good Friday: 'Jesus dies for us; he loves us!' - Benjamin 'It was good because Jesus didn't die forever. He rose again,' - Logan 'Jesus is risen!' - Mia 'He forgave everybody's sins,' - Hannah To celebrate this good news, the children used pastels and negative space to create a Good Friday picture, referring to the scripture we had read ( L...

  🌟 Exploring Mass and Capacity in Year 1! 🌟 This week in Year 1, our young mathematicians have been busy investigating the wonderful world of mass and capacity . Through lots of hands-on exploration, the children have been developing key mathematical vocabulary and deepening their understanding of how we compare and measure everyday objects. ⚖️ Learning About Mass: Heavier or Lighter? We began by exploring mass . The children handled a range of classroom objects and made predictions about whether they thought each item would be heavier or lighter than another. Using balancing scales, they tested their ideas by measuring objects with multi-link cubes . This practical approach helped them see that: If one side of the scale goes down, that object is heavier If it goes up, it is lighter The number of cubes gives a simple, child-friendly way to compare mass The classroom was full of excitement as children discovered that some objects they thought were heavy were actually surprisin...

 This week, we have been making our own crosses using clay.  We shared the Easter Story and thought about how people would have felt when Jesus died on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday. To celebrate Jesus' resurrection, we chose to create and decorate our own crosses.  The children used clay and different tools to create pictures and drawings on top of the crosses.  'It's much harder than play dough'- Henry  'This is Jesus'- Ivy 'Jesus died on the cross and people didn't believe him'- Kathlyn 

  Enrichment Day at Chelmsford County High School for Girls Today some of our students from Year 4 and Year 5 were able to experience an exciting day of creative discovery attending an, 'Exploring Languages.' Day at Chelmsford County High School. This enrichment day allowed the girls to participate in a range of challenging and creative activities. This included, Spanish, French and Latin. In Spanish the girls learnt key facts about Columbia, they learnt and used vocabulary for parts of the house in Spanish, and they learnt and used colours in Spanish.  They then transferred all these skills  to making a paper house.  In French, the children learnt key facts about France and the main cities and landmarks, they learnt and  used vocabulary for different foods and drinks and then made their own menus which was very  exciting. In Latin, the children learnt about where this language originates from and key facts about the Roman  Empire.  They were able...

Wow! What a fantastic morning Year 2 had! After a rehearsal with the other particpating schools, we were ready to perform ' There's a sunflower in my supper!' Lots of singing, actions, dancing, narrating and acting - well done to all of our children for their enthusiasm and confidence. Everyone said how polite and well-behaved they were. A credit to our school! Thank you to those family and friends who were able to join us and cheer on the children.

 This week, the children have been thinking deeply about the meaning of Lent and how it helps Catholics grow closer to God. They explored how Lent is a special time for reflection, change, and renewal. While enjoying the spring sunshine, the children worked collaboratively in groups to plan their ideas, sharing thoughtful discussions and supporting one another in their learning. The children understood that Lent encourages Catholics to turn away from sin by saying sorry to God and trying to make better choices. They reflected on scripture, such as “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12) , which helped them see that Lent is about coming back to God with sincerity. They also learned about Jesus as a role model. By studying the story of Jesus in the desert (Luke 4:1–13), the children discussed how he resisted temptation and how this inspires Christians to stay strong and make good choices, even when it is difficult.  We did all this working in groups and enjoying the spr...

 A Wonderful Time at The Wisdom Club! What a wonderful visit The Mini Vinnies had this morning at The Wisdom Club, this is a regular event now and everyone has the most enjoyable time.  The younger members of the community meeting with the older members of the community.  There was a lot of singing with the children singing some of their favourite songs, and many members of The Wisdom Club joined in with the Abba songs!! The children shared their work with their friends at the club, they were particularly excited to show their IPC work of WW2.  Cakes and drinks were served which always goes down well. Olive and Agnes the Year 4 Mini Vinnies invited the members of The Wisdom Club to a special performance of their Easter Production next week, so we are looking forward to seeing some there. We received a lovely email from the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre Pauline McAloone saying, ' A BIG THANKYOU -  Thank you and the children so much for entertaining us today....

In RE we have been completing a unit of work leading up to Easter. We have been thinking about the importance of the ressurection for Catholics and how the Easter story is an integral part of the faith.  Last week, we reflected on and discussed our initial ideas of what Heaven and Hell meant in the Catholic faith. We shared these ideas in small groups, before returning to the class and learning about the four ‘Last Things’. Death Judgement Heaven Hell The children worked in groups at the beginning of the lesson to record their thoughts and ideas around the concepts of 'Heaven' and 'Hell'. We then looked through scriptures and watched some insightful videos to help us understand these complex ideas more. The children then added to their group projects to record their additional learning around these ideas. Working in groups, using our learning power of reciprocity, is vital for these discussions. It allows us to consider other peoples' point of view. We summarised th...

 This week in maths, we have been practising counting beyond 20. We started by counting things we cannot see like claps and drum beats and then moved onto counting things which can move, like people, chairs, snack and objects around the room. We discussed counting things which cannot be moved, like pictures on the whiteboard. We came up with the idea of grouping the objects in 10s to help us to remember which ones we had already counted.  We also took our learning outside and each had to find one object which we could then use to count altogether. Finally, we challenged ourselves to build a house for Goldilocks using more than 20 building resources.  Check out what we made:  'I'm Goldilocks'- Valentina  'Goldilocks has got her own bed'- Elaina

  Why do Catholics believe that Palm Sunday is special? This week in Year 1, the children have been exploring the story of Palm Sunday and learning why it is such an important celebration for Catholics. Over two lessons, we focused on hearing the story from Scripture and celebrating the symbols and actions that help Catholics remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. 🌟 Lesson 1 – Palm Sunday (Hear) We began by looking at a picture of a donkey and asking a simple but powerful question: Why might Jesus choose a donkey instead of a horse? The children shared thoughtful ideas about peace, gentleness, and humility. We then listened to the Palm Sunday story from Luke 19:28–38 , where the crowds welcomed Jesus with joy, waving branches and shouting “Hosanna!” Together, we explored new vocabulary such as procession , hosanna , and cloaks , helping the children understand the meaning behind the actions. For their activity, the children created a story map , drawing the key e...

This week in our liturgy, the children listened to a passage from the Gospel of John about the woman at the well. In the story, we hear how the woman was not popular in her town. She avoided the other people because she knew they judged her and did not accept her. Yet when Jesus met her at the well, he did something remarkable. As a stranger, he spoke to her and asked her to fetch him some water. As they talked, Jesus explained that the water from the well would quench thirst for a short time, but soon she would be thirsty again. However, he spoke of another kind of water, the 'living water.' This water represents the gift of God’s love and a life lived with Jesus. Unlike ordinary water, this living water leads to something far greater: eternal life with God. This story reminded us that Jesus’ love is for everyone. Even those who feel left out, those who are judged by others, or those who have made mistakes are never beyond his care and compassion.  Despite being disliked by ot...

  Year 6 had a fantastic trip to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford on Wednesday 11th March. The children were incredibly excited to explore the museum and see the enormous historic aircraft and military vehicles up close. It was a brilliant opportunity for them to step outside the classroom and experience history in a real and engaging way. A highlight of the day was a special workshop with two veterans, John and Robert. They shared their personal experiences of serving in the armed forces and spoke thoughtfully about their lives and memories. The children listened brilliantly and asked some excellent questions, making the session both inspiring and memorable for everyone involved. Overall, the trip was a huge success. The pupils represented the school wonderfully and gained a deeper understanding of history through this hands-on experience. It was a truly enjoyable and valuable day of learning that Year 6 will remember for a long time.