St Pius X Catholic Primary School

There was a palpable sense of excitement in the classroom as our Year 5 pupils stepped into the shoes of real historians. Transforming our room into our very own museum, the children embarked on a hands-on historical enquiry, working directly with authentic artefacts generously on loan from the Saffron Walden Museum. Spread across various investigation stations in the room was a captivating mix of historical items—from intricate pottery fragments and detailed statues to ancient coins. Equipped with their historian hat on and a list of key prompt questions, the young historians moved around the stations to examine each item closely. Rather than just reading facts, they actively questioned the objects, using critical thinking to piece together the narrative of the past: What is this item made of? What could it have been used for? What does this tell us about everyday life during this era? 'I learned that the Ancient Greek people often wore jewellery - including the slaves.' - Agn...

Year 3 have been learning about digital devices. Last week we thought about how they work in simple terms: Input - Process- Output. Today they carried out a task to decide which they preferred: digital or non-digital . Digital devices can help us do lots of things. Ideas included: entertainment finding out information calling people taking photos They painted a beautiful sunset! First, using paint and paper. Then, using a painting app called Freeform on the iPads. Both had great results.   However, after discussing their preferences and voting, the majority preferred real life painting ! Jorel: 'I preferred real painting because you could mix the colours to get the colour you wanted.' Catherine: 'I liked the real painting because it was hard to use all the buttons and pens on the ipad.' Mia: 'Using real paints is more creative!' Naomi: 'The iPad was good because if you made a mistake you could rub it out.' Qmari: 'I learnt the hard way that painting ...

  Kids inspire free Holiday Club is run once a week during October half term. This Autumn, we will be hosting a Howl-o-ween holiday club at our Head Office. The club creates a safe space for children to: participate in meaningful activities make friends and socialise access lunch and snacks All of this is while developing social and communication skills and exploring new talents or interests.   Holiday Club sessions are booked and offered to families according to criteria. Priority will be given to those from lower income families, in receipt of pupil premium or eligible for free school meals, however anyone can apply and we will allocate spaces accordingly. Activities are free and suitable for children aged 6 and over in primary school. For more information you can read our Holiday Club Terms and Conditions.  

 Despite the changing weather, the children have had a great time exploring and playing in the garden. They've been experimenting using the different water toys to find new ways of making the water travel. By using the giant pipettes, the children discovered they could shoot the water out much faster than just pouring. They used this new learning to see how much they could push off the edge using just the force of water. First the children tested using a cup and gradually filled the cup with different items to increase the weight.  They also used the chalk to draw lines on the playground for us to balance along.  'let's see if we can push the cup with 2 boats in'- Thomas  'I'm squeezing the water'- Kalib 

 What an amazing first week at school for our group 1 children! They have all settled in so well and have loved exploring the different areas inside and outside our classroom.  The children have been learning where their belongings go and have been enjoying their first school dinners.  During lunchtime, the children have demonstrated great manners, saying thank you for their lunch and asking for help to cut up their food.  We are very excited to have more friends join us next week and can't wait to show them around!

Nature’s Canvas: Turning God’s Creations into Prayers This week, our Year 6 pupils stepped outside the classroom and into the great outdoors to connect with the natural world around us. With autumn fast approaching, the grounds were filled with a vibrant collection of God’s creations—from textured leaves and intricate pinecones to smooth stones and delicate wildflowers. Armed with their eyes, imagination, and quiet hearts, the children gathered items that resonated with them. But the task didn't stop at simply collecting nature's treasures. Back in the classroom, the children reflected on what these natural objects represented to them—whether a leaf reminded them of growth, a sturdy stone symbolized strength, or a bright petal brought to mind joy and gratitude. Using these found items, the children crafted beautiful, heartfelt physical and written prayers. Some framed their prayers using twigs, while others arranged petals and leaves into meaningful symbols before offering up t...

  This week, Year 4 took our collective worship outside and spent some special time connecting with nature. We explored our surroundings and looked carefully at all the beautiful and amazing things that God has created. We noticed so many wonderful things around us – colourful flowers, tall trees, interesting leaves, birds, insects and the sound of the wind. We took time to slow down, look closely and appreciate the beauty all around us. After our exploration, we reflected on what we had seen and thought about how we could say thank you to God for His wonderful creation. The children then got creative and wrote their own prayers, poems, raps and songs to express their thanks. It was lovely to see the children sharing their ideas and celebrating the amazing world around them. We finished our session feeling thankful for nature and for all the wonderful things God has given us to enjoy. "I love being in nature. I want to write about the sounds I hear." - William

Year 3 have hit the ground running with their first English unit of the  year, with Roald Dahl's 'Matilda'!  In just over a week, we have been engaged with a range of practical lessons including vocabulary gathering, performing, and collective working!  This week, we have worked in pairs to identify the features of a playscript. We then compared them to the written features of the matching chapter of the book, 'Matilda'. We used some of our 5 Rs - reciprocity, resilience and reflection - to work collaboratively with our partners and present our work effectively on large posters. "Stage directions are written so that the actors know what to do and how to act" - Jorel "Stage directions are written in brackets" - Qmari  "Characters names are on the left so we know who needs to talk" - Miriam We have also played 'hot seating', where various members of the class had to act being 'Matilda'! We all discussed and thought of an ...

In RE, our topic is 'Creation'. We spent our first lesson learning all about the wonderful things that God created on each day when making the world. We learnt that he did all of this in just 6 days and, on the seventh day, he stopped and rested because his creation was complete and very good. He was very pleased! This day is now known as 'The Sabbath'. We created a story board in our books with illustrations and notes to help us learn the order of creation. However, next lesson, despite teaching Genesis 1 and all of the wonderful things our God created within 6 days, Mrs Owen had forgotten the order! We helped her by correctly sequencing the images in line with the Bible story. We then showed thanks and praise about the wonder of God and creation by singing a variety of songs, including ‘All things bright and beautiful’, ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’ and ‘If I were a butterfly’. Our favourite was ‘If I were a butterfly!” We considered the significance of the ...

As part of our science learning on Living things and their Habitats this term, Year 5 will be having 2 separate hands on experiences!  The first is to propogate their own plants as we learn how plants reproduce both sexually and asexually. Mrs Cosgrove has kindly allowed us to borrow her marvellous spider plants which we will be carefully taking cuttings from to create our own plantlets!  We were incredibly excited last week when our creepy crawly friends arrived - by post!  A box arrived in the classroom and we discussed what could be inside - guesses ranged from new resouces for school to treats and prizes for the star of the week! We were exicted to see when we opened the box that we have 5 caterpillars to look after!  The children will be comparing lifecycles of birds, insects and amphibians over this term and we get to watch this one in motion!  As year 5 scientists we explored this on a slightly deeper level than we have before - using our 'observing ove...

 In our first full week back, we've had several practical lessons. To start with, we reminded ourselves of the different word classes in English. We sorted different words into adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs and pronouns. Pronouns were the trickiest, but we thought about which words we  could replace with a name and managed to sort them.  In Maths, we've started the year with place value. Number lines can really help us with everything from adding and subtracting to counting fractions. They're so useful! We went into the hall and made human number lines. We counted up, down and filled in the missing numbers. On Friday afternoon, we introduced our geography topic: the Orkney Islands. To start, we looked at OS maps of the islands and identified different features on the map. We found roads, town and beaches and what they look like on a map. The class was also fascinated to find out how people navigated roads before the invention of sat-nav.  "I know that proper pron...

Year 1 have had a brilliant first week in school. We have been working on building our routines, exploring our new learning spaces and working with our friends again!  It has been lovely to see the children playing so well together and being so enthusiastic about their return to school! This year will be incredibly fun for our Year 1 class and we have already begun our learning!  This week, Year 1 used their existing learning from Reception in their maths lesson: counting a specific amount from a larger group . To make sure no numbers were skipped or counted twice, we practiced 1:1 correspondence . This simply means touching or moving exactly one object every time you say one number word aloud. When children count quickly, their mouths often move faster than their hands! We practiced slowing down into a steady rhythm. For the very first time, the children worked with a maths partner ! Working in pairs helped them practice taking turns, checking each other's work, and talking...

Year 6 have been busy conducting a scientific enquiry to learn more about variation and adaptation. Using the enquiry type pattern seeking , the children investigated how different types of bird beaks are suited to collecting different food sources. To simulate bird feeding, the children used a range of utensils as different types of beaks and attempted to collect a variety of food. This hands-on investigation allowed them to explore the wide variety of beak types found within bird populations and consider how beak shape is related to the food available in an environment. Penelope noticed that “different types of beaks were better at picking up different types of feed.” Emanuela summed up the challenge perfectly: “It was almost impossible to pick up some types of food if you didn't have the right beak!” Through their pattern-seeking enquiry , the children developed a deeper understanding of how variation in physical features can help animals adapt to their environment and giv...

Year 3 have been excited to start learning about the Ancient Egyptians! After locating Egypt and the River Nile on a world map, they were given replica artefacts to explore. Becoming historians, they looked closely at each artefact, considering it's material, shape and size. Then they asked questions to discover more... What was it used for? Who did it belong to? What was it made out of? What does this show us about life in Ancient Egypt? *photos to follow soon!

Today's science was an exciting (and sometimes frustrating) exploration into why we need light to be able to see things! 5 mystery boxes were passed around. Children were tasked to look through the tiny hole to see what object was inside. They made observations and guessed. Then they opened the box partly, letting some light in. Their second observation was noted before the object was revealed!

This week in Year 5, our young mathematicians rolled up their sleeves and dove into the realm of millions using place value charts and colored counters. The mission was simple on paper: look at a giant target number and build it accurately on a place value grid using counters. However, simple tasks often reveal deep mathematical thinking—or illuminate sneaky misconceptions waiting to be unpacked. One of the most revealing moments came when the class tackled the number 12,307 . Instinctively, several children headed straight for the "1,000" column and carefully counted out twelve individual thousand counters. Watching their hands work, you could see the literal translation happening in their heads: I need 12 thousands, so I pick up 12 thousands. Then came the inevitable pause. “ Wait... this column is getting really full.” “Can we put 12 in one column?” The class realised that ten of those 1000  counters didn't need to crowd the thousands column—they could be traded in f...

Bringing Geography to Life: Year 6’s Forest School Biome Adventure This week, our Year 6 geographers traded their classroom desks for the great outdoors! As part of our geography topic on world biomes, the children headed into Forest School to build their very own miniature ecosystems using natural materials found right under their feet. Working in teams, the pupils explored how climate, flora, and fauna interact by designing distinct biome models - ranging from lush tropical rainforests using moss and thick ferns to arid deserts crafted from sand, stones, and dry twigs. The hands-on session gave everyone a chance to put their classroom learning into practice while enjoying the fresh air and collaborative teamwork. "I didn't realise how tricky it is for plants to survive in the desert until we tried to build one using only dry materials," - Penelope  "It really made me think about how water changes everything." - Oscar We are incredibly proud of how creative, th...

  As we come to the end of another successful school year, I would like to say a huge well done to all of our amazing children for their hard work, determination and enthusiasm throughout the year. You have all achieved so much and should be incredibly proud of yourselves. I would also like to thank our wonderful staff for their dedication, care and commitment, and our parents and carers for your continued support and partnership. Your encouragement at home and your trust in us make such a difference, and together we have created another successful and memorable year for our children. Today, we came together for our End of Year Celebration Assembly, and what a wonderful way it was to finish the year! Seeing the whole school singing and dancing together to "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" by Shakira, was a truly joyful moment and a perfect reflection of the happiness, togetherness and sense of community that makes our school so special! There have been so many memorable mom...

We are delighted to congratulate our PE Lead, Mr Cook , on receiving the Kim Yates Award from the Chelmsford Sports Partnership . This prestigious award recognises an outstanding contribution to sport and Physical Education, and is a wonderful reflection of Mr Cook's dedication and commitment to our school community. Since taking on the role of PE Lead, Mr Cook has worked tirelessly to develop and expand the sporting opportunities available to our pupils. Through his enthusiasm, hard work and passion for sport, he has encouraged more children than ever to get involved, try new activities and represent the school with pride. His commitment has helped to create a positive sporting culture where every pupil is encouraged to achieve their personal best. We would also like to say a huge congratulations and thank you to all of our pupils who represent St Pius X at sporting events throughout the year. Their teamwork, determination, resilience and excellent sportsmanship make us incredib...

 Year 2 have been putting their puzzle and problem-solving skills to the test by trying out some Tangram puzzles! This ancient Chinese puzzle traditionally consists of 7 shapes which are then rotated to make different shapes.  We tried out some together, making a cat, a rocket and a plane! Then they had a go at making a variety of animals, including whales, cows, squirrels and camels!

 After winning their league to qualify for the Small Schools Final, the St Pius X football team took on Danbury Park in a hard-fought match on a very hot day. The teams were evenly matched in the first half, going into the break level at 1-1, but despite a tremendous effort, St Pius X were eventually beaten 6-2 by a very strong opposition. Goalkeeper Joe made a number of outstanding saves to keep the team in the game, and every player showed fantastic determination, teamwork and resilience throughout. Finishing as runners-up and receiving silver medals is a wonderful achievement, and everyone at St Pius X is incredibly proud of the team's success.

 Congratulations to our St Pius X tennis teams on an excellent series of performances this term! The team were crowned champions at a Tennis Tournament after competing against other schools within our Trust. They then went on to achieve an impressive third-place finish at a larger tournament held at Oaklands Park, competing against schools from across the region. The pupils showed great teamwork, determination and sportsmanship throughout both competitions, making the whole school proud. Well done to everyone involved on these fantastic achievements!

 Today, we made our own ice cream to help with the heat and as an end of year treat.  We used our phonics skills to read the ingredients and instructions.  We had to use double cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. First we had to whisk the double cream until it made strong peaks. The children all showed each other what a peak looks like using their hands.  “ It's making bubbles” Quinn “ It looks like milk” Lydia “It looks a little bit thicker” Jesse-Joy Then we had to fold in the condensed milk, which bought up lots of discussion around what folding meant; we knew we couldn't fold like a blanket so how did we do it?  Finally, we added the vanilla and poured the mixture into freezable containers. 3 containers were topped with oreo and 2 we left plain.  “The vanilla will make it sweet” Valentina “It looks beautiful and so fresh!” Takundanashe “It’s starting to look like ice cream” Ivy “You fold rather than mix as its keeps it solid” Nina Finge...

  Exploring Aboriginal Art and Culture This week, Year 1 took part in a wonderful cross‑curricular art lesson inspired by the Aboriginal peoples of Australia . The children were fascinated as we learned about who the Aboriginal peoples are , how they lived , and why storytelling and artwork are so important in their culture . We began by exploring traditional Aboriginal symbols and looking closely at examples of dot‑style artwork . The children loved discovering how these symbols were used to share stories about animals, journeys, families, and the land. They were especially interested in how Aboriginal artists use colour, pattern, and dots to represent the world around them. After our discussion, the children moved into their art activity. Using watercolours , they carefully painted an Australian animal in an Aboriginal style — thinking about patterns, dots, and earthy colours. Once dry, they cut out their artwork , mounted it on black card , and decorated the background using t...

Our classroom was transformed into a stage this week as the children took a deep dive into the powerful world of war poetry. Tied closely to our current reading of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse , this unit has allowed the children to explore how poets use rhythm, imagery, and structure to capture complex history and deep emotions. After choosing a poignant stanza or an entire poem, they took on the challenge of learning it completely off by heart. To bring these verses to life, we recapped our core public speaking skills. The children didn't just read the words; they performed them. We focused heavily on three key elements of powerful delivery: The Power of Voice: Modulating tone, pace, and volume to mirror the changing mood of the poems. Purposeful Gesture: Using hand and body movements to emphasize key imagery without distracting the audience. Commanding the Speaking Space: Learning how to move confidently within a physical space to mark transitions or shift the emotional focus...

Last week Year 2 ventured off to Chelmsford Stadium for the Mini Games - a brilliant morning of athletics activities alongside other local schools. They had a fun time participating in lots of different stations, from javelin to cup-stacking! Well done Year 2!

Thank you to all the family and friends who attended our annual Exhibition Afternoon. The children have all been working hard to create 'sculptures' to exhibit. There was an amazing variety - paper sculptures, clay, recycled materials, wire figures..... what a wonderful example of the creativity of our students! Thank you for also visiting your child's classroom to see some of the brilliant work they have been doing in class. We appreciate your ongoing support and the children love to share their achievements with you!