St Pius X Catholic Primary School

This afternoon Year 2 had a try at printing using foam sheets. The aim was to create a cityscape like the ones we have studied previously, but only using black paint. This made for a dramatic monochrome masterpiece! They watched a demonstration before trying to create a 'building' print. This involved lots of skills including: listening to instructions and watching the demo, fine motor skills - pressing into the foam hard enough to leave an imprint but not too hard that it went through the foam sheet, precision - placing the print on the paper carefully and peeling it off without it smudging, criticalal thinking - if something didn't work, how could they fix or improve it? Some of this involved trial and improvement, considering what hadn't worked so well and trying to improve it next time. This activity also gave the children an opportunity to share and collaborate by mixing and matching their prints with their peers. This meant their prints were used multiple times, s...

As part of our new science unit Year 5 have been investigating how materials can change when put together. We were exploring our original thoughts that some materials seem to 'disappear' when placed into water.  We put some salt into water and we noticed that we couldn't see it anymore. We knew from our life experiences that if we tasted the water it would taste salty so it wasn't that the salt had disappeared. This intruduced us to the scientific term 'dissolving'. We learned that when a substance such as salt or sugar is mixed into water it dissolves and creates a solution.  We decided to test this further with an experiment. The scientific question we posed was 'Does the temperature of the water change how quickly a substance dissolves in water?' The children used their enquiry skill of observation and stirred salt into water that was cold, warm and hot and then recored their results.  ' The hot water dissolved the salt the quickest.' - Janae ...

 As part of our human body unit in IPC, we've been looking at teeth. We found out about all the different types of teeth we have, what their characteristics are and what their purpose is. We looked at herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, examining their teeth and seeing which teeth are liked to which animals.  However, we also need to know how to keep our teeth healthy. So we've created an experiment to find out which liquids have the biggest impact on teeth. We've put eggshells in bags and put different liquids each bag (water, milk, cola, orange juice and vinegar) and observe them over the next couple of weeks. Many in the class think that cola or vinegar will have the biggest impact. Let's wait and see...

 This week, we have been learning all about different types of boats as part of our transport topic. This meant we spent lots of time outside playing in the water trays experimenting with different size boats.  The children became very interested in how the boats could float, especially cruise ships and ferries when they are carrying lots of people and cars.  We decided to carry out our own investigations to discover which objects would float and sink.  The children used the new vocabulary to guess if various items would float or sink. They learnt that 'sinked' isn't a word and we have to change it to 'sunk' but 'floated' is. How confusing we thought!  ‘Sink means it goes down low’ Macie ‘Float means when it stays on the top’ Amelia ‘I think the cube will sink because it doesn’t have water on it’ Archie We tested a plastic bear in the water too. ‘ I think it will sink because it has a small hole in it’ Jesse Joy A wooden duck was tested next. Most of the cla...

  Year 1 R.E. - The Road to Emmaus This week in R.E., our Year 1 children have been exploring one of the most joyful stories from the Bible — Jesus appearing on the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection (Luke 24:13–35). Through creative storytelling, discussion, and hands‑on activities, the children have been learning that Christians believe Jesus is always with us, even when we don’t immediately recognise Him. Lesson 1 — Recognising Jesus We began with a lively “What am I?” game using props from earlier stories — Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection — to help children recall what they already know about Jesus’ journey. Then we read a child‑friendly retelling of The Road to Emmaus , discovering how two friends walked with Jesus without realising who He was. Children created a story map to sequence the story, showing each key moment — walking, talking, breaking bread, and finally recognising Jesus. This helped them understand that sometimes we don’t s...

  Our Year 4-6 girls football team put in a fantastic performance this week against a very strong Great Leighs side. Although the final score ended 6-1, the scoreline did not reflect the effort, determination and teamwork shown by the girls throughout the match. From the very first whistle, the team defended resiliently and never stopped working hard for one another. Great Leighs proved to be an excellent team, moving the ball well and taking their chances, but our players continued to battle right until the end with great attitude and commitment. There were some brilliant moments of defending, strong tackles and excellent teamwork on display, with the girls encouraging each other throughout the game. Their resilience and positive spirit were outstanding and they should all be incredibly proud of themselves. A special well done goes to Fran, who scored our goal with a fantastic finish to reward the team’s hard work and determination. Matches like this help teams grow stronger, ...

We have some new (temporary) class pets! Year 2 are currently looking after 10 fuzzy, wriggly caterpillars! Over the next few days and weeks, we will observe as they go through their life cycle! We are excited to watch as they turn into chrysalides, making a special cocoon before transforming into Painted Lady  butterflies! We are amazed at how much they have already grown in just a week!   !

 

 To conclude our recent topic 'Buildings,' Year 2 have been extremely busy preparing for their class art gallery! They recently finished their Van Gogh inspired paintings and have been learning new skills in order to create a wooden frame for their artwork! The children were shown a demonstration of how to use the hack saw safely to cut their wood. They measured their pieces of wood so they would fit around their painting, decorated them and then used the saw to cut them to size! The children then had a chance to walk around the class gallery to see what everyone had created! Gershlene said ' we might be inspired by someone in our class!' Finally, they gave positive feedback to a classmate, commenting on their artwork, frame or overall finished piece! This reciprocity was lovely to see - well done!!

This week, our Year 5 explorers took to the "skies" to investigate one of the most invisible yet powerful forces on Earth: Air Resistance . The Question : Does the size of a parachute change how fast an object falls to the ground? Before we started, the class made their hypotheses . Most of our scientists predicted that the larger parachute would be slower, but they needed the data to prove it! The children made their own parachutes of contrasting sizes and attached a paper clip to them to test them.  The results were clear! The large tissue paper parachute consistently drifted slowly to the ground, while the small parachute plummeted much faster. Why did this happen? It all comes down to Surface Area . As the paperclip pulls the parachute down due to gravity , the tissue paper has to push its way through the air. Large Surface Area: The big parachute hits more air particles as it falls. This creates more air resistance, which pushes up against the parachute and slows the ...

This half term, we are learning all about transport and vehicles and this week, we started by learning about cars and the road. We had a visitor join us from Safer Essex to deliver a road safety talk and interactive session to the children and parents.  The interactive session allowed children to identify different vehicles we might see on the road and taught them the Green Cross Code.  We learnt an accompanying song to help us remember the rules to 'Stop, Look, Listen and Think'.  During the session, children and grown ups were given the chance to practice crossing a pretend road using the Green Cross Code.  'We must look before we cross the road or we might die'- Lydia  'Look both ways'- Brian  'Some cars can even reverse and might not see us'- Ethan  Then throughout the week, we made our own road safety posters explaining the rules of crossing the road and sang the song lots of times! 

 We are incredibly proud to celebrate the fantastic achievement of four of our Year 4 pupils, who recently competed in a Mini Wimbledon tennis tournament against 13 local schools. Showing determination, teamwork and impressive skill, our team played brilliantly throughout the competition, winning match after match to secure an outstanding 2nd place finish. Finishing second out of 13 schools is a remarkable accomplishment in itself but the excitement doesn’t stop there! By achieving this result, the team has now qualified for the finals, where they will have the opportunity to compete at an even higher level. Congratulations Florence, Henry, Lexi and Joshua!  

 This term in Religious Education, our Year 3 class explored the powerful and thought-provoking story of the Road to Emmaus. Found in the Gospel of Luke, this story tells of two disciples walking to a village called Emmaus after the events of Easter, feeling confused and saddened. Along the way, they meet a stranger who walks and talks with them, only later do they realise that it is Jesus himself. To bring this story to life, the children took part in a creative and collaborative activity, recreating the journey in small groups. This hands-on approach allowed pupils not only to understand the sequence of events but also to reflect more deeply on the emotions and meaning behind the story. It carries a very important message Blessed

  Year 1 P.E. — Speed, Agility and Coordination This week in P.E., our Year 1 children explored the exciting world of speed, agility, and coordination through a series of fun, active challenges designed to build confidence and control. 🏃‍♀️ Starter: Warming Up Our Bodies We began with a lively warm-up to get hearts pumping and muscles ready. Children practised moving in different ways — jogging, hopping, skipping, and side-stepping — focusing on quick reactions and smooth transitions. 🌉 Balancing on Beam Bridges Next, we tested our balance and concentration on beam bridges. Children carefully walked across, arms stretched out for stability, learning how to control their movements and keep steady from start to finish. 🌀 Running Through Slalom Poles Our slalom challenge encouraged children to weave in and out of poles, practising agility and spatial awareness . They learned to change direction quickly while keeping their eyes forward and maintaining rhythm. 🪢 Balancing on a Rop...

  In Art Year 2 have been studying ' cityscapes'   and comparing them to the famous 'Starry Night' painting by Van Gogh. We used the Tate kids website ( click here ) to find out more about the artist. Here are some of the cityscapes they looked at: They then looked closer at Van Gogh' s painting, picking out colours, patterns and techniques used by the artist. By zooming in, they could see that the brushstrokes were short like dashes and that there were swirls and dots which made up the bigger picture. They also took note of the colour scheme before applying this to their own experimentation in their sketchbooks using pastels. After this, they used paint , considering how to made different shades of blue, to create their own starry night! It is brilliant to see that every single one is different even though they have been inspired by the same picture! Next the children drew and cut out silhouettes of buildings and trees to place in the foreground. The final (and ...

 Before the Easter break, year 5 embarked on a DT project in which they had to learn to sew!  The children spent time learning some essential skills such as threading the needle, a running stitch and a back stitch. They mastered these difficult steps before designing their own sewing square to complete.   'It was really fun and I enjoyed using the thread to create a running stitch.' - Emanuela  'We learned a cross stitch and a back stitch - we learned to loop it right to left, not under and over.' - Isabella  They were able to use a variety of colours to create their designs and were able to choose the stitch that would match their creations the best!  We were very proud of their resilience and determination while learning this new skill! Well done year 5!

 Thank you to all the parents who spent time helping their children to make their own Easter bonnets. They all looked amazing and could see all the effort that went into making them so special. The children got to show everyone during celebration assembly and the winner, Da'Jean, got to choose an Easter egg as his prize.   

 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!