St Pius X Catholic Primary School

Thank you to all those who were able to attend today's meeting on the end of Key Stage 2 assessments.  If you were unable to make it, please find the slides from the presentation here .  We will also be sending children home with all the handouts.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about SATs week.  Many thanks for your continued support,  Mrs Claxton

 To conclude our English unit - persuasion - Year 4 have worked hard to debate and generate ideas, plan, edit, draft and type a final copy of a persuasive letter! Can they persuade you to agree or disagree with a 4-day school week? (image from Primary Works) Costa's letter Willow's letter Estera's letter Brandon's letter Ariana's letter Nyara's letter Jessica's letter Ben's letter

Year 6 have been continuing to develop their scientific enquiry skills this week through exploring light. They explored the research question: How does the distance between an object and a light source affect the size of a shadow?  The children first discussed what type of investigation they could do to explore this question. They established that conducting an enquiry that was a fair test would be the best way to find the answer.  In groups, the children cast shadows and measured them, looking at if the size changed depending on where the object was in relation to the light source. They were able to identify the dependent and independent variables and discussed the control variables (the things that were kept the same to ensure that they were conducting a fair test.) "We made sure that the object was the same each time because that might have affected the size of the shadow."  Lillian "The light source was also kept the same - we used the same torch every time." Ka

  In our spring term IPC topic Mission to Mars, our space cadets have been designing their very own Mars rovers, designing and gathering research to make their rovers more effective, efficient and reliable. Great work year 5!  "Did you know that scientists believe Mars was a planet that was once habitable due to evidence of water being present billions of years ago! This discovery was only possible with the help of opportunity rover and Curiosity rover." - Roseanna

Wow! Words cannot even begin to describe how much fun we had at the Young Voices concert at the O2 this year! We were incredibly lucky, once again, to be given a VIP suite, so the children were able to have a relaxing day before the concert began.  We were so proud of each and every one of the choir: they sang their hearts out and displayed some amazing dance moves. "I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity. It was such a fun evening!" Jason, Year 6 "I love Young Voices so much! This is the best day ever!" Amelia, Year 6 As always, the children represented St Pius X amazingly - we are so proud of their outstanding behaviour and the 110% effort they put into the concert!  You can see all the fun they had in the pictures and videos below:

 This week we have really enjoyed learning about the weather linked to our topic of 'The wonderful world'.  The children watched a few different forecasts and learned the term 'meteorologist'.  We enjoyed learning the symbols for weather and working with a partner to decide what we would say in our report.  We have been working on our confidence when speaking and performing and we think all the children did really well. 

    More gymnastics fun with our PE Coach! Year 4 have been very busy practising their gymnastic skills over the last couple of weeks - from roly polys to cartwheels, tuck and star jumps to bunny hops! We also discussed how to safely land from different pieces of equipment. Well done Year 4! 'I like the PE coach because she is so energetic and fun. I liked the cartwheel part because it helped me to improve my landing'   Costa. 'Our PE coach has really fun activities. She used to be a professional dancer!'    Grace

   Year 4's persuasive class debate! In English, Year 4 have been learning about persuasive texts. The children participated in a whole-class debate, arguing for or against whether school lunches and snacks should be offered free to all school children. The children listened carefully to each other and practised using a wide range of persuasive techniques and emotive language to put forward their own arguments in response to the points being raised.  'I enjoyed debating because I loved arguing for the proposal being discussed. I loved watching the speakers at the front!'    Eneojo

  Year 4's 'Mighty Oak' Public Speaking Workshop Year 4 enjoyed a Public Speaking workshop yesterday afternoon. They all worked hard to use gestures and body language alongside persuasive language to present a formal discussion. This was extremely beneficial to the children by not only preparing them for an upcoming competition, but also because we are currently completing persuasive texts and debates in our English work! ‘It was really fun!'  Nyara

 At lunch time some members of Year 5 and 6 come down to play with our EYFS children.  They display our school value of service excellently, giving up their lunch play to develop relationships and bond with the smaller children.  Jion - ‘ I like playing with the kids and it is fun to be with them because they make up fun games.’ (Y5)  Jason - We made a band. I like being with the children. It’s so much fun.’ (Y6) Moksh - ‘I get that we get to play with them, it’s fun.’ (Y5)  Cassius - they are all nice, they play nice games. (EYFS)  Joe - I like making games up and playing with the little ones. (Y5)  Nella - ‘They make lunch time more fun.’(EYFS) They create games together, chat together and read together.  This is mutually beneficial for both the older and younger children. The Year 5 and 6s build their sense of responsibility and Reception children build their social skills and confidence. 

In year 2 we have been enjoying some gymnastics with our new coaches, they're great! We have been focusing on our rolling skills; specifically pencil and egg rolls. It's all about using that core strength! I love PE, it's important to be active - Oscar

We have been learning about measuring in maths, using the terms full and empty and heavy and light.  We have also been learning about weather as part of our learning about 'Our wonderful world'.  We put these two concepts together to make our meringue clouds. We discussed what ingredients and equipment were needed to make them. We spoke about only needing the egg whites and the children explained what the egg white looked like.  “It’s like water “ - purity Everyone had a go at whisking the egg whites. They were surprised with how quickly they turned foamy. Then, using our maths vocabulary we measured out a cup full of caster sugar. They took it in turns to spoon 2 full tablespoons of sugar into the mixture. A drop of vanilla extract was added and then a final good whisk was needed to make soft peaks. We used the trick of holding the bowl over our heads to make sure the meringue was ready which they all enjoyed! Blobs of meringue were placed onto a baking tray and they were mad

 Today Year 4 created some simple yet stunning art work linked to the Chinese New Year. After learning about the lunar cycle and how the story of the 12 animals led to each year being assigned a different animal, we looked more closely at 2023: The Year of the Rabbit. We created rabbit silhouettes and used oil pastels to make the shape stand out. I think you'll agree they look very effective!

The choir are so excited - we have arrived safely at the O2 and have started our rehearsals for this evening! We are so lucky because we get to sit in the VIP section, with our very own room to relax in! "This is already the best day of my life so far!" Brooke, Year 6 "I am so excited and a little bit nervous about the performance evening, but I am having such a good time!" Bethel, Year 5

This week in our new IPC unit, "Look Hear!", Year 6 recapped their prior learning on light and sound. They discussed how darkness was the absence of light and shared different light sources that they could think of. "The moon is not a light source because it reflects the light of the sun." Demi The children then explored how light travels in straight lines through a pattern seeking enquiry. They worked in groups for the investigation demonstrating resilience and reciprocity throughout. "It is clear that light only travels in straight lines otherwise the light would have been able to bend around the card to get through to the other side. However, the card blocked the light because it could not bend." Elizabeth By the end of the lesson, children understood that light can only travel in straight lines, and not in curves or bends! Excellent work, Year 6!

Year 6 have been exploring what life was like in the Kingdom of Benin this week. In particular, they were investigating and interpreting the Benin Bronzes that were created by the people of Benin hundreds of years ago.  The children were able to deduce information about the Kingdom of Benin and its people by studying the different works of art they had created. "I notice that there is a man that is lifted higher than the other warriors. I think that this must be the Oba - their leader - as he seems to be more important." Lily "There appears to be many warriors represented in the different Benin Bronzes. I think that this was to show how powerful and strong they were as a civilization." Elizabeth  As a class, we discussed the controversy around the Benin Bronzes, as they were taken from Africa when the British Empire invaded. All the children agreed that it was the right decision for the Bronzes to be returned to Nigeria, as that is where they are originally from.  I

Year 6 were lucky to celebrate Mass this week in their own classroom. Building on their R.E. topic, community, the children thought about the different communities they belonged to and why they were important to them.  The children sang beautifully as they praised God throughout the Mass. It was also wonderful to see children confidently read during the service: demonstrating their pubic speaking skills. "I thought it was really nice to have celebrate Mass in class, rather than in the hall. It felt more personal and special." Brooke (Year 6 R.E. Leader) It was the perfect way to start the day - we all felt calm and ready to tackle the day's learning afterwards.  Thank you to the parents who came and joined us for the special service.

Year 6 were able to develop their reading skills this week through a game of Top Trumps. The children were studying our text, Holes, and were working on drawing inferences about the characters' feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions.  They each gave a character from the book a rating (based on specific traits they had chosen) and then justified their rating using evidence from the text. After the children had decided on their traits and had rated them all, it was time to have fun and play the game with their partners!   "It was so much fun to learn about the different characters through playing the game." Eila-Rose It was great to see how much they enjoyed playing the game and it was even better to see how much they had learned about the characters at the end of the lesson. Excellent work, Year 6! 

Year 6 have been working really hard on their editing and evaluating skills this week by improving their informal letters. They thought carefully about how they could develop their descriptive language and made sure that they had explained all of their points thoroughly with evidence.  It was wonderful to see the children demonstrating reciprocity and one of our school values, service, by supporting their partners effectively.  "I really enjoyed helping my partner improve his writing." Ira Children also displayed another one of their learning powers - reflectiveness - by evaluating their work, which is such an important skill as a learner. Well done, Year 6. It was such a joy to read your final pieces!

 As a Catholic school, collective worship is very important to us. On the days we do not meet as a whole school we have some form of worship within class.  Reception enjoyed their class worship this week around one of our school values: integrity.  This is a wonderful chance for our young minds to think about big ideas.  When asked what integrity meant to them after our discussion Jessie said ' What you say, you do. ' We spoke about how we say we are kind to our friends and how we can ensure our actions match what we say. Some suggestions were:  ' Share with people.' - Purity  'Always be nice to your friends.' - William We shared a prayer together, had a discussion about the value, listened to some scripture and then sang a worship song.  Our children are showing a great deal of maturity during these worship sessions. 

 We wanted to make you aware that there is a fantastic creative writing workshop happening at Chelmsford library that will be perfect for our St Pius pupils.  Creative writing workshop The group is run by one of our own dedicated parents and we think this is a great way for the children to develop their creativity!  All the details are in the poster and please let us know if you go! Bring your writing into school, we would love to see it! 

  Congratulations  to our Stars this week   Alex, Bella, Niamh, Francesca-Rose, Eneojo, Jophiel and Lily

In Science we have been learning all about living things and what has never been alive! Today we looked at habitats. The children developed their understanding through the enquiry type: identifying, classifying and grouping, where they sorted animals and plants into different categories.  I think a frog's habitat would be a pond because it's an amphibian -  Ethan Our habitat is our home, so that would be an urban habitat - Mia