St Pius X Catholic Primary School

For PHSE this week Year 6 considered how pupils can uphold the following principles in their everyday lives:  Dignity  Family, Community and Participation Rights and Responsibilities Care for the poor and vulnerable Rights of workers Solidarity Care for God’s Creation  We then drew superheros to represent our ideas and recorded our ideas.

Yesterday, the enthusiastic pupils of Years 5 and 6 embarked on an exciting adventure to the Natural History Museum.  Our journey began in Chelmsford and took us through the bustling streets of London. As we traversed through the iconic landmarks of London, the students were wide-eyed and captivated by the city's charm. From the majestic Tower Bridge to the historic Buckingham Palace, our sightseeing tour became an impromptu history lesson, with every corner unveiling tales of the past. Upon arriving at the Natural History Museum, the students were greeted by the towering entrance and an air of anticipation. The fossil exhibits transported us back in time, showcasing the incredible diversity of prehistoric life. The intricate details of fossils sparked numerous questions, igniting our curiosity.    One of the highlights of our museum visit was the volcano exhibition. The interactive displays and simulations allowed the students to experience the raw power of volcanic erup...

 This week we have focused our learning around the season of 'Winter'. The children have read wintery stories such as 'One Snowy Night' by Nick Butterworth. We have also played with arctic animals in our small world area and thought carefully about how we can keep safe and warm in the winter by choosing the right clothes.  The children were so excited when we went outside to play today as so many of the wintery things we had been learning about were there for them to explore. They used their scientific observational skills to comment on what they could see in our playground.  They found frost on the sand pit and table tops, ice in the tyres and collected in the water tray and their breath was creating condensation in the air.  'It is so cold the floor looks like it has snowed, but it's not snow it’s  a frost.' - Kiara  'I am glad I have my gloves on today.' - David  'I was going to put this ice in my pocket but then remembered that it will melt i...

  In year 3 we have been really enjoying our whole class text 'Bill's New Frock'. We've been hot seating Bill, writing blurbs, making predictions/ inferences and even debating if we think school is easier for a boy or a girl! ' I think Bill is feeling embarrassed and maybe a little bit angry at how he's being treated in school now that he's a girl' Jashryl   'It's not fair that the headteacher thinks that boys are stronger than girls, it's not true' Nathan

  Our new topic is 'From A-B' - all about transport and travel. After learning about our local area using Google Maps, and discussing where we live in the world (using geographical vocabulary such as town, city, county, country, continent), we shared how we travel to and from school.  Then we planned a local traffic survey . We thought about what we wanted to find out, and what data we would need to collect. To prepare, we got our observation sheets ready. Finally, we walked to Broomfield Road and carried out our survey. We saw a lot of cars, a few motorbikes, an electric scooter, an ambulance and some bicycles.   The next step will be to use mathematical skills to analyse our data – what does our data show us?

  On 16/11, twelve children from Key Stage 2 had the opportunity to see the Super Mario movie at everyman. They had all been picked by their class teachers for making an outstanding effort with their reading so far this year. Congratulations, keep up the good work guys! ' I've really been enjoying reading when I get up in the morning and the film was great' Oscar 'That was the best day ever!!' Cody

 Today we tried a challenge using our addition skills! We worked in pairs to find solutions to this 'Nrich' challenge. We had to use the numbers 1-6 to fill in a triangle, making sure each side of the triangle added up to the number in the middle. It was a bit tricky because we didn't always get the answer right the first time - we had to persevere and show resilience! Henry said "I was happy because I got to work with my friend." Bella said "I felt frustrated!" James said "I felt worried that I wouldn't finish all the questions!" We talked about how sometimes we don't get the right answer straight away and we have to keep trying to solve the problem.

  From A-B Entry Point   We thought about what ‘Geography’ was – we agreed it was learning about the world, including maps, countries and places. Then we used talk partners to think of types of transport. Ideas included: Cars, taxis, boats, trucks, helicopters, planes, subway/tube, hot air balloons, walking, bikes, camels, donkeys, vans, skateboards, ferry, chariots, horses and lorries! We discussed with our partners which types of transport we had used! We created aeroplane flight tickets, choosing our destination!  We are looking forward to learning more about our local area using maps and conducting a local traffic survey. We are also going to learn about how transport has changed over time, investigate air resistance and create some art work portraying movement.

The whole school where treated to an amazing performance from the children taking part in Rocksteady band lessons. The bands had vocalists, drum players, guitarists and  keyboard players. The audience enthusiastically supported the children as the proudly played for us. Well done everyone!

 Every day we complete some collective Worship in school. This is sometimes whole school worship in assemblies and sometimes in class.  Reception children have learned our 4 daily prayers and have begun to learn some hymns we can all enjoy together. During our worship we light a candle, pray and read some scripture. We also enjoy singing. They understand that worship time is important and that we are singing to God.  This is a great opportunity for us to focus on our school values and think about how these values are also shown through our faith.

  We read the story of The Good Samaritan Activity: We made a  string of paper chain people , while thinking about how we can love our neighbours. It reminded us that we have lots of neighbours in our community to whom we can show love. Next we will be thinking about 'Living in the wider world' - about local and global communities. We will consider how the virtues of service, justice and respect can be developed.

  St Pius X Children in Need Talent Show 2023 Once again, the children of St Pius X astounded us with their beautifully performed acts for our Children in Need talent show.  Many thanks to all the parents who supported their children with this and the fundraising, to the class teachers and all members of staff who were instrumental in putting this all together.  We raised an amazing £542.02! Thank you. 

  Today, Year 6 attended Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church. It was wonderful to share our faith with the local community. 

In Year 6, we celebrated Anti-Bullying Week with different activities. We participated in the BBC live lesson which discussed issues around bullying and sparking insightful discussions. Taking the spotlight, we acted out scenarios, not just showcasing talents but fostering open dialogue on the right responses.   This week wasn't just about learning; it was about embodying kindness. As we reflect, it's clear that our Year 6 community is equipped to stand against bullying.  

Our learning this term is focused around celebrations. This week we have explored Hanukkah and how the Jewish celebrate this festival.  We have discovered that the Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah by decorating their houses, visiting the Synagogue, lighting their Menorah (one candle each night for 8 nights) and eating special foods. One of the foods they enjoy for Hanukkah are Potato Latkes.  We read a story called Hanukkah Bear in which the bear is mistaken for the Rabbi and he eats all of the Hanukkah Latkes. At the back of the book is a recipe for the Latkes which we decided we would follow.  The children enjoyed following the recipe to create their own Latkes. We cooked one in the classroom to show the children how they are cooked and then we were very grateful that the rest were cooked in the kitchen by our lovely chefs - we thanked them for showing our school value of service by helping us. The children particularly enjoyed tasting the Latkes. They thought:  'I...

  Uh oh! Yesterday, The Naughty Bus made a visit to Year 1 and he made an almighty mess! We couldn't believe how naughty he had been!  Together, as a class, we took photos and made careful observations and notes before submitting our findings to Mr Taylor, our site manager. We used our phonics to make sure our writing was as accurate as possible for our crime scene reports.  We then worked together to clean and tidy up the mess that Naughty Bus had made.  Thankfully, Naughty Bus reflected on his behaviour and left us a letter of apology this morning. Hopefully, he will not return and leave a mess like that again! Well done Year 1 for some excellent writing and problem solving. It seems like Naughty Bus has certainly learnt his lesson! 

As Year 1 delve deeper into their learning of other faiths and Judaism, they found out more about the Story of Moses.  We learnt that Moses was a very important leader who led the Jewish people to their promised land because he was encouraged and supported by God. We listened to the story and role played the main events as class.  "The Jewish people escaped to Egypt because of a famine. That means they had no food or water" - Jessie "The Pharaoh was a leader too but he was a bad king" - Irene "Moses parted the red sea to escape" - Kian

We have been very excited about making our own healthy fruit smoothies!  We had a research session, tasting smoothies already on the market and discussing the flavours, appearance, smell and texture.  In groups we then planned our own smoothies, selecting up to 6 ingredients ranging from fruit, honey, and milk to yogurt and juice. This linked to our Design & Technology objectives of creating a design for a purpose and combining food items. We had a great time learning how to use knives safely to chop up the fruit, took turns to add the ingredients to the blender and, best of all, enjoyed tasting our smoothies! An extra Thank You to Mrs Hughes for helping with the equipment, and Mrs Cumpstey too!

 Last week Year 2 created some beautiful art work to reflect upon those who have given their lives in war, which is celebrated on Remembrance Day. We talked about the symbolism of the poppies and created poppy collages as well as silhouetted soldiers in poppy fields. This was great for improving our fine motor skills too!      

 In Year 3 we have been learning all about the history of ancient Egypt. Yesterday we created a timeline and ordered key dates such as when hieroglyphs were first used, Tutankhamun's reign and the start and end of ancient Egypt. Today we have had lots of fun, using our teddies as we went through a step by step guide of how to create an Egyptian mummy!