St Pius X Catholic Primary School

  Christ the King This week we are celebrating the solemnity of our Lord, Christ the King. In the Gospel, Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, who asks him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' Jesus answers, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world......Yes I am a king,  I was born for this, I came into the world for this; to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of the truth, listen to my voice.' We are reminded that Jesus' kingdom is within our hearts.  Jesus the king, died on the cross to show us all his eternal love.  By choosing to follow Jesus, following the school values and principles of Catholic Social Teaching, we show that Jesus' kingdom is alive, within each one of us.

 

In Reception, we enjoy learning through play. Our topic of 'Let's Celebrate' has allowed us to have a range of fun and engaging play opportunities.  Through these opportunities in the classroom the children are developing their communication, collaboration, fine motor skills alongside their maths and English skills. The provision also encourages the delopment of all of our learning powers: resourcefulness, reflectiveness, reciprocity and resilience!  'My favourite thing in the class is the messy play - I like that I can feel different things in the tray.' - Caasie  'I like to play with the dolls in the home corner. I make up games and stories with my friends.' - Joelle  'I like to play with the shapes and pasta. I like to play in the kitchen as well, we have been pretending to have a party. It's fun with my friends.' - Freddie  'I like to do the maths. I like cutting and sticking numbers and working with my friends.' - Coby  We believe th...

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  Today, students researched the famous artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Students experimented with oil pastels to make a self-portrait, Jean-Michel style! They used bright and vibrant colours for the background, with a main focus on layering. Students listened to music as they completed their artwork, just as Jean-Michel did, and let the music influence their strokes with the pastels. Then, for the final layer, students used a black pastel to draw their self-portraits, making them pop off the page! Students were thrilled with their final products! This activity is linked to our current IPC unit, 'A Day in the Life', where we are learning all about different jobs in our community! We've got some amazing artists here in Year One!

 Today in our Religious Education lesson, students learned about the Story of Moses and expressed their knowledge through role playing the story in small groups. The story is linked here . We had a class discussion about how God guided the Jewish people to freedom. Attached is a picture of a group during the role play activity! In this picture Jorel is acting as the Egyptian Pharaoh who changed his mind and decided to chase after the Jewish people, after he had agreed to free them. David is pretending to be Moses, who split the Red Sea, allowing for the Jewish people to escape. "What helped Moses speak to the Pharaoh?" "God told Moses to go and help his people. After Moses asked the Pharaoh, he let them go after the 10th plague" - Logan "God said 'go back to your people and free them'" - Ivy "God told him to go free the Jewish people so they could go to the promised land" - David "When Moses went to the burning bush, God spoke to h...

 Year 3 had such an amazing time visiting the Saffron Walden museum today and learnt so much about Ancient Egypt. Our day began by looking at artefacts including canopic jars and amulets. The children had to draw them and detail what they were used for. Then came the fun part... we gutted tomatoes and mummified them! We followed a step by step process of how to mummify an ancient Egyptian! Heavenly did a brilliant job at being our dead person, as we removed her organs and wrapped her in bandages. Finally, we all got to have a look around the museum and learn more about this fascinating time in history! Ancient Egypt is very interesting. I learnt a lot today including what organs are put into canopic jars Kasper

In RE, we have been hearing the Nativity story in sections in our RE lessons. We first heard about the Annunciation, then the journey Mary and Joseph had to take. This week, we have been thinking deeply about the crib scene.  We made a manger in the class room with straw. We thought about what it might be for and the children came up with ideas such as:  'That's food for animals.' - Noah  'That's what a horse sleeps on.' Anishka We read the scripture from our Bible stating that Jesus was born in a manger in a stable, surrounded by the animals, we then placed a baby in the manger. The children reflected on how this humble start to Jesus' life shows that he came for ALL.  'Jesus was a special baby but he didn't even get a bed. He didn't cry in the manger.' -Caasie  We read a wonderful story called  Song of the Stars  in which animals are preparing for Jesus' birth. The animals all call Jesus by a different name. Such as 'The mighty king...

 WOW! A huge well done to our tennis team from year 4 who walked away with gold medals from the recent tennis tournament at SJP on Monday. They competed against 15 other schools, eventually walking away from the final after winning 13-5! They had to show reciprocity by working together in teams of two to compete in doubles matches. Mr Cook was proud of the way you supported each other throughout, always tried your best and played some amazing tennis!! A massive well done from both Mr Cook and Mr Kelly, we are proud of you! Everyone did really well and I can't believe we won! Mia

Yesterday, our chaplaincy team demonstrated outstanding leadership in prayer and liturgy by organising a moment of prayer in the prayer garden at lunch time.  The children decided to share the Lord's prayer with the other pupils and then gave them an opportunity to reflect on their own intentions. "We all quietly reflected with our own prayers and then we prayed the Glory Be together." Estera, Year 6

Mrs Derbyshire talked about change with the children in Whole School Liturgy this week.  She reminded the children of the pictures she had shared back in May of her two Cocker Spaniel puppies, Eva and Millie.  Mrs Derbyshire showed new photos of the puppies, now 7 months old, sharing how much they had changed and grown! Everything continues to change around us and even though, we can't control things constantly changing, like Eva and Millie, what we do know is that   God's love is a constant in all of our lives .   God's love always remains the same and that should bring us great comfort.

On Friday 15th November 2024 the school took part in a Children In Need Talent Show. A huge thank you to everyone who attended, performed, or supported our Children in Need Talent Show! The event was a success, filled with incredible talent, community spirit, and generosity. Well done to all the runners up.  Reception and KS1 winners Abel and Aibel singing My Lighthouse KS2 winner Brandon singing Die with a Smile 

  Today, Year 4 walked down to Blessed Sacrament Church for Friday morning mass. The students did the school proud as they took part in the mass. We all enjoyed our experience and look forward to the next one. 

 This week our wonderful RE leaders Harley and Heavenly led collective worship in year 3. They chose to base their worship around kindness week and picked scriptures to match. They chose to read a prayer about compassion and kindness to begin with and asked the children to reflect on times they have been kind to others and how they can show one act of kindness before the end of the week. They had the candle burning throughout, a sign that God is with us as we worship. Heavenly I really enjoyed planning the worship and kindness is something that is very important to me.

 Year One students completed a carousel of activities to recap all of the subtraction methods they have learnt in this unit (PPW models, number lines, rekenreks, ten frames, crossing out, etc.). We discussed how the biggest number always starts a subtraction calculation. As an extension, students were asked to take a number sentence and make a fact family for it! "I know that subtracting means to take some away" - Ivy "When I use a ten frame, I make the bigger number first. Then, I subtract the smaller number to get my answer" - Benjamin "When you have a subtraction question, your answer is always going to be smaller than your biggest number" - Eva "The biggest number always comes first in a subtraction problem" - Kiara Spectacular work, Year One!

 This week at school we celebrated kindness week! We first read Mark 12:38-44 as a class. We discussed how in this gospel, the rich people gave a lot of money, but it was only a fraction of what they owned. The widow on the other hand, gave almost nothing, but it was all she had in the world. We discussed how the rich people were giving generously and looking around to make sure people noticed. This posed the question "should you only be kind if you know you are going to get rewarded or praised?". "You should do kind things because it is the right thing to do" - Isla "You should always be kind to others, even if no one is watching" - Ikemba "You should follow your heart and lead with kindness, just like Jesus does" - David "You shouldn't be kind just to get house points. You should do kind things because that is the right thing to do" - Nancy " Kindness is one of our school values . We should be kind everyday." - Jorel Th...

Year 4's are stepping into strange new worlds in their English this half term. From reading 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" to creating their own worlds to set their stories in. Today, Year 4's have been creating dioramas. Using a range of materials (from pipe cleaners to paper) they have been designing and creating their own strange new worlds to set their stories in. They had to carefully think about which material to use for their designs and how to create 3D shapes.  Now that the world's are created, we are looking forward to creating our epic tales of adventure. 

  This week, we hear the Gospel story of the widow who gave away her last two coins.  Jesus wants us to know that he is interested in the generosity of our heart.  Even if it feel like we have little to give, will we trust God and give our all?   We can give and receive love in lots of different ways.   We are invited to consider how we can love others?  

 

 After learning about jobs in our local community and making a map of our local area, students designed cars that they could 'drive' around our local community during imaginative play! Students had the choice of using tape or butterfly pins to make the wheels on their cars. When their cars were complete, we had a class discussion on which material (tape or butterfly pins) made the most effective car. Students compared their cars and concluded that butterfly pins were the most effective, as the wheels could actually move! "My car is driving me to school!" - Nicole "My car is driving me to the library!" - Catherine "My car is driving me to the park!" - Arsha "My car is driving me to soft play! I am meeting Uriah and Ava-Grace there" - Isla "I think I am going to use butterfly pins to make the wheels for my car. I want my wheels to spin like a real car" - Logan "I am going to use tape for my wheels. They won't move, but I ...

We were very fortunate to have a special visitor yesterday to our school, Rabbi Irit Shillor from the Harlow Jewish Community. She worked with pupils from year 2 to year 6 and shared with them the values and traditions in Judaism.  The children asked insightful questions and were able to make comparisons with their own belief in God.  "It found it really interesting to learn all about Judaism. Rabbi Irit was so friendly!" Seni, Year 6 "Rabbi Irit taught us the word shalom, which means peace. I told her that it was one of our school values at St Pius X!" Vinnie, Year 4

This week, the school is celebrating our value of kindness. To mark this in Reception we have read the book 'Kind' in class.  Here  is a link to the story on Youtube.  We set the children a kindness challenge! The adults in the room had to catch them being kind at some point throughout the week. When the children were caught being kind they received a certificate to take home.  Here are some of the reasons children in Reception won their 'Caught you being kind' certificates...  Anishka for helping others on the climbing frame.  Chenai for helping a friend pick up a dropped toy.  Olive for opening the door for a friend.  We are really proud of our kind pupils! 

  Honouring Our Heroes: Year 5’s Prayers for Remembrance Day As we gather to commemorate Remembrance Day, our Year 5 students have penned heartfelt prayers to honour the courageous souls who served in World War 1 and every conflict that followed. Their words shine a light on the values of courage, sacrifice, and peace that shape our understanding of this significant day. In their prayer reflections, the children expressed gratitude for the bravery of those who fought for our freedom. Lest we forget. Here are some excerpts from their beautiful prayers:  "We studied some WW1 poems in English, it was very sad, but it's important to remember these events to ensure they never happen again." - Kachi year 5

This week, Year 6 pupils have been focusing on gratitude by writing heartfelt letters of appreciation for all the staff members in our school. Each letter highlights the pupils' recognition of the hard work, dedication, and positive impact that teachers, support staff, and other school personnel have on their daily lives. Through these letters, pupils are learning the importance of kindness, thankfulness, and the power of words to uplift and encourage others. It’s been a meaningful project that has brought smiles and appreciation throughout the school community!

  Today, Ben and Jessica organised and led the Year 6 collective worship, based around the theme of kindness. They introduced the session by discussing what kindness means and why it is essential in everyday life. Through stories, examples, and interactive activities, they encouraged their peers to reflect on how small acts of kindness can make a big difference. The session concluded with a reflection on how everyone can incorporate more kindness into their daily lives. Prayer from the Collective Worship Dear Lord, we are most grateful for the life of Jesus in us. Please never stop creating a new heart in us. May it be moulded to love you more, and others better. Please keep working and equipping me to love in ways beyond my own abilities. Thank you for giving us friends who look after each other and love and respect each other. May we continue to walk in your ways. Amen

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