St Pius X Catholic Primary School

Little Seeds, Big Growth!   How can we show our love for God’s Creation? By getting our hands a little muddy and caring for the wonderful world around us, showing gratitude! The children enjoyed planting their own cress pots, carefully planting their tiny seeds and thinking about what they need to grow. We talked about how caring for our plants is one way we can show gratitude for God’s Creation. Since planting their seeds, the children have been fascinated to watch their little cress plants sprout and grow. They have loved checking on their plants and seeing how their care and patience can help something small turn into something green and wonderful! They have developed a greater understanding of how we can look after God’s Creation and have begun to appreciate the time and care needed to help living things thrive.

 This week, Reception have been creating their own autumn potions. They mixed different ingredients together and were pouring, scooping and mixing while sharing their magical potions.  Each day the children had different coloured glitter water to use and spark their imaginations.  “My potion will make magic and I can teleport “ Carter “My potion will turn me into a rainbow” Thomas “I’m helping Thomas and making a potion together. We have mixed the colours together and it made browny grey“ Jesse ‘We are mixing it all up’- Siar ‘Making a magic potion’- Mason ‘It’s going to turn me into King Kong’- George ‘This bowl is huge’- Mason

 The children have shown great fascination with the magnifying glasses and gardening equipment this week and even found a snail stuck to one of our pots.  They worked together to build a bug house, filled with soil, leaves to eat and sticks to feel like home.  We placed the snail into the bug house and then began our search to find some bug friends to add. The children managed to find ants, a tiny centipede and a massive earwig. 

 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

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...

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!

 For fieldwork week this year, Reception class were exploring the speed, distance and direction of bubbles in the wind. They first learnt the different compass directions and used this learning to explore the direction that the bubbles travelled.  We used the compass in the playground to help us see which way they travelled. Some went fast, some went slow. Some bubbles flew straight up into the sky and others floated slowly into the trees. 'It went to the side'- Esther 'The wind has gone now and the bubbles went to the floor'- Elijah 'They went straight up and not that far'- Valentina 'They went fast'- Ivy  'Some went a long way and some didn't'- Clare  Some of the children knew about the directions on a compass and what they are used for.  'I have a toy compass, it tells you the ways'- Nina  'I know west and east'- Jesse-Joy 'I know South America is south'- Ethan 'A compass is a round object and it helps you with ...

  🌞 Year 1 Trip to Maldon Promenade  🌞  Tuesday was one of those magical school days the children will remember for a long time. Year 1 set off bright and early on the coach, full of excitement and chatter as we made our way to Maldon Promenade for our summer learning adventure. 🏖️ Sand, Smiles and Super Teamwork As soon as we arrived, the children headed straight for the sand pit , where they spent a happy morning digging, shaping and building sandcastles with friends. It was wonderful to see so much teamwork — children sharing buckets, helping each other build walls and proudly showing off their creations. 🚤 Sketching the Boats on the Estuary Next, the children settled along the promenade to draw the boats travelling up the estuary . They looked carefully at the shapes, colours and sails, producing some beautifully detailed pictures. Their focus and observational skills were fantastic. 👀 Eye Spy Around the Promenade We then played a lively game of Eye Spy , spot...

 On Tuesday, Reception Class took their first school trip to Maldon, where they could link this to their learning of the seaside. The children had to build their own sandcastles and then complete observational drawings of the boats in the water. They all loved playing in the sand and worked hard to complete their drawings, really focusing on the details they could see on the boats.  We also got to see people working on their boats and watched a sail boat travel across the water. The children spotted speed boats and sail boats.  We got to eat our lunch in the park and play on the all the play equipment, which was so much fun that even the adults had to take a turn! The children all behaved incredibly throughout the day and loved being on the coach, even if it did send a few of them to sleep.  A massive thank you to all the parents who were able to support on the trip, it really does make a big difference!   

 Due to all the rain, the weeds and grass in our outdoor area were getting uncontrollable! We decided to get our scissors out and trim all the weeds and grass.  The children all worked together cutting and pulling the weeds out. We added them to our mud kitchen boxes for us to use throughout the day in our cooking.  Not only has this helped to keep our outdoor area tidy, but the children were building their fine motor skills when using the scissors, and building their bigger muscles when pulling the weeds out.  Great work Reception! 'This one is ginormous'- Logan  'Watch me pull this out the floor'- Johaan 'These ones are sticky'- Elaina  'We need to keep the area tidy'- Gideon  'We can't pull out the flowers, we need to let them grow'- Ethan 

 On Friday, the Year 4s had a fantastic day in London. We caught from the train from Chelmsford to Liverpool street and then went to Tower Bridge via the Tower of London. The Children were amazed to see both these sites and really enjoyed crossing the bridge and getting to look over the edge. We stopped next to the bridge for a snack and a break.  We then walked past some of London's famous sites to the Globe theatre. When we got there, we had a fantastic tour from our guide. She took us through the theatre and explain the history of the place and how played worked. We even got to see some of the actors warming up for their afternoon performance.  We then went across the street to their practice studios to do an acting workshop based on the characters of Macbeth. We went through different moments and poses for the different character. Our guide then took us through some games to build up to acting out the confrontation between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.  After sitting...

Some of Year 5 have been lucky enough to participate in this Year's Bikeability workshops.  Over two exciting days, the children developed confidence and acquired new skills for cycling safetly on the roads.  They took part in safety workshops in the school grounds and then moved this into the local area - learning how to cycle safely on roads.  'We learned about the primary and secondary positions. The primary position is in the middle of the lane, not allowing cars to overtake you. The secondary position is near the kurb but not too close - allowing cars to over take you.' - Oscar  'We learned the ABCD of cycling. A - Air - making sure your tyres are pumped. B is breaks - ensure they are working. C is chain - make sure it isn't rusty and D is Direction - make sure the wheels are facing the right way.' - Angel  'We learned how to do U-Turns and signals when we were riding on our bikes.' - Elsa  'We learned that it's illegal to ride your bike on ...

  🌿 Celebrating David Attenborough in Year 1 (Marking his 100th Birthday!) Over the past two weeks, Year 1 have been completely immersed in the wonderful world of Sir David Attenborough as part of our English learning. Using Little People, Big Dreams: David Attenborough as our focus text, the children have explored his life, his love of nature, and the incredible work he has done to protect our planet. It has been a joy watching the children learn about someone who has inspired millions of people — young and old — to care for the natural world. 🌍 Learning All About David Attenborough Through pictures, discussions, and simple research, the children have discovered: Who David Attenborough is Why he is such an important figure How he has helped us understand animals and their habitats Why looking after our planet matters They have been practising their reading, writing, and speaking skills by creating fact files, writing sentences, and sharing what they have learned with their fri...

 It's been so much fun exploring the forest school area as part of our learning!  The children are loving all of the activities provided by our forest school leaders: Karen and Caroline.  There has been lots of bug hunting, mud kitchen cooking and tree climbing. The children love being outdoors and the lovely weather we've been having has helped massively.  ‘My favourite part was everything!’ Clare ‘ I liked playing with my friends and climbing trees with Archie and Jeevan’ Da’Jean ‘I liked looking for bugs’ Jesse-Joy 'I've been cooking dinner for all my friends'- Kiana 

 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. 

 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!

 This week in maths, we have been practising counting beyond 20. We started by counting things we cannot see like claps and drum beats and then moved onto counting things which can move, like people, chairs, snack and objects around the room. We discussed counting things which cannot be moved, like pictures on the whiteboard. We came up with the idea of grouping the objects in 10s to help us to remember which ones we had already counted.  We also took our learning outside and each had to find one object which we could then use to count altogether. Finally, we challenged ourselves to build a house for Goldilocks using more than 20 building resources.  Check out what we made:  'I'm Goldilocks'- Valentina  'Goldilocks has got her own bed'- Elaina