St Pius X Catholic Primary School

 Today, we made our own ice cream to help with the heat and as an end of year treat.  We used our phonics skills to read the ingredients and instructions.  We had to use double cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. First we had to whisk the double cream until it made strong peaks. The children all showed each other what a peak looks like using their hands.  “ It's making bubbles” Quinn “ It looks like milk” Lydia “It looks a little bit thicker” Jesse-Joy Then we had to fold in the condensed milk, which bought up lots of discussion around what folding meant; we knew we couldn't fold like a blanket so how did we do it?  Finally, we added the vanilla and poured the mixture into freezable containers. 3 containers were topped with oreo and 2 we left plain.  “The vanilla will make it sweet” Valentina “It looks beautiful and so fresh!” Takundanashe “It’s starting to look like ice cream” Ivy “You fold rather than mix as its keeps it solid” Nina Finge...

As a culmination of our English work last term, we recently teamed up in groups to create an epic ‘Explorer Exhibition’ . The goal was to take everything we’ve learned from our class book and bring it to life in a creative, interactive way. The Explorer Exhibition wasn't just about recapping the plot; it was about digging deeper. Each group was tasked with diving into three main areas: The Main Themes: We explored the big ideas hidden within the pages—things like survival, friendship, resilience, and the beauty of discovery. Character Evolution: Characters don’t stay the same, and we tracked how our favorites changed from the very first chapter to the final page. It was fascinating to map out their growth, their struggles, and how the journey transformed them. Key Learning Points: We also looked at the bigger picture, connecting the book to the wider lessons we’ve tackled across the term. To make sure everything ran smoothly, every single member of each group had a specific role...

As our friends at the charity Read for Good® will tell you, it's well established that reading for pleasure leads to significantly better outcomes for children – boosting academic performance, enhancing wellbeing, and fostering vital life skills like empathy. But reading for pleasure is in decline. In 2025, just 1 in 3 children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time* – a sharp drop over the past two decades. At the same time, the work Read for Good® do in schools shows that many school libraries are underfunded, outdated, and filled with books that fail to engage today's readers. Children who rely most on school libraries are often those most likely to be missing out. It's time to #rebuildthelibrary. Our annual prize draw is back to give five schools across the UK and Ireland the chance to win £1,000/€1,000 in National Book Tokens and fill their shelves with new and inspiring books. Nominate a school using the form below , and if yours i...

  Year 3 have been thoroughly enjoying reading the wonderful book The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo . Throughout our lessons, the children have been developing their VIPERS reading skills, helping them to become thoughtful and confident readers. Recently, the class focused particularly on the “Predict” skill. The children used clues from the text, character actions and illustrations to make sensible predictions about what might happen next in the story. To make this even more exciting, we introduced our very own “Predict-o-meter”! The children loved using the Predict-o-meter to show how confident they were in their predictions and to explain the evidence behind their ideas. I can't wait to hear how the book end, I hope it's a happy ending Cassius

Year 2 have been enjoying reading all about Babe's adventures in our new class book - The Sheep Pig by Dick King-Smith.  They have completed lots of amazing, descriptive writing whilst trying to include specific punctuation (apostrophes for contractions and possession, commas in lists) and exciting vocabulary. After discussing how different characters felt in the book ‘The Sheep-Pig,’ they chose a character (Babe, Fly or Mrs Hoggett)  and gave Farmer Hogget advice about his dilemma… Should Farmer Hoggett let Babe copy Fly and be a sheep-pig? We role-played giving Farmer Hoggett advice so that he could  make a decision as he walked through the ‘conscience alley.’ This was a great opportunity for the children to proudly articulate their ideas as well as listen to their peers. By getting into role, children also had a chance to step into that character and consider what they might think and why! It meant they really had to think about the story and what we ...

Year 2 had an exciting start to their new English unit, based around a book called  'Wild Magic - Legend of the Black Lion,'  by Abiola Bello. It is set in Ethiopia. Mrs Griffiths had a mystery bag containing clues about the story.... a safari hat, binoculars and a picture of a black lion! The children made predictions using these clues alongside information they had taken from the book cover and blurb. We then read chapter one together and noted down important things we had learnt about each character so far. As we continue reading, we will practise and refine important reading skills (sequencing, summarising) and use key narrative skills (describing, linking ideas, using a variety of punctuation) to write our own adventure story!

Our annual book week has been a huge sucess!  We kicked off the week with some wonderful class swap lessons - the teachers moved around to different classes and delivered a one off fun English lesson! Many of these involved drama and stotytelling - a great way to kick off the week!  We also launched our masked reader competition on Monday! 3 members of staff masked themselves while reading an extract of a book for the children. The children have spent all week working out who's behind the mask - it has created a joy and a buzz around the school! The children really enjoyed the masked reader unveiling - results below! Thank you to all the staff who participated!  Every year we love welcoming you in for our reading cafes. It is a real moment of joy to see families coming together to read together. The children simply love it when parents can come into school and share in their learning and we truly believe that reading with our families is hugley important for both reading ...

🕮 We have enjoyed celebrating Book Week in Year 2! The KS1 reading cafe was a roaring success! Thank you parents and family for joining the children to share books and celebrate reading with the children! Year 2 also enjoyed a calm 20 minutes of ' Stop and Read!' this morning. The adults also took the opportunity to catch up with their favourite books! It was also lovely to see the children sharing and swapping books too! This morning we joined a live workshop through Scholastic with author Sarah Roberts , an explorer and biologist who has written children's books. She explained about different careers we could have if we were interested in animals and conservation. This linked nicely to our recent Live and Let Live IPC topic. Some children said they would like to be explorers, paleantologists and film-makers! The excitement continues with the Masked Reader and Book Day dressing up ....

On Wednesday morning, Year 3 took part in a special Stop and Read session to celebrate World Book Week. For 20 minutes, everything paused as the classroom filled with the quiet excitement of children getting lost in their favourite stories. Children brought in books from home and chose texts from our class library, settling down in cosy corners to enjoy uninterrupted reading time. There was a wonderful variety of books being explored. It was fantastic to see such focus and enthusiasm, with everyone fully immersed in their stories. The session was a lovely reminder of how powerful and enjoyable reading can be and a perfect way to celebrate our love of books together. I love reading because I lose myself in the book and it's fun William

To make the most of the beautiful spring weather and in celebration of World Book Week , we decided to take today’s reading session outdoors. Surrounded by the fresh air and sunshine, it was the perfect setting for diving into our latest chapter. Today, we explored Chapter 16 (Goodnight Mr Tom) , which sparked a lively discussion about language. The open-air environment seemed to inspire even more thoughtful insights and reflections from everyone, making our literary conversation richer and more engaging.

Thank you to all who purchased books from our recent book fair! This has rasised a wonderful £98.66 in rewards for the school! We can use this money to purchase books from scholastic to continue the children's love of reading here at St Pius X!  Thank you so much! 

Year 5 have been immersed in Louis Sachar’s There’s a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom , and as we approached the end of the novel, the big question remained: What happens next? The children were tasked with writing the "missing" Chapter 48, exploring Bradley’s journey as he continues to navigate his new friendships and newfound self-confidence. Instead of reaching straight for the pens, we took a detour into drama . Planning through drama allowed the students to: Test Dialogue: They could hear how Bradley or Carla might actually sound, making their written dialogue much more authentic. Feel the Emotion: By physically acting out a scene, the children tapped into the "butterflies" Bradley feels, or the frustration of a misunderstanding.  We can’t wait to see these dramatic performances translated into what promise to be some of the wonderful pieces of writing. 

  This week, our Year 3 class explored a chapter from The Iron Man  by Ted Hughes through role-play. After reading the chapter together, the children discussed the key events, characters, and emotions before bringing the scene to life. The children worked in groups to act out the chapter, using voice, movement, and facial expressions to show how the characters were feeling. Everyone had a role, which helped build confidence and teamwork. The activity supported children’s understanding of the story and developed speaking and listening skills in a fun, memorable way. Role-play proved to be an engaging way for Year 3 to deepen their connection with the text. I can't wait to see how it ends! Bow

Next week the Book fair will arrive in school. It will be in the school hall on the following dates and times:  Thursday 5th February - 3.20pm Friday 6th February - 3.20pm Monday 9th February  - During Parents' evening Tuesday 10th February - During Parents' evening Your child will be able to use their 'World book day token' in advance at the book fair - all children will receive £1 off any purchases.  Please note that the book fair is now cashless! You pay via QR code online. 

 This half term, we have introduced new writing lessons, called Drawing Club. Children focus on a story, traditional tale or cartoon each week. We discuss new vocabulary similar to that in the text and then draw our own creations. Alongside this, children have to write the magic code of their choosing to bring their pencil to life and perform all sorts of magic. On day 1, we draw a main character, day 2 is setting and days 3 and 4 are when our creativity truly starts- Adventure Time. These lessons allow children to take the story in any direction they choose.  The children are really pushing themselves with their writing without even knowing it. They truly want to write so their picture becomes whatever they imagine.  This week, we are focusing on The Gingerbread Man. On Monday we drew the Gingerbread Man, Tuesday we drew the river he had to cross and today we decided to bring in a new character.  'I'm going to draw a stinky carrot'- Macie  'Mine is the happy le...

 This week, the children have loved playing and engaging in our Christmas Post Office. They have had access to postcards, Christmas cards, stamps and other writing materials for them to mark make on and write words. Everyone has loved using the postbox that Mrs Wiseman made us to 'post' our letters and cards. Later in the week, we enhanced the provision by adding letters to Santa for the children to write on. There's been some great conversations happening in the role play area.  'I want a big car to ride in, so big like me'- Esther 'Come in what do you want to buy?'- Grace 'Let's write to Santa'- Immanuel 

Our annual reading stay and learn was a beautiful sight to behold! So many parents and guardians took time out of their busy schedules to join their children, settle into a cozy corner, and simply share a book. From picture books filled with vibrant illustrations to chapter books sparking thrilling imaginations, the variety of stories being enjoyed was wonderful. This afternoon was much more than a simple reading session; it was a purposeful opportunity to help develop and cement our children's love of reading. We know that when children see their parents value and enjoy books, it makes a huge, positive impact on their own motivation. Modeling Engagement: Parents were fantastic role models, demonstrating how to hold a book, turn pages carefully, and become completely absorbed in the plot. Creating Positive Memories: Associating books with quality time and a warm, inviting atmosphere builds lifelong positive feelings about reading. Building Fluency: For our younger students, hearing...

The crayons are not happy! Our class book is 'The Day the Crayons Came Home' by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers. You can read the story here . We have explored the different emotions the crayons have shown towards their owner, Duncan, including anger, pride, anxiety and joy! The crayons write postcards to Duncan so we decided to write one too. We had to imagine how we would feel and give reasons. Here are some examples of our wonderful writing...