Diary Dates
July
- Tuesday 22nd - Year 6 Leavers BBQ
- Wednesday 23rd - Year 6 Leavers Assembly - 2.30pm
- Last day of term
September
- Monday 1st - INSET Day (School Closed for Children)
- Tuesday 2nd - Children return to school
- Monday 15th - Flu Immunisations
- Monday 29th - Year 5 Walk IT
October
- Friday 10th - Individual photos
- Monday 27th - Friday 31st - October Half Term
November
- Tuesday 11th - Year 6 Height & Weight Screening
- Wednesday 26th - Flu Immunisation mop-up
December
- Friday 19th - INSET Day (School closed for children)
- Monday 22nd - Friday 2nd January - Christmas Break
Year 6 Production
Our amazing Year 6 children wowed audiences this week with their end-of-year production, Octopus vs Stingray : Survival of the Fittest. Full of humour, energy, and creativity, the show was a huge success! A highlight was the hilarious and spot-on performances of pupils playing the roles of our own teachers, making everyone laugh. Special mention goes to the two Action Jacksons for a show-stopping performance! Well done to all the children—you were confident, talented, and absolutely brilliant.
Principal for the Day
On Friday Porters has some new leaders! Year 6 children were elected to be the Principal and Vice Principals of the school for one day. They set the timetable and activities for the day, chose the lunch with Chef David, lead the staff briefing and met parents at the gates at the start of the day.
A Huge Thank You for Supporting Our Book Fair!
We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the parents, families, and carers who supported our recent school book fair. Your generosity, enthusiasm, and participation helped make the event a wonderful success!
We’re delighted to share that the book fair raised a fantastic total of £927.11. Thanks to your incredible support, we now have £463.56 to spend on brand-new books for our school. These funds will go directly towards enriching our library and classroom micro-libraries, helping us put more inspiring, engaging, and age-appropriate books into the hands of our students.
Book fairs are not only about raising funds—they’re about building a love of reading, sparking curiosity, and creating lasting memories. It was a joy to see so many children excited to explore the world through books, and your involvement played a big part in making that happen.
Thank you once again for helping us nurture a strong reading culture in our school. We truly appreciate your continued support!
Nursery
This week we have been enjoying all our favourite things we have enjoyed at nursery throughout the year. We are continuing to talk about moving up to Reception in September.
We have also enjoyed role play with our teachers both inside and outside in the garden.
REMINDER: Please remember our last day is Wednesday 23rd July.
Letters sent home this week
Reception
This week Reception had a brilliant time at the disco on Monday. We enjoyed the show and all the dancing. This week we have been focusing on listening skills and following instructions. We used our listening skills to identify the sounds around, identify sounds in a story and used our voices to repeat different sounds in our music lesson. In art we followed step by step instructions to draw a picture. In maths we have been revising various concepts such as addition and subtraction, patterns and positional language.
REMINDER: Next week we will collect in your child's reading book and reading record this will be passed up to Year One.
Letters sent home this week
Year 1
The children have worked very hard to create a narrative piece of writing based on a video called “The Little Boat”. The children watched intently as the little boat went on lots of different adventures.
In maths, we have been looking at clocks and practising reading clocks to the hour and half an hour. So, no trying to send the children to bed earlier now I’m afraid as they will know how to tell the time!
We have visited year 2 this week as well to help with our transition in September.
REMINDER: We will be collecting all of the children’s reading books and reading records ready for when they go into year 2. Your child’s year 2 teacher will assign new reading records and new books in September.
All PE kits will go home to be washed. Please check them to ensure they fit – trainers/plimsols and return them in September named and ready to use.
Letters sent home this week
Year 2
The children had a blast at the disco on Monday; there were treats, an entertainer and lots of breakdancing! Seahorse also experienced the mobile climbing wall from Indie Rock, every child demonstrated how strong they were!
In English, the children have revisited homophones, contractions and apostrophes to help embed these skills into their writing. The children have demonstrated what they can recall from the unit of ‘place value’ using numbers to 100.
Year 2 have also had another transition morning with their new teachers and became really excited at the thought of becoming Year 3!
REMINDER: Please make sure all reading books and library books are returned by the end of term.
Thank you, children and parents, for a wonderful year and we hope you all have a restful break.
Letters sent home this week
Year 3
This week in English, year 3 have been writing their reports about the legacy that the Romans left behind in Britain. We have used subheadings and included some illustrations. In history we have learned about Roman villas and the layout and names of the rooms. We started a new topic in maths all about statistics, starting with reading and interpreting pictograms.
REMINDER: Please bring back all reading and library books before the end of term.
If you have borrowed any items of PE kit, please return them as soon as possible. PE kits will come home on Friday for the end of term.
Letters sent home this week
Year 4
This week, year four have been working hard learning about statistics in maths lessons. We have been interpreting and drawing our own charts, including line graphs and pictograms. In English we have been revising key features of writing within year four such as apostrophes and fronted adverbials. We had a wonderful time at the disco on Monday and have been very excited to watch the talent show too!
REMINDER: PE kits will be coming home next week after our PE lessons and children's school reading books will need to be brought in and collected by staff.
Letters sent home this week
Year 5
This week, year five have been getting to grips with all sorts – from climbing walls to writing challenges. We were very lucky to receive an opportunity to use a climbing wall (from local hosts IndiRock) on Monday. Here, we used our learning powers, like not giving up and having a go, to scale new heights and reach the top. The children had a great time, and a big thank you to the IndiRock staff for the opportunity! Back in class, the learning also continued, where we completed creative writing challenges in English, ranging from writing a horror story in only three sentences, to becoming dragons and describing our treasure horde using figurative language. Phew – what a busy last full week!
A big thank you from the school staff for all your hard work this year.
Enoy a restful summer and we wish you every success for next year and beyond.
Good luck!
The year five team.
Letters sent home this week
Year 6
This week, we performed our end of year production to the school and parents. It was wonderful to see everyone gaining confidence in performing and public speaking as neither are easy. We are now busy practising the Leaver’s Assembly.
In science, we finished our topic on evolution with an investigation into birds – the relationship between the shapes of their beaks and what they eat.
In PE, we reminded ourselves of all the climbing skills we learnt in the Autumn term at IndiRock. The climbing wall on the playground may not have been as high but it was still challenging and great fun. We are also continuing our unit on team work and developing our communication skills when playing games. PE kits will be sent home on Tuesday after our BBQ and water fight in the afternoon. If you no longer need them, we would be very grateful if they can be donated to the Second Hand Uniform Shop.
Thank you so much for all your support this year, it has been a privilege to teach your children and watch them get ready for secondary school. We wish them the very best for the future.
Monday – visit to the park. Children need:
- a packed lunch (free school meals provided)
- to wear school PE kit or school uniform
- bring water bottle, sun cream and a hat
Tuesday – BBQ and water fight in school
Book on ParentPay at home or at school and choose the BBQ option (beef burger, vegetarian burger, potato wedges, house salad, vanilla ice cream or fresh fruit)
- usual price for lunch or covered by free school meals
- bring packed lunch if do not want the BBQ
Wednesday – Leaver's Assembly
- 2:30pm
- parents, carers and family are welcome
- children will be given a T Shirt and can bring a plain white one from home to sign
Letters sent home this week
Music
Would you like your child to learn a musical instrument?
We are currently organising lessons and tutors for September. These lessons are either 1:1 with the tutor, or 2 pupils sharing the time. If you would like your child to take up this opportunity, please collect a letter from the school office. This letter will provide details of the instruments available and the costs involved (Funding is available for recipients of free school meals). Students currently having lessons are guaranteed a place to continue and should have received a separate letter confirming this.
French
This week years one, three and six have had some fun challenges in French in which they have reviewed their most recent learning and consolidated it.
PE & Sport
A big ‘Well Done’ to the children who took part in the Indi Rock wall challenge. Jonny was very impressed with your efforts as was I, so huge congratulations and I hope you enjoyed the experience. Mr Sesniak.
Water Safety
Whether it’s sunny days at the beach or fun in the paddling pool, children are naturally drawn to water. But with excitement comes risk. This guide brings together 10 clear, practical tips to help parents and educators protect children around water – whether that’s at home, on school trips or on holiday.
Backed by the Royal Life Saving Society UK, the advice includes knowing what beach flags mean, avoiding inflatables in open water, and learning to ‘float and call’ in an emergency. With a focus on prevention and supervision, this guide is a must-read for summer safety and beyond.
Second Hand Uniform Shop
Our Uniform shop is located within the front reception area of the school and is open Monday-Friday 8.30am - 4.00pm. All items are 50p each (cash only please). We always have a good selection of skirts, trousers, jumpers, tops, dresses and P.E items. Please ask at the office to point you in the right direction.
Donations
We always welcome school uniform donations for us to sell at our school uniform shop. Could we please ask that the clothes are in good, clean condition. All items can be dropped off at the school office between 8.30am - 4.00pm. Thank you so much for doing this for the school as it helps our parents out tremendously.
Thank you
Attendance
End of Year Attendance
As we approach the end of another busy school year, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for your continued support in helping us promote good attendance across our school community.
Next week, you will receive your child’s registration document, which outlines how their attendance mark for the year has been calculated. We hope this will give you a clear picture of their attendance journey throughout the year.
We’re also delighted to share that your child will be receiving their attendance certificate during the leavers’ assembly next week, as part of our celebration of their efforts and commitment to attending school.
Thanks to your support, we are proud to say that our whole school attendance has improved compared to last year – a brilliant achievement we couldn’t have done without you. We are especially grateful to those parents who worked closely with us to support improvements in their child’s attendance – your partnership has made a real difference.
As we get ready to say goodbye to this academic year, the Attendance Team wish you and your family a wonderful summer break. We hope it brings rest, fun, and plenty of time to recharge – ready for a fresh and positive start in September 2025.
Contact us
Continue to contact the school to talk to us for support or advice on attendance or punctuality, to contact the Attendance Team and ask to speak to, Mrs S. Dowd, Attendance Administrator or Mrs D Morris Assistant Principal and Senior Leader for Attendance, you can also pop in to the school office to request to speak to one of us face to face, alternatively you call the school or send us an email to attendance@pgps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk we are here and we are always happy to help!
Being ready for every day and getting in on time is the challenge you set yourself to achieve greatness!
Dinner Menu
Week 2
Monday
- Beef Bolognaise & Penne Pasta Bake
- Vegan Bolognaise with Spaghetti
- Jacket Potato with Baked Beans
- Cauliflower & Green Beans
- Maryland Cookie
Tuesday
Excluding Year 6 - Leavers BBQ to be booked on ParentPay
- Creamy Chicken & Vegetable Pesto Pasta Bake
- Vegan Spiced Squash & Potato Samosa
- Pasta with Squash & Tomato Sauce
- Carrots & Peas
- Carrot & Apple Flapjack
Wednesday
- Honey Roast Gammon with Gravy
- Vegan Bombay Chickpea Burrito
- Pasta with Squash & Tomato Sauce
- Roast Potatoes, Seasonal Greens & Carrots
- Jam Sponge
Community
Cost of Living Advice
Click here to access cost of living advice from Southend City Council. It contains information on housing support, energy cost advice and benefits and support for those with children.
Credits:
Created with images by Rara - "books in colored covers swirl on a blue background, copy space" • Ekaterina Pokrovsky - "French national flag" • M.studio - "healthy eating concept"