Diary Dates
March
- Friday 29th - GOOD FRIDAY - School closed
April
- Monday 1st - EASTER MONDAY - School closed
- Tuesday 2nd - Friday 12th - EASTER HOLIDAYS
- Monday 15th April - Back to school
- Thursday 18th - Times Table Rock Stars Parent Events at 9.00am & 2.50pm
- Wednesday 24th & Thursday 25th - Y3 & Y4 Performance
May
- Monday 6th - BANK HOLIDAY - School Closed
- Monday 13th - Thursday 16th - KS2 SATS week
- Wednesday 15th - Nursery parents in for National Smiles Week
- Monday 20th - Making the Band Day Y5/6
- Monday 27th - BANK HOLIDAY - School Closed
- Tuesday 28th - Friday 31st - May Half Term
June
- Monday 3rd - INSET DAY
- Wednesday 5th - Drumming Workshop
- Monday 10th - Friday 14th - Healthy Eating Week
- Monday 24th - Wednesday 26th - Swimming Lessons at West Leigh Junior School
July
- Friday 5th - Year 6 Transition Day
- Monday 8th - Wednesday 10th - Art and D&T Festival
- Tuesday 9th July - Open Evening
- Wednesday 10th - Friday 12th - Danbury Residential trip
- Friday 19th - Last Day of Term
Benchball
On Wednesday 20th March, we took two teams of year 5 and 6 girls to a benchball competition at Thorpe Hall School. They played against a range of other schools and won several of their games. One of our teams won every game they played! The girls played brilliantly, represented the school with exceptional behaviour and showed good sportsmanship to all the girls they played against. We are very proud of them all and it was great to see them having so much fun.
Nursery
We have had an amazing week in Nursery; we are really enjoying writing our name, letters and numbers. We have also enjoyed lots of springtime and Easter activities. Egg hunts, egg and spoon races and drawing pictures of what we think the Easter bunny may look like.
REMINDERS: Have an amazing half term holiday, keep safe and well and see you all back to nursery on Monday 15th April.
Reception
This week we carried out a science investigation. We looked at daffodils, noting how long they last in a vase and what happens if they are not put in water. We will be planting flowers outside in the summer term. We have continued to make repeating patterns using different means, e.g. colours, shapes, objects. In phonics we have been assessing have many sounds we know. We are very proud of ourselves.
REMINDER: Have a wonderful half term. Remember to sing songs, read books, play outside and meet friends. We look forward to hearing your news when we return on Monday 15th April.
Year 1
We have had a great week. The children have been learning about prefixes and how a prefix like ‘un’ can change the meaning of a word, eg. happy and unhappy. In maths, the children have been measuring using rulers; they had great fun measuring items around the class. The children also measured the tallest and shortest children in class. Mrs Britton drew around them and it was great fun! Geography has been a great focus this week; the children drew simple maps of their classroom and they were also intrigued to see a birds eye view of the school!
REMINDER: Please remember to check SeeSaw; it’s our online learning platform with great activities to complete. Please remember to read regularly with your child.
Year 2
In our English lessons, we honed our punctuation skills and placed special emphasis on apostrophes. We practised these skills with our best handwriting, ensuring clarity and precision in our written work. In maths we’ve been measuring in litres and working with capacity and volume using the four operations. We’ve also been learning about temperature, which has been really interesting. Our science lessons have been all about food chains. We’ve been using words like producer, consumer, and predator to understand how living things depend on each other.
REMINDER: Please remember to have a PE kit in school on a Tuesday.
Record daily reading in your home school diary.
Year 3
This week in maths we are continuing to explore mass and capacity, specifically focusing on grams and kilograms this week. We were comparing and ordering with both units of measurement. In English we will now be beginning to plan to create our own persuasive posters on a topic we have been exploring in depth in many lessons - ‘water’ and the ways it is wasted and how to save more and be more ‘water wise’.
REMINDER: Year 3 and 4 production: the Year 3 performance is on Wednesday 24th April at 2:30pm. This week our poem for our performance will be going home with the children; can you make sure that they are reading this and practising what they need to say and also their actions.
Year 4
We have continued learning about fractions this week, with a focus on equivalent fractions eg ½ = 3/6. In English, we have used the persuasive language we learnt last week to encourage people to visit Brazil. Their writing is full of emotive language and noun phrases. In science, we took part in a solids, liquids and gases quiz then made up one of our own. It was a great way to revise what we have learnt this term and we were very impressed with how much everyone had remembered. We have carried on practising our songs and dance ready for the Year 3 and 4 production next term.
REMINDER: Year 3 and 4 production: the Year 4 performance is on Thursday 25th April at 2:30pm.
Have a great half term, please read over the holiday.
Times table fact for this week:
He stood in line and ate a ton, 9 x 9 = 81
Everyone has worked hard to learn their times tables. Please try to practise at least 3 times a week over the holidays otherwise some of this progress will be lost.
Year 5
This week, Year 5 have been independently writing their diary entries from the perspective of archaeologist Howard Carter, as he discovers the tomb of Tutankhamun. In maths, we have been grappling with area, perimeter and statistics. In geography, we compared two eco cities (Freiburg and Curitiba) and looked at what features made them so eco-friendly! We then used this as a basis to plan out our own environmentally friendly cities.
REMINDER: Have a lovely half term; please continue to read and practise your times tables.
There is some work set on Education City for you if you wish to revise over the holidays!
There is also a design challenge based around our eco-cities.
Have a lovely break and bring on the summer!
Year 6
This week, Year 6 have been independently writing a non-chronological report about the Ancient Greeks. They have included a number of skills such as: using the active and passive voice; including colons and semi-colons in lists and including formal vocabulary. In the history lessons, they have learnt about the different styles of Greek architecture and its continuing influence. In science, they completed a scientific investigation and continued to enjoy playing tag ruby and developing their athletic skills in PE.
REMINDER: Please remember to have a PE kit in school on Wednesday and Friday.
Record daily reading in your home school diary.
Enjoy the holiday!
French
This week year one have enjoyed learning about some colours in French and year six have been learning how to describe their character.
Music
Music Clubs
- Tuesday 12.00pm: Band
- Tuesday 3.30pm: Music Making (Yrs 1,2)
- Thursday 3.30pm: Choir (Yrs 3,4,5,6).
Instrumental Lessons
We do have a few vacancies, please contact Mrs Baines if your child would like to learn an instrument.
- Tuesday am: Drums (Mr Fletcher)
- Tuesday am: Guitar (Mr Brown)
- Wednesday am: Keyboard (Mr Hockey)
- Wednesday am: Guitar (Mr Elliot)
Future Events
- 13th June Junior Music Fesitval - KS2 Choir
Online Safety
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Clickbait, as it’s known, can frequently function as part of a trap: intended to draw users in for the sake of advertising revenue or, in worse cases, masking an attempting to collect their personal information. This guide explores the various risks of clickbait and offers some top tips for evading the pitfalls of this controversial marketing technique.
Second Hand Uniform Shop
Our Uniform shop is located within the front reception area of the school and is open Monday-Friday 8.15am - 4.00pm. All items are 50p each. 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.
School Uniform 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 8.15am - 4.00pm. Thank you so much for doing this for the school as it helps our parents out tremendously.
Attendance
Celebration Assembly Attendance Awards
Congratulations to the two classes in Year 4 that achieved our attendance target this week. A big well done also went to Pebble Class who had the highest attendance in Key Stage 1 for the second week in a row.
This week we had 334 children who achieved 100% attendance, which is absolutely amazing, and punctuality week saw the least number of late marks in a week for the year, with only 57 recorded late marks across the school during that week.
Aim to attend school 100% of every week.
Punctuality Week Awards
Punctuality awards were shared in Monday’s celebrations assembly with 317 children achieving ‘Gold Award 100% Punctuality’ certificates. 16 children achieved a ‘Most improved Punctuality’ certificate as they were able to step up to the challenge of ensuring they came to school on time for that week.
Gold certificates and awards went to Pebble and Sea Turtle classes for having just one recorded late mark during the week. Silver certificates and awards went to Shell, Seahorse and Porpoise for having just two recorded late marks during the week and finally Octopus Class were awarded the Bronze certificate for having just four recorded late marks for the week. Thank you to all the families that supported their children in being Punctuality Heroes.
Being here Is half the Battle.
the small moments in a school day make a real difference to your child.
Contact us
If you would like to talk to someone for support or advice on attendance or punctuality, please do not hesitate to contact the Attendance Team, Mrs S. Wyer, Attendance Administrator or Mrs D Morris Assistant Principal and Senior Leader for Attendance, you can pop in to the school office to speak face to face, alternatively you call the school or drop an email to attendance@pgps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk we here and we are always happy to help!
From the first day of term to the last, the small moments in a school day make a real difference to your child.
Dinner Menu
Week 1
Monday - Beef Bolognaise with Spaghetti - Vegan Bolognaise with Spaghetti- Baked Jacket with Grated Cheese - Peas & Broccoli - Maryland Cookie.
Tuesday - Ham & Cheese Pizza with Baked Wedges - Margherita Pizza with Baked Wedges - Pasta & Tomato Sauce - Carrots & Sweetcorn - Apple Crumble & Custard
Wednesday - Roast Chicken with Roast Potatoes & Gravy - Vegan Vegetable Biryani - Baked Jacket with Baked Beans - Seasonal Greens & Cauliflower - Cherry Cornflake Cake
Thursday - Chilli Con Carne with Steamed Rice - Vegan Bean Chilli with Steamed Rice - Pasta & Tomato Sauce - Broccoli & Carrots - Chocolate & Pear Sponge
Friday - Breaded Fish Fingers with Chips & ketchup - Vegan Goujons with Chips & Ketchup - Baked Jacket with Grated Cheese - Peas & Baked Beans - Banana Flapjack