Outdoor Learning
This week the children went outside with Mrs Britton to enjoy a range of outdoor learning activities. The Year One children made bird feeders using lard, bird seed and yoghurt pots. They also helped to clear the leaves from the grass; however, there was a problem — there were far too many leaves for the bin! The children had to think creatively about how to make more space, and they came up with the idea of stamping on the leaves. The children took turns carefully standing in the bin to squash them down (a great risk–benefit activity, closely supervised, with Mrs Britton holding their hands to keep everyone safe — and very giggly!). Another group of Year One children explored patterns they could find in leaves, trees and clouds. They identified leaves that were as big as their faces and then organised the leaves into groups such as green, spotty, spiky and rotting. This led to an in-depth discussion about the differences between leaves and what leaf veins are for. Meanwhile, Nursery ventured outside to make spiny hedgehogs. As the ground was very muddy, the children changed into welly boots and practised putting them on and taking them off independently.
Nursery
What an amazing week we have had at nursery. The week started with our Parent/child decoration and singing sessions. Everyone had an amazing time. We have then had lots of festive fun at nursery, making lots of Christmas related crafts. On Wednesday we enjoyed looking at everyone’s Christmas jumper and on Friday lots of fun was had at our Christmas party.
REMINDER: Have an amazing Christmas break, stay safe and healthy. We look forward to seeing everyone back in 2026 for the start of another fabulous Nursery class year.
Reception
What a festive, fun and fantastic last week of term. The children were amazing in their nativity show and enjoyed the colourful Christmas jumper day. In maths we have been learning about the properties of 2D shapes and we have continued to learn our sounds and blend them to read. We have also been learning about other faiths and the children enjoyed watching Mrs Caplan light her chanukah candles.
REMINDER: The Reception staff wish you all a very restful break and look forward to seeing you in 2026.
Year 1
Year 1 have had an incredibly busy last week. The children absolutely smashed the nativity and had a great time performing in front on their special adults. We hope you enjoyed it too. Christmas jumper day was a spectacle of colour, cards and fun! The children really enjoyed making their Christmas cards to take home. Friday’s party day was awesome too. We had lots of fun dancing, eating and playing games.
REMINDER: Some children have 2 books to read over the Christmas break. Read as much as you can as well as have lots of fun whilst you’re away! PE days will be a Monday from after Christmas. Make sure PE kits are returned named and ready to use. Have a lovely break. The Autumn term has been a busy one, but the children have been brilliant.
Year 2
In year 2, the children have been recognising the difference between the words ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’. They have also learned about compound words where two small words are put together to make a new word. Some children have been focussing on forming the letters ‘d’ and ‘g’ correctly. In maths, the children have been comparing 2D and 3D shapes and working out shape problems and patterns. The children also performed their Christmas Nativity which was great fun- it was fantastic to see the children shine throughout the performance!
REMINDER: Wow, what a week! Thank you to the parents who came to watch the performance, we hope you enjoyed it. We hope you have a restful break.
Year 3
Year 3 have been busy finishing work and preparing for the Christmas holiday! They have made cards, calendars and decorations for the classroom. In maths, they finished the unit of multiplication and division. They completed an assessment and were very successful in remembering all of the different methods to multiply and divide. In English, they wrote acrostic poems and created their own monsters based on a Christmas advert.
REMINDER: Please ensure that your child is reading over the Christmas holiday. PE kits need to be brought back the first day of the new term please. We hope you have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Year 4
We have had a busy week enjoying all the festivities. We all enjoyed watching the Key Stage 1 performance and Christmas dinner was delicious. In English we have been planning and writing our own winter poems, trying to include rhyming couplets. In maths we have been revising some key skills including negative numbers, factor pairs, fractions, co-ordinate and multi-step problems.
REMINDER: Please continue to read regularly and use TTRS over the winter break.
Year 5
Year 5 have really loved our very festive last week at school. We really enjoyed performing our carols at our Year 5 and 6 Carol Concert on Wednesday and want to thank everyone who came to watch and celebrate with us. In English this week, we wrote some festive and winter themed Haikus that we made into little cards, really concentrating on the 5-7-5 Haiku syllable pattern in our poems. In addition to this, we also completed a Christmas film review which we really enjoyed. In Maths, we have been powering on with our fractions unit and are making some great progress with our knowledge. In Layered Reading our festivities continued, we worked on answering lots of festive and Christmas based comprehension questions to help us with our recall and inference skills.
REMINDER: Our PE days are changing when we return to school in January. From January our PE days will be Wednesday and Thursday. Please strive to read for 20 minutes each night with your child (even over the winter break) and ensure that you sign your child's reading record.
Year 6
It has been a fun and festive final week of school! We have enjoyed making our Santa traps in DT, combining our knowledge of coding, electrical circuits and design specification. In English, we have been doing some descriptive writing based on a video about a girl who becomes great friends with a snowman that she makes. We really enjoyed performing our carols at our Year 5 and 6 Carol Concert and eating our Chrismas dinner together on Wednesday.
REMINDER: From January, our PE days will be Tuesday and Friday. Please strive to read for 20 minutes each night with your child (even over the winter break) and ensure that you sign your child's reading record.
Music
Well done to all involved in the various Christmas performances that have taken place this week. The hard work and rehearsals have paid off, and the singing was amazing. Music Lessons All of our tutors have now completed the 10-week block for this term. Lessons will resume in January
French
This week, all classes have been learning Christmas vocabulary to greater and lesser amounts; all classes have also followed instructions in French on creating a Christmas tree, origami-style!
Online Safety
AI-driven toys are becoming increasingly common, offering children personalised interactions that can feel surprisingly lifelike. This guide unpacks how these toys listen, learn, and respond – and what that means for privacy, security, and healthy development. From data collection to the subtle influence of artificial voices, it highlights why adults may need to look more closely at the tech inside modern playthings. It also explores how features such as constant connectivity, engagement-boosting rewards, and behaviour-shaping responses can affect children’s play habits. Alongside outlining the risks, the guide shares calm, practical advice to help parents and educators set boundaries, check permissions, and balance AI toys with offline experiences, ensuring AI remains a support for real-world interactions, not a substitute for them.
Second Hand Uniform
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.
Attendance
Attendance Update – Autumn Term End
A huge thank you to all our parents and carers for your continued support with attendance this autumn term. Good attendance is key to successful learning, and we appreciate the effort you put into establishing strong routines and fostering a love of school. We are delighted to celebrate Octopus Class, who achieved the highest number of attendance certificates this term – an amazing 11 certificates out of 15 weeks! Starfish Class came a close second with 10 certificates, and Lobster Class followed in third place with 9 certificates. Well done to all the children and their families for their commitment and enthusiasm. Looking ahead to the start of the Spring Term, we will be recognising Attendance Excellence by celebrating those children who set a strong standard in the Autumn term, achieving 100% attendance or 96% and above. Keep up the fantastic effort – every day counts!
Let’s continue to work together to make next term our best yet for attendance!
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 and ask to speak to, Mrs Dowd our Attendance Administrator or Mrs D Morris our 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!
NEW MENU
Lunch menu
Week 1
Monday
- Beef Bolognaise with Spaghetti
- Spinach & Pesto Sauce with Spaghetti
- Baked Jacket Potato with Baked Beans
- Broccoli & Sweetcorn
- Chocolate & Courgette Sponge
Tuesday
- Thai Green Chicken Curry with Steamed Rice
- Vegetable Pasanda Curry with Steamed Rice
- Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce
- Steamed Peas & Cauliflower
- Vanilla Ice Cream
Wednesday
- BBQ Style Hunters Roast Chicken with Roast Potatoes & Gravy
- Mac N' Cheese with Garlic Bread
- Baked Jacket Potato with Baked Beans
- Carrots & Steamed Greens
- Banana Flapjack
Thursday
- Chilli Beef Taco with Cajan Sweet Potato Wedges
- Vegetarian Chilli Taco with Cajun Sweet Potato Wedges
- Pasta with Squash & Tomato Sauce
- Roasted Carrots & Sweetcorn
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
Friday
- Fish Fingers, Chips & Ketchup
- Vegan Vegetable Fingers with Chips
- Baked Jacket Potato with Baked Beans
- Baked Beans & Peas
- Maryland Cookie
Available every day Salad Bar Fresh fruit, yoghurt and Jelly
Cost of Living
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 Fabio Principe - "A diary open with instruments for writing. Pencil, eraser and notebook on white background. Close up of a wooden pen orange and black, an eraser green and a booklet black. " • Ekaterina Pokrovsky - "French national flag" • Pungu x - "Username and password (Login) with biometric identification fingerprint scanner, encryption for technology cyber security internet and networking system. Businessman hand typing notebook (Laptop)." • Pixel-Shot - "School uniform on color background" • pjjaruwan - "Chef standing behind full lunch service station with assortment of food in trays." • Vitalii Vodolazskyi - "Cost of living written in a notebook and calculations of home finances."