porters grange weekly newsletter week ending 15TH march 2024

Comic Relief

Thank you to everyone for your donations to Comic Relief. The children enjoyed their non-uniform day, shared some fantastic jokes and even got to laugh at the expense of some teachers having a race on some very small bikes!

Book Fair

Monday 18th to Friday 22nd March

Next week we have the Scholastic Book Fair visiting! On Monday to Friday, straight after school in the North Hall, the fair will be available to browse and purchase new reads. Every purchase enables us to buy new books for our library! You can pay either by cash or online via QR link. The fair will be open during both parents' evenings on Tuesday and Wednesday . Alongside the fair, we will sell 2nd hand books that have been withdrawn from our library - 10 books for £1 come a grab a bargain!

Nursery

This week we have been enjoying finding out about different animals using lots of different sources including books and the internet. We have learnt some facts about them and so have our teachers! We have also visited the music room and investigated lots of different instruments which we really enjoyed.

REMINDERS: If you have any books about animals you share at home, we would love to read them to the class. Please bring them in to Nursery.

Reception

This week we have had fun learning about Ramanan and Eid. We have been learning about hydration and why we need to drink water. We have been learning how to compose a sentence saying out loud what we want to write, segmenting the sounds and writing the correct letter to match the sounds. In maths we have been learning the different ways to make 10 also known as number bonds. E.g. 4 + 6 and 9 +1.

REMINDER: Please read at home at least 3 times a week and sign the reading journal.

Year 1

The children have been writing instructions and using time conjunctions and bossy verbs to make their instructions clear.

In maths, they have been practising ‘partitioning’ where they separate a number into tens and ones.

As part of their geography lessons, we have been looking at the four countries of the United Kingdom; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and how to correctly identify them on a map.

REMINDER: All reading books must be in school every day. Children read with different adults each week and we cannot track progress without their books or reading records.

Year 2

In English, we had a blast making our sentences more interesting with adjectives and adverbs. We also created detailed fact files about selected animals and transformed them into captivating Top Trump cards. In maths we measured things! We used rulers to see how long things are, learning to measure in metres and centimetres. In history, we continued our exploration of dinosaurs. We matched dinosaurs to their fossil counterparts.

REMINDER: Please remember your child’s PE kit on Tuesdays and to enjoy nightly reading sessions with your child.

Year 3

This week in English we have been writing up our own stories based on the book ‘The Water Princess’. We have modified and embellished the details to make it our own and focused on improving our language focusing closely on conjunctions and adjectives. In maths we continue to explore fractions, focusing on equivalent fractions. We have also dived right in to learning our songs for our production for after Easter.

REMINDER: If your child has come home with some lines to learn, it would be very beneficial to let them practise reading them to you and anyone in the household, as the more they practise, the more confident they will be. Also get your child singing the songs, any practice would be greatly appreciated.

Year 4

In English, we have written our own stories about ancient Mayan gods based on the book ‘Rain Player’. We made it interesting to read by adding fronted adverbials eg After sunset and With a growl. In maths, we have started comparing and ordering fractions.

We are continuing to learn our songs for our Year 3 and 4 production next term and have started learning a dance too. We have cooked chipacitos (cheesey dough balls) and they were delicious!

REMINDER: Times table fact for this week:

9 and 7 climb a tree, 9 x 7 = 63

Year 5

This week, in English, we have been creating our own narratives and writing stories! We have focused on character development, setting description and adding jeopardy to our writing and wondering whether the heroes will escape. In science, we continued to look at different materials and their properties and in PSHE, we looked at stereotypes and how they can lead to prejudice if unchallenged.

REMINDER: Please remember a suitable PE kit for Monday and Friday.

Please strive to read for 20 minutes a night and record this in your home school diary.

Year 6

This week, Year 6 have begun to write a diary entry, based on the story ‘The Long Walk’, from the grandson’s point of view. In our history lessons they have continued to learn about the ancient Greeks and have considered the legacy they left. In PE, the children are developing their athletics skills and have been playing tag rugby.

REMINDER: Please have a PE kit in school on Wednesday and Friday.

Please read daily and write in your home school diary.

French

This week year one have started learning to identify and talk about some of the things in the sea; Year four have started a new topic on how they will spend the weekend; Year six have been describing their hair, eyes and interests in preparation for a few written paragraphs on the topic of themselves.

Music

Music Clubs

• Tuesday 12.00: Band
• Tuesday 12.45: Year 2 Music Club
• Tuesday 3.30: Music Making for Year 1 and 2
• Wednesday 12.45: Choir for Years 3-6
• Thursday 3.30: Choir for Years 3 - 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

• 15th March Southend Makes Music – KS2 Choir
• 19th March Infant Music Festival - 1pm (those involved have been notified by letter)
• 13th June Junior Music Fesitval - KS2 Choir

Online Safety

For children and young people, low-quality sleep can become a serious issue. It has been theorised that poor sleep can have a significant impact on children’s brain development, affecting them for the rest of their lives. A healthy – and consistent – sleeping pattern, therefore, is incredibly important for children and young people’s wellbeing.

With the stresses and distractions that can present themselves to youngsters, it can be tricky to ensure they’re in the best mindset to wind down in the evenings for the rejuvenating rest that they need. This can be the case when they are on digital devices before they go to sleep. The right approach, however, can give them a better chance of cultivating a healthy sleeping pattern. Our guide has some practical tips on helping them to achieve exactly that.