Friars Weekly Newsletter friday 10th october 2025

Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...

• Harvest collection certificate
• A reminder about water in school
• Final call for Waddle-on-Sea photographs... please email them in
• PTA and the Key Stage 2 Library... exciting news in the PTA Section

Over the past two weeks, staff members here at Friars have been updating our lovely corridor displays. Every time the displays are refreshed, we are blown away be the quality, creativity and standards of the children’s work they showcase. When you visit us for our Learning Conversation evenings next week, we think you will be impressed. Thank you to everyone for their hard work.

This week we had a visit from our Trust’s CEO and the Director of Teaching and Learning. As they usually do, they walked the building and spoke with children and staff. They were very impressed by everything they saw and once again commented on the wonderful behaviour of our pupils from all across the school.

As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, we have had a number of new children join our school this autumn which has resulted in the school being almost full – indeed many year groups are. It is fantastic that the school is as popular as it is. In the final week of the half-term, we have the first of our Reception tours for 2026. It will be great to meet prospective parents ahead of next academic year. If you know someone who might be interested in sending their child to Friars, please do share our tour dates below...

If you haven’t yet booked for a Learning Conversation appointment, please do... We look forward to seeing everyone then.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mr. McClay, Principal

Water, water everywhere… please

A reminder that children should have only water in their bottles in classrooms.

If your child has a packed lunch, they can have a different drink.

Water is always available in the lunch hall.

Outside Achievement

Well done to Isabel for her award. Isabel enjoys musical theatre and performed in a play.

Havens Hospices and Waddle-on-Sea

A final call for photographs of the children with the Waddle-on-Sea penguins (big or small).

waddle@fps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk

Harvest collection

Wow... look at just how much food we collected! Thank you again!

Reception 2026

In October and November, we will be hosting tours of the school for prospective parents who are thinking about sending their children to Friars in September 2026. If you have a child of that age, or have friends and family who do, we would be grateful if you could share the dates with them.

• Tour 1: Tuesday October 21 at 9:30am
• Tour 2: Tuesday October 21 at 1:30pm
• Tour 3: Thursday November 13 at 9:30am
• Tour 4: Thursday November 13 at 1:30pm

Tours will last approximately 45 minutes. Both parents and children are welcome to attend.

Nursery

This week in Nursery, we have introduced the activity ‘Write dance’ during our group time activity. During this time the children have the opportunity to explore a range of large movements made with different writing materials, alongside a story and a piece of music. This week we used chalk on rolled out paper and made long lines and big circles on it to represent sandcastles from our story.

One day this week, we had slime in the builder's tray, which was very much a love or hate activity. Whilst some preferred to avoid the slimy texture others couldn’t wait to fill the cool runny slime run throw their fingers, fill pots and pans with it and watch it drip through the holes of a colander.

Thank you to those who were able to join us for Stay and Play this week, please remembers these are fortnightly and all are welcome, including younger siblings.

REMINDER: As the weather is starting to cool down, please ensure children have something to cover their arms when we go outside, a school fleece or light jacket is now needed most days.

Reception

This week, we have introduced the children to the Jewish festival of Sukkot. They have compared this to harvest festival seeing some similarities and some differences.

In maths, we have been comparing sets of items identifying which has more and which has fewer. The children have had opportunities to compare sets in provision using a range of items.

During our phonics lessons, we have introduced the letters e, u, and r, as well as the digraph ck. We have explained that ck is a diagraph – two letters that make one sound. The children have been practising correct letter formation and using these sounds within simple words. We have also taught them to read the tricky words is and I.

We have a lot of unnamed jumpers and cardigans in class. If your child is missing one, please speak to their class teacher.

Please continue to support your child at home by helping them to practise writing their name.

Year 1

We have had another busy week in Year 1. In maths, we have been learning to use the signs that mean greater than, less than and equal too. They have completed a variety of activities to consolidate this topic.

During English, we have continued working on sentence construction and have been using adjectives to describe a person we know.

Our DT lesson was a lot of fun this week as we continued to work on our joining skills to create either a part of a room or a house in preparation for our big project after half term.

Taste was the sense we explored in science this week. The children enjoyed learning about how we taste food and then putting the information to the test.

We look forward to meeting you in our learning conversation evenings next week.

Year 2

After our very enjoyable ‘outdoor learning’ weeks, we have now got back into our usual afternoon routine. We have really enjoyed using the tennis racquets to practise hitting the tennis balls to each other. We had lots of fun... and hopefully we didn’t lose any of the balls!

We have investigated which materials bend, stretch and twist in science and recorded our findings. We also enjoyed comparing seaside holidays from times gone by with our own holidays. The children were surprised that in Victorian times, people had to use a ‘bathing machine’ to get changed and go into the water to swim!

In maths, we have learnt about related facts. If we know our bonds to 10, then bonds to 100 are easy to work out e.g. 6+4 =10 so 60+40=100. We have also begun to add and subtract ones and tens using a range of strategies and equipment.

REMINDER: It has been wonderful to see the support our children have had to learn their spellings – thank you!

Please remember to write in your child’s Reading Record when you hear them read. Many thanks!

Computing

This week in our computing lessons, students from Years 4, 5, and 6 truly immersed themselves in the exciting world of technology and creativity!

On Monday, Year 4 explored photo editing, learning how to clone objects within an image in two innovative ways. They practised techniques to copy and relocate objects, as well as removing them entirely for an enhanced visual effect. This week focused on experimentation, and next session we will discuss how to utilise these skills to create unique compositions.

On Tuesday, Year 6 had the opportunity to finalise their webpages using Microsoft 365’s Sway. The students exhibited impressive determination as they organised their information creatively, incorporating photographs, embedded links, text, and videos. Several students initially felt hesitant about using this platform but demonstrated great perseverance. I encourage everyone to view their innovative work on Showbie, and a special mention goes to those who dedicated time at home to enrich their projects.

Meanwhile, Year 5 students honed their skills in grouping objects to facilitate easier manipulation and learned to merge vector drawings into realistic backgrounds. You can explore some of their fantastic creations on Showbie.

Thursday lunchtime buzzed with activity as students flocked to the computer suite. Although initially intended as a coding club, it evolved into a creative drop-in session, allowing students to engage with PowerPoint, programming games, and even music creation through Chrome Music Lab.

We concluded the week with our inaugural Digital Leaders meeting, where students shared their ideas and aspirations for this role. Exciting developments lie ahead, so watch this space!

Sports & PE

Well done to the girls’ football team last week, it was a tough tournament and was thoroughly enjoyed by all the girls that attended. The full write-up follows and it was on Facebook at the beginning of the week.

Online Safety

When children and young people experience traumatic or difficult life events, their emotional world can be shaken, and the impact may show up in their behaviour, mood, or relationships. Whether it’s bereavement, a family breakdown or witnessing something distressing, the support of trusted adults can be key in helping them feel safe again. This guide looks at how to create a nurturing environment to help young people process difficult feelings.

It also shares clear, actionable strategies to promote recovery – from building emotional literacy and creating a predictable routine to recognising signs that further help may be needed. Sensitive language, patience, and presence all play a part in empowering children to move forward at their own pace. With the right support, they can rebuild a sense of security and resilience.

PTA

We are pleased to share that the Key Stage 2 Library will be developed over the late autumn with thanks to the PTA. We are currently talking with a library company about new furniture and seating and the PTA has kindly agreed to part-fund this!

We really appreciate all of the hard work our PTA members do... and of course we are thankful to the rest of the school community who support the various events that take place across the year. Sadly, government funding for schools does not pay for everything so we really value all of the fundraising that takes place.

Thank you.

Mr. McClay