West Leigh Juniors Weekly News 28th february 2025

After a short but busy week, it is nice that it is finishing with the sun coming out. We will keep our fingers crossed that spring is not far away. It certainly did not feel spring like when the Year 5 girls walked to Westcliff High School for Girls on Wednesday to see a performance of their school production, Hairspray. Thank you to our parent volunteers who helped walk the girls there in the cold and the wet. Your support with such events is deeply appreciated – especially in such inclement weather!

I would also like to say thank-you for supporting our toy swap this week. There was a fantastic buzz in the hall as children were able to exchange their old toys, giving them a new home and choosing something else for themselves. The event was organised by our Eco Warriors and Mrs Garrett and we are very grateful for their efforts.

We hope that you all have a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,

Mr Aggus

Year 3

The children have had a great first week back after the half-term break and the sun has been shining, letting us know that spring is just around the corner. The children have enjoyed their learning in English lessons. Continuing to use The Wolf, The Duck and The Mouse book by Mac Barnett as inspiration, they have identified behaviours that show emotions and developed a recount of an event when their emotions changed. This work was linked to the zones of emotion and how behaviours are an effective way to identify character feelings within a text. In Layered Reading this week, the children located problems that Demon faced when working in the stables and were able to identify the strategies and solutions he came up with to cope whilst working with all the mythical creatures up on Mount Olympus.

In Connected Curriculum lessons, the children worked as artists to create temples using paper straws. They used their knowledge of Greek architecture to fold and twist the straws into Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns before carefully placing them onto their collage backgrounds. They considered perspective and scale when deciding on the most effective positions for their temples. Working as historians, the children explored the different legacies left by the Ancient Greeks and spent time convincing each other of the most important legacy. Some included maths, language, Olympics and democracy.

In maths lessons, the children have developed their knowledge of multiplication, progressing onto formal multiplication and partitioning methods. Please continue to encourage the use of Times Tables Rockstars and Maths With a Mouse to support your child in fast and accurate recall of facts. Please note that we are now in Spring Term 2 which means PE days have now changed in line with our half termly rota. PE days can be found in your child’s timetable in the Communication Book or within the newsletter.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Easter Competition - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Easter Egg Template - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Red Nose Day - 14.02.2025
• Whole School - World Book Day - 14.02.2025

Year 4

It has been wonderful to welcome the children back after a well-earned break, and we look forward to an exciting half-term ahead.

There has been an emphasis on drama within this week’s English lessons. The children have examined playscripts based on Boudicca and have enjoyed rehearsing and performing scenes within their groups. From this, they devised and performed an emotive speech on Boudicca’s behalf. They needed to consider emphasis and tone when performing their speech to others.

As mathematicians, there has been a continued focus on multiplication and division, where the children have used formal methods to consolidate their understanding. Some groups have derived factors from given products and have solved a variety of multiplication and division problems.

The focus in science has been on the water cycle. The children applied their previous knowledge of evaporation, condensation and precipitation to explain the process using the correct scientific vocabulary in the form of a labelled diagram.

As historians, the children used a range of sources to research both Roman soldiers and Celtic warriors. They used reasoning skills to justify who they believed to be better fighters and why.

A reminder that next Thursday we have our trip to Colchester Castle. The children will need to arrive at school for 8:30a.m. so that we are ready for a prompt departure. The children will need to wear school uniform and bring a coat. They will also need to bring a packed lunch, drink and healthy snack. We plan to be back at school before the end of the normal school day, traffic permitting.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Easter Competition - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Easter Egg Template - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Red Nose Day - 14.02.2025
• Whole School - World Book Day - 14.02.2025

Year 5

It has been lovely to welcome the children back to school after their half-term break, well-rested and ready to resume their learning journey.

In maths, the children have been looking at and increasing their knowledge regarding position and direction. They began the week reviewing lines of symmetry within 2D shapes before moving onto identifying, describing and representing the position of a shape following a reflection. They finished the week translating shapes, also identifying right angles and multiples of 90 degrees to revise different rotational turns.

We finished reading The Tempest - a text which has both challenged and enthused the children. This week, we considered how Prospero manipulated other characters, discussing how, and finding evidence to support the idea that he could be regarded as a puppeteer within the story. As we read to the end, we considered if the story was about a storm and how this could be the case both literally but also metaphorically. Finally, the children considered the wide array of themes within the story, including humour and betrayal. To complete the unit, the children will be gathering evidence to debate whether Prospero was guilty of treating Caliban badly, using this to support a written discussion text in the coming week.

Our RE lessons this half-term focus on what it means to be a Muslim in Britain today. We began by learning the links between the Muslim practice of the Five Pillars and how they provide a structure for Islamic daily spiritual life and their beliefs about God and the prophet Muhammad.

On Wednesday afternoon, the girls were thrilled to visit Westcliff High School for Girls to watch extracts from the drama club’s production of Hairspray and to find out more about the school. Despite the rather wet journey, we were warmly welcomed by the staff and pupils who provided information about the opportunities the school offers, and showcased their talents in performing arts. The girls, as always, were impeccably behaved, joining in with dance moves and singing, and they went away with enormous smiles. Many thanks to the parents who braved the elements to walk us there and back. Whilst the girls were away, the boys worked in teams, applying their knowledge from previous learning to design their own flood barrier. They used the Lego WeDo to build their design, making modifications as they went and attempting to successfully programme the opening and closing mechanisms.

Letters sent home today

• Whole School - Easter Competition - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Easter Egg Template - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Red Nose Day - 14.02.2025
• Whole School - World Book Day - 14.02.2025

Year 6

As mathematicians, the pupils have embarked on a journey of revision, laying the groundwork for refining their skills and tackling more complex problem-solving scenarios. With determination and focus, they've begun the process of strengthening their mathematical prowess, with a focus on angles, arithmetic and co-ordinates.

In English, Year 6 have been immersing themselves in the intricate character of Con from Katherine Rundell's captivating narrative. Through thoughtful analysis and reflection, they've examined how their perceptions of Con have evolved, showcasing their deepening understanding of character dynamics and narrative progression. Additionally, they've read a selection of engaging texts with a focus on developing a range of active reading strategies further.

As geographers, the children have learned more about the layers of the rainforest, with much of this learning linking to the setting of The Explorer, which has been highly beneficial. Additionally, they have considered how the rainforest is important to a range of diverse groups.

In their science lessons, Year 6 have learned about how characteristics are passed on within a species and have applied this knowledge by considering how the offspring of a Little Miss and one of the Mr Men could have variation.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Easter Competition - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Easter Egg Template - 28.02.2025
• Whole School - Red Nose Day - 14.02.2025
• Whole School - World Book Day - 14.02.2025

Online Safety

Marvel Rivals is a highly popular multiplayer shooter that pits iconic superheroes against formidable villains. The game is free to play on PC and current-generation consoles but does feature microtransactions that allow players to spend real money on cosmetic items for their characters.

While Marvel Rivals has been deemed suitable for children aged 12 and over, there are several risks associated with the title that parents and educators should be aware of. This free guide offers more information on these safety concerns and lets you know how to ensure that children playing the game can have a fun and age-appropriate experience.

Golden Thank Yous

This week, we awarded a golden thank-you to 12 children who demonstrated empathy, responsibility or integrity in some way.

House Points

Messages from FOWLS

The full list of councillors, along with their email addresses if you wish to contact them, can be found on our school website. The minutes from our meetings are also published on this page, which can be found using the following link: https://www.westleighjunior.co.uk/parent-council

A reminder that answers to many of the previously discussed items at parent council can be found on the 'hot topics' section of our website: https://www.westleighjunior.co.uk/hot-topics

This includes subjects such as lost property, lunchtime arrangements, clubs and much more.

We still have vacancies in 4C and 6P - if you are able to spare an evening each term to represent your class, it would be of great benefit to the school. Our meetings are held at 4.30pm and councillors are able to use our After School Club, free of charge to assist with child care during the meeting. Please contact Mrs London if you are able to volunteer.

Community News

NHS Pharmacy First Service

Did you know that the NHS Pharmacy First Service enables children and adults to get convenient access to healthcare advice and treatment where appropriate, for seven common conditions without the potential delay of having to wait for a GP appointment? Accessing the service may help children feel better and get back to school as quickly as possible, as well as supporting parents/carers to also get better if they are unwell with one of the conditions covered under the service.

There is no need to make an appointment; parents or carers can pop into their local Boots pharmacy with their child and ask for help under the service.

Support for the following conditions can be accessed under the service, free of charge (unless NHS prescription charges apply):