Porters Grange Weekly Newsletter

Nursery

This week we have been talking about how some of the Nursery class celebrated Eid last Friday. We have also talked about the Christian celebration ‘Easter’. We have also been enjoying watching the caterpillars grow and have been making lots of caterpillar themed artwork. 

REMINDER: Have an amazing Easter holiday, stay safe and healthy and we will see you back to Nursery on Monday 13th April. 

Reception

The children had such a fantastic fun Friday, celebrating Red Nose Day and making biscuits and sandwiches. This week we have been talking and learning more about Eid. Some children enjoyed showing the beautiful patterns on their hands, also known as mehndi. In maths, we have been practising addition to 10 and 20. Our caterpillars are almost chrysalides! We are excited to see what will happen next.

REMINDER: Have a wonderful two-week holiday and we look forward to seeing you all back at school on Monday 13th April. Please continue to enjoy books and reading during the Easter break. 

Year 1

Year 1 have had an excellent end to this half term! We are continuing our work with animal groups and classifying animals based on their characteristics. Our tadpoles are growing well, and we cannot wait until they start growing their legs. In English, the children have been learning about diaries and how we write in first person to articulate thoughts, feeling and experiences. We have used the Beegu story to give us inspiration. In maths, the children have blown us away with their excellent use and understanding of number lines and how to read them. In PSHE, we talked about internet safety and how we stay safe when using online games and watching videos.

REMINDER: PE kits will need to be washed over the Easter holidays please. Check items still fit and relabel them too to help us keep everything safe.   Make sure you keep reading at home. Now is an important time for year 1 and we want to ensure they are practicing their tricky words, digraphs and trigraphs.   Sea Life Centre trip is on Tuesday 21st April. Please check emails or speak to Mrs Dadd to ensure your child does not miss out   And of course, have fun! Enjoy your break and make some amazing memories! See you on the 13th April.

Year 2

This week in English we have been writing fact files about dinosaurs. We used iPads to search for interesting facts and recorded them in note form. In maths we have concluded our unit on mass, capacity, volume and temperature. We really enjoyed making our dinosaur habitats in science, we used a wide variety of materials and used our imagination. 

REMINDER: We hope you have a lovely Easter holiday and we look forward to seeing you back at school in 2 weeks time. All PE kits have been sent home for the Easter holidays. Please remember to bring them back clean after the holidays.

Year 3

This week we have been rehearsing with Year 4 for our Spring performance about friendship. In maths, we have been looking at mass and capacity. We looked at reading scales and comparing grams and kilograms.  In English we have created an infographic about saving water. In Science we have been looking into the layers that make up soil. 

REMINDER: Your child has been sent home with the poem and songs for our performance after Easter. Please ensure that you practise with them because we are intending to perform from memory.    There is a TTRS competition between Lobster and Starfish during the Easter break. Please allow your child time to compete. 

Year 4

This week we have been revising some grammar, punctuation and spelling in year 4. The children have also had the chance to see their test scores and check what their targets are. In maths we have continued our learning on fractions and have learn how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. 

REMINDER: Have a great 2 week break, make sure the children get plenty of chances to read a good book and get outside to enjoy the sunshine! 

Year 5

This week in English, Year 5 have been writing their own version of the next chapter to the book Time Twisters 3 – The Curse of Time where the children in the story meet the goddess Ammut, a goddess with a crocodile head and the body of a lion and a hippopotamus. The children have written some very descriptive chapters with some really high levels of detail, especially about the goddess Ammut and how she acts and moves. In Maths, we finished our unit on decimals and percentages and have moved on to learning about perimeter and area looking at how to calculate the perimeter of rectangles and rectilinear shapes. In PE, we have finished our Athletics and Football units and enjoyed playing a Swordfish vs Sea Turtle Football Rounders game in our last Football lesson using our skills that we had learned over the course of the unit. 

REMINDER: We hope you have a lovely two-week break and can get outside and enjoy the sunshine! Please do remember to read with your child over the break and record this in their home school diaries. 

Year 6

This week in English, we have been writing our own non chronological reports about ancient Greece and the legacy they left on our modern day world. In maths, we have moved onto learning how to calculate the area and perimeter of triangles and parallelograms. In science, we used a skittles and water experiment to learn about how our body transports nutrients to cells in the body through our blood stream. 

REMINDER: We hope the children enjoy a well-deserved Easter break. They will still have some homework to keep their learning ticking over (which they have worked so hard to master!)  We hope they also have plenty of chances to read books they love and get outside in the sunshine.    There will be a SATs meeting the first Wednesday back after school to go through the arrangements of the SATs week. 

Letters sent home this week

• Year 6 - SATs Meeting - 26.03.2026

Music

Diary Dates:

• Junior Music Festival – Cliffs Pavilion - 8th June – KS2 Choir

Instrumental Lessons Tuesday Guitar - Mr Brown  Wednesday Guitar – Mr Elliott  Wednesday Keyboard – Mr Hockey Wednesday Drums – Mr Peters  

French

This week, all years have enjoyed learning art through French: year one have been focusing on a requin (shark); year three on un arbre de printemps (tree in blossom); and year 4 on les règles de l’école (school rules).

PE & Sport

An incredible showing by our KS1 team and KS2 team, who played at our Portico Football Festival on Thursday 26th March at Hamstel Junior School. Porters came away UNDEFEATED!  KS1 Team – Battal, Finn, Henry, Jack (year 1), Mason, Robert (4 wins and 1 draw) KS2 Team – Altan, Diesel, Filippo, Geoffrey, Godfred, Kelvin, Tyler, Zayan (3 wins and 1 draw) Well done boys! I am so proud of all of you. Mr Sesniak

Online Safety

As exams approach, many young people fall back on familiar revision habits like rereading and highlighting. While these can feel reassuring, they often do little to support long-term memory. This guide explains why passive techniques can lead to misplaced confidence, gaps in understanding and increased stress when pupils struggle to recall key information under pressure. Focusing on simple, evidence-informed strategies, it supports parents and educators to guide more effective revision. From active recall and spaced practice to building manageable routines, the guide offers practical ways to improve retention and confidence. With expert insight, it encourages a balanced approach where challenge supports learning without overwhelming pupils.

Community

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.