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Autumn 1 Diary Dates - Year 3 - Year 4 - Year 5 - Year 6 - Arbor - Online Safety
Food Tasting - Dinner Menu - School News - Sports News - Book Shop
Inspirational Person - Attendance - Sports Awards - House Points - Achievements
Autumn 1 Diary Dates
October
- Monday 6th - Year 6 Curriculum meeting
- Year 5/6 Girls' Football Essex Cup
- Newsies Auditions - Year 5
- Tuesday 7th - Coastal Schools (4C)
- Year 4 Curriculum meeting
- Year 6 Height & Weight check mop-up
- Wednesday 8th - Newsies Workshop - Year 6
- Year 6 Tag Rugby A Competition
- Year 5 Curriculum meeting
- Thursday 9th - Coastal Schools (4B)
- Year 3 Curriculum meeting
- Cross Country Squad Training
- Friday 10th - Southend Foodbank Assembly
- Monday 13th - Individual and Sibling Photos
- Newsies Jr Auditions Year 6
- Year 6 Netball Fixture
- Tuesday 14th - Individual and Sibling Photos
- Wednesday 15th - Cross Country Competition
- Newsies Workshop - Year 4
- Thursday 16th - Year 6 Netball Fixture
- Year 5/6 Boys' Football Fixture
- Friday 17th - Harvest Collection for Southend Foodbank
- Year 5/6 Girls Football Competition
- Monday 20th - Coastal Schools (4E)
- Newsies Jr Auditions Year 4
- Tuesday 21st - Learning Conferences
- Wednesday 22nd -Newsies Workshop - Year 3
- Year 3 Visit to Barleylands
- Thursday 23rd - Learning Conferences
- Monday 27th - Friday 31st - Half Term
Year 3
It has been a busy and productive week in Year 3 as the season continues to change and the signs of autumn gradually surround us.
In English, the children have been introduced to the book Stone Girl, Bone Girl written by Laurence Anholt and beautifully illustrated by Sheila Moxley. The book tells the story of Mary Anning (1799 – 1847), a famous female palaeontologist. Having read about her unusual early childhood, the children made predictions about her life as an adult. They then had the opportunity to touch and observe some real fossils and to create a word bank of powerful adjectives. The children were then able to implement this vocabulary when they imagined themselves as Mary Anning and recounted discovering a fossil on the beach.
The children have been introduced to their maths teachers this week and have begun by retrieving, applying and building upon their knowledge and understanding of addition and subtraction.
In science, we have been exploring ways of classifying animals according to their skeletons. The children went on to consider how the type of skeleton (or not having a skeleton) affects the way in which animals are able to move.
Our Connected Curriculum has had a geographical focus this week as we have explored the coastal Stone Age settlement of Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands and considered why this location was chosen by our ancestors. The children then went on to design a woodland settlement of their own, considering the contrasting physical geographical features this would have offered. Great fun was had when they had to consider how their settlement might be affected by a roll of the dice…if the river were to flood, would their livestock or grain store be safe?
PE Days
3T
- Indoor PE - Tuesday
- Outdoor PE - Friday
3H
- Indoor PE - Wednesday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
3L
- Indoor PE - Monday
- Outdoor PE - Friday
3M
- Indoor PE - Tuesday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
Swimming
- 3H - Monday
- 3L – Tuesday
- 3T – Wednesday
- 3M – Wednesday
Year 4
This week in Year 4, our English focus has been on developing important research skills. The children have been learning how to make effective notes as a response to questions such as: What was life in Ancient Egypt like for the ordinary Egyptian? They have explored different strategies to pick out key information from a range of sources and recorded their notes in a clear, simple way. They have begun to organise these under specific headings.
In maths, the emphasis has been on addition and subtraction. As well as developing their proficiency with these calculations, some have looked at using the inverse to check accuracy. Children have also been applying their understanding of addition and subtraction to solve a range of written problems and puzzles, including those with more than one step.
In science, we have set up our ‘Eggsperiment’ to see the effects that different liquids have upon teeth – the eggs represent the teeth. We have made predictions and look forward to seeing the results in a week’s time!
As artists and historians, the children have developed their drawing skills by exploring shading techniques to create the illusion of depth and volume. They also began to explore the purpose of canopic jars in Ancient Egypt and have started to use their research to inform the initial designs for their own clay jars . As a reminder, children will need an art apron or old shirt for our art lessons next week.
On Tuesday, 4SW enjoyed their Coastal Schools session, where they became beach detectives. They explored the beach and its surroundings, discovering lots of fascinating facts. A fantastic time was had by all.
REMINDER:
- Coastal Schools: 4C Tuesday 7th October; 4B Thursday 9th October.
PE Days
4B
- Indoor PE - Friday
- Outdoor PE - Tuesday
4E
- Indoor PE - Monday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
4SW
- Indoor PE - Wednesday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
4C
- Indoor PE - Monday
- Outdoor PE - Tuesday
Swimming
- 4B - Monday
- 4SW - Monday
- 4C - Wednesday
- 4E - Friday
Year 5
It hardly seems possible that we are already at the end of our fifth week of this half term; however, the children continue to work with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. They are becoming more secure in our expectations of behaviour and work ethic, which is pleasing and shows how far they have already come
In science lessons this week, some classes researched the life of the scientist, Sir Isaac Newton. The children created an informative fact file, whilst also learning about water resistance, recognising it as a friction force. They considered how to counter the effect of water resistance through streamlining and created drawings of a boat which would travel more easily through water.
In English, we have begun to explore explanation texts. The children were reintroduced to conjunctions that inform cause and effect. Using some given questions, such as, ‘Why does it get dark at night?’, they were asked to write sentences to explain this phenomenon. They reviewed their understanding of main and subordinate clauses and practised writing different types of sentence, including where the subordinate clause starts the sentence. They went on to write a job application for a pirate (inspired by Rambashi from our Layered Reading text), including the skills and duties required of a suitable applicant. They finished the week, by writing an appraisal of Rambashi’s employment, using evidence from the text to support their findings.
Reviewing knowledge gained from our Saxon Day at the start of the half term, the children have enjoyed working together to create their own aerial-view maps of a Saxon settlement. They indicated the natural resources that would be necessary for people to create a successful settlement. They went on to consider the types of jobs that would be necessary in a settlement and as a result of this, where the different workshops and houses should be placed, considering such issues as risks and smells! It was wonderful to see the children collaborating and enjoying learning from each other. It also seems from their ideas, we have some future town planners in our midst.
Finally, this week we welcomed some visitors from Show Racism The Red Card: a charity affiliated to the Premier League. During the sessions, the children learnt about what racism is in our society, understood the negative associations of stereotypes and learnt how to treat people the way they wish to be treated. They were also spoken to about ways in which to politely challenge racist behaviours.
PE Days
5G
- Indoor PE - Tuesday
- Outdoor PE - Wednesday
5A
- Indoor PE - Friday
- Outdoor PE - Monday
5N
- Indoor PE - Friday
- Outdoor PE - Monday
5F
- Indoor PE - Thursday
- Outdoor PE - Wednesday
Swimming
- 5N – Tuesday
- 5F – Tuesday
- 5G – Thursday
- 5A – Thursday
Year 6
In science, the children enjoyed a highly practical session exploring switches in electrical circuits. Using everyday classroom items, they designed and tested their own creative switches, discovering unusual yet effective ways to complete circuits and deepening their understanding of how switches function.
In English, pupils completed their World War II-inspired stories. They took the opportunity to refine their writing by editing carefully, improving sentence structure and making thoughtful vocabulary choices to enhance impact and precision.
Connected Curriculum lessons continued to develop pupils’ understanding of perspective in art. Building on their knowledge of linear perspective, they began creating their own World War II scene artwork, applying one-point perspective techniques to add depth and accuracy to their pieces.
In maths, pupils consolidated and extended their work on fractions. They practised a range of key skills, including finding equivalences, ordering fractions, converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions, and performing calculations with confidence.
PE Days
6D
- Indoor - Wednesday
- Outdoor - Tuesday
6K
- Indoor - Thursday
- Outdoor - Monday
6W
- Indoor - Thursday
- Outdoor - Monday
6S
- Indoor - Thursday
- Outdoor - Tuesday
Swimming
- 6D - Thursday
- 6S - Friday
- 6K - Friday
- 6W - Friday
Junior Parkrun takes place in Hawkwell and Great Wakering every Sunday at 9am. It is a free, fun and friendly 2km event for 4-14 year-olds.'
Arbor Hints and Tips
Breakfast and After School Club
To change or cancel Breakfast or After School Club you need to contact the office. Parents are unable to change/amend their own bookings.
If your child is booked into After School Club or Breakfast Club, it will show on their calendar, however it will not show which session your child it booked in for. It only shows After School Club or Breakfast Club and the full times that it runs for.
Clubs
The process for booking clubs: select Clubs, choose the club you wish to book onto, click on Register Child’s name for this club (green button), scroll down to the Choose Membership section and select the session, click on Next and on Choose Membership Periods and select the dates and click on Apply. Click on Next and then scroll down and make payment, click on Make Payment. Arbor will not provide confirmation of the payment going through, instead the payment screen will reappear. Press the option to move back a step and it will confirm your booking or you can check whether you have been sent an invoice.
Places are not officially given without payment.
If a club shows on your calendar, then you have booked and paid for the club
School Meals
Funds needs to be on the account to enable meal bookings to be made. If a child is confirmed as absent during registration the meal is automatically removed and not charged for later in the day. Once meals have been selected for the day/week you must click on ‘process’ for the booking to go through.
To make or change a lunch booking:
If using the Arbor App, click on the three lines on the left hand side, select Meals, choose Autumn Menu 2025. Any meals you have booked will show here under each day. If you need to change a lunch (e.g. changing choice or changing from school lunch to packed lunch), click on the day you wish to amend and make the change.
If you’re using the Arbor website, click on Quick Actions, Meals and then on Autumn Menu 2025 Meal choices available. Any meals you have booked will show here under each day. If you need to change a lunch (e.g. changing choice or changing from school lunch to packed lunch), click on the day you wish to amend and make the change.
If you have booked a school lunch and decide to bring a packed lunch instead, you will need to amend this on Arbor by 9.00am on the day.
Unfortunately there is no confirmation given when a meal has been booked. You would need to look on the days of the week and check the meal is there.
Swimming and Instrument Tuition
Both Swimming Contributions and Instrument Tuition are found under the Trips section.
Online Safety
For 20 years, FIFA dominated the football video gaming arena, attracting legions of devoted fans and scooping up accolades like a digital Real Madrid. After parting ways with the sport’s governing body, however, renowned developers Electronic Arts (EA) have now launched their own individual bid for the title. It’s called EA Sports FC 24, and its effectively FIFA 2.0.
Familiar action delivered by the same team, of course, points to a comparable level of popularity – especially among those young gamers raised on the FIFA franchise. As this week's guide highlights, however, EA Sports FC 24 also carries many similar risks to its predecessor, including addictive gameplay, abusive voice chats and expensive in-game purchases.
Food Tasting Group
If your child is a fussy eater or has a negative relationship with food, they can join a food tasting group, due to start after half term. The aim of the group is to introduce children to a variety of foods and build their confidence to try new things. The sessions will run until February half term and in January parents will be invited in to cook with their children and explore recipes using some of the foods we have tasted.
Please register your interest with Mrs Atkin via the school office and she will be in touch with more details.
Dinner Menu
Week 3
Monday - Homemade Macaroni Cheese with Garlic Bread - Jacket Potato (with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise) - Wholemeal Wrap with Tuna Mayonnaise - Coleslaw and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt and Raspberry Mousse
Tuesday - Pork Meatballs in Tomato Gravy - Vegan Meatballs - Jacket Potato (with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise) - Rice, Sweetcorn, Peas and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Chocolate Cherry Cake
Wednesday - Chicken Nuggets - Vegetable Nuggets - Granary Baguette with Cheese - Curly Fries, Spaghetti Hoops and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Cornflake Cake
Thursday - Homemade Beef Spaghetti Bolognaise - Homemade Quorn Spaghetti Bolognaise - Jacket Potato (with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise) - Coleslaw and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt and Fruit Biscuit
Friday - Cheese and Tomato Pizza with Tortilla Chips - Vegan Pizza with Torilla Chips - Wholemeal Wrap with Salmon and Sweetcorn - Homemade Coleslaw and Salad Bar - Fresh fruit, Yoghurt or Fruity Jelly
School News
Show Racism the Red Card Workshops
This week, all classes had the opportunity to take part in an important workshop led by Show Racism the Red Card. The sessions were age-appropriate and engaging, helping pupils understand what racism is, how it affects people and what we can all do to stand up against it.
Through stories, discussions and interactive activities, children learned about respect, kindness and the importance of celebrating differences. These workshops support our commitment to creating a safe, inclusive school where everyone feels valued.
We’re proud of how thoughtfully our pupils participated and the meaningful conversations that followed. A big thank you to Show Racism the Red Card for helping us continue to grow as a community that stands up for fairness and equality.
Sports News
Cross Country
Congratulations to the West Leigh cross-country squad who competed in the Southend competition last week! The children have trained in school sessions but have also sacrificed their own time to achieve the best possible outcome. We were so impressed by the children’s determination in the races. It was clear just how much effort they had put in to the races by the looks of their faces at the finishing line!
The results of each team's position are below. The teams in the top two positions have qualified for the Essex finals, which take place in March. West Leigh Junior School have finished in… 1st place! This is the fourth consecutive year of winning the Southend cross-country competition! Well done runners!
- Year 3 Boys: 12th
- Year 3 Girls: 2nd
- Year 4 Boys: 1st
- Year 4 Girls: 4th
- Year 5 Boys: 1st
- Year 5 Girls: 2nd
- Year 6 Boys: 1st
- Year 6 Girls: 2nd
Tag Rugby B Festival
On Wednesday of this week, nine Year 6 and 2 Year 5 children attended the Tag Rugby B festival at Southend Rugby Club.
The children played eight games in total, winning seven and losing only one, 6-5 against Barons Court. A fun day was had by all; the children’s behaviour was impeccable and they showed some excellent attacking and tagging skills throughout the day.
They improved after each game and team spirit along with determination and commitment made them finish as overall winners on the day. Well done to all involved.
Year 6 Football vs Northwick Park
The first game of West Leigh's football season was a very entertaining one! It was the first round of the Parish Cup and a seven-goal thriller. Unfortunately, West Leigh were on the wrong side of a 4-3 score line. Despite this, the team battled brilliantly throughout the game and almost came back from 4-1 to take the game to extra time. There were numerous attempts which cannoned back off the crossbar; however, it wasn't to be for West Leigh. The team were of course disappointed not to progress to the second round but they were soon smiling again after receiving chocolates from the Northwick Park teachers! Well done West Leigh and a big thank you to our hosts!
Inspirational Person - Rebecca Young
For our first inspirational person of the year, we have found out about the amazing work of Rebecca Young. At just 11 years old, she designed a solar powered heated blanket that could be used by homeless people in the winter. We discussed the fact that age is not a barrier to having impact in the world. She demonstrated our golden value of empathy by putting herself into the shoes of homeless people; she thought about their difficulties and came up with a practical way to help. Rebecca has been awarded Times magazine's Girl of the Year Award.
Our Showbie challenge is to select one of the other Time magazine winners and create a poster to showcase their achievements and describe how they represent our Golden Values. Please upload entries to the Inspirational Person folder on Showbie, or put named posters on Mrs London's desk. There are prizes available for entering!
The girls to choose from are listed below:
- Rutendo Shadaya, 17, an advocate for young authors in New Zealand
- Coco Yoshizawa, 15, an Olympic gold-medalist in Japan
- Valerie Chiu, 15, a global science educator in China
- Zoé Clauzure, 15, an anti-bullying campaigner in France
- Clara Proksch, 12, a scientist prioritizing child safety in Germany
- Ivanna Richards, 17, a racing driver breaking stereotypes in Mexico
- Kornelia Wieczorek, 17, a biotech innovator in Poland
- Defne Özcan, 17, a trailblazing pilot in Turkey
- Naomi S. DeBerry, 12, an organ donation advocate and children's book author in the United States
House Points
Achievements
Sasha’s Skateboarding Success
Over the weekend, Sasha took part in the Skateboard GB competition in Broadstairs, competing against 16 of the country’s top under-12 skateboarders. He showed fantastic progress, improving on his previous competition score and finishing in 4th place, just four points shy of the podium. Congratulations to Sasha on this brilliant achievement!
Community News
We've created a dedicated space on our website to share flyers for local events and community support. Click the link below to explore what's happening in our area.
Donate preloved items if you wish or just come for a browse! You might find some treasures. Even Christmas gifts! There will also be cakes for sale and a raffle.
Doctors without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières is a humanitarian organisation that provides medical aid in crisis situations around the world.
Autumn 2 Term Diary Dates
November
- Monday 3rd - Newsies Jr Auditions Year 3
- Tuesday 4th - Year 6 visit to IWM Duxford
- Wednesday 5th - Year 6 Basketball Competition
- Year 6 Book Look 3.30 - 3.45pm
- Friday 7th - Team Challenge
- Monday 10th - Parent Council Meeting
- Tuesday 11th - Flu Immunisations
- Wednesday 12th - Year 5 Book Look 3.30 - 3.45pm
- Year 4 Dodgeball Competition
- Thursday 13th - Coastal Schools (4SW)
- Year 6 Basketball Competition
- General Knowledge Quiz Club Area Heats
- Friday 14th - Children in Need
- Year 5/6 Boys' Football
- Monday 17th - Friday 21st - Year 6 Test Week
- Tuesday 18th - Year 5 Performance to Parents @ 2.15pm - 5N and 5A
- Wednesday 19th - Year 6 - Young Shakespeare Macbeth
- Year 4 Book Look 3.30 - 3.45pm
- Year 6 Dodgeball Competition
- Thursday 20th - Year 5 Performance to Parents @ 2.15pm - 5G and 5F
- Monday 24th - Wednesday 3rd - Assessment Weeks for Years 3 - 5
- Monday 24th - Friday 28th - Book Fair
- Coastal Schools (4C)
- Wednesday 26th - Year 3 Book Look 3.30 - 3.45pm
- Goalball Competition
- Friday 28th - Non-Uniform Day - Christmas Fayre donations
- Saturday 29th - Christmas Fayre
December
- Tuesday 2nd - Flu Immunisation mop-up
- Year 3 Presentation to Parents @ 2.15pm - 3M and 3H
- Wednesday 3rd - Year 3 Christmas Decoration Morning
- Thursday 4th - Year 5 Christmas Decoration Morning
- Year 3 Presentation to Parents @ 2.15pm - 3T and 3L
- Friday 5th - Christmas Decorations Years 4 and 6 - times TBC
- Kurling Competition
- Boccia Competition
- Year 6 Santa Netball
- Monday 8th - Rehearsal at St Margaret's AM
- Tuesday 9th - Coastal Schools (4B)
- Christmas Carol Service @ 7pm
- Wednesday 10th - Handball Competition (Year 6)
- Friday 12th - Christmas Gift Sale
- Friday 19th - INSET DAY
- Monday 22nd - Friday 2nd January - Christmas Break
Credits:
Created with images by mnirat - "Closeup Colorful drawing pins on Calendar page with date." • ImageFlow - "Kid boy with phone, cybersecurity hologram and padlock circuit" • ROHE Creative Studio - "A young boy leans on the table, refusing to eat his vegetables and drink orange juice, displaying boredom and reluctance.,Perfect for illustrating picky eating habits in children." • ercan senkaya - "full lunch service station" • Pixel-Shot - "Female hands with newspapers on color background" • Kaspars Grinvalds - "Tablet with sports news website on stack of newspapers. All contents are made up." • Dusan Petkovic - "Adorable curious caucasian little girl with eyeglasses standing in bookstore and reading interesting book. All around are books on shelves." • Win Nondakowit - "Kid hand with trophy cup" • AungMyo - "Silhouette of happy children standing with raised hands on the mountain at the sunset time." • 78art - "PTAの文字と色鉛筆" • mnirat - "Closeup Colorful drawing pins on Calendar page with date."