West Leigh Juniors Weekly News 10th May 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

The children enjoyed an exciting assembly today as they discovered the letter that will determine their non-uniform theme for Friday 24th May when we will be raising money for Cancer Research UK. This charity fundraiser supports Mr Nash in his upcoming challenge when running from Lands' End to John O' Groats and we hope that you will join us in supporting him on his epic journey across the UK. If you would like to support Mr Nash and his charity fundraising directly, please use the following link:

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/iainrunning2024

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Best wishes,

Cheryl Woolf

Executive Headteacher

Diary Dates

New dates in italics

Advance Notice: End of year school reports will be sent home on Friday 12th July to your personal email address held in the school office.

May 2024

  • Monday 13th - Friday 17th - Year 6 SATs Week
  • Tuesday 14th - Year 5 Book Look 3.30pm - 3.45pm
  • Wednesday 15th - Year 3/4 tag rugby @ SRFC all day
  • Thursday 16th - Ilam Hall meeting for Year 6 parents @ 7pm
  • Year 5/6 Football friendly vs Fairways
  • Friday 17th - Swim Squad Training
  • Monday 20th - Friday 24th - Year 6 Awesome Art Week
  • Monday 20th - Bikeability Week (6A & 6W)
  • Year 4 Field Trip to Southend (4G & 4E)
  • Tuesday 21st - Year 5 presentation to parents (5J & 5R) from 2pm
  • Year 4 Field Trip to Southend (4B & 4S)
  • Wednesday 22nd - Swimming Gala @ Garons - 12.30pm - 3pm
  • Thursday 23rd - Year 5 presentation to parents (5K & 5F) - from 2pm
  • SEESMA Area rehearsals
  • Thursday 23rd - Mersea meeting for Year 4 parents @ 7pm
  • Friday 24th - Year 5 Poetry performance to school
  • Fundraiser Day for Cancer Research
  • Year 5/6 Rounders Competition
  • Monday 27th - Bank Holiday Monday
  • Tuesday 28th - Friday 31st - May Half Term

June 2024

  • Monday 3rd - INSET Day
  • Tuesday 4th - Friday 14th - Multiplication Tables Checks
  • Tuesday 4th - Bikeability Week (6D & 6P)
  • Adalah Care Home visit from 1pm
  • Year 3 Book Look 3.30pm - 3.45pm
  • Wednesday 5th - Parent Council meeting @ 6pm
  • Monday 10th - Friday 14th Years 3, 4 & 5 Test Week
  • Tuesday 11th - Year 4 Book Look 3.30pm - 3.45pm
  • Monday 20th - Seesma rehearsal and concert @ Cliffs Pavillion
  • Tuesday 11th - Father David Lower School Assembly
  • Late Book Look (6pm - 7pm)
  • Wednesday 12th - Father David Upper School Assembly
  • Borough Sports - 12pm - 3pm
  • Thursday 13th - Friday 14th - Year 3 Residential to Danbury
  • Thursday 13th - Transition meeting for Year 4 parents (7.30pm)
  • Monday 17th - Music workshop Year 4
  • Tuesday 18th - Year 3 Induction Meeting for Year 2 parents from 7.30pm
  • Thursday 20th - SPSSA Southend Gotta Dance @ The Palace Theatre from 7pm
  • Sunday 23rd - Girls' Choir concert @ Plaza Centre from 3pm
  • Monday 24th - Friday 28th - Year 6 Residential to Ilam Hall and Southend Week
  • Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th - Year 6 Transition Day (King John)
  • Tuesday 25th - Super Sports (track) @ Garons from 4pm
  • Wednesday 26th - Super Sports (field) @ Garons from 4pm

July 2024

  • Tuesday 2nd - King John Transition morning
  • Adalah Care Home visit from 1pm
  • Wednesday 3rd - 3T & 3M Field Study
  • Friday 5th - Year 6 Transition Day
  • Year 3N & 3L Field Study
  • Monday 8th - Fun Swim Week
  • Wednesday 10th - Meet your new teacher day
  • Thursday 11th - Open Evening (4.30pm - 6pm)
  • Monday 15th - Year 6 House Team Swimming Gala
  • Tuesday 16th - Sports Morning
  • Friday 19th - Last Day of Term
  • No After School Club
  • Monday 22nd - INSET DAY

Year 3

This week, Year 3 have completed their newspaper reports detailing a bottle-nose whale being found in the Thames. The children practised using standard and non-standard English and also included direct and indirect speech within their writing. Some of the headlines were whale-y good! In maths, we have looked at a range of data including tables and bar charts. Towards the end of the week, the children generated their own criteria in order to create their own Venn and Carroll diagrams to sort a range of mathematical equipment.

Pollination was the focus in our science lessons this week and the children enjoyed playing the role of a bee as they moved ‘pollen’ from one flower to another around the classroom. It was interesting to see how much ‘pollen’ was transferred to different flowers.

To end the week, Year 3 created some art linked to our layered reading book, ‘This Morning I Met a Whale.’ The children portrayed the courageous creature amongst their waves and used complementary colours and line work to create an effective piece of artwork.

Letters sent home this week

Year 4

Despite a very welcome four day week in Year 4, we have still managed to engage the children with exciting learning experiences. 4E had their final Coastal Schools lesson down at the beach by Bell Wharf. Linked to our learning during Connected Curriculum lessons, the children were tasked to invent fairground style games using only the items they found. They also had to price their games and organise a currency of shells, pebble, sea-glass or other items in order to enable their friends to play. As always, they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the bonus of some warm sunshine.

English lessons this week have literally been full of nonsense as we have been studying Lewis Carrol's famous nonsense poem - The Jabberwocky. The children applied their knowledge of word classes to decipher the bizarre language. Considering a possible sequel, they produced language to describe a character from the poem, applying the five senses and also experimenting with their own nonsense words.

In science lessons, the children considered how to incorporate an electrical circuit into clothing (smart clothing) that could connect to different electrical devices. Using their knowledge from previous lesson on circuits, the children built a simple circuit and investigated a range of different materials to ascertain if they would be suitable to mend a broken circuit – a quick fix until they could have the item professionally mended.

In maths, we have been working with decimals - particularly those involving units of measurement. The children have practised adding and subtracting decimals in a variety of scenarios including rounding decimals to whole numbers and to one decimal place.

Our Connected Curriculum lessons have taken us all around the British Isles. The children have been practising their geographical skills, locating some of the major theme parks and using atlases to plot their locations accurately on a map. Looking at the distribution of parks, the children were able to ascertain commonalities with regard to their placement. They then discussed the reasons they had been built in these locations including popular holiday destinations, vicinity to large towns/cities and good road and rail systems.

Letters sent home this week

Year 5

We have been continuing the story of The Firework Maker's Daughter and the excitement has grown. Lila is still missing, Hamlet and Chulak have escaped and Lalchand is being spied upon! The children are continuing to create recounts based on these issues and are beginning to formulate their ideas to create a piece of journalism about this section of the book. They should be able to share with you the features of a newspaper article and their purpose.

Our knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons is growing and we have been examining the hierarchical structure of their society. Last term, we created a hierarchy pyramid for the Mayans and the children have been comparing and contrasting the two society structures. Lots of children were concerned that both pyramids have slaves at the bottom who are unable to progress to a new level of society. Discussion was had about the role of women in the Anglo-Saxon society and whether it was fair and how it differs from society today.

Maths classes are working on different skills ranging from drawing angles using a protractor, organising and using data to solve problems and extending their knowledge of multiplication and division to solve word problems. Children in Year 5 should all know the West Leigh four step method to solving problems; perhaps they can tell you the steps and how to apply them?

Letters sent home this week

Year 6

In Connected Curriculum, as a part of their independent study, the pupils have been gathering focused research relating to their chosen location. They have identified some of the most significant aspects relating to their location In order to find more detailed and specific information. They have begun to piece together their findings in their own knowledge organiser about their chosen area of study.

The Year 6 pupils have also continued to work hard in English and maths finalising the last few elements of the revision process. We are certain that, based on their hard work and effort, they will be able to demonstrate their knowledge and capabilities in the SATs tests that they face next week.

As scientists, the learning has progressed further with links being made between the important role of both the heart and the lungs and how they work collaboratively as a part of the circulatory system. Conceptionally, this is a challenging topic to grasp and understand; however, the children have worked with great focus and effort to acquire the relevant knowledge.

We hope that you enjoy the pleasant weather in the weekend ahead, and that the pupils are able to feel confident and happy ahead of their SATs week commencing on Monday.

Letters sent home this week

Year 3/4 Girls' Football Tournament

Congratulations to our Year 3 and 4 girls' football team who finished in 2nd place at the Southend competition! The rain failed to dampen the team's spirits and they remained positive throughout the day. There were some fantastic performances from the team which helped them to win ten, draw two and lose only one of their thirteen matches. Great work, team West Leigh!

Gardening Club

The change in weather has enabled gardening club to start growing again.

Our keen gardeners have planted a variety of shrubs at the back of the playground. They have also sown different types of seeds for the RHS 'Grow With It' scheme. We cannot wait to see the results of all our hard work.

Quad Kids

West Leigh were in an Olympic mood on Wednesday as eight athletes from Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 represented the school in the Quad Kids Athletics competition. Each child competed in four events with their score contributing to a team total as well as individual score. The events were a mixture of running, jumping and throwing. A total of 22 schools competed and both the Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 team finished in 4th place, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal! Toby Hobson was the 3rd best individual boy in the Year 5/6 event and Hugo Ventress was the 2nd best individual boy in the Year 3/4 event. Well done to the whole team for their hard work!

More photos can be viewed on our website here

Online Safety

Exam stress – sometimes referred to as test anxiety – is of course a long-running issue for children and young people. Many experts have suggested that the enforced break to traditional testing during the pandemic (specifically the relative lack of familiarity with exam situations) has exacerbated this problem for those who are currently in education.

The possible impact of exam stress on children’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing is difficult to overstate – and students’ need for support is seldom greater than during these periods of their academic life. Our guide offers you ten practical tips for helping young people to manage exam stress and minimise its potentially detrimental effects.

Parent Guides

The National College and Online Safety

If you still need to sign up to the Online Safety portal, please follow the link https://nationalcollege.com/enrol/west-leigh-junior-school and add yourself as a parent.

Key Notices this Week

Water Bottles: As the warmer weather seems to have finally arrived, please ensure that your child brings a named water bottle to school every day.

Warm Weather: Please ensure that your child brings a sunhat for warm days and that sun cream is applied before school.

Late Pick Up After School: We have noticed an increasing number of parents who are arriving late to collect their children after school. The school day ends at 3:25pm and children are to be collected from the playground. Any children not collected by 3:35pm will be sent round to after school club and a £10.00 charge will be incurred the following day. If there is any reason you are unavoidably detained, please inform the school office as soon as possible.

Early Morning Extra-Curricular Clubs: We appreciate that the children are excited to attend early morning extra-curricular clubs starting at 08:00am. Arriving 5 minutes before the club starts is more than sufficient to ensure they are on time. We are noticing more children arriving significantly earlier than this, even before the club leader is on site! Staff are not available to supervise the children until their club begins.

Hayfever and Medication: If your child suffers with hayfever, please ensure that medication is administered before arriving at school. We do not stock or supply antihistamines or pain relief to administer to the children. Please also note that eyedrops are not to be brought into school as we are unable to administer them. As basic first aiders, the only recommendation we are able to give the children is to splash their eyes with water to loosen any pollen irritating their eyes. As a reminder, any prescribed medication required during school hours must be handed into the office. Children should not have any form of medication, ointments or creams in their school bags. 

Inspirational Person

This half term, we have been learning about the incredible campaign led by Isabel and Meraji Wisjen. Inspired by a talk at school about people in the world who led change, the two girls created a petition to completely remove plastic bags from Bali - their home island. After over a year and a half, the governor of Bali listened to their ideas and Bali is now completely plastic bag free. Other islands in Indonesia have followed suit and marine pollution has drastically reduced - all as a result of the hard work of two young girls, who started this campaign aged just 10 and 12! We were all inspired by their quote: "We didn’t want to wait until we were older to stand up for what we believe in."

Last half term's Showbie challenge was a great success and the trainer designs were fantastic - have a look at some below! For this Showbie challenge, the children have been asked to design a reusable bag that shares the key messages about why plastic bags are so bad for the environment. There is a template and more information on Showbie.

Dinner Menu

Week 2

Week 2

Monday - Homemade Creamy Cheese and Vegetable Pasta bake with Garlic Bread - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayo - Wholemeal Wrap with Ham and Tortilla Chips - Sweetcorn, Coleslaw and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Raspberry Mousse

Tuesday - Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple - Sweet and Sour Quorn with Pineapple - Granary Baguette with Cheese - Steamed Rice, Sweetcorn and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Fruit Jelly

Wednesday - Pork Sausage Toad in the Hole with Gravy - Vegan Sausage Toad in the Hole with Gravy - Granary Baguette with Tuna Mayonnaise - Mashed Potatoes, Carrots and Green Beans and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Cherry Chocolate Cake

Thursday - Mild Chilli Con Carne - Vegetable and Bean Chilli Con Carne - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayo - Steamed Rice and Salad Bar - fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Cornflake Crunch

Friday - Margherita Pizza with Tortilla Chips - Vegan Pizza with Tortilla Chips - Wholemeal Wrap with Salmon and Sweetcorn Tortilla Chips - Salad Bar, Homemade Coleslaw and Garden Salad - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Fruit Jelly.

Don't forget to check out our new online bookshop here.

Swimming

Please ensure that your child has their full kit with them on swimming days as we will no longer be phoning home for forgotten kits.

Monday

  • 3M - Mrs Millham
  • 4B - Mr Boylan
  • 3N - Mrs Nash & Mrs Mitchinson

Tuesday

  • 3L - Miss Playfair
  • 4G - Mrs Garrett & Mrs Nash
  • 4S - Miss Street

Wednesday

  • 3T - Mrs Thompson
  • 5K - Miss Chapman
  • 5R - Mrs Lewis

Thursday

  • 6D - Miss Fletcher
  • 5J - Mrs Wilson
  • 5F - Mrs Flower

Friday

  • 6W - Mr Dunn
  • 4E - Mrs Rodger
  • 6P - Miss Poysden
  • 6A - Mrs Mears

PE Lessons

Please ensure that your child is wearing their full kit on PE days as we will no longer be phoning home for forgotten kits.

First Half Term:

3L

  • Indoor PE - Wednesday
  • Outdoor PE - Friday

3M

  • Indoor PE - Wednesday
  • Outdoor PE - Thursday

3N

  • Indoor PE - Tuesday
  • Outdoor PE - Thursday

3T

  • Indoor PE - Tuesday
  • Outdoor PE - Friday

4B

  • Indoor PE - Tuesday
  • Outdoor PE - Thursday

4E

  • Indoor PE - Monday
  • Outdoor PE - Wednesday

4G

  • Indoor PE - Monday
  • Outdoor PE - Wednesday

4S

  • Indoor PE - Monday
  • Outdoor PE - Thursday

5F

  • Indoor PE - Friday
  • Outdoor PE - Tuesday

5J

  • Indoor PE - Friday
  • Outdoor PE - Monday

5K

  • Indoor PE - Friday
  • Outdoor PE - Tuesday

5R

  • Indoor PE - Thursday
  • Outdoor PE - Monday

6A

  • Indoor - Thursday
  • Outdoor - Monday

6D

  • Indoor - Wednesday
  • Outdoor - Tuesday

6P

  • Indoor - Thursday
  • Outdoor - Tuesday

6W

  • Indoor - Thursday
  • Outdoor - Monday

Attendance

Congratulations to 3T, 6A and 6W who all achieved an impressive 100% attendance this week.

Team Points

Awards

The Most Improved in Sport Award goes to Emmy Lock in 4G.

Sports Performer of the Week Award goes to Alba Ford in 3M.

Community News