Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...
- We have received our OPAL award!!!
- News about our Waddle-on-Sea design competition results... the winner has been revealed
- An important message about emails
- Toys in school (being brought from home)
- All the usual favourites...
This week saw some very big news drop, as we had our final visit from Becky our OPAL Mentor. Over the past two years, we have worked with Becky to become an OPAL school. On Wednesday, we had our assessment day where we were awarded our accreditation. With silver, gold or platinum awards available we were very keen to hear how well we had done… We are incredibly proud to share that we are now a…
PLATINUM OPAL SCHOOL!!!
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our OPAL success – the staff, the children, parents and carers who were part of our working group and of course everyone who has donated items for our outside play. A special mention to Miss Taylor-Brown and Miss Andrews who were an important part of our early OPAL journey and more recently Mrs. Halls and Miss Stuart who have taken OPAL forward. Miss Stuart has done so much with our playgrounds since September – well done and thank you Miss Stuart!
Becky was so impressed with everything she saw and this included the wonderful behaviour of the children and how staff interacted with children and helped facilitate their play. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful environment and play offer here at Friars. Long may it continue.
In other news… the results are in and our winner of the Havens Hospices ‘Waddle-on-Sea’ design competition has been announced… A huge congratulations to Harvey from Year 4. The children voted Harvey’s Monopoly-inspired design their favourite. Our runner-up was Molly from Year 3 with third place going to Mya from Year 4. We will receive our blank penguin at the end of the month and then Miss Gibbons will be organising its decorating. Obviously, Harvey will be involved in this.
Today was a non-uniform day to raise money for Havens. It was lovely to see the children all happy with the opportunity to wear clothes of their choosing. We managed to raise lots of money and will share the final total next week. We have another non-uniform day for Havens on Friday 16th May. Thank you for your support.
Mr. McClay, Principal
Emails
As you know, we do value good communication here at Friars. To this end, we have our year group email accounts where non-urgent messages can be sent. Our teachers do try to reply promptly but of course almost all of their time is busily spent planning for or being with children. We always endeavour to reply within two school days. Please do call the office regarding more pressing issues. Whilst our teachers would happily chat to you on a morning, they do start their work with the children at 8:30am so cannot talk then.
There have been occasional mistakes with the office email account. The office is office@fps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk not reception@fps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk which is for the Reception classes. Thank you
Toys in School
Please note that the children must not bring in toys or games from home. As a school we are very well resourced so there is no need. Children bringing toys into school can provide unwanted distractions and of course – it risks them being lost. This includes at our Extended Schools provision after school.
Southend Foodbank Design Challenge
Southend Foodbank has a brand new 2025 Design Challenge. This design challenge offers students the opportunity to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to design a brand new 'Thank You' sticker for the foodbank that will be printed and given to all their wonderful supporters when they donate food and/or money throughout 2025. See below for more information.
National Online Safety for Parents and Carers
As a school we continue to have access to The National College’s National Online Safety for Parents and Carers – a multi-award-winning online training provider.
What does this mean for you?
The National College provides dedicated training and resources for parents and carers around online safety and keeping children safe online. The training and resources are excellent and easy to follow.
Online safety advice on any topic
Of course, staff continue to teach children about risks online. But with the internet so readily accessible, the most effective approach to online safety needs everyone involved, including parents and carers.
There is access to hundreds of courses, explainer videos and online safety guides to support your awareness of the online world. Topics range from understanding apps like TikTok and Instagram to recognising the signs of online harm and what you can do to help. We share these poster guides each week in our newsletters.
We ask all parents to please sign up; it only takes a few moments and it will enable us all to help keep your children safe. If you haven't signed up already, please do...
Signing up to the platform is simple. Just follow this link: National Online Safety and complete your details. Once you are set up, you will be able to choose ‘Parent/Carer’ as your user type and get instant access to all training and resources.
Book Week
For this year’s Book Week, we are hoping to run the ‘Great Friars Book Swap’ so if you’re decluttering over the next few weeks, we would love it if you could send in any good quality children’s books to Mrs. Astrella in Year 3. More details will follow about the rest of our Book Week plans, but please note that instead of fancy dress this year, we are encouraging all children to come to school in pyjamas / comfy clothes with their favourite book. This will be on World Book Day which is Thursday 6th March.
Diary Dates
February
- Monday 10th- Friday 14th - 6B Outdoor Learning
- Tuesday 11th - Safer Internet Day
- Wednesday 12th - Year 4 Assembly to KS1
- Thursday 13th - Year 4 Assembly to KS2
- Friday 14th 9:15am (KS2 Hall) - Year 4 Assembly to Parents
- Monday 17th - Friday 21st - Half Term
- Monday 24th - INSET Day - school closed to children
- Tuesday 25th - First day of Spring 2
- Thursday 27th - Reception Height and Weight check
- School Nurse Drop in
- Nursery Stay & Play
March
- Monday 3rd-Friday 7th - Careers Week
- Monday 3rd - Football vs Milton Hall
- Wednesday 5th - Little City visiting EY & KS1
- Southend Makes Music
- Thursday 6th - World Book Day - children and staff to wear pyjamas or comfy clothes
- Tuesday 11th - Year 4 Imperial War Museum
- Thursday 13th - Nursery Stay & Play
- Wednesday 19th - Learning Conversations
- Thursday 20th - Learning Conversations
- Friday 21st - Red Nose Day
- Wednesday 26th - PTA Mother's Day Sale
- Thursday 27th - PTA Mother's Day Sale
- Nursery Stay & Play
April
- Wednesday 2nd - Year 5 Assembly to KS1
- Thursday 3rd - Year 5 Assembly to KS2
- Friday 4th 9:15am (KS2 Hall) - Year 5 Assembly to Parents
- Monday 7th - Thursday 17th - Easter Break
- Friday 18th - Good Friday
- Monday 21st - Easter Monday
- Tuesday 22nd - Children Return to School
- Thursday 24th - Year 6 SATS & Ilam Hall meeting 3.30pm
- Tuesday 29th - Year 3 Colchester Castle visit
- Wednesday 30th - Whole School Photos
May
- Thursday 1st - Portico SEND Music Event
- Monday 5th - Bank Holiday - School Closed
- Monday 12th - Thursday 15th - KS2 SATS Week
- Friday 16th - Non Uniform Day for Havens Hospices
- Monday 19th - Friday 23rd - Year 6 Ilam Hall Residential and Y6 Southend Week
- Wednesday 21st - Year 3 Assembly to KS1
- Nursery Sports Afternoon and Picnic
- Thursday 22nd - Year 3 Assembly to KS2
- Reception Sports Afternoon and Picnic
- Friday 23rd - Year 3 Assembly to Parents
- Monday 26th - Friday 30th - May Half Term
June
- Monday 2nd - INSET Day
- Tuesday 3rd - Friday 6th - Year 4 Multiplication Times Tables Check
- Tuesday 3rd - Friday 6th - School Science Week
- Wednesday 4th - Year 1 Wat Tyler Park Visit
- Monday 9th - PTA Fathers Day Sale
- Tuesday 10th - Borough Sports
- PTA Fathers Day Sale
- Wednesday 11th - Friday 13th - Year 5 Thriftwood Residential
- Wednesday 18th - KS1 & KS2 Sports Day and Picnic
- Thursday 19th - Year 2 Call to the Wild Visit
- Wednesday 25th - Reception Hyde Hall Visit
July
- Thursday 3rd - Open Evening & Portico Art & DT display
- Friday 4th - KS1 Borough Sports
- Year 6 Transition Day
- Wednesday 16th - PTA Summer Fayre & Inflatables
- Monday 21st - School Discos
- Wednesday 23rd - Year 6 Leavers Assembly
- Last Day of Term
Nursery
A little quieter in Nursery this week following the last two weeks which were very busy. The children have really bonded well and some great friendships have been made since we returned this term. This is seen when the children are initiating the types of play they want to take part in. We have a group of children that love imaginary role play. They act out dressing, feeding and taking the babies for a walk in their prams or perhaps to the shop to buy the nappies that they need. Another group of children particularly enjoy the craft area and are inspired by new resources that we put out. Colouring, printing, cutting, sticking and collage are all skills that are used to create some wonderful independent pieces of work. We also have some children that are very physical and love to chase, climb and balance on our PE equipment and can incorporate this into any game they play. Staff within the nursery add challenges to all areas of learning which inspire the children to take their ideas further. Of course, there was another fantastic Stay and Play, I’d like to thank everyone who is able to attend these. The children love to share their experience of nursery with you.
REMINDER: Please remember that drink bottles that are brought into nursery must contain water only. There have recently been many filled with juice.
Unless there is a valid reason why water cannot be consumed, we will refill bottles with plain tap water.
Reception
This week we have started our new book – Rumble in the Jungle. We have spoken about the animals, identified rhyming words and created a list of questions about the animals and the jungle. In addition to this, we have made a non-fiction book with the children about the animals and the questions that they had.
Our maths sessions have introduced the children to doubling and odd and even numbers. In our garden, the children have enjoyed using a map to solve a treasure hunt as well as using large dominoes to find the composition of different numbers.
Our phonics sessions have focused on the digraphs ‘ur’ - in curl and fur as well as ‘ow’ in owl and wow.
Year 1
We have completed another super week of learning. In English, we have begun to look at the story of Cinderella and thought about how we can change it to make it our own. We had fun designing our own magical being who helps Cinderella and thought of different items she might lose at the stroke of midnight.
In maths, we have been focusing on using number lines to solve addition and subtraction problems. We have been really impressed at how the children have developed their skills this week.
Our art lesson saw us attempting to create our own collage version of Paul Klee’s Cityscape picture. We used different materials to create texture in our pieces and are looking forward to completing them next week.
Year 2
This week, we have been learning how to write informal letters. The children have explored their structure and features. They have written letters from characters in the story ‘Into the Forest’ and have incorporated some description of their feelings. They have experimented with the use of question and exclamation marks to make their letters interesting for the reader.
In science this week, we have explored the life cycle of the butterfly and they were fascinated with a film showing the transformation from egg through to a butterfly.
In history, we have learnt about the history and development of the motor car and in RE we have explored the features of a Hindu temple called a Mandir.
The children are really enjoying creating their own acrylic paintings using brush strokes inspired by Van Gogh.
REMINDER: Please ensure that your child is practising their spellings and reading their phonics reading books at home. It is such a valuable addition to the work the children do in school.
Year 3
It has been another busy week in Year 3, as we have been researching and learning all about Chinese New Year, ready to write our non-chronological reports. Well done to all those children who have been doing extra research at home!
In maths, we have continued our work on length, using mm, cm and m, converting between the different units of measure, as well as addition and subtraction of various lengths.
We have had great fun this week continuing our art projects on Margaret Godfrey and starting our mixed media volcano masterpieces – they're going to look great when they’re finished next week! We’ve also been learning more about volcanoes in geography and carried out a class investigation on rocks during Science.
REMINDER: Keep learning your weekly spellings and spending some time on Reading Eggs and TTRS each week – we can really see a difference with those children who are practising their times tables regularly at home!
Year 4
Another fantastically busy week for Year 4 this week. We have been practising hard for our assembly, which we cannot wait to share with you at the end of next week!
In English, we have been writing narratives. We looked at the Gingerbread Man and gave it our own twist! We had runaway hotdogs, cupcakes, pizza slices and chicken pies – they were hilarious! We focused on character descriptions using expanded noun phrases, powerful verbs and short sentences for impact to portray the action in the middle of the story, and we’ll finish them off next week. We have just arrived to a pivotal part in our layered reading book too, where Michael, our main character has fallen into the ocean and been marooned on a desert island... we worked on summarising a text. In maths, we worked on correspondence problems and began our new topic on measure. In other areas, we looked at the Qu’ran in RE and some children’s mental health activities in PSHE.
REMINDER: We have our year group assembly on Friday 14th February at 9.15am. We hope that you are able to join us! You are welcome to wait in the Key Stage 2 Hall from 8:45am or to return ready for the performance. Please note that the doors will close promptly at 9:15am.
Year 5
Unfortunately us Year 5 teachers have all been unwell at times this week - we really missed the children but they were certainly left in very safe and capable hands. Well done to all of the children for supporting the different adults who have been teaching them.
This morning, Mr. Lynes and Mrs. Stubbs were excited to hear everything 5L and 5SW had been up to... and there was a lot!
Year 6
This week, 6L have enjoyed outdoor learning. The class learnt about health and safety outside, tied a variety of knots and made flagpoles. 6B it is your turn for these activities next week.
During English lessons this week we have read, interpreted and written poetry based on work from the poet, Karl Nova. The children thoroughly enjoyed listening to him perform as his style is that of a rapper and he was very engaging. We focussed our work on our own lives and our future ambitions.
Maths has been all about identifying the values of unknown numbers in the form of algebra. The children have worked hard on this quite challenging concept but have persevered to achieve success.
We have finished sculpting our Mayan themed masks and begun the process of decorating them.
In science we have researched how different types of fungi use spore dispersal in order to reproduce.
In history we had our own version of ‘Dragons’ Den’ where we had to pitch an invention from the Mayan civilisation in order to gain an investment of cacao beans. Roads, carrying devices, corn grinders and calendars were our ideas.
Computing
Tuesday 11th February marks international safer internet day and therefore next week all classes will be focusing on being safe online and how to use various technologies in a safe and appropriate way.
Online Safety
While misinformation and ‘fake news’ are well-known concerns online, it's also the case that scammers and other cyber-criminals can try to utilise this phony material to manipulate, frighten or otherwise persuade their victims into cooperating.
With constantly evolving scams and such a high volume of misinformation online, it's vital that parents and educators know how to safeguard the children in their care against these kinds of tactics. Our guide breaks down the most prominent ways in which scammers attempt to use ‘fake news’ to their advantage, as well as how to protect youngsters from being manipulated by such techniques.
PE & Sports
Our current PE topics are coming to their end next week before we start new learning after the half-term break. Next half-term is quieter for competitions - largely due to the time of year and the weather. The competition calendar will be full come the summer term though...
If your child has participated in our free after school sports clubs this half-term we hope they have enjoyed them. Our commitment to free clubs is quite unique to our school and we are lucky to have the staff who give up their time to facilitate them. Thank you to everyone involved.
Dinner Menu
Week 3
Monday - Homemade Pepperoni Pizza with Baked Wedges - Margherita Pizza with Baked Wedges - Pasta with Tomato & Vegetable Sauce - Ham Salad Wrap - Cheese & Tomato Bloomer - Classic Coleslaw & Sweetcorn - Cinnamon Apple Crumble with Custard
Tuesday - Chicken Biryani with Vegetable Dhal - Vegan Aubergine & Courgette Tagine with Cous Cous - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans - Tuna & Sweetcorn Baguette - Cheese Sandwich - Broccoli & Cauliflower - Sultana & Oat Cookie
Wednesday - Slow Roast Beef & Root Vegetables with Gravy - Vegan Country Vegetable & Bean Pie - Pasta with Tomato & Vegetable Sauce - Tuna Mayonnaise Sandwich - Cheese Salad Wrap - Broccoli & Cauliflower - Fruit Jelly
Thursday - Chicken & Sweetcorn Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Penne Pasta - Vegan Tofu Sweet & Sour Vegetables with Steamed Rice - Jacket Potato with Salmon Mayonnaise or Baked Beans - Chicken Mayonnaise Baguette - Cheese Sandwich - Cauliflower & Roasted Carrots - Orange Drizzle Cake
Friday - Fish Fingers, Chips & Ketchup - Mexican Roasted Vegetable & Bean Quesadilla - Wholewheat Pasta with Tomato & Vegetable Sauce - Ham Salad Bloomer - Cheese Sandwich - Baked Beans Peas - Chocolate & Courgette Rice Krispie Cake
Freshly Baked Bread: Pesto & Garlic or Wholemeal Bread
PTA
Remember that the PTA are always looking to accept new members. If you are ever interested - even if just to volunteer on occasions - please do make contact.
Celebration Assembly
The links for our Celebration Assemblies can be found below.
Community
Join the Marvellous Makers as they return for the popular winter reading challenge for children: Winter Mini Challenge!
Children can sign up today to read three books (or more) and unlock a digital badge and certificate - simply create your account online, add books to your profile and leave reviews when you have read them!
Visit your local library to select your books - they have lots of perfect winter reads for all ages - and if you were lucky enough to receive a book or two at Christmas, why not include those too! The challenge runs until 20th February. Find out more here.
Attendance
A lower week with our attendance figures and sadly no classes achieving above 97%. Come on Friars… let’s end the half-term with lots of attendance success next week.
This week’s winners were once again Starlings in Key Stage 1 and 3B in Key Stage 2. These two classes are certainly showing the way with their strong attendance this academic year.
The penultimate week of Spring 1 sees no change in the order of our teams, however Stormont, Stirling and Caernarfon have all closed the gap to out leaders Windsor. Caernarfon won in Key Stage 1 and Stirling took the honours in Key Stage 2. The margin at the top is now down to single figures as only 5 points separate the reds and the blues.
With only five days left until half term, could Stirling be in pole position going into the holiday? We will see next Friday…!
01702 294837 - office@fps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk