Porters Grange Weekly Newsletter 17th October 2025

📚 The Book Fair is Back! 📚

We’re excited to announce the return of our School Book Fair next week — running from Monday 20th to Thursday 23rd October, after school each day in the North Hall.

✨ Open during both Parents' Evenings

📖 Hundreds of titles to choose from – starting at just £2.99!

🎁 Every book you buy helps raise money for free books for our school!

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to stock up on great reads and support our school at the same time. See you there!

Nursery

This week we have enjoyed using the numbers when playing with the playdough. We have enjoyed counting and matching the correct numeral, some of the children have also started making marks/symbols to represent the numbers. In the garden we have enjoyed playing with the leaves which have fallen off the trees, collecting them, transporting them and listening to the sounds they make when walking through them.

REMINDER: We have some story sacks in nursery that you are very welcome to borrow, maybe for sharing at bedtime.

We also have some story books for toilet training.

Please just ask a member of the nursery staff if you would like to borrow one, where we can sign one out for you.

Letters sent home this week

Southend-on-Sea pupils starting Reception in September 2026 are reminded to make their application by closing date for admission 15th January 2026 to be considered as ‘on-time’

• Applicants should apply to their own Local Authority (where they pay their council tax to)
• Apply via the online portal Citizen Portal - Sign in
• Utilise all three preferred school choices so there is more chance of being offered one of your preference schools.
• Understand how applications are processed by referring to the Primary schools admissions booklet 2026 to 2027

Parents can consult the admission policies on www.southend.gov.uk/admissions

Reception

This week, the children have been exploring the signs of Autumn and creating autumn collages using natural materials. In maths, we have enjoyed matching and sorting objects and singing lots of counting rhymes to develop our number skills. The children have started playing phonics sound games, which are great for building listening and early sound awareness.

REMINDER: This week the children have been given a reading book and a reading record book to take home. Please ensure these are brought in every day so that we can read with your children and change their books regularly.

Please can we also remind those who haven't yet done so, to bring back their toothbrushing consent forms.

Letters sent home this week

Year 1

Year 1 have been working very hard to find parts in number sentences e.g. 5 + = 10. We have used skills such as number bonds to help us identify what is missing.

Well done to the children who have used Seesaw. We have checked your work and are very impressed with what we have seen so far.

In geography, we have checked in on Banjo and he is having lots of fun in Japan. We looked at physical features (beach, forest) and human features (house, bridge) and discussed the differences, so that Banjo has an idea as to what to visit next.

Reading books must be in school every day. It is a year 1 expectation.

PARENTS EVENINGS NEXT WEEK – Please book your appointments on Arbor or speak to the School Office if you are having any issues.

Please name all items of clothing – jumpers, pe kits etc to help us keep items safe.

Letters sent home this week

Year 2

This week in English, the children have been learning to adapt and rewrite the story of ‘The Night Pirates’. First, they completed their own story map and then they wrote their own version of their story. Maths has had a focus of related facts, bonds to 100, adding and subtracting 1s and adding by making 10. In science, the children have been learning about how people and animals survive, depending on where they live. The children recognised that oxygen, food, water and shelter are needed to help us survive. In history, the children are making a comparison between old and new buildings in Southend. It has been really interesting to look at different types of buildings in our local area.

REMINDER: We have parent consultations next week. Please make sure you book an appointment with your child’s teacher.

More parents have been writing in their child’s reading record, thank you! This supports the teacher’s understanding of your child’s reading at home.

Letters sent home this week

Year 3

This week in art, the children have made pinch pots using clay. They followed the instructions carefully to ensure their pot did not break in the kiln. The children then wrote the instructions on how to make a pinch pot in English for others to follow. They applied imperative verbs and time adverbials.

REMINDER: Thank you for all of your donations to Southend Foodbank. They were greatly appreciated.

If you haven’t done so already, please book a learning consultation appointment.

Letters sent home this week

Year 4

In English we have been writing our own Anglo-Saxon story. We have made sure to include speech, interesting characters and a magical twist in the tale.

In maths we are continuing to extend our understanding of addition and subtraction focussing on addition and subtraction of 4-digit numbers with exchange.

In science we have carried out an experiment looking at how different drinks can affect our teeth and how we should keep out teeth healthy.

REMINDER: PE days are Tuesday and Thursday. Please ensure earrings are removed before school on these days.

Please read every night and sign your child’s reading diary.

TTRS is a fantastic way to learn your times tables in a fun way. Please encourage your child to use this website regularly, all logins are stuck in the front of your child’s reading diary.

Letters sent home this week

Year 5

This week, year five have been writing their own biographies about the life of space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. We delved into the features of the writing form, before completing our own notes and using them to create coherent, non-ambiguous sentences. In maths, we continued our unit on addition and subtraction, using rounding skills, inverse operations and revising and consolidating exchanges. In computing, we completed our unit looking at systems, before using the tutorials tool on Scratch to create our own codes.

REMINDER: Remember PE kits for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Please strive to read for 20 minutes each night with your child and keep abreast of their current spellings to aid revision.

Letters sent home this week

Year 6

In English, we have started reading and writing biographies. We have read about the author Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote about the character Sherlock Holmes. Then we wrote a class biography about Claire Linney, the author we saw at the library last week. Next week, your child can choose their own important person to write a biography about.

In maths, we have completed some assessments so we can see what gaps children have in their knowledge and what we need to focus on next half term. We have noticed that some children are still being slowed down because they don’t yet know all their times tables facts, so focusing on this at home would be helpful.

In PE, we have started a dance unit – using our bodies to create sounds and focusing on rhythm.

In geography, we have finished our work as town planners with our plans for the brownfield site opposite the Kursaal. We’re really impressed with everyone’s ideas for tourists and the local community. For example, building a hotel with a swimming pool and letting the local community use the pool for free and building an old people’s home so we have somewhere for our aging population to live (Mrs McCarthy liked the idea of retiring and living somewhere with a sea view!).

REMINDER: Times table knowledge is essential in Year 6 so 5 minutes a day on TTRockstars will be very helpful to your child.

PE kits should be in school all week and PE is on Mondays and Fridays.

Spellings are given on Mondays and checked on Fridays.

Thank you everyone that has already filled in the IndiRock permission form. You have to watch the video first!

The secondary school application deadline in 31st October 2025. The form is here:

Letters sent home this week

Music

Rhythm Connections

On Friday, we had an assembly provided by Rhythm Connections.

A professional jazz trio introduced and demonstrated different instruments, whilst talking about improvisation.

The highlight of the day was when we all joined together in an improvised music session, playing on boomwhackers.

Music Lessons

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

We have availability - if your child is interested in learning a musical instrument, please contact Mrs Baines for more information.

These lessons take place within the school day.

French

Well done to the winners of the European Day of Languages Alien Language challenge: In Year Six: Sean; Soloman; Kimberley; Alfie; Nathan; Afia. In year 5: Ella; Leighton; Victoria. In Year 4: Amar and Dylan. Well done to all for your creative use of language and sometimes very amusing translations of your alien script.

Online Safety

Memes are everywhere - quick, witty, and wildly shareable. For many young people they are more than jokes, they’re a way to connect, express themselves and interpret the world. But behind the humour, there can be risks. This guide helps adults understand how memes work and why they matter to young people today.

From misinformation to insensitive jokes and permanent digital footprints, this guide highlights the potential pitfalls of meme culture. With practical tips on digital literacy, empathy and open conversations, it empowers parents and educators to help children navigate online humour in a thoughtful, safe, and respectful way.

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.