Book Door Challenge
Last week we celebrated Book Week, including one of our favourite annual traditions: the Book Door Challenge. This year’s theme was “Go all in: if you are into it, read into it.” The doors were incredibly impressive, and it was clear how much effort the children had put into their creations. Nursery, who are currently exploring dinosaur stories, decorated their door with lots of dino art and their favourite dinosaur books. Reception, who love cooking and baking, created a door celebrating their weekly baking sessions, using recipe books and the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Year 3 showcased their love of the classic Mr Men stories, while Year 5 highlighted their enthusiasm for a range of genres and different types of reading. There will be three winners this year, and we’ll be revealing them soon! Each winning class will receive £30 to spend on their micro-library, so the competition has been especially fierce this year.
World Book Day
Porters Grange celebrated Book Week last week, including World Book Day. The children loved coming to school in their pyjamas and bringing along their favourite books! Our annual family reading event was another success thanks to your incredible support. The school was busy and buzzing as families visited classrooms, explored our beautiful library, relaxed in the cosy comic zone and helped choose their child’s next read. It was wonderful to see so many children excitedly reading with their grown-ups and sharing their love of reading. We hope they are enjoying their new book they chose using their World Book Day token!
Portico Writing Competition – Open to Every Child!
We are delighted to launch our Trust-wide Writing Competition, open to every child across all of our schools! This exciting celebration of creativity offers a different writing challenge for each year group, designed to inspire imagination and showcase brilliant storytelling. From creating magical friends in EYFS, to becoming superheroes in KS1, to crafting a dramatic tale for "The Storm That Changed Everything" in Year 3 & 4, and building tension in a Year 5 & 6 story that begins with a warning, there is something for everyone. We are looking for imagination, atmosphere, emotion and creativity. Whether it’s through powerful description, ambitious vocabulary, figurative language or fantastic illustrations, we can’t wait to see our pupils’ ideas come to life. This competition is open to everyone and we strongly encourage everyone to take part. ✨ Every child who enters will receive a bookmark to celebrate their participation. 🏆 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes will be awarded in each phase. 📅 Closing date: 18th March
Nursery
This week we have had a very busy week. We have enjoyed using the large blocks outside to build balance trails. We have also enjoyed using the mud kitchen to make lots of food for our friends and teachers. At the malleable table this week we have enjoyed adding different things to our playdough.
REMINDER: Please remember to arrive on time for your nursery session.
- AM- 8.45
- PM- 12.15
Letters sent home this week
Reception
We have had such a fun week. On Monday we had teachers visiting from another school to watch our amazing story acting, and we also watched our caterpillars start to grow and move. We have been learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly, and cannot wait to watch our caterpillars become a chrysalis! In maths we have continued learning about 2D and 3D shapes but have also been working with numbers to 20. It has also been lovely watching some children begin writing sentences independently.
Letters sent home this week
Year 1
It has been a busy week in year 1. We have continued with our work around Beegu the alien in English and have been writing sentences based on what she saw whilst on Earth. In maths, the children have recapped the use of the cherry model to help them identify parts within a number. In computing, we have been collecting data and using the data to answer questions. In science, we have been learning about the life cycle of frogs. A parent has kindly donated some frog spawn and the children have been fascinated as they watch it change.
REMINDER: Some children have missing parts to their PE kits. Please ensure PE kits are at school and named. Read with your child as many times as you can. The children are making excellent progress and reading at homes will excellerate this progress. We have our trip to the Sea Life Centre on Tuesday 21st April. Please check Arbor so you can give your child permission and make a payment/let us know your child has an annual pass. Any questions, please let us know. Shell class will be going to the beach on Tuesday 17th March.
Letters sent home this week
Year 2
The children have had a busy week, they have started their new unit of length and height in maths, measuring corridors, classrooms and halls! In English the children have been looking at sentence structure and how to extend sentences using the words and, because, then and so. Finding out more information about dinosaurs has been great fun, looking at teeth and what kind of teeth do what job. PSHE has been interesting, looking at what we can spend our money on and how to spend it wisely!
REMINDER: Please remember to write a note in your child’s reading record about how they have read.
Letters sent home this week
Year 3
This week we have been continuing to work on fractions in maths and in English we have been writing our own version of the Water Princess, using extra characters, scenarios and description to create an interesting read. In science we are investigating rocks, what they are and what tyoes of rocks there are and in DT we are continuing to work in a team to design and make a buzzer game.
REMINDER: Make sure you book your parent’s evening appointment. (..and don’t forget to come!)
Letters sent home this week
Year 4
This week we have written our own dramatic stories called ‘The storm that changed everything’ as part of the Portico writing competition. We have continued our learning on fractions and have converted mixed numbers to improper fractions. This had been quite challenging so extra practise at home would be helpful!
REMINDER: Remember children should be practising TTR and reading their book every day.
Letters sent home this week
Year 5
In English this week, Year 5 have been taking part in the Portico Writing Challenge and have written some incredible stories that begin with a warning. In addition, we have also written our own Chapter 4’s to the book Time Twisters 3 – The Curse of Time where the children have built tension within the chapter using intimidating antagonists. In Maths, we have been continuing with our unit on decimals and percentages and have been ordering, comparing and rounding decimals to a given decimal place. In Art, we have been enjoying our unit on digital photography and have been exploring how to edit and take photos at different angles.
REMINDER: Please ensure your child has a suitable PE kit with them on a Wednesday and Thursday, our spare PE kit is very limited. In addition to this, we will be doing our PE lessons outside this half term so please ensure that your child has warmer clothing for being outside. Please strive to read with your child and record this in their home school diaries.
Letters sent home this week
Year 6
The children have written some fantastic stories this week, using purposeful dialogue and effective punctuation. They have spent a long time editing and improving their work to make their stories engaging for the reader. In PE, they have been working on setting an appropriate pace in running to enable them to run long distances with minimal stopping. In history, they have continued learning about life in ancient Greece, this week focusing on the different types of architecture that they built – some of which we still have today!
REMINDER: Some children have found their maths tests this week a bit tricky because they still aren’t confident with their times tables. Please make sure they are practised at home – all children have their TT Rockstars log in and are expected to use this at home. Please ensure children with long hair have their hair tied up for school.
Letters sent home this week
Music
Infant Music Festival Thursday 12th March A tremendous well done to all the Year 2 children who took part in the Infant Music Festival on Thursday. Your performance was amazing, and I know you really enjoyed the experience of singing with the other schools. We were very proud of you
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, year one have enjoyed learning through doing some origami in French; year three have been learning the names for people who help us and how they might be feeling; year four have been revising the days of the week and talking about their favourite.
Online Safety
Streaming services have become the go-to entertainment choice for many families, with children often favouring on-demand platforms over traditional television. This edition explores the realities behind these services, from rising subscription costs and advert-supported tiers to the impact of autoplay and endless content libraries on young viewers’ screen time and wellbeing. It also highlights key safeguarding concerns, including age-inappropriate material, binge watching, algorithm-driven recommendations and phishing scams. With clear, practical advice for setting profiles, PINs and time limits – alongside tips for discussing algorithms and stereotypes – this guide supports parents and educators in promoting safer, healthier streaming habits.
Second Hand Uniform
Our Uniform shop is located within the front reception area of the school and is open Monday-Friday 8.30am - 4.00pm. All items are 50p each (cash only please). We always have a good selection of skirts, trousers, jumpers, tops, dresses and P.E items. Please ask at the office to point you in the right direction.
Donations
We always welcome school uniform donations for us to sell at our school uniform shop. Could we please ask that the clothes are in good, clean condition. All items can be dropped off at the school office between 8.30am - 4.00pm. Thank you so much for doing this for the school as it helps our parents out tremendously.
Attendance
Attendance Celebration Update
We have been delighted to see a fantastic improvement in attendance over the past two weeks. As the weather has brightened, so have our daily attendance figures—thank you to all our families for the effort you put into supporting punctual and regular school attendance. Several days over the last two weeks have come very close to meeting or even exceeding our whole‑school attendance expectation, and we are hopeful that next week will bring even more days where we achieve this important target. Every day in school matters, and it is wonderful to see so many pupils arriving ready to learn, take part, and shine. Let’s keep this positive momentum going.
Why Attendance Matters: Fewer Than 8 Days’ Absence Makes a Big Difference
Did you know that pupils with fewer than 8 days of absence across the whole school year are significantly more likely to meet end‑of‑year expectations? National research shows that strong attendance is closely linked to stronger outcomes at every key stage. When children are in school regularly:
- They build stronger learning foundations.
- They are more likely to keep up with the curriculum.
- They develop better confidence and routines.
- They are statistically more likely to achieve expected or higher standards by the end of each key stage.
By aiming for less than 8 days’ absence per year, you give your children the best possible chance of success—academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you for continuing to work with us to make attendance a top priority. Together, we can ensure every child has the opportunity to learn in full.
Contact us
Please ensure the school is kept informed of the circumstances for any absence, that way you will know if an absence has been authorised or unauthorised. If you need to talk to someone for advice on a planned absence or about support with difficulties around pupil attendance or punctuality, please do not hesitate to contact the Attendance Team. You will need to speak to, Mrs Dowd our Attendance Administrator or Mrs D Morris our Assistant Principal and Senior Leader for Attendance, you can also pop in to the school office to request to speak to one of us face to face, alternatively you call the school or send us an email to attendance@pgps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk we are here and we are always happy to help!
School Lunch
Week 2
Monday
- Grilled Cumberland Sausage with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
- Vegan Sausage with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
- Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce
- Steamed Peas & Carrots
- Chocolate & Pear Sponge
Tuesday
- Beef Korma with Steamed Rice
- Vegan Chickpea & Spinach Korma with Garlic & Coriander Naan Bread
- Baked Potato with Baked Beans or Salmon
- Spiced Roasted Cauliflower & Broccoli
- Apple & Carrot Flapjack
Wednesday
- Roast Leg of Pork with Gravy
- Vegan Spiced Squash & Potato Samosa
- Pasta with Tomato & Vegetable Sauce
- Roast Potatoes, Broccoli & Carrots
- Fruit Jelly
Thursday
- Spiced Tex Mex Chicken & Baked Wedges
- Roasted Vegetable Fajita & Baked Wedges
- Pasta with Squash & Tomato Sauce
- Corn on the Cob & Roasted Carrots
- Homemade Strawberry Cheesecake
Friday
- Fish Fingers, Chips & Ketchup
- Vegan Quorn Nuggets with Chips & Ketchup
- Baked Potato with Baked Beans
- Baked Beans & Peas
- Vanilla Ice Cream
Served Daily
- Pabulum Salad Bar
- Fresh Fruit
- Yoghurt
- Jelly
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.
Credits:
Created with images by Fabio Principe - "A diary open with instruments for writing. Pencil, eraser and notebook on white background. Close up of a wooden pen orange and black, an eraser green and a booklet black. " • Ekaterina Pokrovsky - "French national flag" • Pungu x - "Username and password (Login) with biometric identification fingerprint scanner, encryption for technology cyber security internet and networking system. Businessman hand typing notebook (Laptop)." • Pixel-Shot - "School uniform on color background" • Tetiana - "Generative AI picture of delicious food meal in school canteen" • Vitalii Vodolazskyi - "Cost of living written in a notebook and calculations of home finances."