Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope that everyone has had a great start to the festive season with the Christmas fayre last Saturday and our decoration making sessions this week. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered and participated in these events and to FOWLS for working so hard to organise the fayre; the way our families throw themselves into our events really does make them extra special for the children and is an important part of the West Leigh community. It is a busy time of year for everyone so thank you for finding the time to support the children. I look forward to seeing many of you next week at St Margaret’s Church on Tuesday evening for those of you with children taking part. Have a lovely weekend. Mr Aggus
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Autumn 2 Diary Dates - Year 3 - Year 4 - Year 5 - Year 6
Online Safety - Dinner Menu - Book Shop
Inspirational Person - Attendance - Sports Awards - House Points
Outside Achievement - PTA - Community News - Spring Term Dates
Autumn 2 Term Diary Dates
December
- Monday 8th - Rehearsal at St Margaret's AM
- Tuesday 9th - Coastal Schools (4B)
- Christmas Carol Service @ 7pm
- Wednesday 10th - Handball Competition (Year 6)
- Christmas lunch
- Friday 12th - Christmas Gift Sale
- Thursday 18th - Festive non-uniform
- No After School Club
- Friday 19th - INSET DAY
- Monday 22nd - Friday 2nd January - Christmas Break
Year 3
It has been a wonderfully exciting week in Year 3 as we welcomed the start of December and the beginning of our Christmas celebrations. The children thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas Decoration Morning, and we would like to thank all the parents who were able to join us. Your support always makes these events extra special. We were also treated to a surprise visit from Santa’s Elf, who brought plenty of laughter to the classroom. Another highlight of the week was our brilliant Year 3 Stone Age performance. The children impressed us all with their hard work, confidence, and clear, expressive delivery of their lines. We could not be prouder! In English, the children continued writing their Stone Age narratives. They developed exciting dilemmas for their characters, explored how to use direct speech accurately, and created thoughtful resolutions to bring their stories to a close. In maths, the children continued to deepen their understanding of multiplication. They also used real-life objects to compare lengths and practised measuring accurately in centimetres and millimetres, including working with equivalent lengths. Our Connected Curriculum lessons were filled with hands-on learning as the children tested the effectiveness of their Stone Age shelters. Using water misters and hairdryers, they investigated how well their designs withstood rain and strong winds. Finally, they evaluated their models and considered how they could make further improvements - a great display of creativity and problem-solving.
A message for next week: Due to our Carol Service rehearsal at St Margaret’s Church on Monday, some members of 3H will miss their usual swimming session. To ensure they still have the opportunity to swim, those children should bring their swimming kits on Tuesday and will join 3L for their session. Any children in 3L who will be remaining at school on Monday and not attending the church rehearsal should bring their swimming kit to swim with members of 3H. Thank you for your continued support, and we wish you a lovely weekend!
Letters sent home this week
PE Days
3T
- Indoor PE - Tuesday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
3H
- Indoor PE - Wednesday
- Outdoor PE - Friday
3L
- Indoor PE - Monday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
3M
- Indoor PE - Tuesday
- Outdoor PE - Friday
Swimming
- 3H - Monday
- 3L – Tuesday
- 3T – Wednesday
- 3M – Wednesday
Year 4
We have come to the end of an extremely hard-working and productive week, just as we begin the exciting season of Advent. Over the past two weeks, the children have demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination during their tests. We are incredibly proud of each child for their diligence and strong growth mindset. These assessments have not only strengthened their academic abilities but have also fostered important life skills such as perseverance and adaptability. In English, the children have been developing their vocabulary skills by practising how to use dictionaries to look up tricky words and thesauruses to find richer, more interesting synonyms. They then applied these tools to edit and improve their own science-fiction stories, making their writing more vivid and engaging. Our focus in maths has been statistics. The children have explored a variety of data representations, including pictograms, tables, bar charts and line graphs. They have worked hard to both interpret and present data in multiple forms. We were delighted to welcome so many parents to our Christmas decoration sessions this week! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us—your creativity and enthusiasm have transformed our classrooms and corridors into a festive wonderland. Finally, a reminder that 4B have Coastal Schools on Tuesday. Please ensure your child is prepared for all weather conditions and must bring a coat. If they are wearing Wellington boots, they will also need spare socks and footwear to change into afterward.
Letters sent home this week
PE Days
4B
- Indoor PE - Friday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
4E
- Indoor PE - Monday
- Outdoor PE - Tuesday
4SW
- Indoor PE - Wednesday
- Outdoor PE - Tuesday
4C
- Indoor PE - Monday
- Outdoor PE - Thursday
Swimming
- 4B - Monday
- 4SW - Monday
- 4C - Wednesday
- 4E - Friday
Year 5
It was lovely to see so many parents and carers at the ‘Year 5 Christmas Decoration morning’ on Thursday. Thank you for giving up your time at what we know is a busy time of the year to work with the children and, by doing so, make the school look so festive. The children were excited to spend quality time with you and it seemed that many of you also enjoyed the time to sit and craft! In D&T lessons, the children have been putting their newly learnt woodwork skills to the test and have successfully completed the frame of their cam toys. Working in pairs, they also demonstrated concentration and care, accurately measuring out the cardboard sides and tops that would eventually support the cam mechanism, cutting these out with a craft knife, and using glue guns to firmly attach them to the frame. We have been very proud of their attention to detail, safety, resilience and teamwork skills. In English lessons, we have been looking at ways to make writing more cohesive. We began the week analysing how authors resolve problems their characters face within the story and discussing the wide variety of ways stories can be concluded. Locating cohesive devices within texts, such as fronted adverbials, subordinate clauses, pronouns and conjunctions (to name a few), the children have demonstrated their knowledge by successfully using these in their own writing. We have also reviewed the three sentence types, which we expect the children in Year 5 to use independently, allowing them to practise these within a piece of writing based on our Layered Reading text The Firework Maker’s Daughter. We have had wonderful fun in science lessons when increasing our knowledge about simple machines. This week was the turn of pulleys. The children located pulley systems within the classroom, such as the blinds and our roller board. We then moved on to pulleys in other areas and learnt how different pulley systems could be used in real life. Finally, using string, dowels and cotton reels, the children worked in teams or pairs to build a variety of pulley systems and tested them out with such items as pens, pencil cases and even their shoes.
Letters sent home this week
PE Days
5G
- Indoor PE - Tuesday
- Outdoor PE - Monday
5A
- Indoor PE - Friday
- Outdoor PE - Wednesday
5N
- Indoor PE - Friday
- Outdoor PE - Wednesday
5F
- Indoor PE - Thursday
- Outdoor PE - Monday
Swimming
- 5N – Tuesday
- 5F – Tuesday
- 5G – Thursday
- 5A – Thursday
Year 6
Year 6 have embraced another week filled with creativity, problem solving and hands-on learning. In English, pupils channelled their imagination into crafting their own atmospheric incantations inspired by the Weird Sisters from Macbeth. Their inventive language choices captured the eerie spirit of the play brilliantly. They also began planning a unique winter or Christmas-themed sport, using dual coding to map out rules, equipment and gameplay. The originality in their designs has been impressive, and we look forward to seeing how this develops in their writing next week. Within Connected Curriculum, pupils have taken the next steps in creating their puppets, applying their developing sewing skills with growing accuracy. They are beginning to understand the importance of consistent stitch quality and are learning how to adapt templates to personalise their designs, resulting in some wonderfully imaginative creations. The week concluded with further festive flair during our Christmas Decoration session, where pupils designed and made their own gingerbread-themed characters. This activity showcased their creativity beautifully, with each decoration reflecting individual flair and thoughtful design choices. In maths, pupils deepened their understanding of the four operations, including calculations with decimals, and applied their knowledge across a variety of problem-solving tasks. Their perseverance and willingness to tackle increasingly challenging work has been excellent.
Letters sent home this week
Whole School - Young Carers - 03.12.2025
PE Days
6D
- Indoor - Wednesday
- Outdoor - Monday
6K
- Indoor - Thursday
- Outdoor - Tuesday
6W
- Indoor - Thursday
- Outdoor - Tuesday
6S
- Indoor - Thursday
- Outdoor - Monday
Swimming
- 6D - Thursday
- 6S - Friday
- 6K - Friday
- 6W - Friday
Online Safety
This edition of WakeUpWednesday explores essential electrical safety habits for homes and schools. This week’s guide highlights simple steps that can prevent overheating, fires and other hazards linked to everyday electrical devices. It offers clear, reassuring advice to help adults spot risks early and model safer routines. It explores common risk areas, including unsafe charging habits and overloading sockets, and explains how to identify early warning signs such as damaged cables or poorly ventilated devices. The guide also touches on protective measures like RCDs and safe power bank use, supporting families and educators in creating safer environments for young people.
Dinner Menu
Week 2
Monday - Homemade Tomato and Vegetable Wholemeal Pasta Bake with Garlic Bread - Jacket Potato (with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise) - Granary Baguette with Cheese - Coleslaw and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Fruit Doughnuts Tuesday - All Day Breakfast (Sausage, Beans and Hasg Brown) - Vegetarian All Day Breakfast (Vegetarian Sausage, Beans and Hasg Brown) Jacket Potato (with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise) - Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Scrambled Egg and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Jelly Wednesday - Christmas Dinner - Roast Chicken & Chipolata Sausage or Roast Quorn & Vegetarian Sausage - Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding & Mixed Vegetables - Chocolate Cream Yule Log or Fruit - Cracker and Drink Carton included Thursday - Homemade Lasagne - Homemade Vegetables and 5 Bean Lasagne - Jacket Potato (with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise) - Garlic Bread and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Fruit Biscuit Friday - 100% Fish Fingers - Vegetable and Cheese Bake - Granary Baguette with Salmon and Sweetcorn - Chips, Sweetcorn, Peas and Salad Bar - Fresh fruit, Yoghurt or Ice Cream Sponge
Inspirational Person - Boyan Slat
This half term's inspirational person is Boyan Slat. At the age of 16, he noticed the awful pollution in the ocean and invented The Ocean Cleanup - a machine that removes plastic from the ocean without harming wildlife. He embodies our Golden Values of empathy, responsibility and integrity, especially through his care for the creatures living in the ocean.
Well done to those children who entered the last Showbie challenge - some of their wonderful entries are shown below. This half term's challenge is to design your own invention for helping the ocean - we look forward to seeing the children's creations!
House Points
Outside Achievements
Karate Success for Mollie! We are delighted to share that Mollie successfully passed her karate grading last night and was awarded her purple belt. This achievement comes after two years of dedication and hard work, marking her sixth successful grading. Throughout the session, Mollie showed impressive effort, concentration, and respect—qualities that truly stood out. Her next challenge will be working toward her brown belt, and we couldn’t be more proud of her progress and commitment.
Sweet Success for a Great Cause!
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported Emme and Primrose with their bake sale. The girls were given special permission to leave a little early so they could set up, and their hard work certainly paid off! With delicious treats, big smiles, and lots of enthusiasm, Emme and Primrose raised an impressive £112 in support of Action for Children. This charity works to support vulnerable young people and families across the UK, making the girls’ efforts especially meaningful. We are incredibly proud of their kindness, initiative, and community spirit. Well done, Emme and Primrose, what a fantastic achievement!
Spring 1 Term Diary Dates
January
- Monday 5th - Children return to school
- Wednesday 7th - Year 5/6 Sports Hall Athletics Competition
- Thursday 8th - Year 3/4 Sports Hall Athletics Competiton
- Tuesday 13th - Year 3 and 4 RSE Meeting (via Teams)
- Thursday 15th - Year 5 RSE Meeting (via Teams)
- Tuesday 20th - Year 6 RSE Meeting (via Teams)
- Wednesday 21st - Year 6 Book Look
- Young Voices at the O2
- Friday 23rd - Year 3/4 Boys Football Competition
- Wednesday 28th - Year 5 Book Look
- Friday 30th - Year 6 Hockey Competition
February
- Monday 2nd - Children from Year 5/6 visit ENO
- Wednesday 4th - Year 4 Book Look
- Essex Tag Rugby Finals
- Friday 6th - Team Challenge
- Monday 9th - School Council visit to House of Parliament
- Maths Quiz Club Area Heat
- Year 6 Netball A team fixture
- Tuesday 10th - Safer Internet Day
- Wednesday 11th - Year 3 Book Look
- Thursday 12th - Year 6 Netball B team fixture
- Monday 16th - Friday 20th - Half Term
Credits:
Created with images by netrun78 - "Cork board mockup, desktop organizer with school stationary and office supplies.,Back to school, home office, begining of studies concept" • oliamogdaleva - "Red mailbox full of letters or Christmas cards in a snowy winter village scene with blurred houses and holiday lights." • mnirat - "Closeup Colorful drawing pins on Calendar page with date." • ImageFlow - "Kid boy with phone, cybersecurity hologram and padlock circuit" • ercan senkaya - "full lunch service station" • Dusan Petkovic - "Adorable curious caucasian little girl with eyeglasses standing in bookstore and reading interesting book. All around are books on shelves." • 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."