Porters Grange Weekly Newsletter

Nursery

We have had a lovely week again, continuing getting to know our new friends.  The older children have been helping settle and teach the new children our routines and how we look after our equipment.  We have also been making and playing in the outside area, although the wind was chilly on some days!  

Please remember to still bring a jacket/coat to nursery due to the weather being very changeable at present. Thank you

Reception

In English this week the children have been beginning to write sentences and stories independently. On Monday we had another visit from a local school to watch our fantastic story acting lessons. In Maths we have been learning about numbers to and beyond 20. We have been focusing on seeing the pattern of ten and four more, ten and five more etc   The children also enjoyed following a recipe and making delicious pinwheels with pastry, cheese and tomato. In the outside area we have many new areas to explore. This week the children have been den building with a variety of materials, cushions and pegs. There has been some wonderful imaginative play.

REMINDER: Please continue to read with your child regularly and make a note of how they have read at home in their reading record. We have been so impressed with the children’s progress in reading.

Year 1

A huge ‘well done’ to year 1 for their fantastic behaviour during our trip to the Sea Life Centre. You were all magnificent. Thank you to all the adults who came with us and made it an amazing experience for the children. In English, the children have been creating their own aliens and writing noun phrases to help describe them. In maths, the children have been comparing numbers from 1 to 100 and explaining how numbers are structured, based on the numbers’ tens and ones.

REMINDER: Please ensure reading books are in school every day. Lots of the children are daily readers.   Read with your children as many times as you can during the week. The more they read, the better they get at reading.

Year 2

This week, Mrs Van Den Berg and Mrs Britton’s English group have been recapping the story of the Gingerbread Man. They have then sequenced the pictures to match the order of the story and written their own sentences. Mrs Head’s English group have continued to focus on the text of On Sudden Hill. In geography the children have been learning about Brazil. They are learning to recognise the shape of the country and have had experience of locating it on a map. Seahorse Class won the trophy for TTRS because they have been working so hard on learning their times tables! Keep up the good work. 

REMINDER: Please remember to read with your child regularly and make a note of how they have read at home in their reading record.  Seahorse will be attending another beach trip with Mrs Britton on Tuesday the 28th April for the morning. please make sure they are dressed in appropriate clothing. Oyster Class will be taken on the 5th May.

Letters sent home this week

• Year 2 - Beach Trip - 20.04.2026

Year 3

This week, Year 3 have continued to write about a new character in Voices in the park. They used their imagination to think what Bluey would be doing with her new friends. In maths, the children started their new unit on money. They identified the different coins and notes and had a go at making different amount of money. 

REMINDER: We look forward to seeing you at our Spring performance on Wednesday at 2.30pm. 

Letters sent home this week

• Year 3/4 Spring Show - 20.04.2026
• Year 3 - Museum Trip - 20.04.2026

Year 4

This week year four have continued to use The Day the Crayons Quit as an inspiration for writing our own letters. The children have created new characters and written compliments and complaints. In art we have been learning to sketch figures in the correct proportion. The children have been focusing on joints and the length of a body. We have started learning about tenths and decimals in maths lessons. 

REMINDER: PE kits should now all be back in school, the children need trainers for our outdoor PE.    Reading books should be in every day. The children can do TTR, spelling, reading and Topmarks as homework. 

Letters sent home this week

• Year 4 - RSE Letter - 20.04.2026
• Year 3/4 Spring Show - 20.04.2026

Year 5

In English, Year 5 have been writing their own flashback narrative stories based on the book The Island by Armin Greder. The children have written some very well thought out narratives from the stranger in the story's perspective and have used some very imaginative language. In maths, we have begun a new unit on statistics and have been exploring how we can record and interpret data. In PE, we have begun our new unit, Cricket, and have been practicing and selecting our children for the Borough Sports.

REMINDER: Please ensure your child has a suitable PE kit with them on a Wednesday and Thursday, our spare PE kit is very limited.     Please strive to read with your child and record this in their home school diaries.

Letters sent home this week

• Year 5 - Secondary School Guide - 24.04.2026
• Year 5 - RSE Letter - 20.04.2026

Year 6

We have been very impressed at the final mystery stories that the children have produced. Their final copies have also showed off their neat, joined up handwriting. Well done everyone! We are now editing and improving our biographies.  In maths, we are continuing to revise in preparation for SATs. Improving number fact knowledge like times tables will help your child, particularly with the arithmetic test. In PE, we have now selected the children that will be training in lessons for the Borough Sports in June and have started tennis too. 

REMINDER: aerosol sprays are not allowed in school because they can trigger asthma. Children can bring roll on deodorants but shouldn’t need them if they are changing their top for PE.   Homework is due on Thursday. Homework club is on Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes. 

Music

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 two have been learning about classroom objects in French; year five have been learning French through a factual animal topic about the life of the wolf; year six have enjoyed learning about the environment in French.

PE & Sport

An excellent showing from year 5/6 who went to Thorpe Bay Tennis Club. We saw some excellent tennis skills and fantastic behaviour too. Well done to Altan, Caylum, Afia, Annabelle, Fareedah, Kyla, Oma, Carter-Lee, Darius and Filippo. You smashed it!

Online Safety

YouTube continues to be a go-to platform for entertainment, learning and creativity, but its vast and largely unregulated content library presents ongoing challenges. This guide outlines how features like recommendations, Shorts and social interaction can shape young people’s viewing habits, sometimes exposing them to inappropriate or extreme material. It also explores key safeguarding concerns, including stranger interaction, risky trends and the limits of automated moderation. With practical advice on tools such as YouTube Kids, supervised accounts and parental controls, the guide supports parents and educators in encouraging safer, more balanced and informed use of the platform.

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.