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Summer 1 Diary Dates - Year 3 - Year 4 - Year 5 - Year 6 - Online Safety
VE Day - Sports News - Dinner Menu - Messages from the Office - Attendance
Golden Thank Yous - Achievements - Sports Awards - House Points
Summer 1 Diary Dates
May
- Tuesday 6th - Year 5 girls - football trials
- Wednesday 7th - Year 5/6 Quad Kids
- Thursday 8th - VE Day 80th Anniversary Celebrations
- Year 3/4 Swim Squad training
- Friday 9th - Year 5/6 Swim Squad training
- Monday 12th - Year 6 SATs Week
- No swimming all week
- 5K & 5F to fields
- Tuesday 13th - Girls' football friendly @ Fairways
- Thursday 15th - Ilam Hall meeting for parents @ 7pm
- Friday 16th - Swim Squad training
- Monday 19th - Swim Squad Training
- Class Photos
- 5K & 5F to fields
- Tuesday 20th - Year 6 Field Study (Southend)
- Year 3 Presentation @ 2pm (3M & 3S)
- Wednesday 21st - Maths Quiz Club Area Heat
- Coastal Schools - 4E
- Swimming Gala @ Garon Park
- Thursday 22nd - Year 3 Presentation @ 2pm (3T & 3H)
- Seesma Rehearsals @ Wesley Church
- Selected digital leaders visit to Goodnotes HQ
- Friday 23rd - Year 6 Rounders Festival
- Monday 26th - Friday 30th - Half Term
Year 3
It’s been a fun and productive week in Year 3! The children have shown fantastic dedication as they practised their lines for the upcoming performance.
In Layered Reading, we introduced our new book, London Through Time, which explores the rich history of London from 54 B.C. to 1997. The children explored how contents pages help us navigate non-fiction texts, and used their scanning skills to locate definitions and key information quickly and efficiently.
In English, the children delved into the fascinating story of Sarah Moore, the local legend of Leigh-on-Sea. They wrote detailed recounts of her tale and then used ambitious vocabulary to write thoughtful character descriptions. They also stepped into the captain’s shoes and rewrote the story from his perspective, demonstrating empathy and creativity.
In maths, the focus has been on consolidation and problem-solving. The children revisited rounding to the nearest 10, 100 and 1,000 and applied their understanding to real-world problems. They explored measurements—comparing, adding and subtracting lengths, mass, and volume—and revisited how to read analogue, digital, and 24-hour clocks. Word problems have helped them put their skills into practice with confidence.
Science was especially exciting this week, with an investigation into how water travels through plants. Using celery, the children made predictions, observed carefully, drew scientific diagrams, and wrote conclusions based on their findings.
Thank you for your continued support in helping the children practise their lines at home! Wishing you a lovely and relaxing weekend.
Letters sent home this week
Swimming
- 3M - Tuesday
- 3S - Wednesday
- 3H - Monday
- 3T - Wednesday
PE
- 3M - Wednesday - Indoor PE - Thursday - Outdoor PE
- 3S - Tuesday - Indoor PE - Friday - Outdoor PE
- 3H - Tuesday - Indoor PE - Thursday - Outdoor PE
- 3T - Monday - Indoor PE - Friday - Outdoor PE
Year 4
As another week comes to a close, Year 4 have celebrated many learning successes.
The children have been truly captivated whilst continuing to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream within our English lessons. They have identified how the author uses language to create suspense and have used rich language to write their own description of the setting and characters from the story. They have explained how different characters feel towards each other, demonstrating their empathy and have suggested constructive advice for their dilemmas! They have also begun to retell the story from a particular character’s point of view.
In maths lessons, the children have focused on a range of skills depending upon their maths band. Some groups identified lines of symmetry within polygons and used mirrors to complete symmetrical shapes. In other groups, formal addition and subtraction and the use of inverses to complete missing number calculations have been revisited. Other children have converted between metric units of measure by multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000.
The children were enthusiastic scientists this week, where their task was to create a complete circuit using the electrical equipment. As a team, they had to find solutions in order to make the bulb light up. They drew diagrams to show their completed circuits.
Immense fun was had in our Connected Curriculum lessons, where the children worked in groups to use the Lego WeDo to build a spinning ride and program it to move in various ways. They assigned roles for specific tasks and showed effective teamwork skills. Using a range of sources, the children also studied how fairgrounds have changed over time and expressed their opinions to whether they thought fairgrounds were better or worse in ‘the good old days’.
It was 4B’s turn to visit Coastal Schools this week. Whilst there, they designed, created and played their own fairground-style games using the equipment provided. Once again, the children really enjoyed this valuable experience.
Letters sent home this week
Swimming
- 4B - Monday
- 4E - Friday
- 4SW - Monday
- 4C - Wednesday
PE
- 4B - Wednesday - Indoor PE - Tuesday - Outdoor PE
- 4E - Monday - Indoor PE - Thursday - Outdoor PE
- 4SW - Friday - Indoor PE - Thursday - Outdoor PE
- 4C - Monday - Indoor PE - Tuesday - Outdoor PE
Year 5
Well, the sun certainly shone down this week, and Year 5 was particularly grateful as we undertook our field study in Belfair’s woods and fields. Firstly, the staff and children would like to thank all the parents who gave up their time to help support the children’s learning. We hope you had as enjoyable a time as we all did. Linking to our new topic of Chocolate, the children collected evidence to support or refute the idea that the cacao tree, which produces the cocoa beans that make chocolate, could grow locally. Different locations were visited and evidence was collected about the type of soil and how acidic or alkaline it was, the humidity, plant and insect life, the aspect and climate data (wind speed, temperature, etc). The children used their evidence along with some further teaching on biomes, to answer the perplexing question – Will cocoa grow successfully in Essex? We’re sure the children will let you know.
In English, we have continued to use our layered reading text as the inspiration for a newspaper report – building on their learning from the autumn term. They began the week looking at and writing incident reports. They had the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge and accuracy further when writing and punctuating both direct and reported speech. The children also learnt how to use positive and negative bias, particularly when writing headlines.
In maths lessons, further consolidation and practice regarding place value has been the theme. We have reviewed knowledge of Roman numerals in some sets, reading and writing dates (which was interesting regarding last week’s learning about the Mayan number system.) Rounding larger numbers has also been reviewed, including counting forwards and backwards in multiples of 10 to improve accuracy and fluency.
In science lessons, the children have been investigating gestation periods of different animals. This also included life spans, average number of offspring per pregnancy, and size of animal. They completed their learning by creating graphs and used these to find patterns in the data.
Letters sent home this week
Swimming
- 5K - Tuesday
- 5F - Thursday
- 5L - Tuesday
- 5G - Thursday
PE
- 5K - Friday - Indoor PE - Monday - Outdoor PE
- 5F- Friday - Indoor PE - Monday - Outdoor PE
- 5L - Thursday - Indoor PE - Wednesday - Outdoor PE
- 5G - Tuesday - Indoor PE - Wednesday- Outdoor PE
Year 6
It has been, as seems to be the case every single week, a week full of wonderful and diverse learning opportunities for the Year 6 pupils. Beyond the regular focus on maths and English and development of their knowledge and understanding focused upon the upcoming SATs tests, they have experienced a wide array of lessons across the curriculum.
As scientists, they have investigated whether there are clear links between height and lung capacity, focusing upon the gathering of data and interpretation, which is a complex skill due to the wide array of potential variables.
Within Connected Curriculum, the focus has been upon developing their understanding of the complex geopolitical structure of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and how this is partly represented through the Union Flag. They have also considered the range of settlements across the country and how these can be classified. Following this, they also took on the challenging task of trying to identify all of the counties of England, which, for many adults living in England, would be a daunting task. Finally, as a part of their latest topic in Connected Curriculum, they have selected a location from within the United Kingdom to study in further depth independently.
Letters sent home this week
Swimming
- All Classes - Friday
PE
- 6D - Wednesday - Indoor PE - Tuesday - Outdoor PE
- 6A - Thursday - Indoor PE - Monday - Outdoor PE
- 6P - Thursday - Indoor PE - Tuesday - Outdoor PE
- 6W - Thursday - Indoor PE - Monday- Outdoor PE
Online Safety
Staying safe on our roads isn’t just a skill — it’s a lifelong habit. It is crucial to learn key strategies for helping children navigate streets safely and confidently, from practising journeys together to teaching them how to choose the safest crossing points.
We’ve collaborated with THINK! to offer real-world advice on issues like the dangers of parked vehicles, reversing cars and mobile phone distractions — it’s an invaluable tool for parents who want to help young people travel independently without compromising their safety.
VE Day
As part of our celebration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we would like to invite children to wear red, white and blue to school on Thursday 8th May. We politely request that children do not wear football kits or face paint/hair dye as part of their outfit. The children will be taking part in lots of exciting activities throughout the day, including a joint party during the afternoon with the Infant School.
Sports News Stories
Year 3/4 Quad Kids
Athletes from Year 3 and 4 competed in Quad Kids on Wednesday. 20 schools competed in the competition. Each child competed in running, jumping and throwing events with their scores combining for an individual score and team total. The children battled the scorching temperatures to perform magnificently in each of the events. We were very proud to see the effort that all children put into the events. Everly Dixon finished 2nd out of the 80 girls who competed. Max Watson finished in 3rd and George Care finished in 2nd out of the 80 boys who competed. West Leigh had the highest team total and are the Year 3/4 Quad Kids champions!
Southend Netball Competition
On Tuesday, eight Year 6 girls represented our school at the Southend KS2 Netball Competition, held on the brand-new courts at Cecil Jones School. Thirteen schools took part in the tournament.
Despite the very hot weather, the team performed brilliantly in the group stage, winning two out of three matches:
- Won 4–1 vs Fairways
- Won 2–0 vs Thorpe Hall
- Lost 1–3 vs Our Lady of Lourdes
Finishing as runners-up in our group, we advanced to the Super 8s round, where we continued to show great skill and determination:
- Won 2–0 vs Chalkwell
- Drew 3–3 vs St. Michael’s
- Drew 4–4 vs Alleyn Court
These results earned us a place in the semi-finals, where we faced a strong Earls Hall team and unfortunately lost 1–4.
In the third-place playoff, we came up against Our Lady of Lourdes once again. Despite a great effort, we were narrowly beaten 3–5.
The girls played some excellent netball throughout the day and should be extremely proud of their performances and teamwork.
In addition to the tournament, we also received bronze medals for finishing 3rd in the league this year—a fantastic achievement!
Padel Competition
On Friday 4th April, six pupils took part in the Southend Primary School Sports Association padel tennis competition at Garon Park. The sport was a new experience for all of our team and it was great to see them develop in both confidence and skill level throughout the matches. They all managed to draw upon and adapt their considerable tennis skills.
The event was in the format of a ‘round robin’ tournament. In each of the four rounds there was a doubles match for boys, a doubles match for girls and a mixed doubles match. The pupils won a considerable number of matches. There were some incredibly close and exciting games, which were eagerly watched and supported by team members. The overall first and second positions were decided by a tie break match, which West Leigh lost 12 – 10. Notwithstanding being pipped at the post, the pupils were delighted to be named runners up of the event.
In addition to their excellent play on the court, all the pupils demonstrated great sportsmanship and exemplary behaviour whilst at the competition. They were wonderful ambassadors for the school.
Year 6 Shine at Creative Dance Festival
On Thursday afternoon, twenty-two of our amazing Year 6 children took part in the Creative Dance Festival, held at Alleyn Court School (organised by the Southend Primary Schools Sports Association).
Our pupils performed a fantastic dance that they had choreographed entirely by themselves — a true reflection of their creativity, teamwork, and dedication. With twenty-two other schools in attendance, it was a brilliant celebration of the performing arts and a wonderful opportunity for our children to share their talent on a bigger stage.
It was also a real pleasure to watch the other schools perform, with a wide range of styles on show — from elegant ballet to energetic street dance and everything in between. The variety and enthusiasm made the afternoon even more special.
Tennis Competition
On Friday 25th April, eight pupils took part in the Southend Primary School Sports Association tennis competition at Garon Park.
In the morning session, a team of four children from Year 4 were in action. Some of the games were long yet our players demonstrated great resilience and perseverance. At the end of the ‘round robin,’ the children finished in second position in group B. In the semi-final match, they played the winners of group A, and quite remarkably, the result was 2 games each, with both schools scoring an equal number of points too! The decision was made for the semi-final matches to be played again. This time the West Leigh team managed to win 3 games to 1 and so progressed to the final. In the final, the children finished in second place. Nevertheless, they were delighted with their achievement and to receive silver medals.
In the afternoon, the Year 6 team was in action. The four pupils made a very strong start by winning their first match 4-0. In the next two matches the children played some excellent tennis and both matches resulted in a draw, 2 games to each school. At this point, the count back system, based on points scored, came into play. As West Leigh did not score as many points as the other schools the ‘win’ was given against us - the result of which meant the team finished in third place so did not progress to the semi-final stage of the competition.
In addition to demonstrating super tennis skills, all the children were incredibly supportive of each other. Furthermore, they were great ambassadors for West Leigh for their sportsmanship and behaviour.
Summer Term Inspirational Person
This half term's inspirational person is Katie Stagliano, who founded the charity Katie's Krops at a young age. Her work all started with a school project - growing a cabbage! She managed to grow an enormous cabbage which she donated to feed the homeless. When she realised that her cabbage had helped provide meals to 275 people, she started to wonder what a whole garden might do. After setting up a garden in her school, Katie's project grew until she had young people across America creating their own gardens and donating the produce. Her empathy, compassion and selflessness have inspired us all!
The challenge for this half term can be found on Showbie - don't forget that there are prizes available! Children should design a garden or allotment that could be used to grow crops to feed people who do not have enough money to buy food. They can upload their design to Showbie or hand it in to Mrs London.
Dinner Menu
Week 3
Monday - Bank Holiday
Tuesday - Sausage in a Roll - Quorn Sausage in a Roll - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise - Vegetable Rice, Carrots and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Jelly
Wednesday - Roast Gamon with Gravy - Roast Quorn with Gravy - Granary Baguette with Tuna Mayonnaise - Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding, Mixed Vegetable and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt or Fruity Shortbread
Thursday - Homemade Beef Spaghetti Bolognaise - Homemade Quorn Spaghetti Bolognaise - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans, Cheese or Tuna Mayonnaise - Broccoli and Salad Bar - Fresh Fruit, Yoghurt and Sprinkle Cake
Friday - Chicken Burger in a Bun with optional Salad and Mayonnaise - Vegetable Burger in a Bun with optional Salad and Mayonnaise - Wholemeal Wrap with Salmon and Sweetcorn - Potato Wedges, Sweetcorn, Homemade Coleslaw and Salad Bar - Fresh fruit, Yoghurt or Ice Cream
Messages from the Office
Hayfever Season
With the changing weather, if your child suffers with hay fever, please ensure that they are given antihistamine before arriving at school. This will prevent the need for parents to come into school during the school day to administer medication. We cannot stock or supply antihistamines or pain relief to give to the children. Eyedrops are not to be brought into school as we are unable to administer them. As first-aiders, the only recommendation we are able to give to the children if they are suffering from hay fever is to splash their eyes with water to loosen any pollen irritating their eyes.
Just as a reminder: any prescribed medication required during school hours must be handed into the office by a parent/carer. Children should not have any form of medication, ointments or creams in their school bags. We can only administer antibiotics that are prescribed to be taken 4 times a day. Unfortunately, due to the number of children requiring medication during the school day, we ask that antibiotics prescribed for 3 times a day are administered before school, after school and before bedtime. We cannot administer non-prescribed medication.
Don't forget to check out our new online bookshop here.
Golden Thank Yous
This week, we awarded a golden thank-you to 6 children who demonstrated empathy, responsibility or integrity in some way.
Achievements
Last weekend, Sasha in Year 5 took part in the Survival of the Sickest skateboarding competition at The House Skatepark in Sheffield. Competing in the highly competitive U12 category, Sasha impressively secured 5th place out of 12 riders, despite being one of the youngest in the group. The event was filled with excitement, showcasing the incredible talent and dedication of young skaters. Congratulations to Sasha for pushing through the competition with such skill and determination!
Sports Awards
The award for Most Improved goes to Zakariya Qureshi in 3M for demonstrating improved batting with attention to detail paid on the accuracy of his shots.
The Sports Performer award goes to Harriet Loveland in 6W for an incredible catch in Year 6’s cricket club with such little time to react to the ball reaching her!
Messages from FOWLS
Parent Council
The full list of councillors, along with their email addresses if you wish to contact them, can be found on our school website. The minutes from our meetings are also published on this page, which can be found using the following link: https://www.westleighjunior.co.uk/parent-council
A reminder that answers to many of the previously discussed items at parent council can be found on the 'hot topics' section of our website: https://www.westleighjunior.co.uk/hot-topics
This includes subjects such as lost property, lunchtime arrangements, clubs and much more.
We still have vacancies in 4C and 6P - if you are able to spare an evening each term to represent your class, it would be of great benefit to the school. Our meetings are held at 4.30pm and councillors are able to use our After School Club, free of charge to assist with child care during the meeting. Please contact Mrs London if you are able to volunteer.
Community News
We've created a dedicated space on our website to share flyers for local events and community support. Click the link below to explore what's happening in our area.
Summer Term Diary Dates
June
- Monday 2nd - INSET Day
- Wednesday 4th - Year 6 Cricket Competition (boys)
- Thursday 5th - School Council Visit to Houses of Parliament
- Year 6 Cricket Competition (girls)
- Danbury Meeting for Year 3 Parents @ 2.30pm
- Meeting for Year 4 parents re: transition and Mersea residential
- Friday 6th - Careers Day
- Monday 9th - Wednesday 18th - Assessments in Years 3 - 5
- Monday 9th - Seesma rehearsal from 11.30am
- Seesma Concert - 7pm - 9.30pm
- Monday 9th - Thursday 19th - Year 6 Bikeability
- Assessment Week for Years 3 - 5
- Tuesday 10th - Coastal Schools - 4C
- Wednesday 11th - Borough Sports
- Thursday 12th - Coastal Schools - 4SW
- Year 3 water safety assembly
- Significant Male Sale
- Friday 13th - non-uniform day for summer fayre
- Saturday 14th - Summer Fayre
- Monday 16th - Thursday 19th - Bikeability - Year 6
- Assessment week for Years 3 - 5
- WHSG Taster Day for Year 4 girls
- Parent Council Meeting @ 4.30pm
- Friday 20th - Sponsor Day for Havens Hospices
- Monday 23rd - Friday 27th - Ilam Hall Residential and Southend Activity Week (Year 6)
- No swimming all week
- Tuesday 24th - Super Sports - Track
- Year 6 Induction King John and The Deanes Schools
- Wednesday 25th - Super Sports - Field
- Year 6 Induction King John and The Deanes Schools
- Thursday 26th - Year 3 Field Study @ Leigh Beach
- Year 4 Quidditch Event
July
Please note that there will be no After School Club on Tuesday 15th July due to Open Evening . There will also be no After School Club on the last day of term (Wednesday 23rd July).
- Tuesday 1st - King John induction morning - Year 6
- Wednesday 2nd - Year 5 IndiRock visit
- Thursday 3rd - Friday 4th - Year 3 Residential to Danbury
- Friday 4th - Year 6-7 Transition Day
- General Knowledge Quiz Club Finals @ Oxford University
- Boys' Choir singing with Music Man Project
- Monday 7th - Sports Day - no swimming
- Tuesday 8th - Sports Stacks Event - Year 3
- Thursday 10th - Meet the Teacher morning (Years 3 - 5)
- Monday 14th - Friday 18th - Fun Swim Week
- Tuesday 15th - Open Evening 5pm - 7pm - no After School Club
- Friday 18th - Annual School Reports
- Monday 21st - Year 6 Swimming Gala
- Tuesday 22nd - Year 6 Leavers' performance to parents
- Wednesday 23rd - Last day of term - no After School Club
Credits:
Created with images by Christy Thompson - "make a date" • Kaspars Grinvalds - "Tablet with sports news website on stack of newspapers. All contents are made up." • Creative Stocker - "Golden trophy held by a hand isolated on transparent background, 3D metallic award PNG download for sports, competition, success, achievement, victory, pride, leadership, championship, and celebration" • Brian Jackson - "Calendar appointment"