Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...
- A mention of our Key Stage 2 SATs results
- Summer Fayre on Wednesday - Non-uniform
- Uniform and music reminders
- Year 5 church write-up
- Year 6 mini-fete write-up
- Stay Safe in the Heat advice
Another hot, sunny week at Friars! Haven’t we been so lucky with the recent weather? Towards the end of the newsletter there is some useful advice about staying safe in the heat.
Monday started off with Year 5 visiting the local Baptist church. It was a great afternoon and the children learnt lots. Thank you to Mrs. Witt for organising the trip and for developing further links with places of worship across Southend. Alongside Mrs. James, Mrs. Witt has worked hard developing RE in the school. Next year though, Mrs. Witt will become the school’s Music Lead. Exciting!
Tuesday was the Year 6 mini-fete which was a huge success. Well done to the Year 6 children and staff for coordinating everything and thanks to everyone who came along with money to spend. I think it is fair to say that everyone had a lot of fun.
This week we received the Year 6 SATs results. The children’s individual results will be shared in their end of year reports which will be emailed out on Thursday. I am pleased to share that as a school we were above national averages in all subjects; reading, writing, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling. Sadly, we can’t share actual numbers and percentages just yet as the data is validated in the autumn, but watch this space. After our highly positive Ofsted inspection in December, it really has been a year to celebrate for all of our school community. Thank you to children, staff, parents and carers for working hard together.
In yesterday’s assembly, I spoke to the children about the school year and about all of the amazing things we have managed to fit in; charity fundraisers such as Children in Need, Comic Relief and Waddle-on-Sea, great Christmas activities, year group assemblies, music and sports events, specials days and weeks – such as Careers Week, educational visits and visitors, the Christmas fayre, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day sales, the sports days etc, etc, etc… We might have only 190 school days each academic year but we certainly pack a lot into them!
There is still a great deal to look forward to over the final 8 days. Don’t forget that on Wednesday we have our Summer Fayre after school. With the continued good weather and all of the bouncing fun we'll have, we have decided to make the Summer Fayre day a non-uniform day. This will save children needing to change. We hope to see you there! In the final week we have our Y3/4 and Y5/6 discos too. If you haven’t bought a ticket for your child yet – please do…
Have a lovely weekend and see you on Monday.
Mr. McClay, Principal
Pupil Spotlight
Ada in Wrens Class has done something remarkable outside of school…
A few weeks ago, Ada donated 10 inches of her hair to the Little Princess Trust. The Little Princess Trust provides free real hair wigs to children and young people up to the age of 24, who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or other conditions. They also fund childhood cancer research.
What a lovely thing to do… well done Ada!
Uniform - Shoes and Trainers
At Friars, we expect the children to wear all-black shoes or trainers to school. If you are buying new shoes or trainers for September, please make sure that they are all-black. Below are some links to all-black shoes that you might find useful:
- Asda - George From £10
- Next - From £24.00
- Sports Direct From £25
- Shoe Zone From £9.99
- JD Sports From £28
Music
Reminder - Instrument Lessons with our Southend peripatetic teacher
We have some vacancies for musical instrument tuition in September. The cost is £93 for 10 individual lessons. If you would like your child to learn an instrument, please collect a form from the office. Places will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reminder - Rocksteady Music Lessons
No doubt your child told you all about last week's assembly and music workshops from Rocksteady. The children have an opportunity to have Rocksteady music lessons in school come September and form a ROCK BAND!
Your child brought a letter home two weeks ago. If you're interested please sign up soon - you do not need to pay just yet.
Diary Dates
July
- Tuesday 15th - Meet the Teacher
- Wednesday 16th - PTA Summer Fayre & Inflatables 3:30pm-5:30pm
- Thursday 17th - Reports emailed out
- Monday 21st - Year 6 Film and Pizza Afternoon
- School Discos
- Y3/4 3:15pm-4:30pm
- Y5/6 4:45pm-6:00pm
- Tuesday 22nd - PM Year 6 Water Fight
- Wednesday 23rd - Year 6 Leavers Assembly 9:15am
- Last Day of Term
September
- Monday 1st - INSET Day
- Tuesday 2nd - Children return to school
- Wednesday 10th - Nursery Stay & Play
- Thursday 11th - Nursery Stay & Play
- Monday 15th - New Nursery children start
October
- Wednesday 15th - Learning Conversations
- Thursday 16th - Learning Conversations
- Thursday 23rd - Royal Opera House visit
- Friday 24th - INSET Day
- Monday 27th - Friday 31st - Half Term
November
- Wednesday 5th - Individual photos
- Tuesday 11th - Remembrance Assembly
- Friday 14th - Children In Need
- Monday 24th - Flu Immunisation mop up
December
Monday 22nd - Friday 2nd January - Christmas Break
Nursery
Following a visit to the library last week a child picked a book about Elmer the Elephant. Nursery children did not know who this was so this week in Nursery we have focused on the patchwork Elephant, Elmer. Children have painted their own pictures of Elmer, created their own colourful elephant design and talked about their own features that make them unique. Children recognised that some people have blue eyes, others brown, some people have curly hair, others straight. One child recognised that she wore glasses and her friend didn’t. It was a great discussion and one that really got children thinking about themselves.
Nursery children also enjoyed our visit to the Year 6 mini-fete. Games were played, stickers won, and ice lollies eaten. Fun all round.
Finally, we held our last ever stay and Play for this academic term. It was great speaking with all the visitors and sharing stories from throughout the year. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support throughout the year.
Letters sent home
Reception
This week we have been thinking about how to be kind to each other as well as looking after our planet. The children really enjoyed designing their own superhero related to this. Our maths sessions have focused on ordering numbers and finding missing numbers in a sequence. With the weather being so wonderful it has been great to be outside in our garden, where the children have been creative by making various modes of transport, dens and exploring how to change sounds with the musical instruments.
Next week we will be collecting in all of the reading books and library books. If you find you have any old ones at home, please send them in as well. Thank you.
Year 1
This week in English we have been learning about imperative verbs. We were able to identify imperative verbs within commands, give examples of them and follow and write instructions using them.
Our maths this week has been focusing on money. We were able to identify coins and notes and then show which totals were of greater or lesser value.
We learnt the Hindu story of creation and compared this to creation stories from other religions. We then used our artistic skills to create a beautiful picture of a lotus flower using oil pastels.
Year 2
This week in English, we have been thinking about our time in Year 2 and the topics that we have really enjoyed learning about. The children used their ideas to write an informal letter to their new teacher.
In maths, we have had an exciting week as we used our knowledge of position and direction to code Mousebots. The children wrote a set of instructions, using subject specific vocabulary, to help the Mousebot move from its starting point to an end goal. The children tested and edited their ideas and then swapped with a partner to test out their instructions.
This week 2W have enjoyed outdoor learning, creating pieces of art outside using different mediums. The children demonstrated great focus when completing their artwork and were very proud of their creations. Next week, it will be 2S’ turn to express their creativity by creating outdoor artwork!
Year 3
We have been as busy as ever this week.
In English we watched the film by David Attenborough and how marine life are being affected by overfishing and fishing techniques. So, we have been researching more about this subject and we looked at how we can persuade people within a leaflet, to either change their ways or help to save our ocean. Next week we will take our research and plans to create a final leaflet.
In maths, we have now completed all our units and will be spending the final few weeks recapping on our learning, so we are ready to move up to Year 4 with a sound knowledge of the Year 3 maths curriculum.
In the afternoons, we continued with our Italian study, looking at different cultures and landmarks. In science, we recapped on our research about acidic and alkali substances and drew our conclusions based on what we found out.
We are in the final weeks of French and most of it will include recapping on what we have learnt and learning a few key phrases.
Letters sent home
Year 4
We’ve had another exciting and busy week in Year 4, filled with creativity, curiosity, and learning across all subjects!
📚 English – Exploring Poetry - This week in English, we delved into the wonderful world of performance poetry! The children had the opportunity to practice rehearsing given poems before we hosted a competition to find out the best performer. Next week the children will have a try and writing their very own poems!
➕ Maths – Cracking Coordinates - In maths, we began learning all about coordinates. The children enjoyed plotting points on grids, learning how to read coordinates accurately, and even creating 2D shapes by joining up coordinates by joining up plotted points using a ruler. A great introduction to map skills and spatial awareness!
🎨 DT – Shoebox Creations Continue - Our shoebox projects are coming along brilliantly! This week, the children continued to add detail and design to their shoebox scenes. From miniature furniture to tiny characters, the creativity has been impressive! Soon, the children will also be planning where to include their alarm systems. We’re looking forward to seeing the final results soon!
🔬 Science – Investigating Condensation and Evaporation - In science, we carried out an exciting experiment to help us understand condensation and evaporation. The children observed how water changes state and discussed where we see these processes in everyday life. There were lots of great questions and scientific thinking on display!
Letters sent home
Year 5
Year 5 really enjoyed their trip to Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist church on Monday afternoon. We discussed initiation ceremonies, green religion and having faith. The church are looking forward to having us back. Later in the week the children discussed further the supply chain of a mobile phone and how it goes from manufacturer to distribution around the world. This week sees the teaching of RSE in our year group. We are looking forward to our cooking in DT where we are making a Tudor stew.
Letters sent home
Year 6
A huge well done to all of the pupils in Year 6 this week for the effort and hard work that they put into the mini-fete. They produced posters to advertise the event and created and managed stalls for the whole day. The children were amazing and patient with the younger attendees and a great time was had by all.
Now, our focus remains on our Leavers’ Assembly.
In case you missed the Year 6 Leavers pullout in the Echo we have enclosed the class photos below.
Letters sent home
Computing
This week Year 2 started the week with the Lego buildings of either the twirling teacups or the spinning Ferris wheel. Some groups even had chance to make both. It has been great to see the children working together to build the various designs and then work to program them in different ways. Some children made the spinning Ferris wheel move fast enough for the characters to spin.
Year 1 have been putting their learning from the half term to the test this week by creating a racing rocket program on Scratch Jr. This meant they needed to add three rocket sprites, edit them to look different on a space background. Before deciding how each of the rockets would move children experimented with the speed of the rocket as well as the movement and it was great to see how they used the starting block to enable all rockets to move at the same time.
Year 6 have now completed their unit on Excel, and consolidated their skills of using formulas to make calculations on party planning. They also learnt the Sigma sign for quick additions and how to do an average.
Year 4 created their own game on Scratch, by using forever loops to make creatures appear and disappear, which then had to be “caught” by the user. Some children made a variable to have a scoreboard and they were all proud to be a game creator and designer.
Online Safety
AI isn’t just transforming the way we learn and work, it’s also reshaping the tactics scammers use online. From generating convincing phishing emails to fabricating influencer videos, criminals are using AI to make their scams more convincing than ever. Young people, who often embrace new tech quickly, can be especially vulnerable.
This guide highlights several AI-enabled dangers – including romance scams, deepfake audio and video impersonations, and fake job offers – and explains how to spot and report them. With clear tips for verifying content, thinking critically, and using trusted platforms, it’s essential reading for parents and educators to help young people stay one step ahead of the scammers.
PE & Sport
We are now coming to the end of our Summer 2 PE topics. This will see the children apply all of the skills they have been learning and practising. It has been a great year for sport at Friars and we are looking forward to lots more sporting fun in 2025-26.
Year 5 Church Visit
What an informative trip we had to Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist church on Monday afternoon. Our Year 5s walked beautifully along to the church and were welcomed by Mark (Children’s worker), Jo (Pastor) and Chris (Caretaker) They had a small refreshment and then moved into the church to firstly discuss the history of the church. We did not know that the church was 120 years old and it used to be a rose garden!
We were then lucky to be told about the baptism pool and shown a video of it in action.
Jo then explained about the wonderful stain glass windows they have around the top of the church depicting the story of creation.
Lastly we moved onto our most recent work on ‘Green religion’ Mark, Chris and Jo all spoke about their ‘Eco Church Movement’ Chris spoke about how green the grounds were and how they recycle consumables. They also spoke about an Eco Fair in October that is planned. At the church they have solar panels fitted and Mark explained how important these are. We discussed hymns that are sung about the environment and how recycling is so important in the community.
The children asked about clubs at the church and Mark spoke about ‘Kids Collective’ which is on a Thursday 5.30-7pm. It is a fun weekly club for children aged between 5 to 11 where you can play games, create things, learn new skills and build friendships. Some of the children were very interested in this and have bought a leaflet home. Chris also spoke about ‘The Shoebury Bookshed’ which is a secondhand bookshop with fiction, non-fiction and children’s book sections. They are open every Saturday morning 10-12pm as well as at various times during the week. They always welcome donations.
Our Year 5s gained a great experience at Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist church. We will be back…
Year 6 Mini Fete
This week at Friars, Year 6 ran an extremely successful mini-fete for the rest of the school to attend.
The children designed posters advertising the event. They came up with, designed and organised the stalls that were part of the fete and ran everything themselves.
The Year 6's were very mature and supportive of the younger children and we have some budding entrepreneurs in our midst.
Everybody who attended thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the children raised nearly £400 pounds which is going towards the cost of their Leavers' Hoodies.
Dinner Menu
Week 1
Monday - Baked Sausages with Crushed Potatoes & Gravy - 3 Veg Macaroni Cheese - Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce - Chicken Mayonnaise Baguette - Cheese Salad Wrap - Baked Beans & Peas - Chocolate & Sweet Potato Brownie
Tuesday - Beef & Bean Chilli with Steamed Rice - Vegan Bean Chilli with Steamed Rice - Jacket Potato with Baked Beans - Ham Sandwich - Cheese & Tomato Bloomer - Sweetcorn & Broccoli - Courgette & Oat Cookie
Wednesday - Roast Chicken Fillets with Gravy - Vegan Squash, Sweet Potato & Bean Hot Pot - Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce - Tuna & Sweetcorn Baguette - Cheese Sandwich - Roast Potatoes, Seasonal Greens & Carrots - Vanilla Ice Cream
Thursday - Beef & Vegetable Ragu with Penne Pasta - Vegetable Chow Mein - Jacket Potato with Cheddar Cheese - Tuna Mayonnaise Sandwich - Cheese Salad Wrap - Cauliflower & Roasted Carrots - Apple & Parsnip SpongeApple & Parsnip Sponge
Friday - Fish Fingers, Chips & Ketchup - Vegan Vegetable Fingers, Chips & Ketchup - Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce - Ham Sandwich - Egg Mayo Baguette - Baked Beans & Peas - Fruit Jelly
Freshly Baked Bread: Tomato & Rosemary Bread or Wholemeal Bread
Celebration Assembly
The links for our Celebration Assemblies can be found below.
Last week we saw Stirling take sole control at the top of the table as a result of winning more Sports Day points than Caernarfon. Windsor closed the gap after their overall first place… it was hotting up in the race for the Friars Cup.
This week we saw wins for Caernarfon and Stirling in Key Stage 1 and Stirling in Key Stage 2. Well done. Stirling’s lead has increased ever so slightly…
01702 294837 - office@fps.porticoacademytrust.co.uk