Mankind is a great, an immense family... This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.

Although we have not been able to share in our celebrations as our whole school family this week, our class has felt like a family. We have been taking care of each other, still working hard but having so much fun too along the way!

This week has seen us complete our lovely class nativity - portraying the Three Wise Men’s visit (see school blog) Then we had a fantastic time on Tuesday, taking part in our Danceathon in classes and also, by request on the playground too! Thanks so much for all your kind donations. So far, our class has raised £122.00 for streetlife! We’ve even had some Christmas French.

For English, we have also been studying this Christmas poem. The children have loved learning it and putting it together. Enjoy!

Thursday was our Christmas party day and what a jolly lot the children were! We played party games in class such as good old musical chairs and our special secret santa game. A beautiful Christmas dinner was shared by all. Then time for a movie and some popcorn too.

The children were astounded when a video appeared on our screen of Santa in our class - he delivered presents to all classes around the school! Many theories were flying about - How did he get here? Why didn’t we see him? All very exciting!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week a Lizzie Ladybird certificate goes to Saul for making so much improvement this last term. A Sadie Spider certificate has gone to Max for being so determined to meet his reading target and improve his spellings. A Bobby Bee certtificate has gone to Mason for often doing his own exciting poems and stories to bring in for us all to enjoy.

20 children have met their reading target this half term! Excellent Year 4. We are very proud of you.

PE stars this week were John’Joseph for getting into spaces and confidently calling for others to pass to him. Also Lena who did some amazing interception to get the ball in basketball!

Your children have all worked so hard this term and have each overcome so many obstacles. The class feels like a big family, growing in trust and love for one another. I have loved helping them to grow and learn and look forward to the new year to teach them again.

But as we are all exhausted, all that is left to say is have a lovely Christmas and a good rest. Best wishes and God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Forster.

Year 4 blog 'Only in the Darkness can you see the stars.' (Martin Luther King Junior)

The class has been full of song this week! We have worked hard to do our part in a lovely nativity which will be ready to view soon! In RE we have focused on the full story of the Three Kings and children retold it as one of the kings.

We have done a lot of performing this week! We have put together a lovely recorder show for your viewing pleasure! Children have come such a long way in such a short time!

Another way we have performed this week is in reading aloud in parts to the class, from our novel, Charlotte’s Web. Children learned that authors use italics to tell us which words to emphasize when we read. Why not practise when your child is reading aloud at home? We also learned the fate of poor Wilbur the pig - and we did a conscience alley drama activity - ‘Should Wilbur be told that the farmer is planning to kill him for Christmas?’ Children were very emotive!

In Science we have had great fun learning all about how to change volume and pitch. We learned that to amplify sound, we need a greater amount of energy or force - which makes vibrations - soundwaves larger. Then we conducted a pattern-seeking survey to discover how Pitch is changed. We decided that it must be the speed of the vibrations that alters pitch - we proved it with recorders, guitars, glass bottles, straw whistles and chime bars. The longer or thicker the sound source, the lower the pitch. Children had a big giggle making their own straw whistles!

We have also loved our History this week - finding out about how Vikings threatened to take over our country during Anglo-Saxon times and how King Alfred managed to keep them at bay. Children were asked the question, ‘King Alfred. Was he really great?’ They argued reasons for this but also included doubts as to the truthfulness of some of his achievements since he employed someone to write the good bits about himself!

In maths, we have been learning how to find the perimeter of shapes. Some super thinking has gone on!

Let’s celebrate!

This week I had to give 4 certificates out!

Jess received a Clara Clownfish certificate for excellent thinking and figuring things out in Science. Amber received a Bobby Bee certificate for putting so much effort and participation into lessons. Jack received a Sadie Spider certificate for excellent effort and always giving more than expected and finally, James received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for really striving to meet targets.

The PE stars this week went to Lexi for excellent focus and to Hollie-Rose for not giving up.

Our recorder stars were Mason for some superb singing and India for super playing.

Notices

Christmas Danceathon Day - Tuesday 15th December - This much anticipated annual event will return with a slight twist this year. The children can come to school wearing their PE kits and we will dance the day away to Christmas music when Miss Hornby sounds those school bells. Unfortunately there will be no gathering on the school playground to dance as a school community but we will dance our socks off in class! Again, donations of £1 for this event in the single coin.

Christmas Party Day - Thursday 17th December - This year we will be enjoying those Christmas party games in our classrooms. On this day, children can come to school in their best party clothes. A small snack of a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps with a drink (no fizzy please) can also be brought into school to be enjoyed after the party. We will also be enjoying a Christmas dinner for lunch.

We all hope you have a lovely weekend with your family. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster, Mrs Mather and Miss Edmondson

Year 4 - A Christmas film!

Children have requested that we watch either Elf or Christmas Chronicles 2 for our final Christmas film Thursday next week. As both of these are a PG could you please let me know if you do NOT want your child to watch these films.

Year 4 blog: Angels descending, bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

We have had such a busy week but very productive! Children have really enjoyed their turn on our trim trail when the weather has been fair. On Thursday, we had a lovely RE lesson all about angels. Children had many questions about them and also LOTS of theories too. We found evidence for them in the bible and then children wrote down what they believe about them.

We have finally met Charlotte, in our novel ‘Charlotte’s web. We had a fun lesson where we learned about formal and informal language, since Wilbur tries so hard to impress his new friend by speaking ‘poshly.’

RHE - Friendship

Following Wilbur’s encounter, we reflected on how to be a good friend. Wilbur feels friendless, since the other animals, for various reasons do not want to play with him. We talked together about how we could be better friends and what sort of things friends do. We have talked a lot in class about learning to trust each other and how to be a trustworthy, respectful and loyal friend to others.

In maths, we have begun our work on length and Perimeter. Science was great fun this week as children were given a mission - through discovery to find out how sound is made. They figured out, through many explorations that it is caused by vibration.

Christmas Craft Day today was such a success! It really did the children good to have some Christmas jollity and it was such a lovely atmosphere. Thank you so much for your donations. Children have all written a lovely Christmas card for a homeless person, which will be given to Streetlife before Christmas so they can add it to their gift boxes for each person struggling this Christmas.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week our learning certificates went to Lena who received a Bobby Bee certificate. You are always so enthusiastic Lena, wanting to answer every question and enjoying learning your learning so much! A Sadie Spider certificate went to Hollie-Rose for trying so hard and putting so much effort and detail in her work.

Recorder stars were Thomas and Kiefer

PE stars were also Thomas and Kiefer this week! Double win! You must have been trying so hard!

Notices this week.

You may have noticed a new ‘remote learning’ button underneath the ‘learning from home' button on the Year 2 class blog page. Please feel free to click on the button and have a look around. This is where tasks will be placed if your child is unable to access learning in school.

Please try not to bring in any unnecessary things from home. Water bottles, school bags and reading books are all that children should be bringing in. We ask that children do not bring in Christmas cards for each other as a precautionary measure.

Christmas Danceathon Day - Tuesday 15th December - This much anticipated annual event will return with a slight twist this year. The children can come to school wearing their PE kits and we will dance the day away to Christmas music when Miss Hornby sounds those school bells. Unfortunately there will be no gathering on the school playground to dance as a school community but we will dance our socks off in class! Again, donations of £1 for this event in the single coin.

Christmas Party Day - Thursday 17th December - This year we will be enjoying those Christmas party games in our classrooms. On this day, children can come to school in their best party clothes. A small snack of a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps with a drink (no fizzy please) can also be brought into school to be enjoyed after the party. We will also be enjoying a Christmas dinner for lunch.

We all hope you have a lovely weekend with your family. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog: Have Faith, trust in the Lord and He will guide you

Every week in Year 4, the children become more grown up and more loving towards one another. They are growing in resilience and focus before my very eyes! It has been a truly great week of learning.

We began the week with a worship based on last week’s gospel - about allowing God to guide us in our life. We talked about our conscience and how this could be God speaking to our hearts. Children were so reflective and we thought together about times where we have a choice - to follow God’s path or to turn away. We also discussed how God is always there ready to guide us back to him again if we steer away from him.

Children have been trying so hard to let God guide them this week. They have also been inspired by Mary in our RE lessons and have been thinking about how to be more like her - full of grace, humility, faith and courage.

We are all loving our reading now - in fact it is often hard to stop and get on with lessons! We have introduced a ‘Recommended reading’ wall where children recommend to each other a book that they have read recently. There are so many lovely book conversations going on and many children have started writing stories for their friends to read - which are on our book rack in class! Also we have delved into our novel - ‘Charlotte’s Web’ this week. Children are practising so many different reading strategies and we have been practising reading aloud with correct intonation using punctuation to help us.

We have started our new Science topic - Sound and as usual the class were full of questions and interesting facts! We have been BRILLIANT with addition and subtraction this week - solving lots of tricky problems and being real Sadie Spiders! Advent promises were made on Wednesday - thoughtfully done. I believe little elves will be decorating the school ready for Christmas on Friday!

Let’s Celebrate!

I had to award 4 certificates this week! A Lizzie Ladybird certificate went to Jacob O. for really following and acting on advice. A Bobby Bee certificate went to Abi for confidence and enthusiasm, A Clara Clownfish certificate went to Isabella for being great at figuring things out and making connections and a Sadie Spider certificate went to Christian for putting full effort, detail and quality into his work!

PE stars this week were Jacob M and Julia for fantastic teamwork and effort.

Music stars were Grace and Christian - brilliant listening and playing!

Notices

Christmas Arts and Crafts Day - THIS Friday 4th December - Our first fundraiser in Year 4 will be a Christmas Arts and Crafts Day. On this day, children will be making Christmas decorations for our classroom and for home - all things Christmassy. They can wear a Christmas jumper on this day too if they want - with their own trousers, jeans or skirt - obviously weather appropriate! A donation of £1 (or any donation) would be kindly received, but this must be in the form of a £1 coin as we also want to limit the handling and counting out of money.

Christmas Danceathon Day - Tuesday 15th December - This much anticipated annual event will return with a slight twist this year. The children can come to school wearing their PE kits and we will dance the day away to Christmas music when Miss Hornby sounds those school bells. Unfortunately there will be no gathering on the school playground to dance as a school community but we will dance our socks off in class! Again, donations of £1 for this event in the single coin.

Christmas Party Day - Thursday 17th December - This year we will be enjoying those Christmas party games in our classrooms. On this day, children can come to school in their best party clothes. A small snack of a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps with a drink (no fizzy please) can also be brought into school to be enjoyed after the party. We will also be enjoying a Christmas dinner for lunch.

We all hope you have a lovely weekend with your family. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster and Mrs Mather

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” — Victor Hugo

Another exciting week in Year 4! On Thursday, lots of books arrived that the children had requested that they would love to read. As one child commented, “It’s book heaven!” Their excitement was so beautiful that I had to film it!

Another great success at the moment is our recorder lessons. Here is a little sample of our progress so far - very good I’m sure you would agree!

This week we had our Online Safety day where we discussed our digital footprint - the traces of ourselves that we leave online. We did lots of work around making sure we are safe online and only post or share photos, videos and/or comments which will not hurt or embarrass yourself or others. As usual, children produced some excellent work.

We have loved learning further about Anglo-Saxons this week and on Thursday, we had a mystery to solve - the mysery of the empty grave - an Anglo-Saxon burial site filled with all sorts of treasures found at Sutton Hoo- East Anglia. But who did the grave belong to? Children looked at the evidence and interpreted it to figure out the possible owner of such a grave - A Superior King - King Raedwald!

We have also begun our novel ‘Charlotte’s Web’ this week which children are already very in love with! They are such book lovers - I feel privileged to take them on their journey of books this year!

RHE focus

This week, we have thought about our gifts from God and how we can make the most of them. We have also reflected on God’s greatest gift - love and how we can show this to Him and others around us. In our class council we have been discussing how to raise money for our class charity, Streetlife. Children have come up with brilliant fundraising ideas and have decided what our Autumn fundraiser will be - see notices below.

Let’s celebrate!

This week we have a Bobby Bee certificate for Jayden who is growing so much in self-belief and enthusiasm. We are so proud of you!

We also have a Sadie Spider for Asher, who never ever gives up. In all he does he makes sure it is his very best and often adds that extra bit of detail.

Our recorder stars this week were Kai and Julia for super focus and effort.

Our PE stars were Jayden for excellent focus and Abi for really using her intelligence to strategise in the game.

Notices/Dates

Given the current situation that we are all in, the school have decided that this year fundraising will take place solely for different charities as they need our help now more than ever. Each class has been given a charity to raise money for in their own way. Year 4’s charity is ‘Streetlife,’ in Blackpool.

Christmas Arts and Crafts Day - Friday 4th December - Our first fundraiser in Year 4 will be a Christmas Arts and Crafts Day. On this day, children will be making Christmas decorations for our classroom and for home - all things Christmassy. They can wear a Christmas jumper on this day too if they want - with their own trousers, jeans or skirt - obviously weather appropriate! A donation of £1 (or any donation) would be kindly received, but this must be in the form of a £1 coin as we also want to limit the handling and counting out of money.

Christmas Danceathon Day - Tuesday 15th December - This much anticipated annual event will return with a slight twist this year. The children can come to school wearing their PE kits and we will dance the day away to Christmas music when Miss Hornby sounds those school bells. Unfortunately there will be no gathering on the school playground to dance as a school community but we will dance our socks off in class! Again, donations of £1 for this event in the single coin.

Christmas Party Day - Thursday 17th December - This year we will be enjoying those Christmas party games in our classrooms. On this day, children can come to school in their best party clothes. A small snack of a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps with a drink (no fizzy please) can also be brought into school to be enjoyed after the party. We will also be enjoying a Christmas dinner for lunch.

We all hope you have a lovely weekend with your family. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog -Two important notices!

Home/School Agreement

Please could you share and complete online the home school agreement form with your child this weekend. It is very short and will be good to remind children of their responsibilities in school. Part of it is a parent agreement too.

Illness.

Another thing that has changed in school is the way in which you report a child’s illness or absence from school. There is an online form to complete and submit in the ‘discover’ section of our website under attendance. The form is called ‘Reporting an Illness.’ This is a more simple and effective way of letting us know if your child is poorly.

Year 4 blog "Friendship is built on two things; Respect and trust."

What an interesting week we have had! This week children have been given learning targets to help them strive to be the best learner they can be, which they keep in their pencil cases. They have worked their absolute socks off this week! In English, they finished their fairy tale based on the Pied Piper and then wrote another story, ‘The Little Match Girl.’was a very sad story which helped us to feel so grateful for all we have.

In history this week, we have formed our own Anglo-Saxon village - ‘Angleville.’ Each child has a character and a family they belong to. We have done a huge detailed drawing of our lovely village to find out more about Anglo-Saxon life. We found out why they invaded our country, this week. Children were challenged to make their first ever movie, explaining this and and the winning one would be put online. Here it is:

Well done to the Shoemaker family - very good attempt at your first movie! I bet children will enjoy their Anglo-Saxon homework task this week - they are loving being immersed in the Anglo-Saxon world!

In maths this week, we mastered column subtraction - be sure to watch the video on our help section to see how we do it at our school.

We had a lovely worship of remembrance on Wednesday and took part in two minutes of silence.

RHE focus

This week we focused on God’s purpose for us and how we can grow closer to God in prayer. We learned that we are never bothering God and He wants us to trust him with our worries and our daily thoughts. We then did one of Mrs Lyons’ stories - “Whisper your Worries, Rosie Wren,’ and we had a brilliant conversation in class about what worries us. We discussed together how we can manage our worries and not let them control us. We learned about putting our trust in God - that He always knows what is best for us.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, Mrs Maddocks gave out Music awards. Both Lena and Jacob O got this for excellent listening and effort.

The certificate winners this week are Jacob M (Bobby Bee) for super enthusiasm and effort and Olivia received a Kiki Chameleon certificate for superb writing and always thinking of creative ways to do things.

PE champs this week are Hollie-Rose and John-Joseph for super skills

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

God bless, Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather, Miss Forster and Miss Edmondson

Year 4 Blog "Autumn is the Year's last, loveliest smile!"

What a super week its been! We kicked off the week by watching the lovely Year 6 assembly all about Gratitude, which really made us stop and be grateful, in these uncertain times.

We have dived straight into our History topic of the Anglo-Saxons. What excited children! They love history! We found out what a typical village looked like and how society was organised Children produced some excellent diagrams of Anglo-Saxon settlements. We then found out what was happening in AD410 when they invaded - Why was it so easy and why did they choose England?

We have now mastered column addition in maths and have started column subtraction. We were so engrossed the other day that children didn’t realise it was break time! Enthusiasm for reading is at an all time high too. Children are telling me they are engrossed in their books at home and are progressing well though their books.

We have started to write our stories in English which are based on the Pied Piper this week too! I have never taught such an enthusiastic group of writers - so many children write at home and bring their creations in too! A lot of budding authors!

Have a look below at our Dance of the Pied Piper. Children enjoyed this mischievous music and got right into character. They particularly enjoyed the end of the dance where they get to hypnotise the rat!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners were India for really challenging herself, Christian for being so enthusiastic in ll our learning - especially history and geography and Holly for bubbling with enthusiasm!

PE stars were Max and Grace this week - some super effort in outside PE!

Notices

Please could we make sure all children have an art t-shirt/shirt in class and have their full tracksuits for PE now the weather is turning.

I have talked to all the children about the importance of keeping up with and being on time with homework. We have a big emphasis on the times tables in Year 4 - this week TT Rockstars will be set up to practise the 8x tables ready for a test next week.

Don’t forget to do those little chores children for your tired grown-ups and raise some money for Streetlife - our class charity. We have a special tin in class to collect.

Have a lovely, restful weekend,

God bless and thank you for your continuous support,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Edmondson, Mrs Mather and Miss Forster

Year 4 Important update about Holy Communion

Dear Parents,

As you all know we will once again be entering National Lockdown from Thursday. For churches this means that they will only be open for private prayer sessions. Sadly, for us, this means that the planned masses to celebrate children making their first Holy Communion will have to be postponed. We are all so upset for the children and yourselves but at this time there is no other alternative.

We will hope to rearrange masses in January or February and will keep you informed as soon as we have firm dates. This is such an important sacrament for the children and we look forward to when we can eventually share this with them.

In the meantime, Mrs Lyons will continue to teach the children about the beauty of receiving the Eucharist in preparation for spring.

We will keep the children and yourselves in our prayers.

Miss Hornby

Attention Artists.

Attention Y2, 4 & 5 Artists

Attention Year 2, 4 & 5

You will need an old, named t-shirt to go over your school uniform, to keep you clean during our ART lessons this half term. These will be kept in your tray’s in class and brought with you to each ART lesson.

Remember the Create room is a little chilly with the doors open so an extra layer on Art days is advisable. Thank you for your co-operation.

Mrs Curtis

Year 4 blog "Rest and be thankful,"

The end of our first half term together - and a lovely end. This week, we took part in a beautiful worship, led by Father Peter where children completed one decade of the rosary and thought about the Annunciation. We thought about ways that we can say “Yes,” to God like Mary. We are growing in our understanding of column addition and we are really enjoying our work on ‘The Pied Piper.’ Children are definitely tired but they kept their resilience up and completed some great geography books about the uses of plants.

Notices

• Over the holidays, I would like children to complete their ‘Called to His Supper,’ books to bring in on the first Thursday back. Also go on times tables rock stars for a little time each day. This is now set to give them questions at their own level.

• Children have decided that they would like to do little jobs for you over half term in return for a little money to collect for Streetlife. Lets get sweeping those leaves and washing the car!

• I will be sending you a mini report on Friday. There is also a selection of your child’s work in their purple mash folders for you to access at home.

  Thank you for your support and for your lovely children. They have worked so hard and have made a good start to year 4!

  Have a lovely break together, Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster, Miss Edmondson and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog: "Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning." Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Its hard to believe we have only been in year 4 for seven weeks - it feels like much longer and we are working well together as a class. This week has seen us take part in the beautiful sacrament of Reconciliation. There is a little movie below to watch. Despite being unable to do this in church with our families, it was a different but special occasion. Children came back into class with big grins and shared their feelings of freshness and love!

This week we have dived into our new story, ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin,’ in English. We have looked at lots of different versions and expressed preferences, found similarities and differences. Year 4 children wrote their own descriptions of the Pied Piper, trying hard to use our new Year 4 grammar skill - extended noun phrases. We have also made up our own class version which we are learning to recite!

Geography has been a high point this week - what good little map readers we are becoming! Children have learned further about the earth’s climate zones and biomes - exploring extreme environments. We found out deserts can be hot and cold! Children were brilliant at researching a desert and also asked geographical questions to find out more about one particular desert in America. Finally, we learned about export and import and researched where many of the world’s foods come from! Very exciting.

Maths has seen us start column addition - with 4 digit numbers (presentation is key with this!) and also start to practise our 8x table.

RHE focus

This week, we have focused on love and compassion, with our story, Be Loving, Layla Lioness.’ Children reflected on what compassion was and this fed into our council session in class - where we discussed what charity we could focus on this year. We have decided to give to ‘Streetlife.’

We again thought about gratitude and how lucky we really are when there are so many in desperate need in our world.

Let’s Celebrate!

One Bobby Bee certificate for Lexi for buzzing about her learning and loving every minute!

A Lizzie Ladybird certificate goes to Esme for always listening so carefully to advice from the teacher and for considering how she can improve in all she does.

French star this week was Julia

PE stars this week were Olivia and Jacob O

Thomas got the lunchtime award for being sensible and calm.

Notices

We break up on Wednesday at the normal time.

I have set homework for this week - which will not need to be in until after the half term.

Have a great and cosy weekend with your very tired children!!

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster, Miss Edmondson and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog "It is our faith that activates the power of God."

It has been a truly delightful week of learning in Year 4. Children are so settled and are maturing before my very eyes! We have done so much in one week!

We have enjoyed drawing conclusions from our many plant experiments in class and also learning about Biomes in Geography. This helps us practise our location skills and we are getting better at knowing which continents different countries are in.

We have been busy finishing off our Place value in maths and this week, we learned about negative numbers! Now we have moved to addition and subtraction. However, there is going to be a big emphasis on learning those times tables in Year 4 alongside all maths work. This week it is the 4x and next week it is straight onto the 8x table!

In English, we have started ‘The Pied Piper’ and children have been asking questions, reading different versions and making predictions. We have also been collecting lots of exciting vocabulary to use eventually in our own fairy tales on the same theme. The children’s enthusiasm has been off the chart!!

On a similar theme, in RE this week we did the story of Moses and the Exodus. Children became newspaper reporters and wrote about the ten plagues. We had a meaningful discussion about slavery and why it was so terribly wrong. We always bring everything back to our mission statement, ‘You are precious in my eyes,’ and children understand that every human being is equally precious - and deserves to be treated as a child of God.

Children have loved trying out our new trim trail this week too! They have been so lovely cheering each other on to complete the monkey bars!

Next Tuesday will be our Reconciliation Session. It would be lovely if you could spend some time reflecting with your child on this and talk about the wrong choices they sometimes make. It is such a good opportunity to grow as a person. I always say it is like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders when you experience the power of God’s love and forgiveness.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our French stars were Jess and

Miss Forster and Mr Nay picked Saul and Jess for PE stars this week - super effort from both!

A Clara Clownfish certificate went to Julia for being a real pattern-spotter and noticing grammar that we have been learning in her reading book!

A Sadie Spider certificate went to Kiefer for trying so hard to get lots done and considering his learning so carefully.

Notices

In readiness for our upcoming Holy Communion, we are starting to prepare children for this and have completed a session today. They will come home with books to share and fill in with you (see homework) Also, please return any outstanding Holy Communion letters.

Since we cannot meet for parents’ day I will be sending a simple mini report out for your child to let you know how they have been getting along and also some examples of their fantastic work!

Have a lovely weekend everyone. God Bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Forster, Miss Edmondson and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog - Learning is the Gateway to Adventure!

We have had a very exciting week in Year 4! We began by learning the life cycle of a plant through our dance lesson on Monday. We learned the function of the flower and what part the bees play in reproduction of flowers.

Then on Tuesday we looked at the functions of different parts of a plant. We put carnations in coloured water and discovered that the stem’s function is to suck the water up to the flower. We also thought about roots, leaves and the flower itself.

On Wednesday we dissected a lily in partners to find the reproductive parts in a flower and then made beautiful annotated drawings of them. We learned about the processes of pollination and fertilisation.

One Thursday and today children have been very busy, composing their own explanation text all about the the life cycle of a flowering plant. They have worked so hard to incorporate all the language of explanation and are really becoming such a focused, hardworking group of children.

Both Mr Nay (PE) and Mrs Curtis (Art) commented on how wonderful the children had been in their lessons this week. Add to that a good play of recorders on Monday and a drama session outside, acting out the story of Joseph from the bible and we have had a fun week with lots and lots of growth!

Let’s celebrate!

This week 2 certificates were given.

Harriet received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for listening to teacher’s advice on how to improve and also always being so hardworking.

Grace received a Roger Robin certificate for being such a supportive and loving member of our class.

French stars : Grace, James and India

PE stars Abi and Harriet for fantastic effort with relay!

Notices

Thanks for your flu replies. Please now bring the Holy Communion forms back as soon as possible.

Have a lovely weekend! God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Edmondson, Mrs Mather and Miss Forster.

Year 4 blog for week ending 25th September. 'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow!'

We have had such a busy and exciting week. On Monday we did a dandelion dance! We used our recital from last week and put it to music and movement in groups! Super! In the afternoon, we went outside to play recorders and children played their first tune!!

On Tuesday we had a brilliant time learning all about different ways seeds disperse. We explored lots of seed pods Mrs Lyons had collected and thought about how they release their seeds. Then children used Book Creator to make a book all about seeds. The rest of the week has seen them writing explanation texts about all the different methods of seed dispersal. There is some AMAZING writing already. They sound like mini David Attenboroughs! Why not go and have a look in the woods and see what seed pods you can find!

On Wednesday we started our Geography topic of plants around the world and looked at atlases. We made books on the i-pads to show unusual plants from around the globe. On Thursday we learned the story of Abraham from the Old testament. All mixed in with some super maths work partitioning 4 digit numbers in different ways!

Let’s celebrate!

This week, our French star went to Jacob O for excellent listening and responding.

We have 3 certificates. (Mrs Lyons could not just choose two!)

A roger robin certificate went to Hollie-Rose for being a kind friend and a role model in class.

John-Joseph received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for improving so much each day because he listens to the teacher’s feedback.

Olivia receieved a Bobby Bee certificate because she always listens and loves to get better. She beeeelieves she can!

Notices

Please bring your flu forms back as soon as possible.

Don’t forget recorders on Monday! Please make sure they have been sterilised and they are in their case.

Also, please supply children with a pack of tissues regularly so they can keep them in their pencil case.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather, Miss Edmondson and Miss Forster.

Year 4 blog: All the Flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.

Week ending 18th September

This week has seen glorious sunshine and a whole class of eager children too! Everybody has loved their English lessons this week as we learned all about the language of explanation. WE studied dandelion clocks and read poetry about them We then listened to the wonderful Sir David Attenborough explaining all about the seed dispersal of dandelions. We have learnt this off by heart so that the language of explanation is imprinted in our minds! See video below!

After this, we imagined what it would be like to be one of the seeds on a dandelion, journeying away from the mother plant. Children have written some beautiful recounts of this occurring.

We have dived into our maths this week to grasp an understanding of 4 digit numbers now we are in year 4. We are doing very well! We have also learned about the structure of the Bible in RE and children had a great quiz where they looked up bible references to find the animal named in the verse. We also began French lessons this week.

RHE focus

This week, we have looked at managing our angry feelings. We have had a good conversation about losing our tempers and which part of the brain takes over when this happens. We have learned that we need to get back into our ‘thinking brain’ in order to regain control from our ‘animal brain.’

We have also looked at the story of Concentrate Cooper Crab, which gives us strategies to help us focus and manage distractions around us like Cooper.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, I tried to stick to two certificates but ended up with three!

Jacob O received a Bobby Bee certificate for sheer enthusiasm and always being ready to learn.

Lena received a Tommy Turtle certificate for always having a go and being willing to risk making mistakes in order to learn

Amber received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for striving to improve by always participating fully in lessons and listening so carefully.

Lena also met her reading target this week! Well done!

James received his pen licence too!

Notices

On Monday, children will be bringing home recorders to practise!

These need to be brought into school every Monday - (pop it on your planner!)

Please could you sterilise them each Sunday night in a little Milton and water before they come into school. There will be recorder homework each week on a site called Charanga (starting from next week)

I will be sending homework book homework this week.

Have a lovely weekend with your little flowers!

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather, Miss Edmondson and Miss Forster

Year 4 Blog: "Forget yesterday - it has already forgotten you. Instead open your eyes and heart to a truly precious gift - today."

Well our second week in year four has been jam packed with exciting learning! This week we have become scientists and we have carried out experiments to find out exactly what a plant needs to grow well. We also looked closely at seeds and discovered what happens when a seed germinates. We looked at seedlings too and even dug them out of their pots to see what they looked like!

in other exciting news: After thinking about why we need to be able to read and write we identified lots of different text types - like persuasive letters, non-fiction, instructions and fairy tales. We have now begun studying and reading explanation texts and next week we will be learning one off by heart!

We have also been working SO hard in maths to master a new skill - rounding numbers. Children have really tried hard with this with lots of success.

RHE

This week we have read a story, “Be Grateful Gabriella Goat,’ where we learned what it truly means to be grateful. Children have made gratitude necklaces and brought them home - each part of it is something they are grateful for. They said some lovely things about being thankful for all you do for them! We now take part in the Examen at the end of each day- which allows children to look back and reflect on what they are thanful for that day and also what they may be sorry for. They talk to God and look forward to the next new day.

This week, we have also reflected on how to Recognise our feelings. We made up our own dance to reflect this in PE. Children learned that we can have different strengths of feelings and when we can identify them, they are easier to manage.

Another very powerful part of our week was making our ‘Becoming Me,’ books. These books were about aspiration - to be the person you want to be in Year 4. Children thought carefully about who they are and also what qualities they would like to have. They then found a powerful quote which would help them. One of our mottos is ‘I CAN DO HARD THINGS!’

Finally, today we thought about the amazing growing and developing power of our brain - and learned what Growth Mindset thinking is.

Let’s Celebrate!

Today the class voted on our class councillors who will lead our class council sessions. They are Jayden and India! What role models you will be.

Our PE champions were Jayden and Stephanie.

Again - I had to give out 4 certificates this week (I must rein myself in next week!)

Abi received a LIzzie Ladybird certificate for always listening to feedback and striving to improve.

Jess received a Bobby Bee certificate for brimming with enthusiasm

Asher received a Cooper Crab certificate for excellent focus and…

Isabella received a Sadie Spider certificate for always trying so hard and giving everything her best effort - she has met her reading target too!!

Year 4 received Star table at lunchtime too. I am very proud of you.

Notices

Please could children bring their own packet of tissues into school if they have a cold. They can keep them in their pencil case - they could also have a pack in their pocket for when outside.

I have sent an email out to fill in your child’s medical form online this year. Please do this at the earliest opportunity so I am aware of any issues.

Children are not allowed to bring in anything from home other than water bottles, lunch boxes and school reading books. Some children have been bringing in Plasticine to squeeze - this is against the rules for safety reasons.

I trust you have all received your children’s letters about Reconciliation and Holy Communion. I look forward to carrrying out the sessions in class with them this half term.

Have a lovely weekend - the weather forecast says SUN!

God bless, Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather, Miss Edmondson and Miss Forster.

'Feel the Fear and do it anyway!' (Elizabeth Gilbert)

I am so proud of every child in the class this week. They have had a great start to year 4 and although there have been worries, we have all practised ‘feeling the fear and doing it anyway.’ The children have all demonstrated such mature behaviour and have settled in so well. They have been so sensible following all health guidelines and are getting used to the new normal! They have also been brilliant at looking after their own belongings this week!

The beginning of the week saw us thinking carefully about how we feel about coming back to school and acknowledging that we are experiencing a historical event. We reflected on our lock down experiences and made a jigsaw piece to record this which will go with everyone else’s jigsaw pieces in the whole school - to bring us back together!

We have spent lots of time this week talking about how to treat each other and reflecting on our school mission statement ‘You are Precious in my Eyes.’ Children have learned all about rights, responsibilities and consequences and we identified 3 key rights which we all deserve in our class.

We then have collectively formed our class ‘responsibilities’ to reflect these rights. We also outlined how to work well with a partner and be co-operative. We had a lesson all about courage and strength. We looked at examples of strength shown by others in lockdown and we discussed not being afraid of ‘having a go’ with your work in class.

Later in the week, we had a beautiful lesson all about hope - it was empowering and children were excellent at explaining what they thought hope is. We listened to hopeful music and made hopeful images to remind us that we will never give up hope - each day is a new beginning. Year 4 is a new beginning.

Amongst all this, we had a little maths quiz and completed our Star reader test. We also started our new topic in Science- plants. Children asked so many interesting questions! In RE, children showed awe and wonder in God’s creation and wrote lovely prayers. We have also kick started our maths with Roman numerals!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week I had to give out 4 certificates!

A Roger Robin certificate has gone to Kai for being so kind, gentle and mature this week.

James received a Sadie Spider certificate for being so hardworking and pushing himself.

Evie received a Tommy Turtle certificate for having a good go at things and showing courage

Stephanie received a Cooper Crab certificate for showing excellent focus in all she did.

I honestly could have continued writing certificates because everyone has achieved in different ways this week. A massive well done to all of you for your first week back in school. I know I am going to LOVE teaching you!

Also this week, just over half the class have been presented with their pen licences! They have ‘solemnly sworn’ to always write in joined up handwriting in Year 4. We will be practising handwriting every day so it should not be long before more children receive theirs.

Notices

The link below shows you which day your child’s outside PE day is. It will be Wednesday or Thursday. All other days are school uniform please. Children do look very smart!

Homework

Homework is up for this week under ‘Learn from Home'.’ Please could you help your child take responsibility for this and bring in each Thursday. I will only send their actual homework book home every fortnight. On alternate weeks it will just be online learning.

Reading

Every child should come home with their reading books and a little reading log. This shows you what their ZPD reading level is and their points target for the half term. Please encourage them to read each night and try and hear them read often. I have given them a target reading time each day. They read for 30 minutes each day at school - so this is included - unless they do Nessy learning - in which case they read for 15 mins in the school day and so need to read more at home. THey also must continue with their Nessy learning at home.

Children now have Blue interest level reading books which have more grown up themes. They will be able to quiz at school as normal.

Books brought back from home will be quarantined for 72 hours before being given to others.

Birthday sweets

Unfortunately, children will not be able to give these out at school for the foreseeable future due to Covid circumstances. Sad I know, but we will definitely make their birthday jolly at school in other ways!!

Finally, here are some photos of our first week in Year 4.

Have a lovely, restful weekend and please feel very proud of those precious children of yours! They have worked their socks off!

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather, Miss Forster and Miss Edmondson

Welcome to Year 4 - a new beginning!

We can’t wait to welcome you ack on Tuesday. Please watch the video below together to find out about procedures and other information. There are a couple of parent tasks to do too!