Spring 2

WOW!  Year 4 has had an amazing Spring Term so far.

The classes have worked hard to prepare two brilliant assemblies for parents which showcased their speaking talents and acting skills.  4P told the importance of Lent through the scripture and a beautiful story about being still.  The children sang their new song with the voices of angels.  4Y demonstrated their knowledge of social justice and their RE topic - Giving and Receiving.  A peaceful protest was held for equal rights for all and a sweet story of giving love from the heart was performed.  Both teachers were incredibly proud of all for their efforts and achievements.

4Y and 4P have both been enjoying their class texts.  Beowulf and Viking at School were loved by all because they were so different - one a scary tale where a hero defeats a monster; and the other, a story of a comedy of errors from a time travelling Viking.  Year 4 are now reading Varjak Paw - and are already caught up in the drama and mystery of this book.  The classes love reading in school during our shared reading lesson, and we hope these books, along with our 'Book Week fun' help encourage the children to read more at home too!

Spring 1

Happy New Year to All!

We have had a super start to Spring Term in Year 4!  The children have come back to school well rested and ready to learn.  Please keep up your active listening, participation and great effort!

We are currently learning about the Vikings in our History and Geography lessons.  Already we have knowledge of where and when they came from and what they did once they arrived on English's shores.  In Shared Reading lessons we have been retrieving information and asking curious questions about our non-fiction text, Vikings.  Reading this has been a support to our humanities' topic as well as our basis for our writing topic of biographies.  For something different, the children have been learning about geometry in Maths including the properties of angles, triangles and quadrilaterals.  We have started a new topic in RE called Community which is about our local parish of OLOV and introduced Social Justice which focusses on Human Dignity this half-term.  In art, we are looking at the Bayeux Tapestry which links with our humanities' topic of Vikings.  In PSHE, we have introduced the topic of money and budgeting, while in ICT the children are looking at spreadsheets.  Finally, in PE they are practising their skills of sending and receiving which will apply to our sport this term of cricket.

The children in both classes have continued their quest to become confident orators with many lessons allowing time to speak not only to partners but in small groups and in front of the class.  They have enjoyed the various activities and lots of photographs have been taken of their work in action.

All children are excited about the upcoming Viking workshop on Friday 20th January, as well as our class assemblies and Book Week in March!

Make sure to check out the photo gallery if you have the time!  

 

Autumn 2

Year 4 has had a great Autumn 2 so far.

Oracy has become a big part of our lessons across the curriculum and the children have embraced the activities planned.  They have earned in PSHE that they have a voice and should use it to ask questions.  They know that questioning people is an important tool to use for a variety of reasons:  to learn more facts; to break the ice when meeting someone new; to get some help; to gain permission to do something; to help predict what might happen next and to challenge people or ideas. 

They continued to use their voices when they performed a 'conscience alley' after learning more about Mary's role during this time of Advent.  They were able to come up with many qualities of why God chose Mary for her important role as the Mother of Jesus, our Saviour.  The children also used their artistic skills and poetry skills when they created beautiful drawings of The Annunciation (a fitting tribute to Mary as our role model - saying 'yes' to God) and acrostic poems about The Messiah (using their knowledge of how to prepare for the coming of Jesus).

Building on their vocals, the children continue to amaze Miss Yadav and Mrs Young during their Shared Reading lessons.  Year 4 is reading Krindlekrax right now, which is full of descriptive language and provides the pupils with the opportunity to read with great expression!  Miss Wildman has been impressed - hearing them read chorally with enthusiasm, showing they understand what the story is about and how the characters are feeling.

To help grow their writing skills, Year 4 also work a lot as a class, in small groups and pairs which means they need to use their communication skills in English too!  Reading one's written text aloud helps the reader to understand the words and 'hear' if they sound right, so the children have learnt that listening is also an important part of oracy.

The children also continue to work on their social skills in PE and Maths!  They have learnt subject specific vocabulary and can use them with offering advice of how to complete a sequence dance or explain how to multiply using the written or mental method.  

A big thank you to both children and parents for helping make our Geography - World Cup Day a success!  Both classes enjoyed learning about the wonderful country of Cameroon - their culture, Christmas traditions, location and type of land besides some fascinating facts - topped off with a Waka Waka dance and a Kahoots Quiz!

Finally, a huge well done to Year 4 children for their enthusiasm and engagement during these types of lessons!  Learning can be fun so keep up the great effort and work!

 

October 2022

The children in Year 4 have been busy in October!

Last week they went on a school trip to LEGOLAND.  It was an amazing day for the children as they attended a brilliant workshop then enjoyed the rides and lovely weather.  While 'in class' they practised their coding to create a figure using Lego and a sensor to warn those that might come too near.  During this session, they showed their skills, imagination and teamwork as they came up with original ideas to meet the task.  The LEGOLAND leader said they were the best children ever!  

Last week was also National Poetry Day in the UK, although we feel we have been celebrating poetry since the start of school.  The children were busy writing poems in school telling the story of The Iron Man and outside of school about their trip to LEGOLAND.  Each Friday we focus on performing poems, and the children have been gaining in confidence to speak clearly with expression and use actions to emphasise the meaning behind the words.  Well done for putting such effort into your performances of poetry!

Congratulations are also in order for continuing to settle into the routine of school, following the rules and having a positive approach to your learning.  Keep up the good work!

Autumn 1 '22

Welcome to Year 4!  What a fantastic first week we have had.  The children have settled back into the routines of school and have showed themselves to be ready to learn; Miss Yadav and Mrs Young couldn't be happier.  Here is a 'little taster' of what we are up to:

We have performed The Coming of the Iron Man poem and will be using it and The Iron Man to inspire our writing this term, writing poems of our own as well as part of the story.  You will need to make sure you use the figurative language we learn about in each piece, so your writing comes alive on the page!

We will aim to become mathematicians in Year 4 and the best way to do this is to sharpen our knowledge of place value.  Knowing a number's value and where it belongs on a place value grid will help you work your magic and discover just how easy it is to order, compare and round numbers besides adding and subtracting them.

As scientists, we have begun our search to see if we 'Can control it?', first looking at Electricity.  You have already learned that Thomas Alva Edison and Lewis Howard Latimer helped bring light to the world by inventing the lightbulb, and we will test just how they managed to create this brilliant invention that we still use today - over a hundred years later!

In our RE lessons we have thought about our families and will create family trees of our own as well as looking into Jesus' family and who came before Him.  Knowing about a person's family helps us understand more about them and become closer to them, this helps us to learn, love and grow through Christ.

There is lots more to look forward to and more updates will follow but until then, Miss Yadav and Mrs Young would like to encourage both classes to continue to listen well, follow directions and try your very best!  If you can do this, it promises to be a super school year.

 

 

 

What a wonderful year the children have had!

Both classes continue to work hard even through the hot weather we have been having.  Some lovely pieces of writing through the curriculum have been completed, whether in English using figurative language or History explaining about the ancient Kingdom of Benin or in RE writing how the ordinary become the extraordinary.  They have also done brilliantly in using their maths skills to place shapes on grids using coordinates and solving tricky word problems having to do with measurement of different kinds with more than one step.  

Our last week will include fun activities and the challenge of keeping cool, so we will be ending on a good note before we say goodbye to Year 4 2021-2022.  

 

We are now halfway through Summer 1!  

Year 4 went on an amazing trip to the London Zoo where they were able to see examples of living things from the different climate zones they have been learning about in Science and Geography lessons.  The observations about the animals' habitats and biomes made the facts they have learned come to life and want to know more.  

The children also appreciated seeing some of the living creatures they had written about in their poems during our poetry unit.  Both classes experienced a workshop about deforestation and other dangers to the rainforests around the world.  This will help inspire them to write a persuasive letter to the axe man in The Great Kapok Tree book we have read.

 

 

 

Spring 2 finished with a bang!  Literally on an African drum.  Year 4 performed a brilliant concert for their friends, family and Year 3 classes in the school hall (it was a great turn out, and we were so happy to have a live audience).   Our Year 4 drummers were excited to show off what they had learned and did an absolute amazing job!

The children in both classes also completed their tasks and assessments at the end of the term with their best efforts yet!  Their work across the curriculum showing both their skills and knowledge impressed their teachers.  Photos are to be posted in the gallery of some of their work and activities they have been doing.  Don't forget to take a look!

Finally, we wish the children and families in our community a wonderful Easter break and wish they remember the spirit and mission to love and to serve.  A Happy Easter to all!

 

 

Year 4 continues to strengthen their skills and knowledge in all areas of the curriculum, taking part enthusiastically in creative lessons. 

The children have worked hard in English to write a biography about a famous Viking king, hold school council meetings to take minutes and are now exploring the characters of Viking at School - practising their retelling and drama.  They have also been enjoying their shared reading text - Varjak Paw.  "I love the language in it," one child was quoted saying.  In Maths, the pupils have learnt about 2D shapes - their properties, the vocabulary and how to create them (using both their bodies and a pencil and ruler).  

RE has been all about expression and reflection.  They have impressed their teachers with their beautiful paintings and drawings as well as their writing in this subject.  Well done!

Year 4 has also enjoyed new topics again as we started African Drumming and Science again.  Ask your child what's going on in these!

We had a number of special days and weeks as well this half-term (Book Week and Careers Week).  The children enjoyed sharing their favourite books in a number of ways and tested their knowledge and detective skills with a Guess Who? PowerPoint.  Careers Week included a lovely walk and morning of art, sketching the Viaduct as well as an interesting and informative afternoon of guest speakers from a wide range of professions.  

Please check out the gallery to see the amazing things your child has been up to!

 

A very happy New Year to all!

Year 4 has had an exciting few weeks since Spring 1 has commenced.  The children were visited by Sigurd the Viking who 'ransacked' the class and left runes behind for them to translate into English.  This introduced the children to their new class text, Viking at School.  Working hard, the children have already created play scripts based on the beginning of Viking at School, using role play to help them.  The nod towards the Vikings links well to our History and Geography big question - Were the Vikings Vicious and Victorious?  To top all this off, on 21st January the children attended a Viking workshop.  They wore fantastic Viking costumes, participated in games and activities as well as listened to facts and a retelling of Beowulf.  It was a day to remember!  Don't forget to check out the Year 4 gallery.

 

 

Autumn Term finishes with a flurry of activity!

Year 4 spent the last weeks of Autumn term working hard, building their skills and applying them to a variety of tasks.  They have amazed their teachers by their stamina and ability to enjoy whatever piece of work in any subject they are asked to do.  Newspaper articles and poems about the Messiah were written.  Diary entries about Iron Man and Christmas Jumper day were enjoyed by all.  Mental and Written Calculations were conquered.  The Anglo-Saxons were discovered and their actions analysed by our historians and geographers in class.  The children even made time to beautifully perform for the school Carol Concert too.  

So a huge well done to all!  Enjoy your Christmas break - we wish you and your families happy and safe times.  Mr O'Connell and Mrs Young look forward to seeing you in January 2022, ready to get to work again.  :) 

 

What a fantastic Autumn 1 for Year 4!

It is incredible to think that the children have been in school for only seven weeks as they have settled so well.  Strengthening their skills in all subjects, they have become young writers, mathematicians, scientists and more.  From performing poetry, acting out stories from the Old Testament to writing reflections about their relationship with God - the children have been putting great effort into all they do.  They have been creating shapes and learning how to work as a team in tag rugby.  The year also had a fabulous school trip to LEGOLAND to practise their coding skills and then spend time on some amazing rides.

Mr O'Connell and I could not be more pleased with the positive approach to learning the children have had and ask that the children keep up the great effort when they return for Autumn 2.  

Welcome to Year 4!

We have just completed our first full week of the new school year, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the positive attitude, enthusiasm and effort of the children!  It’s been a fab start!

In year 4 there are lots of interesting topics for children to learn about.

In RE, the classes have begun their topic of ‘People’ with a focus on family – ours and Jesus’ family. 

We have begun to read Iron Man in English and even learned and performed the poem by Brenda Williams.  A close look at language to make a poem and story come alive is our main objective.

While in maths, the children have been learning about number – its value, different ways to express it and how we use it in our daily lives.

Our science topic of electricity has all the children excited as we examine what makes a lightbulb work.  They are eager to put their knowledge into practice and create working circuits of their own.

The classes have started back with two PE lessons a week; this term beginning with shape for indoor PE and learning about tag rugby for outdoor PE.  We have PE on Mondays and Wednesdays!

Music took place as well and the children were enthusiastic to start on their journey for learning more and improving their skills with the recorder.

In DT, we will begin with a focus on building a robot of their very own – tying together the Iron Man text and our science topic too.  We can’t wait to see what creations they come up with!

Finally, Mr O’ Connell and Mrs Young would like to congratulate the children for their super start to the new year.  We would ask them to remember to read each day, listen well and always try their very best.  If they continue to do these things, it should be a brilliant year!