Hello everybody, We've had a great final week of this half of term! Here are the highlights... In English, the children wrote their own biographies for fictional record-breakers after reading about some great achievements in 'Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World'. We had the first woman to climb Mount Everest, the person who ate a record number of cheeseburgers in a minute and someone who achieved the highest horse jump. They really enjoyed publishing their writing today, adding illustrations and thinking about the layout. In Maths, we have been working on techniques for subtraction. The children have been great at using the column method to do this. Science was a lot of fun (and mess) this week! We made 'Oobleck'. The children used their observation skills to see how it acts as both a solid and a liquid. Our last lesson in our History unit was all about the fall of the Roman Empire. In PSHE, we discussed what good and bad secrets are. The children learnt that it's ok to keep a good secret (e.g. a surprise birthday present), but it's important to tell a trusted adult if they know a secret which makes them uncomfortable (we called these bad secrets). Please keep reading over half term and recording this in reading diaries. I'd also love to see lots of times table practise. We did a mock Times Table Check in class yesterday and children can access the website we used by logging into Google Classroom at home using their school log in details. I am also uploading a document with lots of other great sites for practising times tables. Have a lovely half term and I look forward to seeing everyone again in November!
Hi everyone,
I'll start with a few reminders about next week. On Monday, we have school photos so children need to come to school wearing full school uniform and looking nice and presentable please! We then have our Harvest assembly on Thursday. This will be online but we hope you can join us. It was lovely to chat to many of you at parents meetings this week and thank you for all of your support with the children at home with reading, spellings, times tables and homework. I check reading folders every Friday so please make sure all reading is recorded. Children should be reading for at least 10 minutes a day, be it a recipe books, magazine, newspaper or their own reading book. This week, we've started a new unit in Maths on Addition and Subtraction. The children have all shown their brilliant skills of using column addition to add up two four-digit numbers, with and without exchanging. They have also had their problem solving skills put to the test with some tricky 'Dive Deeper' challenges. In English, we have continued learning about biographies, with a focus on some of the grammatical features used within them. We have spend a lot of time learning about adverbials (which, when used at the start of a sentence, are called 'fronted adverbials'. Please ask your child what punctuation mark comes after a fronted adverbial as I would like them all to be confident with this! It's a comma). In History, we learnt all about how Roman religion adapted as the Empire expanded. They began as Pagans (believing everything around them had a spirit), then adopted the religions of the countries they invaded so became Polytheistic and finally converted to Christianity. We continued our topic of States of Matter in Science, thinking about melting and boiling points. Finally, today in Art, we made some leaf sun catchers to brighten up the window. Have a look at the picture below. That's all from me for this week. Have a great weekend everyone! Miss Radbourne Hello everyone,
Another Friday has come around! Here are some highlights of the week... We've started a new key text in English - Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World - and will be writing biographies in a similar style over the next couple of weeks. In Maths, we have just finished our Place Value unit having spent the week learning about negative numbers and Roman numerals. Next week, we will start a new unit on Addition and Subtraction. In History, we discovered the many ways in which the Romans changed Britain and even learnt some Latin words! For R.E., the children spent the afternoon visiting the Church and witnessing a baptism (all be it a doll!) They all had a great time and were very well behaved, representing the school brilliantly. I'm looking forward to speaking to many of you next week at the parents meetings but until then, have a lovely weekend. Well... I think I was right in last week's blog about the weather changing. We've certainly had some rain this week! Please remember coats. We are keeping the windows open for ventilation and the classroom can feel chilly, so please send children in with a suitable base layer (long sleeved top for example) to wear under their uniform for extra warmth. It is better this than wearing coats indoors.
In English this week, the children have written their own versions of Meerkat Mail, based on their own individual plans. We've had stories about blackbirds visiting golden eagles, sheep staying with cows and even grass snakes spending time with pythons! They have been really creative for this first piece of writing. In Maths, we have continued our unit on Place Value and have spent a lot of time practising rounding. We have one more week on Place Value where we will be learning about negative numbers and Roman numerals. In History, we learnt the story of Boudicca and her rebellion against the Romans when they invaded Britain. The children produced some great cartoons to tell this story. We had a thought provoking Science lesson this week learning about what happens to the particles in solids, liquids and gases when they are heated up. Finally, we have discussed the qualities of positive relationships in PSHE. New spellings have been sent out and a new style of homework. Please choose 3 activities and complete by the dates given. I had a look in the reading folders today and have noted how many times each child has read - please keep reading daily at home and practising times tables too. Have a lovely weekend, Miss Radbourne. It's officially Autumn now! As the weather turns colder, please make sure your child is bringing a coat to school. We've been lucky with the weather so far but no doubt the rain will return.
In our English this week, however, we've been imagining beautiful, hot weather as we've been writing our own class version of Meerkat Mail in which our main character, Kevin the house cat, travels all over the world to stay with his big cat relatives. I've been pleased with the writing the children have produced but we will be working on proofreading to make it is the best it can be. In Maths, we've continued our work on Place Value. This is such a key part of Maths as it underpins a lot of other topics. The children should have a secure understanding of the values of ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. We have carried on learning about States of Matter in Science and this is the focus for this week's homework. In History, we've learnt more about the Roman empire and the invasion of Britain. The children have practised their teamwork skills in P.E. with some games of football, and we have finished the week off with making our stamps to use in Art. Next week, we are really lucky as we are starting weekly French lessons with a specialist tutor. Just a reminder - please keep reading (this should be recorded in the back of the children's new homework folders) and practising times tables. It's been a great week and the children are really showing independence and maturity in their learning now. Have a lovely weekend. We've had a busy week in Ash Class this week, starting lots of new units in our learning.
In Maths, we've learnt how to round to the nearest 10 and 100. We had some Maths experts from Year 5 come to help us with this! We've been looking at what makes a sentence in our English lessons, and written some sentences about Meerkat Mail (our key text) using coordinating conjunctions. Science was our first lesson on States of Matter. The children enjoyed sorting different materials into solids, liquids and gases. A popular lesson this week was our first History lesson where we have started out unit called 'Roman Britain'. We learnt how Rome began as a kingdom, then became a Republic and finally how it became an Empire. Ask the children about society in the Republic of Rome - they know all about consuls and senators now! We had a lovely end to the week with an Art lesson this afternoon exploring how we can use charcoal to represent words in an abstract way, thinking about different textures. Homework: A sheet with information about this week's homework has been sent home. Please keep reading daily, and this week I've asked for a book review (due next Thursday), and logging onto TTRS and Numbots to keep practising those Maths facts. Have a great weekend! Hello everyone,
I'm really excited to be starting a new school year with all of our new Year 4 children! We've had a really great first week back and although the children have only been in school since Wednesday, they are all settled, happy to be with their friends, and used to the daily routines of school life again. We've taken our time to get to know each other this week. The children have shown their creative side by designing a puzzle piece to reflect who they are and show how we all fit together in Ash Class, and by painting a self-portrait in a colour theme (photos next week!) Some general information: - In Year 4, there is an expectation that children are reading everyday for at least 10 minutes. This doesn't have to be their colour-banded reading book, it could be another book from home, a magazine or even a recipe. We will be giving out reading record books soon but until then, just enjoy the daily reading. - Later in the year, children will sit the Year 4 Multiplication Check. As such, it is vital that they are learning and practising their times tables. They are expected to know all times tables up to 12x12 by the end of Year 4. Please try to log onto Times Table Rockstar daily to practise these, and if you need reminding of log in details then let me know. - Every Friday, I will issue spellings and homework (this might be a reading task or a topic-related activity) which will be due the following Thursday. This will start next week. - Our PE session with Mr Berry (SAINTS coach) will be every Thursday morning. Please could children come to school dressed in their PE kit ready to go. As it gets colder, they might want to bring a warm jumper or tracksuit bottoms to keep warm. - If your child is being collected by someone else or is absent, please let the office know as soon as possible. They will ensure the message gets to me. I think that's all for now! Next week we will get going with our topics: Place Value in Maths, Meerkat Mail in English, States of Matter in Science, The Romans in History and plenty more. Have a great weekend, Miss Radbourne Happy Friday everyone! And what a beautiful one it is - this weather is certainly different to the start of this week and the flooding we experienced.
In Ash Class this week, we've been busy finishing off a lot of things. In Maths, we've recapped some of the key methods which will help the children in Year 5 and have looked again at addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It would be great to have a final push with learning those times tables to see how many people can get to the 'mixed' level on Times Tables Rockstars. In English, we have written poems called 'Colours of Summer'. The children used metaphors to do this. Here is the poem that Laura and Lauren composed: What is yellow? It is the face of a sunflower It is the bumblebees on a sunshiny day It is gold dust sprinked on buttercups It is a sour juicy lemon It is a tiny fluffy chick waddling around It is a wet, crumbly sandcastle It is a shiny, colourful raincoat, protecting from the rain It is a yummy soft corn on the cob It is a half moon shaped banana It is the bright fire of the sun - Laura and Lauren One of the highlights of the week was Mrs Mathew's fashion show in French. A lot of fun was had showcasing their outfits and demonstrating their learning of the French names for clothes. Yesterday, the class met their Year 5 teacher, Mr Foreman. They played some games and I think they are looking forward to having him as their teacher next year! Reports have been emailed out to you today. If you'd like to talk to me about them, please email the office to book a phone appointment. Looking ahead to next week, the final week of term, we have lots of fun things in store. Watch this space to see if the class earn their nugget treat!... Have a great weekend. Stay cool! Here we are at the end of another week and with only 2 weeks to go until the end of the year. This week, we've continued our learning in Maths about Position and Direction and have now finished this unit so next week, we will be recapping key Maths skills and knowledge ready for Year 5. In English, the children wrote some fantastic setting descriptions based on a picture from our book, 'The Day of Ahmed's Secret'. There was beautifully descriptive language - I was impressed!
Today, we finished the week off with our Sports Day events. The children ran sprint races, a relay race and hurdles for their team. Everyone who took part gave their best effort and really got into the spirit of the afternoon! Pictures to follow. Have a lovely weekend. It's July! Where did June go?
We've had a good start to the month in Ash Class. We completed our Reading and Maths assessments early this week. Well done to the children who tried their hardest on these. On Thursday, we had a D.T. day. The theme of the project was 'Adapting a recipe' and to link in with our Brazil topic, we made Brazilian cheesebreads (Pão de Queijo). We started the day by sampling some different types of bread ranging including Baguette, Tiger Loaf, Pretzel, Brioche and the Brazilian cheesebreads. The children practised their evaluation skills, thinking about the appearance, texture and finally taste of the different types of bread and making comparisons between them. After break, each group decided which ingredients they were going to use in their recipe. They had to choose the type of oil, cheese and whether to include any herbs. They then wrote their chosen recipe into their books. Next was the fun part! Each group mixed up their dry ingredients followed by the wet ingredients. The special flour, Tapioca flour, made for an interesting consistency. The breads were cooked after lunch and sampled this morning. Some didn't quite get the rise we were hoping for but it's all part of the learning process! Thanks to everybody who lent equipment, that was really helpful. Have a lovely weekend and see you on Monday. |
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