Welcome Back to Year 4!

A Busy and Exciting Half Term!

Welcome back to another exciting half term in Class 4!

We hope you all enjoyed a lovely, restful half term break and are ready for another busy few weeks of learning, fun and new experiences.

We are incredibly proud of how well the children have settled into Year 4. They have already shown such enthusiasm, determination and a wonderful attitude towards their learning, and we are looking forward to seeing them continue to grow in confidence and independence.

This half term is always a particularly special one in school. There is so much hard work and exciting learning to enjoy, alongside all the wonderful events, activities and celebrations that come with preparing for Christmas. It is certainly going to be a busy and memorable few weeks!

What Will We Be Learning?

English

This half term, our English learning will be inspired by the beautiful and imaginative book Leon and the Place Between by Graham Baker-Smith.

We will be exploring the magical world of the story, developing our descriptive vocabulary and using our imaginations to bring exciting adventures to life. The children will be working towards writing their own recounts and diary entries, using ambitious vocabulary and a range of writing techniques to engage their readers.

We will also explore The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie to further inspire our creative thinking and writing.

Maths

In Maths, we will be developing our knowledge and understanding of:

• Addition and Subtraction: Building confidence with written methods, applying our skills to increasingly challenging calculations and developing our mathematical reasoning.

• Measurement: Exploring and applying our measurement skills through a range of practical activities and problem solving opportunities.

• Multiplication and Division: Developing our understanding of multiplication and division, recognising patterns and strengthening our recall of multiplication facts.

As always, we will continue to revisit previous learning through our daily Flashback 4 activities and develop our reasoning and problem solving skills through Guided Reasoning. Our multiplications will also remain a firm focus this half term, in preparation for the MTC in the summer term.

Religious Education

Our RE topic this half term is Prophecy and Promise.

As we move towards Advent and Christmas, we will explore the importance of God's promises and how Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. This is a particularly special time in our Catholic school, and we look forward to sharing opportunities for prayer, reflection and celebration together.

Science

Our Science topic is Electricity and Circuits.

The children will investigate how electricity works, explore different electrical components and learn how to construct simple circuits. We will develop our scientific enquiry skills through practical investigations, making predictions and exploring what happens when we make changes to circuits.

Geography

Our Geography learning will focus on the question:

Why are rainforests important to us?

We will discover where rainforests are located, explore their incredible biodiversity and learn why they are so important to our planet. We will also consider the threats facing rainforests and how we can all play a part in protecting our environment.

Art and Design Technology

In Art, we will explore Light and Dark, developing our painting skills and experimenting with colour, tone and shading to create different effects.

In Design Technology, we will be Adapting a Recipe, learning about ingredients, food preparation and how recipes can be changed and improved.

Our Wider Curriculum

There is plenty more to look forward to across our curriculum!

In Spanish, we will be continuing to learn dates and then move on to learning about pets and developing our conversational vocabulary. In Music, we will explore musical motifs and begin reading musical notation on the stave.

Our PE lessons will focus on basketball and swimming, helping us to develop our coordination, teamwork and confidence.

In PSHE, we will be thinking about how we treat each other with respect, exploring the importance of kindness, understanding and positive relationships. In Computing, we will be developing our skills using spreadsheets.

Homework – A Fantastic Achievement!

We would like to say an enormous WELL DONE to every single child in Year 4!

Last half term, every single child completed and returned every single piece of homework for the entire half term!

This is a truly fantastic achievement and something we are incredibly proud of. It demonstrates the children's growing responsibility, independence and accountability for their own learning, which are such important skills as they progress through school.

We would absolutely love to see this wonderful commitment continue throughout the next half term.

A huge thank you must also go to all our parents and carers for your continued encouragement and support at home. We really do appreciate the time you take to support your children with their learning, and this achievement is a wonderful example of what we can accomplish when we work together.

Please continue to encourage regular reading, times tables practice and the completion of weekly homework tasks. These small but consistent efforts make such a difference to the children's confidence and progress.

The Countdown to Christmas!

As we move through November and into December, we have so much to look forward to!

This is always one of the busiest, but most wonderful times of the school year. Alongside all our exciting learning, we will be enjoying the special events, activities and festivities that make the build up to Christmas so memorable.

As a Catholic school, Advent is also an important time for us to reflect, prepare and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. We look forward to sharing these special moments together as a class and school community.

We know the children will approach everything with their usual enthusiasm, and we cannot wait to make lots of lovely memories together!

Thank You!

Finally, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you for all your continued support. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of children and supportive families, and we really do appreciate everything you do.

We are looking forward to another happy, successful and exciting half term in Year 4.

As always, please remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, concerns or anything you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Our door is always open, and we are always happy to help in any way we can.

Thank you once again for your continued support. Here's to a wonderful half term and a magical build up to Christmas!

The Year 4 Team

Mental Health links:

Children's Metntal Health resources - for parents

5 minutes of fun

Partnership for Children

Family Togetherness

Relax with Hollie

BBC - Children's Mental Health activities

Please also visit the school's dedicated mental health and well-being page for more information on where to get support.

Welcome to the Class Four Learning Hub!

Click on the icons below which will take you straight to the website. The website will give you ideas and activities for their age related learning journey. We will add to this over time. Don't forget to look on Google Classroom for your latest activities!