Blue - Year 4
Summer 1 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
In Literacy, we will be looking at an interesting new book with beautiful illustrations. The story revolves around an elderly man that lives in a world of scrap metal. We will look closely at the character and setting before predicting how the plot will develop. We will then be writing our own story in a similar style. Following this, we will use the events in The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane to create our own newspaper articles.
In Maths, we will be continuing our work on decimals with a key focus on tenths and hundredths. The children will be learning how to divide 1-digit and 2-digit numbers by ten or a hundred, make a whole with tenths and hundredths and compare/order these decimals. Year 4 will then apply their learning to our money topic. The children will be writing money using decimals and converting between pounds and pence.
The Wider Curriculum
| Subject | Unit of Work |
|---|---|
| RE | What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britain today? |
| Science | Power Up |
| History | Who were the Ancient Greeks? |
| French | French Weather and the Water Cycle |
| Computing | Spreadsheets |
| PE | Dance |
| Music | Global Pentatonics and The Horse in Motion |
| DT | Electrical Systems: Light up signs |
| PSHE | Relationships |
Additional Information
Year 4 will continue to have PE on a Thursday, but they will now have their second session on a Tuesday. Please ensure that your child arrives at school wearing their PE kit each Tuesday and Thursday.
Last term’s TT Rockstars tournament was a huge success! It quickly turned into a heated competition and Year 4 managed to clock up over 1360 minutes. Practising times tables not only supports their work in class, but will also enable them to approach the Multiplication Check with confidence. The tournament will therefore be running again this term, so please join us in encouraging your child to practice on TT Rockstars. The tournament logs the amount of time the children spend practising their timetables, and at the end of term, the top three children will have a choice from the prize box.
We will also be offering three parent afternoons based around times table practice. Parents/ Carers will be welcome between 2:40pm and 3:15pm to play times tables games with the children. Please see the diary dates for more details.
We will continue to encourage the children to read at home and record this in their reading record. Children can record whatever book they are reading in their reading record, whether this is their reading book, library book or a personal choice from home. Every time we see that a child has read at home, and an adult has signed the reading record, we award them a raffle ticket for the end of term reading raffle. Books and reading records should be returned to school each day.
Dates for the Diary
Friday 19th April- Islamic Assembly
Friday 3rd May- Year 4 Parents Afternoon 1. Parents/ carers are welcome at school between 2:40pm and 3:15pm for times tables games and activities.
Friday 17th May – Year 4 Parents Afternoon 2. Parents/ carers are welcome at school between 2:40pm and 3:15pm for times tables games and activities.
Tuesday 21st May – Parent Morning
Friday 24th May - Year 4 Parents Afternoon 3. Parents/ Carers are welcome at school between 2:40pm and 3:15pm for times tables games and activities.
Withington Girls Visit St Mary's
On Wednesday 27th March, we welcomed Withington Girls to St Mary’s. The children had an exciting day as they met each other for the first time.
To get to know each other, we played human bingo and some circle games. The children then worked on their social change projects- creating recycling posters for school and planting sunflowers.
We had lunch in the Church Hall before sharing a class worship lesson in the Church. As part of this lesson, we discussed The Easter Story. Focussing on The Last Supper, the children designed their own stained glass windows before eating bread and grapes.
There are plenty of pictures in the gallery for you to look at!
Spring 2 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
It’s a busy term for our Literacy topics. Our first unit of work focuses on The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, which explores stories from other cultures. Studying The Matchbox Diary will encourage the children to look at the stories that their belongings tell, thus helping them to start writing their own autobiographies. Following on from this, we will be exploring explanation texts and writing our own explanations for some new inventions. We will end the term with a poetry focus, drawing on the work of Zaro Weil to help inspire our poems.
In Maths, we will be continuing our work on length and perimeter, before learning about fractions and introducing decimals. To use fractions efficiently, the children need to have a secure knowledge of their times tables, and most importantly, quick recall of these key facts. Even if you think that your child knows their times tables, please continue to practise them at home- to support this faster recall.
The Wider Curriculum
| Table Heading | Table Heading |
|---|---|
| RE | Why do some people think life is a journey and what significant experiences mark this? |
| Geography | Water World |
| French | Numbers, Calendars and Birthdays |
| Computing | Animation |
| Science | Living Things |
| PSHE | Healthy Me |
| Music | Fanfare for the Common Man and Spain |
| Art | William Morris, Wallpaper Printing |
Additional Information
This term, our School Linking works seeks to build a connection between the schools through shared values and social action. As part of this work, we will be sending home activities and we would love it if you could join in with these projects.
As usual, the children will have PE on a Thursday, but Year 4 will also have PE on a Friday. Forest School is not continuing this term. Please ensure that your child arrives at school wearing a PE kit each Thursday and Friday.
Each week, the children are sent home with Homework to complete. This homework consists of spellings and times tables practice. Please ensure that your child completes this homework at least three times a week, and that the homework book is returned to school each day. We will have a spelling test each Friday.
All children are encouraged to read at home regularly, and we award a raffle ticket every time that we notice a child has read. The children may choose to read independently or with an adult, and can also choose what book it is they would like to read- whether it is a reading book, library book or personal choice. However your child is choosing to read at home, please ensure that it is recorded with an adult’s signature.
As always, if you have any worries or concerns, please do get in touch.
Miss Maudsley
Dates for the Diary
Tuesday 27th February – Year 4 Storytelling Workshop.
Thursday 7th March- World Book Day. Children can wear their pyjamas, dressing gown or dress up.
Thursday 7th March- Parents Evening
Thursday 14th March- Ian Bland visiting St Mary’s.
Friday 15th March – Red Nose Day. Children can wear something red.
Tuesday 26th March- Easter Activity Morning (parents/ carers welcomed into school).
Wednesday 27th March – Withington Girls School (our School Linking Partner) visit St Mary’s
Thursday 28th March – Last day of the term.
Forest School
In English this term, the children created battle cries persuading their fellow villagers to join them in battle against the terrifying Tyranoflax. We linked this unit with our forest school sessions, and the children have loved creating dens to shield them from the Tyranoflax. Year 4 showed some impressive communication and team work skills, working together to bring their ideas to life.
On the last day, the children performed their battle cries for the class before being asked to make a decision: Would they brave the Tyranoflax in battle, or choose to cower in their dens? As you can see from the picture gallery, many chose to hide in their dens.
Spring 1 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
In Literacy we will be working on an exciting new unit called The Battle Cry, which will focus on developing the children’s persuasive writing skills. We will begin by looking at example texts and considering what makes a battle cry persuasive. The children will then pretend they are part of a village under attack from a Tyranoflax, and write their own speech convincing their fellow villagers to join them in battle. At the end of term, each child will have the opportunity to perform their battle cry for their classmates.
In Maths, Year 4 will be applying their times tables knowledge to the multiplication and division topic. In this topic, the children will be learning how to multiply and divide numbers by 10 or 100, before multiplying and dividing 3-digit numbers by a 1-digit number. At the end of the term, the children will be developing their understanding of length and perimeter. Being able to quickly recall times tables facts really does support your child’s learning, so please encourage your child to practise their times tables at home.
The Wider Curriculum
| Subject | Unit of Work |
|---|---|
| RE | Inspiring Christians |
| History | Changes in Britain: Anglo-Saxons, Picts and Scots |
| DT | Mechanical Systems |
| PSHE | Dreams and Goals |
| French | Clothes, getting dressed in French |
| Science | Looking at States |
| Computing | Online Safety |
| Music | The Doot Doot Song |
Additional Information
This term, Year 4 will have Forest School on a Wednesday afternoon. Children can arrive at school wearing clothes appropriate for forest school. Please bring a suitable pair of outdoor shoes to school. As it is quite cold outside, you may also wish to send your child into school with extra layers.
Each week the children will be sent home with homework to complete, based around spellings and times tables. Please ensure that this homework is completed at least three times a week, and that the homework book is returned to school each day. We will have a spelling test each Friday.
Last term, it was really positive to see the children reading regularly at home and we would love for this to continue as we enter the New Year. Whether your child is reading to an adult, or reading independently, please ensure that their reading record is signed by an adult and returned to school. For every signature we see, we add a ticket to the raffle.
Dates for the Diary
Monday 8th January - School reopens for children
Wednesday 17th January- Forest school starts
Tuesday 6th February - 9am-10am Science and Computing Morning (parents, carers welcomed into classes).
Trip to the Museum of Science and Industry
This half term, we had our trip to the Museum of Science and Industry.
In the Operation Ouch! exhibit, the children loved playing the interactive games as they travelled through the digestive system. They stood inside a giant model of the mouth, helped wash food in the stomach and scored nutrient points in the small intestine.
We also explored the Experiment Gallery. The children engaged in lots of fun scientific experiments, like using gears to move a car, testing their reaction times and creating life-size shadow puppets.
Autumn 2 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
In Literacy we will be reading The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, subtitled ‘A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest’. Through vibrant illustrations and a patterned, poetic story, this book clearly expresses the importance of preserving the rainforests (and the ecosystems within it) for the sake of all who live on this planet. From this, we anticipate that the children will create fantastic pieces of writing, and it will spur us on to further explore ideas of how to look after our planet.
In Maths, we will continue to apply our number skills to solve a range of problems and will start the term by focussing on column subtraction and area. For the remainder of the term, we will be developing mental and written methods for multiplication and division. Please continue to help your child practise their times tables at home as it really does make a difference. If your child wishes to use online platforms to practise, the login details for Purple Mash and TT Rockstars can be found on the first page of their reading record.
Wider Curriculum
| Subject | Unit of Work |
|---|---|
|
RE |
How do people from Religious and Non-Religious communities celebrate key festivals? |
| Geography | Biomes and Climate Belts |
| PSHE | Celebrating difference |
| DT | Textiles (making Christmas stockings) |
| French | Portraits, describing in French |
| Science | Animals and Humans (Teeth and Digestion) |
| Computing | Coding |
Additional Information
This term we will be starting our School Linking work with Withington Girls School. The children will be learning about our partner school, and we will be creating pieces of work to help introduce ourselves. Throughout this work, we will be considering identity in the context of ‘Who am I?’.
Swimming lessons will continue this half term, so your child will still need a swimming kit every Wednesday. Blue class will also need their P.E kit each Thursday, ready for their weekly P.E lesson.
Each week, the children have nightly times tables and spellings homework to complete. This will be handed out on a Monday, ready for a spelling test each Friday.
We really encourage the children to read at home regularly, and this can be done independently or with an adult. Even if your child is reading independently, please ensure that you sign their reading record and return it to school each day. Each time that we see that a child has read at home, they are entered into the reading raffle.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Miss Maudsley
Dates for your Diary
30th October – 3rd November- Children producing artwork for The Big Draw.
Monday 13th November- Children’s Flu Vaccinations.
Monday 13th November- Interfaith Week.
Friday 17th November- Children in Need day (children need £1 for non-uniform day)
Tuesday 28th November- Class Trip to the Museum of Science and Industry.
Tuesday 12th December 2pm- Christmas Carol Service.
Thursday 14th December- Christmas dinner and jumper day.
Tuesday 19th December 9-10 am – Whole school Christmas craft morning (parents, carers welcomed into classes).
Thursday 21st December – end of the Autumn term.
Friday 22d December – Inset day (school closed to children).
Exploring Sound
This term, Year 4 have had an exciting time exploring sound in Science. This unit allowed the children to take part in a range of experiments.
We started by watching how different objects and instruments vibrated when they make a sound.
We investigated how sound waves pass through materials by creating our own ear protectors.
We explored how distance affects volume in an outdoor experiment.
We tested how the length, tightness and thickness of an elastic band affects its pitch when strummed.
Autumn 1 Newsletter
Literacy and Maths
This half term, Blue class will be exploring different aspects of Greek Mythology through the topic ‘Gods and Goddesses’. Building on the reading and writing skills already learnt, this topic will challenge the children to write from different perspectives and develop a variety of writing styles. In the final two weeks, we will be exploring Michael Rosen’s poetry and using the poems to inspire our own writing. Spelling, punctuation and grammar will remain a key focus as we move through these topics.
Maths:
In Maths, Blue class will be developing their understanding of place value. Your child will be learning to compare and order numbers up to 10,000, find these numbers on number lines, and round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000. Your child will also be learning formal written methods for adding and subtracting 4-digit numbers.
As the children move through Key Stage 2, times tables fluency is increasingly important and supports the children as they tackle more challenging problems. We will therefore be placing particular emphasis on learning and practising times tables in class, so that the children can quickly recall key facts. Any opportunities for the children to practice at home will support quicker recall, so please make sure that your child is practising regularly.
Wider Curriculum
| Subject | Unit of Work |
|---|---|
| RE | Why is Jesus inspiring to some people? |
| Science | Sound |
| Computing | Effective researching |
| History | Industrial Revolution |
| Music | This little light of mine |
| Art | Jewellery making |
| PSHE | Being me in my world |
| P.E | Swimming |
| French | Conversation |
Additional Information
On Wednesday 13th September, the children will resume their swimming lessons at Grand Central. These lessons will continue on a weekly basis, so please ensure that your child has a swimming kit every Wednesday.
Your child will also need to arrive at school wearing their P.E. kit each Thursday, so that they are prepared for their weekly P.E lesson.
Each week, your child will have nightly spellings and times tables to complete. Once completed, please sign the homework log and return the book to school each day.
All children are encouraged to read at home regularly, and will be provided with a reading book to do so. Alongside their reading book, your child will also be provided with a reading record to document their progress. Whenever the reading record shows that a child has read at home, they will receive a ticket for the end of term reading raffle.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Best wishes,
Miss Maudsley
Dates for your diary
Monday 11th September- Freddy Fit
Wednesday 13th September- Swimming lessons start.
Tuesday 26th September - Meet the teacher 3:20pm-5:30pm.