Hello and Welcome to Year 4

Welcome back after a lovely Easter break, I hope you have all had lots of fun and a some rest to prepare for the last term of Year 4.

If you spoke to me at parents evening, you will know how pleased I am with the children and how hard they have been working lately, particularly in their Spring term assessments. It is the last push of the year now to see how much we can learn and grow by the end of year 4 and we have a very busy few months ahead of us all, I hope you're ready!

As usual, we will be doing our daily English and Maths lessons, enjoying a broad and balanced curriculum, covering: Science, Computing, History, Geography, Art & Design, PE, Languages (Spanish), Music, Design Technology, PSHE, RE, Forest school and of course SWIMMING! Many of these subjects will be cross curricular linking to English, Topic and Art.

This half term, our topic is 'Rivers and Rainforests', continuing their learning of the world around them and understanding how water is essential to our planet. During this quest, we will be uncovering the layers of the rainforest - the canopy, the understory and the forest floor, illuminating well-adapted species as well as discovering how rivers and coast lines can change over time. We have got some exciting activities planned for the children this half term one of them being investigating a local river and completing a study; including fieldwork to observe, measure and record their own data.

The children will have a piece of Maths and English homework set each week, as well as weekly spellings and times tables. Spellings will be tested on a Friday. Typically, homework tasks should take around 20 minutes to complete and will be due the following day. If your child is struggling with a piece of homework, please encourage them to ask us for support. Children should also be reading every night – this may be from their banded reading or a library book. We will also hear the children read regularly and monitor their comprehension skills, along with their fluency.

Please take a look at our Knowledge Organiser above which highlights some of the key concepts we will be focusing on and teaching. Please use this when working with your child at home as this will help them with their knowledge and retention skills.

This half term I will be expecting children to be logging into Times Table Rock stars daily to ensure they are confident with them and I will be rewarding children with dojo points for their efforts! The year 4 times table check is due to take place in June and we need to show off how amazing we are with our times table knowledge.

Again, it is so important to practice the ones your child doesn't know yet as by the end of year 4 all children are expected to know all of their timetables from 1 - 12. If you need support with this or logins, please contact me on Class Dojo.

This half Term we will be completing our forest school and cooking sessions on Tuesdays so if your child is in 'Group 2' as seen on class dojo, please make sure they have their full kit with them each week. 

They will need: 

Wellies or walking boots/shoes (that can get very muddy)

pants or joggers

a top and a hoody/jumper

waterproof coat (thick and warm)

gloves, hat, scarves (worn when appropriate)

This half term children’s PE session will be each Monday and swimming will take place on Thursday. Please ensure your child is equipped with the correct P.E. kit and that it is brought to school on the correct days.  All uniform and PE kits, including pumps, should have names in them. If your child wears earrings, then they need to be removed for these lessons. PE kits should be black shorts, plain white t-shirt and black pumps (trainers, black or grey joggers are only acceptable for outdoor sports). If we are indoors we are strictly only allowed to wear pumps.

Swimming

Swimming will take place every Thursday. The children will be taken by coach to the pool and be taught to swim at their own pace. Children will need a towel, shorts/swimsuit and swim cap for children with longer hair. They will NEED to wear a swim cap and boys have to wear the tight fitted trunks as the instructors are strict with their rules and they will not let them in the pool if they are not wearing the correct swimwear. We will assist the children in putting on swim caps but it would be great if they could practice doing this at home independently to speed up the process.

Any further questions you have please do ask.

Class Dojo as a way of celebrating the children’s successes, good behaviour choices and also as a communication tool. If you would like to share any successes at home on here please do.

I hope you enjoy you continue to shine this term as you have done all year!

Mrs Jackson 

Homework

Wednesday

To be returned on Thursday.

Friday - spellings to learn for a test the following Friday and times tables to practise for a test the following Wednesday.

I also encourage the children to log in to Times Tables Rock Stars as often as possible to practise their multiplication facts too.

Timetable - Year 4 Activities

PE: 

Monday - Please make sure you bring the correct kit every week. (Black pumps, white t shirt and black shorts. No earrings.)

Swimming:

Thursday - tight fitting swimming trunks for boys and costumes/ swimming caps for longer hair. No earrings

Forest School:

Group 2 will be starting forest school Tuesday 5th April for 6 weeks.