Friday, 15th March 2024

This week in Year 4, we celebrated National Science Week by becoming Scientists ourselves; planning and carrying out some practical investigations, listening to guest speakers and learning about famous scientists.

Throughout the week, we reflected on the lives and work of famous female Scientists from around the world, including Katherine Johnson-American mathematician, Mae C. Jemison-American engineer, Marie Curie-Polish-French physicist and chemist and Janaki Ammal-Indian plant biologist. We talked about how these remarkable women overcame discrimination and prejudice to achieve greatness in their field of Science and how their work has changed the world for the better. We also discussed the future of Science and looked at new discoveries in renewable energy and AI technology in Computer Science and engineering. We also talked about future Space programmes that can impact our lives soon.

We also worked on our whole school big question: ‘Is taller faster?’ The children planned their investigation in groups before measuring their heights and recording their speed using a stopwatch app. We later plotted our results on a graph and drew conclusions, analysing the data and discussing discrepancies.

On Wednesday, we also had the pleasure of  participating in Mr Kelly’s (NBS School) brilliant workshop about fossils and after learning about fossils and handling some ourselves, the class turned into paleontologists to recover and reconstruct some dinosaur remains.

In Maths, we consolidated formal written multiplication with regrouping whilst in English, we wrote descriptive paragraphs based on one of the settings of our beautiful class book, ‘Journey’. In Re, we researched Mark’s Gospel before comparing all 4 Gospel writers’ version of Jesus’ crucifixion. We also prayed the Stations of the Cross and reflected on our third Catholic Social Teaching principle, ‘Solidarity’. In Art, we completed our fruit themed collage still life pieces, whilst in PE we finalised our whole class Roman dance routine.

Next week, we are walking down to the church to practice for our Way of the Cross service. Please make sure the children have hooded coats every day in case it rains. Thank you!

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 19th March 2024
Spelling Words that are adverbs of manner

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words: surprise, separate, group, height, potatoes, though, particular, through, caught, woman

Reading https://readtheory.org/auth/login

or alternatively download the attached comprehension documents:

1

1-questions

1-answers

Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

Mathletics https://login.mathletics.com/

Science Home Learning

Take a Science Selfie! Can you complete a science experiment at home and take a selfie of you and your family? Below are some websites with some ideas. Please bring in a photo to your class teacher.

https://learning.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/resources/kitchen-science/?fbclid=IwAR3pgsL9Z4JzVUVbdci8OqeDSw9x1Dg3i7lxaAUawWtZgMihAmqwjfqZYzE_aem_Admn5arF3jT7xcfVN1DfUBA7wIol_zEdHihfnVfpWenDYAdSWmn7C7TFFUpdPYK4EBU

KS2 Way of the Cross Service
Please also practise the songs for The Way of the Cross here, which will need to be learnt off by heart by the service (Tuesday 26th March).

Friday, 8th March 2024

Yet another busy week for Year 4!

On Monday, following assembly, the children reflected on their second Catholic Social Teaching principle, ‘Dignity of the Worker’ and using this image:

they discussed concepts such as equality, fair access to resources, fair wages and working conditions. These concepts also brilliantly lent themselves to their Fair Trade fortnight learning completed with Mrs Moccia on Friday.

On Tuesday, the class joined Year 3 in an e-safety workshop, titled ‘One Good Choice’. The children solved 3 challenges through role play and discussions around the theme of group chats, online gaming and video sharing platforms. They reflected on strategies to keep themselves safe online and learnt how to access their privacy settings on different sites to limit their exposure to possible online harm.

On Wednesday, we joined Year 3 again to participate in Mass celebrating two early African saints; Sts Perpetua and Felicity. Huge well done and thank you to Emilia, Gabriella and Jack Flatley for their beautiful, expressive reading and the whole class’s singing which made the service even more special.

On Thursday, we celebrated World Book Day, which is always a highlight in our school calendar. After participating in assembly, where we joined  Michael Rosen on a ‘Bear Hunt’, we wrote acrostic poems in class describing our favourite book and its main characters and plot line. We also broke some book themed codes in Maths and listened to stories throughout the day.

Thank you so much for Mrs Beechey, Mr Stevens, Ms King (Connor’s grandmother) and Mrs Jeckells for coming to school (live or through the screen) and giving up your time to read to us! The children really enjoyed having you and listening to your stories; it has been a real treat!

The class also had the pleasure of listening to a story read by Mrs Carey who visited them on Thursday. Sharing a book with their former teacher was a lovely moment for Year 4.

Wishing you a lovely Mother’s Day weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 12th  March 2024
Spelling Words ending in ‘-cian’

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words: reluctantly, quickly, generously, unexpectedly, gently, curiously, furiously, seriously, victoriously, courteously

Reading https://readtheory.org/auth/login
Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/

Well done for Gabriella, who is our class leader with 240,000 points!!!

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

Mathletics https://login.mathletics.com/

Complete assigned activities centred around formal written multiplication (vertical layout)

 

Friday, 1st March 2024

Warm welcome back everyone!

The children had a really busy first week.

On Monday, we launched our RE focus on the Stations of the Cross and Catholic Social Teaching (CST).  Throughout Lent ,we will be focusing on a different CST principle each week, prompted by an art piece that the children can explore and discuss. Following an assembly about this by Miss Donatantonio, the children investigated the concept of “Care of Creation,”  reflecting upon the painting below:

They also wrote prayers inspired by the first, second and third stations of the Cross, reflecting on qualities such as honesty, courage and strength.

On Tuesday, the class participated in the Ks2 Reconciliation Service with great reverence and maturity, reflecting on their behaviour and relationships in and outside of class.

In Maths, the children revisited their earlier learning about common 2D shapes before extending that with new concepts such as sets of parallel and perpendicular lines as well as acute, obtuse and right angles to enrich their description of properties of shapes. In English, the class began their new unit of work based on Aaron Becker’s beautiful book called Journey. They became picture detectives and used inference to gain information about characters and their feelings, as well as plan dialogues to show character. We also predicted possible destinations for the main character to journey to. If you have access to the book, please wait a bit longer to explore it at home together as we still have some meaningful prediction to do before we can share the whole ‘story’ as a class.

In Re, we learnt about a new prayer form for Lent called the Examen and prayed it in class at the end of the day, rummaging through our experiences to find the presence of God.

On Thursday, we said goodbye to our lovely NHS friends who worked with us in the past 6 weeks, helping us to identify our emotions and teaching us strategies to manage those is different scenarios. The children benefited greatly from these sessions. They have gained a range of vocabulary to communicate their feelings more clearly and tips to ‘be in charge’ of those.

In Art, we moved on to collage techniques to create still life, focusing on composition…

…whilst in Computing, we created ‘loops’ of code snippets using count-controlled repetitions to draw 2D shapes- linked to our Maths learning.

Please remember:

We are attending Mass on Wednesday, 6th March so children will need to come in their school uniforms and have their swimming/pe kits in a bag. Also, World Book Day is on Thursday, 7th March; children can wear their costumes or pyjamas!

I wish you a nice weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 5th March 2024
Spelling Words ending in ‘-ssion’

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words: musician, magician, electrician, politician, mathematician, technician, optician, beautician, physician, dietician

Reading https://readtheory.org/auth/login

or alternatively download the attached materials

Senses-text

Senses-questions

Senses-answers

Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

Mathletics https://login.mathletics.com/

Please access your activities based on shapes and angles

 

Friday, 16th February 2024

The children in Year 4, had a very busy last week to their first Spring term.

On Monday, we solved a real life mathematical problem involving fractions of chocolate,

whilst on Tuesday, we celebrated Mardi Gras day by first researching the festival then decorating Mardi Gras masks and sampling some delicious pancakes with Golden syrup. We also solved a Pancake Maths mystery, whilst performing an impromptu ‘Pancake Dance’.

On Wednesday, the class attended the Ash Wednesday Mass and wrote Lenten promises as a reflection to the service thinking about the three practices of Lent: praying, fasting and alms giving.

On Thursday, we planted bulbs whilst also revisiting learning from Year 3 about the basic parts of plants and their function as well as the life cycle of a flowering plant.

Later that day, in Art, we looked at contemporary still life artists from around the world such as Hiroshi Sato or Hilary Pecis and after studying their themes and technique, the class made visual notes of their impressions in their art journals.

Thank you to all of you who came to see me during Parent Consultations this week; it has been a pleasure to celebrate the children’s achievements so far.

I wish you a restful, healthy half term,

Ms Varga

Friday, 9th February 2024

The children in Year 4 had another busy week with lots of practical learning opportunities.

In English, the children published their final non-chronological reports showing off some beautiful handwriting and excellent drawings to accompany their scientific texts.

In Maths, the class moved onto calculating fractions of amounts using bar modelling before further advancing to exploring fractions beyond a whole.

In RE, the children used  artificial intelligence technology to take a 3D virtual tour of The Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus’ time. By doing this, they gained an even better understanding of how Passover was celebrated in the past. They created travel brochures for families arriving into Jerusalem at the time, giving them practical advice on where to go and what to see. The class also spent time to plan their next set of Acts of Worship that the children will run themselves in their Liturgy groups on Friday mornings.

In Science, the class carried out practical enquiries about gases that they have planned last week, applying observation skills and drawing conclusions. They weighed gases using a simple balance scale; they heated gases using hot water to see how the particles move upwards and created gases by combining water as their liquid and effervescent tablets as their solids.

In Art, the children experimented with gestural drawing techniques and created a ‘layered colour’ still life, focusing on composition, lines, texture, light and shadow.

On Tuesday, we had a particular focus on how persuasive design technology and online content can influence users’ thought, feelings and behaviour as part of our Safer Internet Day learning. The children showed good understanding of how some built in features such as clickbaits or pop ups work and how they change our behaviour online in a negative way. The class also showed excellent knowledge of strategies to cope with upsetting or harmful content online.

Next week Wednesday, Year 4 (along with all ks2 classes) will walk down to the church to attend the Ash Wednesday Mass. Please ensure that the children have hooded coats for the walk as the weather is quite unpredictable at the moment.

Also: Please bring in a small plastic plant pot next week as we will be planting bulbs in them. Thank you for your support with this.

 

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 13th February 2024
Spelling Words where ‘au’ makes an /or/ sound

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words: invention, injection, action, hesitation, completion, stagnation nomination, migration, communication, selection

Reading https://readtheory.org/auth/login

or alternatively download the comprehension materials attached:

Explorers- text

Explorers- questions

Explorers- answers

Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

https://www.timestables.co.uk/multiplication-tables-check/

Mathletics https://login.mathletics.com/

Log into your account and complete the assigned activities all consolidating equivalent fractions and moving onto adding and subtracting fractions.

 

Friday, 2nd February 2024

The children in Year 4 had another busy week of learning.

In Maths, the class further consolidated the use of fraction walls to order and compare non unit fractions and to recognise fractions that are equal. The class also identified non unit fractions of sets and shapes.

In English, the children used their ‘Dragon plans’ to write their final non-chronological reports using formal tone, technical vocabulary and expanded noun phrases. Through 4 cohesive paragraphs they described the animal’s origins, habitat, appearance, behaviour, weaponry and general benefits as a battle companion. After some editing, the class will publish their reports including maps, diagrams, etc next week.

In Science, we introduced our second practical enquiry of our topic for the term, ‘States of Matter’, this time about gases. Through hands on experiments next week, the class will answer 3 questions about gases: Do they have weight? What happens to them when they are heated? and Can they be made by combining liquids and solids? This week, they have planned their investigation thinking about resources and ways to record. We also learnt how to construct accurate bar graphs to represent our findings from our last, liquid based lesson.

In RE, the children looked at the Passover in Jesus’ time. They used Google Maps to find out how long the journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem would have been on foot and had a look at the Temple in Jerusalem where Joseph and Mary showed sacrifice. They later wrote a play script, allocating dialogues to Jesus and his parents recalling the main rules for the 7 day long festival.

In PE, the class merged some of their groups to work on a longer routine as part of their Roman Dance unit.

On Thursday, whilst the choir attended the Young Voices at Wembley, the remaining children played highly competitive and enjoyable dice games with their Year 3 learning partners. After a few rounds, they also invented their own games which they shared with other children from Year 5 and 6.

Please find further game ideas on the blog!

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 6th February 2024
Spelling This week: Set 18: Challenge words

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words: automatic, August, launch, haul, astronaut, cause, author, applaud, autumn, audience

Reading https://readtheory.org/auth/login

or alternatively download the attached files and complete the comprehension tasks.

Feet First- text

Feet First-questions

Feet First- answers

Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/
Mathletics https://login.mathletics.com/

Log onto your account and complete the assigned activities based on equivalent fractions.

fraction-wall

Please find attached a printable fraction wall that you might find useful.

Dice Game Challenge Afternoon!

Click here to see what the Key Stage 2 classes were busy doing yesterday afternoon!

Why don’t you click on Dice Games and try some of the dice games yourself?

Maths Dice Games Thursday 1st February, 2024

Dice Games –

  1.  Click here for Dice Games A
  2.  Click here for Dice Games B                  Drop Zone (p 29)  Differences (p9)   Step Adding ( p 18)  *

Equipment Needed:

a partner

Dice (up to 6 dice)

paper or squared paper

Pencil

 

Have Fun!!

Mrs McNamara, Ms Varga and Miss Donatantonio

Friday, 26th January 2024

The children in Year 4 have been busy again this week!

We have moved onto the topic of fractions in maths revising our prior learning of unit and non-unit fractions of sets, shapes and amounts. We have been recognising fractions that are equal and have ordered and compared fractions by placing them onto a number line and representing them with bar models.

In English, we have listened to David Attenborough describing a monitor lizard to get a feel for the formal style of writing we will need to have to write our non-chronological report and also collected technical vocabulary to aid us with this.  We used these technical words to improve an existing paragraph, experimenting with formal phrases and factual details. I feel that the children are now ready to plan their writing and should be producing their reports next week.

In RE, the class focused on the Passover chapter of the Exodus story, commenting on the different literary forms within (instructions and narrative) whilst also gathering information about the characters, settings and summarising the main points of each part.

In PE the children’s work in dance started with them extending their basic motif into a 20 count routine, involving different pathways and levels.

In Art, we started our new topic of ‘Still Life’ by exploring Paul Cezanne’s life and work, discussing his choice of themes, colours, technique and texture. We looked at how he experimented with light and composition and later attempted to mimic his work by testing 3 different media: pencil, poster paint and acrylic.

During our first Mental Health workshop on Thursday, the children revised their understanding of emotions trying to define what they are and also listing the ones they know. They made some links between those emotions and life experiences before participating in a ‘Circle of Trust’ activity, compiling a rich list of adults and children around them who they can turn to or share all of their emotions with.

Just a reminder: Next Thursday, the choir is out, participating in the Young Voices Choir evening at the Wembley! They will need a packed supper  but will eat lunch in school as usual.

ALSO:

26th -28th January

The big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers like you take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring. We would like Pope Paul to take part. Please follow the instructions on the leaflets attached.

Count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour. Use the tally chart attached and submit your results on  www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

Please send a copy of your results in to school next week.  Thank you!

Birdwatch leaflet

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 30th  January 2024
Spelling Words ending in ‘-ious’ and ‘-eous

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words: extreme, although, breath, caught, different, exercise, medicine, thought, business, possession

Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

English planning The children will write a non-chronological report about a dragon they have designed in class inspired by our class book ‘How to train your dragon’ by Cressida Cowell. As a preparation for their final writing piece, I would like the children to create an idea/word bank that they can use, including information about the dragon’s appearance, behaviour, weaponry, origins, diet, habitat and use.

I am not expecting a report written in full sentences! I would like the children to take some time to think through their ideas and have a chat with an adult about them so they can filter through and finalise the details of their dragon.

Please see attached a sheet that might be helpful for discussion and recording:

Dragon idea record sheet

Dragon idea sheet example

Please see attached my example that might be of help.

Friday, 19th January 2024

Year 4 had another busy week with the highlight being their  first swimming session on Wednesday.

In English, the class focused on prepositions as part of their expanded noun phrases before writing some extended paragraphs describing beasts from Cressida Cowell’s book How to train your dragon. They also designed their own magnificent creatures, considering key parts such as the tail, the wings, etc.

In Maths, they moved on to conversion of weight and capacity before reading some scales using a range of increments. The class will move onto fractions next.

In RE, the children retold the Exodus story, identifying main characters and settings, whilst also looking at a timeline with key dates from their History learning and maps to place the story in context.

In Science, the children tested different substances to answer the question: which liquid travels the fastest? They made connections between speed and density, also looking at the particles within the substances. The experiment gave opportunity to the class to consider aspects of a fair test to be kept the same and allowed them to record results independently and draw conclusions from the data collected.

Just a reminder that the Year 4 Mental Health workshops will start next week Thursday.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning Due back on Tuesday, 23rd  January 2024
Spelling Words where a suffix is added to words ending in ‘y’

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Next week’s words will be: serious, obvious, curious, hideous, spontaneous, courteous, furious, various, victorious, gaseous

Reading https://readtheory.org/auth/login

Please complete 2 activities or alternatively download the attached comprehension materials.

Beach Detective- text

Beach Detective-questions

Beach Detective- answers

 

Multiplication https://ttrockstars.com/

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

Mathletics https://login.mathletics.com/

Please complete the assigned activities focusing on capacity conversion.