Friday, 11th June 2021

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Year 4 has had a lovely first week back, helped greatly by the hot and sunny weather!

We completed learning based on our new class book, Stich Head by Guy Bass. The children loved listening to the adventures of this little creature and can’t wait to start writing their own (child friendly) horror stories.

In Maths, we carried on with our fraction learning, placing unit and non-unit fractions on a number line.

In Science, we completed some tasks from the 30 days Go Wild activity pack using the iPads. The children also started collecting items to go onto our Nature Table and I would like to invite you Dear Parents to support them in this by keeping an eye out for any treasures whilst out and about with your families this weekend. We are looking for interesting or unique stones and fossils; seeds and leaves; flowers or petals of unusual colours; shells and feathers. Thank you!

On Wednesday, we also had the pleasure of welcoming Coach Tom into our school who lead a fantastic Cricket lesson which we repeated on Thursday afternoon.

In RE, we looked at Mark’s Gospel and started discussing the meaning of Discipleship and ways we can be learners of Jesus.

Finally, just a quick note to say that due to the hot weather, our upstairs classroom heats up quite quick during the day, so please keep sending in the children with full water bottles. We do have jugs of water in the classroom and the children are great at refilling their bottles independently. Also please send in sunhats (labelled with names if possible) for break times and PE lessons. PE days are WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS this term.

Thank you and have a lovely and safe weekend,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see Home Learning bellow:

Spelling– Please log onto Spelling Frame and spend a few minutes practicing this week’s spelling words then test yourselves.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/50/32-Word-list-years-3-and-4—or–to-pre-

Reading– please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Update your reading logs and record if you have read for pleasure.

https://readtheory.org/

Times Table– Please log onto Hit the button and spend 15 minutes practicing your mixed number facts, including division facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/

English/Maths– Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the assigned activities on Fractions and Vocabulary.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/

Friday, 28th May 2021

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Year 4 had a truly fantastic finish to the first half of their Summer term. The children participated in daily activities inspired by ‘the God of Hope’ as part of their Spirituality Week. On Monday, they have created butterflies to a Prayer Partner in Year 3, whilst on Tuesday and Wednesday, they took part in prayer reflections and have written beautiful postcards to Members of our Community. On Thursday, they completed a carousel of Prayer Stations lead by the Year 6 Liturgy leaders. The sun came out just in time for the children to have a lovely, warm morning to think about Hope and prayer and to reflect on their role as ‘children of Hope’.

During the week, the children completed their last big narrative piece about a spy mission. Their stories are wonderful and I am very proud of them for having the stamina to write in such length and quality. Well done!

On Thursday, another interesting thing happened when two mysterious objects were brought into our classroom by Mrs Carey. The children had a great discussion about what it could be and where it could have come from. We finished Thursday with an exuberating Staggered Rounders match, which the children really enjoyed 😊

I want to say a huge thank you to the children for their hard work. Coming back from lockdown, to complete their first full half term was a big ask but they lived up to the expectations!

With the easing of the lockdown rules, I wish you all a lovely, restful holiday with your families,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see your Home Learning below:

  1. Please keep reading and updating your reading log. Mrs McNamara has already handed out quite a few reading awards but there are more to win!
  2. Please complete a research on the mysterious objects brought into our classroom yesterday. Some of you guessed that they might be animal eggs, some of you were more specific saying it could be a snake egg or a lizard egg. Please complete a short research about your ideas, collecting details about animals that lay eggs or maybe specific species. You could research animals that lay large eggs or create a collection of land, water and ‘sky’ animals that reproduce by laying eggs. Please be ready to present your research on the first day of the new term. It can include pictures (hand drawn or printed), paragraphs and bullet points of facts and information, maps of their habitat, diagrams of their diet, etc. Enjoy!
  3. Science Home Learning:
    We are completing 30 days of wildness, as a whole school, so we can appreciate the nature around us. Each day in June the children will complete a different activity.  Please try to do the first six activities in the half term and bring a photo of one of the activities to school.
    1st June – Feel the wild between your toes – squelch your toes in sand, grass or mud.
    2nd June – Look up at the clouds – What shapes can you see?
    3rd June – Find a creepy crawly, be gentle and observe the way it moves.
    4th June – Thread a daisy chain
    5th June – Make a nature table, collect wild treasures like feathers, fossils or bones.
    6th June – Have lunch in the wild.

Friday, 21st May 2021

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Year 4 has had yet another busy week, focused around our last big narrative before the half term. The children watched video clips of famous baddies, like Cruella de Vil and practiced how to show their character through actions and speech. They all ‘designed’ their evil villain and also spent time planning and drawing pictures of the valuable jewellery that our Super Spies will have to retrieve.  They are thoroughly enjoying this story and had some brilliant ideas for their writing that they will start on Monday.

In Maths, we were inspired by Ellsworth Kelly, an American modernist painter, and created beautiful fraction pictures that are now on display around the school. By completing this work, the children also extended their learning towards decimal fractions and percentages! Well done!

On Wednesday, Year 4 and Year 5 took part in a Well being Zoom session titled Laughology where they though about the power of joy and positivity.

The children have also carried on their learning on cool and warm colours and created beautiful pictures using a variety of media to show the effect of these colours on the viewers. These will also be displayed around the school. In Science, they used circuits to investigate conductors and insulators, whilst during PE they learnt how to hit a volley and played rallies in house teams. In computing, they built on their Scratch project and moved onto the next module of their RCE topic with Mrs McNamara.

Have a lovely (lockdown -eased) weekend 😊!

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see below your Home Learning:

Due by Tuesday, 25th May 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling frame and practice this week’s commonly used words then test yourself.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/48/30-Word-list-years-3-and-4—i-to-ma-
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Please also update your Reading Logs. This week 5 children received book awards for their regular comments. Well done!

https://readtheory.org/

 
Maths Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the assigned tasks. They are a consolidation of the learning we did in class: calculating fractions of numbers and quantities. If you need a reminder, please start with the tutorial then complete the 2 set of questions. You might need a piece of paper or a white board to jot down your calculations.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/
English As said before, the children are going to write their narrative pieces next week. Please prepare the following resources for yourself to help you in class:

  1. Come up with an engaging title for the story:

For example, The Tiara Mission or Treasure of the Fair Ground, etc.

2. Use a thesaurus to come up with similes for: run, walk, say.

For example: dash, stumble, whisper. Please find at least 3 different words for each. You will need those on Monday for our first 3 paragraphs.

3. Create an illustration to go with your story and to help you visualise your ideas. It can be a story strip or a cartoon. Fold an A4 piece of paper in half on the long end at then fold it in half twice more. By doing that, you will end up with 8 squares to sequence your story.

Peter and Polly receive their mission in front of the Japanese Embassy.

The Twins arrive to the Fair Ground

Polly and Peter look for the villain and spot him/her somewhere.

The siblings try to get to the villain using a gadget.

Peter and Polly retrieve the treasure.

They get back to the entrance of the Fair Ground somehow.

They deliver the Jewellery to London HQ.

Friday, 14th May 2021

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Although not helped by the often rainy weather, Year 4 had  yet another busy week.

On Monday and Tuesday, the children completed their second big writing piece of the half term, a narrative of our shared book retold from another character’s point of view. The pieces are all very engaging and they worked very hard when writing them up in the neatest for display. Later on Wednesday, they have also drawn small illustrations to decorate their learning.

In Maths we further consolidated our fraction understanding and in Science we looked at simple series circuits and solved the problems in some of them, showing our understanding of complete loops, open and closed switches and different sources of power.

We celebrated the feast of the Ascension of the Lord by attending the Mass online on Thursday and we created pull up cards as a way of reflection. During the week, we have also looked at the events of Pentecost and thought about Jesus’ message to spread the Good News and ways we could do that in our lives now.

We carried on with our tennis learning with Mr Mills where by the end of our lesson, we could complete rallies of 26 hits over the net! Very well done!

Have a lovely and dry weekend,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see your Home Learning bellow:

Due by Tuesday, 18th May 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame and practice this week’s spelling words then test yourself on them.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/47/29-Word-list-years-3-and-4—fo–to-h
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Please also update your Reading Logs and be prepared to present them on Monday when we are going to have a look at them.

https://readtheory.org/
Multiplication Please log onto Hit the button and spend 10-15 minutes practicing your mixed number facts with a special focus on your division pairs. We are moving on to fractions of quantities next week, where these pairs will be essential.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/
Maths Please click on the link below to consolidate your learning on non-unit fractions of shapes and sets. (If you can, please print off the sheets and present them on Tuesday so we can stick them into our Maths books)

non unit fractions
English The children next week will go back to a story they have already started working on. It is called Mission Possible and it is about a sister and brother, Peter and Polly, who are secretly spies.

In our story, Peter and Polly completed a mission where they had to retrieve a valuable Japanese mirror from a dock house and had to leave it in front of the Japanese Embassy in London. During their task, they have used a special gadget. A small, green capsule which upon dropping it, released a smelly fog that allowed the siblings to run away.

For next week’s writing, your task is to design a gadget for the twin’s next mission. Be inventive! It could be a tool that makes them invisible, or allows them to fly, like a jetpack. It could be something that would enable them to move faster or an instrument that makes the enemy go to sleep or forget what they saw.

Please be ready to present your work on Tuesday. Include a picture if you can and a short description of how it works.

 

Friday, 7th May 2021

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Although, it has been only a short week, children were very busy in Year 4. On Tuesday, we made model houses to support our descriptive writing based on the book, The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Thank you so much to all of you Parents, who sent in beautiful flowers to help us with this project. In the afternoon, Mr Mills braved the rain out and led a fantastic tennis session, where we started focusing on different stroke types, such as backhand and forehand.

On Wednesday, we looked at Science in the news and used iPads to research Perseverance and Curiosity, the 2 most recent Mars missions. Children were fascinated by the facts they found on Nasa’s website about the rovers and we had great discussions about the possibility of future life on the Red Planet.

On Friday, children participated in a beautiful May Procession and completed learning about Mary. They also carried on with programming and followed on form last week’s Ten Ten module.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see your Home Learning below:

Due by Tuesday, 11th May 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame and spend some time practicing this week’s spelling words then test yourself on them.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/46/28-Word-list-years-3-and-4—ei–to-fe-
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities. Please also make sure that you update your reading log and that you have it with you in school in order to record our Guided Reading sessions and for us to have a look at your logs.

https://readtheory.org/
Multiplication Please log onto Hit the button and spend some time practicing your mixed number facts with a special emphasis on your division pairs to support your fraction learning.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/
Maths Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the assigned fraction questions. They are from a mixed range of years to ensure consolidation.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/
English Please listen to our  class story for the last time. Pay special attention to the scene where the pig sees the house of flowers for the first time. On a piece of paper please create a word bank that you could use for your description. Think about the 5 senses:

What could the pig see, smell, hear and feel. (taste might not be useful in this part).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPW9VUm299I

 

 

Friday, 30th April 2021

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Year 4 has been very busy this week with lots of opportunities to participate in sport activities.

On Tuesday, we enjoyed our first session with Mr Mills, learning core skills in tennis. The children did very well and could complete rallies up to 39 hits by end of our lesson!

On Thursday, we participated in a Cricket taster session, trying our hand at fielding and batting, learning how to hold the baton and how to complete runs to gain points for our teams. The children loved playing the game and reported that they wouldn’t mind more in the future 🙂

On the same day, after school, the majority of the children joined the athletics club lead by Miss Pringle, where they could refresh their running and jumping skills.

We also completed our daily mile, where some children achieved great improvement compared to the beginning, increasing their lap numbers from 5 to up to 12! Again, very well done!

This week, the children have also finished their lamps by inserting their circuits and switches. It has been a great few weeks working on this D&T project and the children did very well, thinking about their designs and taking ownership of their plans and the execution!

Please make sure the lamps are switched off when not in use, as the small, simple battery holders used in the models can get hot!

We wish you a lovely bank holiday long weekend,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see below the Home Learning:

Due Tuesday, 4th May 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spellingframe and spend some times practicing this week’s spelling words before testing yourself.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/45/27-Word-list-years-3-and-4—ci–to-ea-
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete 3 activities.

https://readtheory.org/
Times table Please log onto Hit the button and spend some time practicing your mixed number facts, with special focus on the division facts.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
Science For your Science Home Learning this week, I would like you to go on an ‘Appliance Hunt’. I would like you to go around your house and record appliances that use electricity. Beyond noticing them, I also want you to have a think: What is the effect of electricity in them? Does electricity change sound? change light? change movement? change temperature?

Record them in a table please. Please record at least 12 appliances that use electricity in a variety of ways.

Be ready to present your learning on Tuesday, as we will stick them into Science books.
Art Next week, I would like the children to complete an art activity that would support their English learning. As part of our whole school writing project, the children will have to describe a house made of flowers. Using art straws, I would like the children to build these models so that it would help them with their descriptive paragraph.

If you can, please could you support this by sending in some flowers. They can be fresh or dried. They don’t have to be shop bought! The children can pick some on their way to school or from their gardens.

We are planning to make these models on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Friday, 23rd April 2021

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The children this week had an amazing opportunity to learn about farm animals and about ways to care for them. The Ark Farm’s visit on Tuesday allowed them to have a closer look at animals such as a donkey, a pig, some lambs, chickens, ducks as well as rabbits, guinea pigs and even a hedgehog. The children loved stroking the animals on display and recorded lots of newly learnt facts about them later on in class.

In English, we have completed our first big write of the term. A newspaper article based on our class book, The three little wolves and the big bad pig. In Maths, we started our new unit of fractions, using Cuisenaire rods for the first time.

We have completed our daily mile and in Design and Technology, finished our circuits and switches for our bedside lamps. Today in our Computing session we learnt through using Scratch how to use the forever and repeat programming blocks.  The children enjoyed programming three dinosaur sprites to dance!!  They finished off their afternoon, enjoying their fruit kebabs!

            

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

 

Please see your Home Learning below:

Due Tuesday, 27th April 2021
Spelling Please spend some time practising this week’s spelling words then complete your test.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/44/26-Word-list-years-3-and-4—br–to-ce-
Reading Please log onto your Read Theory account and complete 2 activities.

https://readtheory.org/
Timestables Please log onto Hit the Button and spend some time practicing your mixed division facts. In our fraction learning, it is essential that children have a solid knowledge of their division facts to calculate equal groups of the whole.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
RE As a preparation for our RE learning based on the symbols we use in Mass to refer to the Resurrection of Jesus, we would like the children to research the Paschal Candle (one of the object in Church, we are going to look at next week). We would like the children to present their learning on an A4 piece of paper (handwritten or typed) with pictures-if possible- as we are going to stick these into their RE books.

Some useful links:

https://www.zieglers.com/blog/the-paschal-candle-everything-you-need-to-know/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PnqIEwb3c8

 

 

Friday, 16th April 2021

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This week, Year 4 took part in a very enthusiastic Easter egg hunt on Monday and spent this week focusing on the Resurrection story according to Mark as well as post Resurrection stories such as The Road to Emmaus or Doubting Thomas. The children painted beautiful water -colour pictures inspired by these wonderful Gospel stories to capture the meaning and importance of Our Lord’s Resurrection.

On Tuesday and Thursday, the children refreshed their knowledge of basic tennis skills in preparation for next week, when they will have the privilege to work with Mr Mills who will teach tennis in the remaining weeks of this term.

This week the children have spent time on their D&T project – the bedside lamp, during which they have finalised their structures, attached all added features, as well as painting their models. Next week, they will be assembling their circuits with switches to complete their lamp.

The children looked at programming in ICT and with Scratch programming language, they learnt how to create a programme to draw various 2 D shapes.

 

In English, the children have read two traditional tales to launch our whole school writing project based on farms. The class are very much looking forward to next week’s farm visit on Tuesday.

The children have also continued to complete their daily mile as well, where they are improving greatly with regards to the number of laps achieved. Well done!

 

We wish Max a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in class soon!

 

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

 

Year 4 Home Learning:

Friday, 16th April 2021
Spelling Please log onto Spelling frame and spend some time practicing your weekly spelling words, as well as, testing yourself.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/26/25-Word-list-years-3-and-4—a-to-bi-
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete  2 activities.

https://readtheory.org/
Research Project In preparation for next Tuesday’s farm visit, I would like you to create a learning poster where you explain how to look after animals. They don’t need to necessarily be farm animals but animals in general, including house pets.

Think about their diet, a safe ‘home’, tending to their physical needs (fur, teeth, nails, etc.)

Here are a few links to start you off:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULlnRZz69QE

https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/basics-caring-livestock/ (first part of the article only)

https://education.rspca.org.uk/education/teachers/primary/lessonplans/pets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOLP8p0jSoA

Please be ready to present these posters on Tuesday, 20th April- the day of the farm visit.

Friday, 26th March 2021

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Our last week (before the holidays) in Year 4 has been another busy one.

The children have spent time this week learning about Jesus’ Passion according to Mark’s Gospel and finding out more about Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  Yesterday, the class watched online the very reflective Stations of the Cross service lead by Year 5 and 6 from Our Lady and St Vincent’s Church.  This has been recorded and will be available from OLSV website.

In D&T the children continued with their project, applying a second layer of paper-mache followed by  additional details such as wings, beaks, paws, etc to personalise their bedside lamp structures. Some excellent designs coming along!

           

During the week, the children participated in several Lenten Charity events organised by the Year 6 house captains.  On Wednesday, they completed a  Lenten word hunt on the field whilst on Thursday, they took part in an obstacle course. They also took part in a Fairtrade chocolate and banana morning on Wednesday.

In PE the children have worked on General fitness and Team-building over these last few weeks and they have really enjoyed completing their daily Golden Mile.

Today, the class used twigs, stones, berries and other ‘treasures’ found on the school grounds to decorate their Lenten Pots which will bloom later just in time for Easter.

We wish all of you and your families a safe, healthy and blessed Easter!

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

P.S.: During the holidays, please keep  reading and update your reading logs on the stories you have completed.

Friday, 19th March 2021

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Year 4 has had yet another very busy week.

The class furthered their science learning about famous Hungarian inventors and also had a look at the history of the incandescent light bulb.

They continued creating a detailed design plan for their D&T project – The Bedside Lamp.

   

The children came up with great ideas for their ‘shells’ and evaluated materials and procedures that they felt would to suit their build.

On Thursday they put the first layers of modrock on and next week they are going to add the paper mache.  You could sense the excitement in the classroom!

The children have continued to complete their daily mile and played team building/problem solving games during PE.

As today is Red Nose Day, the children spent time this week learning about the founders of the Comic Relief charity and the wonderful work that this British charity gives to projects in the UK and abroad.  Last week the children learnt about the importance of sleep and Max, Macy, Violet, Monica and Ela-Maria produced  beautiful posters giving us their top ten sleep tips.  Congratulations to Monica and Violet who won a sleep mask.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Happy St Joseph’s Day!!

Ms Varga and Mrs McNamara

Please see below your Home Learning:

19.3.2021 Home Learning
Spelling Please log onto Spelling Frame and spend some time practicing your homophones. After your practice, please test yourself on this week’s words.

https://spellingframe.co.uk/spelling-rule/62/23-Homophones-and-near-homophones-3-of-4
Reading Please log onto Read Theory and complete at least 2 activities.

https://readtheory.org/auth/login
English Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the assigned revision tasks.

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/
Maths Please log onto Mathletics and complete the assigned activities. The activities will give you further opportunities to consolidate the decimal number work that we have been doing in class.

https://www.mathletics.com/uk/