Investigating tooth decay

In Science we have been investigating which liquids cause the most damage to our teeth. We left hard-boiled eggs (as the egg shell is like the enamel of our teeth) in 6 different liquids for a week and then closely examined each egg to see if any damage had occurred. Ask us what we found out!

Team work!

In P.E. we have worked together to use our bodies to create different letters of the alphabet. What letters can you spot? 

Autumn Term Communication Letter

Friday 14^th September 2018

Dear Parents/ Carers of Year 4 Pupils,

We hope that you have had a really enjoyable summer. It is lovely to be back in school and we are delighted with how quickly the children have settled in Year 4.  We hope that you find this letter and pack of information useful.

Autumn Term Curriculum

Here is an outline of some of the areas of learning that we will be covering in class this term in the topics of ‘The Victorians’ and ‘Red, White and Blue’.

Maths	Place value Addition and Subtraction Measurement – length and perimeter Multiplication and division
English	Stories with a historical setting Poetry – recognising different forms of poetry. Mystery/Fantasy stories Newspaper reports
Science	Animals including humans – teeth, eating and digestion Sound
R.E.	What do Hindus believe God is like? What is the Trinity and why is it important for Christians? Christmas
Computing	Using a variety of software for a task Programming
P.E.	Games (Wednesdays) Outdoor and Adventurous Activities and then Dance (Fridays)
Topic (English, Geography, Art, D.T.)	The Victorians This will include learning about events from history which have shaped our lives today, artefacts and children in Victorian times. Red, White and Blue This will include learning about the British Isles and improving our geographical skills.

How you can help at home

Homework

Year 4 children will receive one Spelling and one Maths Facts homework weekly. It is really helpful if you can encourage your child to complete their homework in a quiet place where they can fully focus.

Your child will receive a list of Maths facts to learn at home (every Friday) and these will be tested the following Friday.

Your child will learn a spelling rule each week and will receive a list of spellings that follow this rule (every Monday) which they will need to learn for a weekly spelling test on a Friday.

The children will also be tested on a list of 15 half termly spellings at the beginning and end of each half term. We would appreciate your help in supporting your child in learning these tricky words. Thank you.

Reading

As you know children hugely benefit from reading regularly and we expect our Year 4’s to read every night where possible, this should be a combination of reading independently and out loud to an adult. It is important that children have the opportunity to discuss what they have read. You can discuss unfamiliar words, talk about how characters have developed, make predictions about what might happen, talk about why an author has used a particular type of punctuation, etc. The children should use evidence from the text to justify their answers.

Planners

We hope that you find them useful in helping your child organise themselves. The children are using their planners to record homework tasks and important school dates but can also use it as a personal diary.

Children will record their weekly spelling and maths facts scores every week. Please could you check your child’s planner at the end of each week and sign the bottom of the page. Please feel free to make your own comments. Your child should take responsibility for asking you to check and sign it. Feel free to communicate with us through the planner, but ensure your child knows it is their responsibility to let us know there is a message. We will check and sign the homework planners each Wednesday and Friday.

We ask that the children record their daily reading in their planner. On Mondays we would like them to write the name of the book and the pages they have read. For the rest of the week just the page numbers is enough, unless they start a new book in which case they need to write the name of their new book. We also ask that your child responds to their reading by completing one of the short tasks from the list in the front of their planner. Thank you for your support.

P.E

We will have P.E sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays. Our Wednesday PE session will be led by Rob and have a games focus. Sometimes our timetable has to change so P.E kit should be in school each day please. A reminder that PE kit should consist of: black daps/pumps/trainers, black shorts and a red or white t-shirt or polo shirt. As the weather is unpredictable it would be useful for the children to have both outdoor trainers and plimsolls (or clean trainers) as part of their kit so that we can use both the hall and outdoors. When it starts to get colder, black/navy joggers and black/red jumpers may also be needed. School PE kit should also be worn for after school clubs.

Art aprons

Children will need to have an old shirt or apron for art. Please ensure your child has one in school at all times. Thank you.

Pencil cases

School provides all the writing and drawing materials the children will need so pencil cases from home are not needed.

Planners and reading books

Please have these in school, in the classroom, each day. Thank you.

Dates for your diary:

Parents Evenings – Tuesday 16^th October and Thursday 18^th October

Class Assembly 2.30pm - Thursday 18^th October

Individual Photos – Friday 19^th October

Life Education Van – 3^rd and 4^th December

We look forward to working closely with you. Please don’t hesitate to come and see us if you have any questions.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Michelle Parkin and Mrs Marika Hortop

Bad Hair day!

To support the Gloucestershire Fire Service  raise money for the Oncology department at Gloucester Royal Hospital we came to school with mad hair today!