Year 4 Weekly blog. Friday 10th October "In all things, recognise the care and wisdom of God and give thanks." (St Teresa of Avila)

This week children have been so reflective in their RE work. They learned to recognise the care and wisdom of God through the story of Abraham’s willing sacrifice. Children thought about what this story would mean to the people back then. They then went deeper to think about its relevance today and how it almost mirrors the story of Jesus’ sacrifice - however God loves us so much that He did give us His only son as the sacrifical lamb. They are inspired as the people were then in Abraham’s true faith and trust in God.

Also this week, Isla, Edward and Sasha led us in praying the rosary, focusing on the glorious mysteries. It was a special day - one million children around the world would be praying to Our Lady. The way they led us in prayer was truly beautiful. Between them, they helped the children know which beads to hold, to reflect on each mystery in turn and think about what it means for us today. Well done!

Our kindness bucket in class is almost full - and it is a big bucket! Children love spotting the goodness in each other.

Children are working so hard in lessons. They wrote another character description for a character from Charlotte’s Web and now they are onto the language of persuasion - they will be writing a letter to the farmer to stop Wilbur’s imminent death! Be prepared to have a very persuasive child. Children had a lovely day today in forest school exploring the outdoors with Mrs Tierney. They have now moved onto understanding place value in Maths

Conversation starters

English

Which characters are kind in the story? Which aren’t? What is kindness?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our certificate this week is a Cooper Crab focused learner. This goes to Bonnie. You are becoming such an excellent learner Bonnie - like a sponge - soaking everything in. Your excellent listening and focus are really paying off in your super work.

Our virtues this half term are being learned and wise. This week, Sasha receives our star for giving her absolute all in her work. You are a wise learner Sasha because you listen and try your best.

PE stars this week were: Jude and Isla

Music stars : Dexter and Heidi - super chord changes

Notices

Harvest Collection: This year, we have been asked by our Minnie Vinnies to collect boxes of cereal. These can be brought in from Monday.

Parent’s Day is on Friday October 24th - Please sign up if you haven’t already. You can email me a preferred time or simply fill it in on the classroom door.

I have blocked off in yellow a set of virtual meetings in the middle of the day if you would prefer this. They will be on teams and you will receive an invitation to download the app and join.

I really look forward to having a good conversation with you about the first few weeks in Year 4.

We have a trip to UCLAN on 11th November. This is called ‘Cosmetic Chemistry’ and supports our work in Science on solids, liquids and gases next half term. It is now payable on parent pay.

Forest school children - Don’t forget your change of clothes for Tuesday.

Ukuleles and homework - Thursday

Enjoy your weekend together.

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Year 4 parents meetings Friday 24th October

Dear parents,

Thank you for responding to to the request for face to face meetings or virtual. I have 12 responses for virtual meetings and 13 for face to face. As you can see from the form below I have blocked off the times- so face to face is in the morning then virtual all afternoon and then back to face to face in the evening.

Please decide which time is best for you and email me with that time and your child’name. I will book these on a first come first served basis. The form will also be available after school at pick up.

email: a.lyons@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

or press the CLASS CONTACT button on the Year 4 web page this comes directly to me.

Year 4 Weekly blog. Friday 3rd October "The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness."

I captured the picture above when children were so proud of their RE work this week! Children learned the story about Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac. It was hard to comprehend Abraham’s great faith - but they reflected on God’s mercy and ultimate sacrifice of His own Son Jesus. The theme of faith has been resounding in our worships this week - from Luca and Bella’s worship showing the disciples leaving everything and following Jesus to the Gospel story of faith as a tiny mustard seed. Look at our pictures below showing our journey towards Jesus this week.

Also this week, children have been filling our class bucket with acts of kindness they are spotting in one another - it is half full already! We have made little hearts to show our love for Father Peter and wish him a quick recovery.

We are so focused in class too. This week we have been busy learning column subtraction in maths, locating countries with lines of longitude and latitude in Geography and in English, children have been learning the great power of description through our new technique - extended noun phrases.

In our Kidsafe lesson this week, children have talked about what to do if they hear a lot of arguing. This can give them Yukky feelings. They have recapped all other important safety messages from the previous weeks. Please have a look at the letter below

Here are Year 4 in action this week and some examples of lovely work - WAGOLL means What a Good one Looks Like!

Conversation starters

English

Why is the character of Charlotte so inspiring in our novel? Why does Wilbur have faith in her?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our certificate this week is a Sadie Spider determined learner. This goes to Marla. You are so ready to learn all the time. You work your absolute socks off to do your very best in all your work. That is why it is of such high quality. Well done!

Our virtues this half term are being learned and wise. This week, Dexter receives our star being such a respectful and hardworking learner. Dexter you are so full of enthusiasm and you make wise decisions. You are very lovely to teach!

PE stars this week were: Xander and Jacob for super sequences in gymnastics and co-operative team play.

Music stars : Henry Sl and Jack

Kindness stars: Jack and Eliza

Notices

Family mass this Sunday at church 9:30am

Forest school for all children in Year 4 This coming Friday 10th October, all children will spend half a day in forest school. They need to bring tracksuit trousers, old trainers and most importantly a long-sleeved top on this day. Unfortunately they cannot take part without these.

Parent’s Day is on Friday October 24th - Please could you let me know by the end of this weekend which style of parents meeting you prefer so that I can plan a timetable for the day. Click the link below to the very short online form.

We have a trip to UCLAN on 11th November. This is called ‘Cosmetic Chemistry’ and supports our work in Science on solids, liquids and gases next half term. It is now payable on parent pay.

Forest school children - Don’t forget your change of clothes for Tuesday.

Ukuleles and homework - Thursday

Have a lovely October weekend.

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Year 4 Weekly blog. Friday 26th September. “True wealth is not of the pocket, but of the heart and mind."

What a delightful week in year 4. In our prayer and liturgy this week, we have focused on what real wealth is - following Luke’s gospel about a rich man and a poor man, Lazarus. The children felt that real wealth is love, both receiving it and giving it freely to others. They also mentioned having a family who cared about you and a beautiful world to live in was true wealth. They are so reflective. This was echoed in our RE lesson, when children considered the virtues of faith, hope and love in Abraham’s actions.

In Science this week we have classified plants into two categories and how they both reproduce. Children looked closely at the inside of a flower - at the male and female parts. Then they looked at a non-flowering plant, a fern to see the spores.

Children were excited to meet Charlotte the spider in our novel. Through this, they learned the difference between formal and informal language and wrote letters in both styles. We have been having great fun with different games in spelling too!

In our Kidsafe lesson this week, children learned about how to keep their private places safe. They learned some important rules for this which are outlined in the letter below. Your child may want to talk to you about these rules.

Have a look at some of our lovely learning from the first four weeks in Year 4.

Conversation starters

Geography

What are lines of latitude? How do they affect the climate of an area?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our certificate this week is a Lizzie Ladybird reflective learner. This goes to Heidi. You strive to get the absolute best out of every lesson and you participate fully. you also ask me for advice to improve your work! What a learner!

Our virtues this half term are being learned and wise. This week, Blythe receives our star for being so enthusiastic about all she learns. You are a happy learner who makes wise choices.

PE stars this week were: Vincent for super gymnastics moves and Marla for great control over the ball. Well done!

Notices

You will have received a text if your medical form is outstanding. Please could I ask you to fill it in below. Also I have many asthma letters which need to be returned.

Parent’s Day is on Friday October 24th - a great chance for us to have a good chat about how your child is doing. This year, we have two options - we can meet face to face at school, or you may choose to have an online Teams meeting with me. Please fill in the form below indicating which you would prefer, then we can block out the day appropriately.

We have a trip to UCLAN on 11th November. This is called ‘Cosmetic Chemistry’ and supports our work in Science on solids, liquids and gases next half term. It is now payable on parent pay.

Forest school children - Don’t forget your change of clothes for Tuesday.

Ukuleles and homework - Thursday

Another sunny weekend hopefully. Enjoy!

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Year 4 Weekly blog. Friday 19th September. “Trust the present to God’s love and the future to God’s care.” (St Augustine)

In our RE lesson this week, children have learned about God’s covenant with Abraham. God showed hi the stars and promised his descendants would reflect their great number. We learned about Abraham’s great faith in the Lord, letting Him take care of his future and love him in the present. In worships, we have mirrored this - we had a discussion from our Gospel about worshipping God - not money. How we can be trustworthy and righteous like Abraham.

Three children - Dexter, Danny and Eliza led a lovely worship all about the Baptism of Jesus. We could see the faith from John the Baptist and also Jesus’ Father. Thank you children - it was beautiful.

In Science this week we collected invertebrates from outside to take a closer look! We classified these into different types, such as insects, arachnids, annelids and molluscs. Fascinating stuff. In Geography so far, we are looking closely at the globe and finding out all about lines of latitude and longitude.

In our Kidsafe lesson this week, children learned about safety online - specifically about watching footage appropriate for their age/playing video games that are age appropriate. We discussed why things do have an age rating and what we could do if we see something that upsets us on TV or online. Please discuss this with your child and read the letter below.

Maths has been great this week - we have been revising our knowledge of column addition, regrouping in tens and ones column. Importantly, children learned how to set this out effectively on squared paper. They have a little practice of this for homework.

Conversation starters

Science

Chat to your parents about the invertebrates we found in school. Why not go in the garden and see what you can find!

Kidsafe

What should you do if you see something upsetting online? Why do things have age ratings?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our certificate this week is a Bobby Bee. This goes to Wren. You are SO enthusiastic Wren and always participate fully in lessons. This shows in your work which is always so high quality.

Our virtues this half term are being learned and wise. This week, Vincent receives our star for loving learning so much that you do extra work at home. You are so interested and interesting Vincent!

PE stars this week were: Michael for super gymnastics moves and Bella for great control over the ball. Well done!

Notices

Message from Mrs Gregan

Whenever we start a new school year, we always have to migrate pupils and staff into their new class. This year, the technology that we use to do that has not been as successful for the teachers as it has been for the pupils. As a result, we have lost access to the Parental Consent forms that so many of you filled in prior to Induction Night. These have been deleted as groups have changed. Please can you spend another 5 minutes completing the consent form again this weekend. We are really confident with the information that we gathered before the forms disappeared, we just want to double check and make sure all information gathered is 100% correct. There was still some outstanding forms to be completed too. We are really sorry for the inconvenience and really appreciate you spending a little bit more time to ensure everything is as it should be. 

We have a trip to UCLAN on 11th November. This is called ‘Cosmetic Chemistry’ and supports our work in Science on solids, liquids and gases next half term. It is now payable on parent pay.

Forest school children - Don’t forget your change of clothes for Tuesday.

Have a great weekend everyone

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 12th September "Love each other as Jesus has loved us." He has given nothing less than His life for us (St. Teresa)

The children have settled so well already in Year 4 and we have had a really super week!

The theme of our worships and our RE lesson this week has been self-giving. In the Gospel, children learned about giving of yourself to God’s will and how Jesus came to save us, not condemn us. We have been to church this week for Our Lady’s birthday. Children were so reflective. Also - we have had our first children’s worship this week from these children. They read from Genesis about the call of Abram and we sung ‘Be not afraid,’ reminding us that God is always with us.

In Science, children have learned that all animals are separated into vertebrates and invertebrates. They then learned all about the 5 classes of vertebrates and completed some beautiful work about them. In English we have practised the following reading skills - finding the meaning of unknown words, summarising the main idea of a paragraph and making sensiblepredictions about what we read.

In our Kidsafe lesson this week, children learned about what to do if they get ‘yukky feelings.’ We talked about sharing problems and telling a trusted adult. Children then discussed who their trusted adults are. We practised saying NO assertively if we are in uncomfortable or unsafe situations.

It was so lovely to meet some of you properly for the first time on Wednesday and see some familiar faces! If you missed it, here is the powerpoint from our induction evening. Please ensure you have filled in the online forms so that I can start to put photographs on, know who is picking your child up and also I am informed of medical needs.

Conversation starters

Science

Chat to your parents about animal classes - birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish. What are the characteristics of each class? What does vertebrate mean? What is cold-blooded and warm-blooded?

Kidsafe

What should you do if you get yukky feelings?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our first certificate of the Year is a Cooper Crab for concentration. This goes to Isla. You are always ready to learn promptly Isla and you put 100% focus when listening and when completing your work. Well done.

Our virtues this half term are being learned and wise. This week, Henry O. receives our star for making wise decisions and for striving to be the best learner he an be.

PE stars this week were: Wren for super gymnastics moves and Jude Cl. for great control over the ball. Well done!

Notices

We have a trip to UCLAN on 11th November. This is called ‘Cosmetic Chemistry’ and supports our work in Science on solids, liquids and gases next half term. It is now payable on parent pay.

Here are the forms to be filled in if you have not already done so.

Forest school - Children that are attending forest school sessions have been informed and have letters in bags. These sessions start on Tuesday 16th September. Please ensure they have the right clothing so they can participate.

It is a privilege to teach your children. They have worked so hard and been so kind to each other this week. Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 5th September "Jesus is the loyal friend who walks beside us." (Pope Francis)

What a beautiful first week in year 4 and what a a lovely group of children! WE are going to have a brilliant journey together.

The theme of our worships and our RE lesson this week has been trusting in God and loyalty. Children learned about the call of Abram and how he showed unwavering trust in God’s plan for him. In the Gospel, we learned about the disciples’ loyalty to Jesus and thought about how we can be loyal to Him.

This week we have also examined our school mission statement - “You are precious in my eyes.” Children learned that God wants them to know how much He values them. On reflection, children realised that if everyone is God’s precious handiwork, we should treat each other like precious jewels! We have thought together about our rights and our responsibilities at school to help our class mates learn well, keep safe and be loved.

In Science, children have been learning about the 7 life processes that all living things do and in English we have started our new novel - Charlotte’s Web.

In our Kidsafe lesson this week, children learned about general ways to keep themselves safe - on the road, on a bike, when out and about and when online. We learned about ‘Yukky feelings,’ and discussed what they should do if they have them. Please read the letter below which explains more.

Children have all been given new reading targets and have a school reading book. There is a little informal homework set - most importantly, parents homework! Please be filling in the important online forms below.

Conversation starters

Science

What are the seven life processes?

Let’s Celebrate!.

No certificates this week - we will start next week.

PE stars this week were: Henry S for super gymnastics moves and Isla for super catching skills. Well done!

Notices

PLEASE FILL IN THE FORMS BELOW AT THE EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY

Wednesday 10th September Induction evening for parents

This is a chance for you to meet me properly and find out all about the Year 4 experience. I would love to see you all then - many of you are familiar faces! We are running two sessions 3:45pm - 4:30pm & 4:45pm - 5:30pm. Hope to see you in our Year 4 class.

Walking to church - Monday at 9:00 for Our Lady’s birthday. If anyone would like to walk with us and come to mass, you are most welcome.

Forest school - Children that are attending forest school sessions have been informed and have letters in bags. These sessions start on Tuesday 14th September. Please ensure they have theright clothing so they can participate.

Ukulele letters

Please bring the return slip showing commitment to ukulele if you haven’t already done so.

Thank you for being patient with me at the door at home time. Have a lovely weekend - may we continue to have a bit of sunshine.

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Welcome to Year 4 - Class of 2025!

Welcome to an exciting year - Year 4! We are really looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday and welcoming you. We hope your Summer has been a lovely one. There are so many exciting things about year 4 - you will learn Shakespeare, go on many trips and even learn…. ukulele!

Here is some information to help you get organised and ready for Year 4

You can bring your own pencil case to school but this needs to be small enough to fit in your chair pocket. Please do not bring any equipment in your pencil case - we will provide all pens, pencils, erasers etc. Own equipment can be very distracting for all around!

You will also need a water bottle - this should be small enough to fit in your chair pocket

Outside PE is on Tuesday afternoon - you can come in wearing your PE tracksuit.

Inside PE is on Wednesday afternoon - Please wear PE kit and make sure you have PE shorts. We go barefoot for inside PE so if any veruccas these need to be covered by verucca or grip socks.

Art is on Thursdays - You will need an old t-shirt to act as your Art shirt - you will be painting!

Homework will be sent home on a Friday and should be brought back into school by the following Thursday.

Please remember to label all of your uniform.

We are looking forward to starting our Happy Mind sessions - they were such a sucess last year. Parents, if you have not done so already, there is a link below to the Happy Mind parent app where it has lots of useful tools for helping your little ones with their big feelings and nurturing their happiness.

We look forward to seeing you very soon!

Mrs Lyons and Miss Slater

Year 4 Final blog Friday 18th July "Don't be sad because it's over; smile because it happened." (Dr Seuss)

Cheers everybody! What a joy this year has been from start to finish. Children, from the bottom of my heart thank you for being such delightful, kind, hard-working and bubbly individuals. You know how much I will miss you but you are ready to spread your wings and fly in Year 5! We are also saying goodbye to Miss Bray, who was our ray of sunshine this year and will be missed so much! Thank you for your beautiful heart.

Flute concert this week was a roaring success. I know there were some nerves and trepidation - but children played with confidence and absolutely smashed all the songs!

This week, in English, children have learned another poem from T.S Eliot’s book of Cats and performed it in pairs. Please enjoy their final gift to you - Macavity the Mystery Cat on video below. What a group of superstars they are!

In French this week, we opened our French cafe. Children dined on baguettes, croissants and even croque monsieurs, washing it down with limonade and jus d’orange, whilst of course ordering their food in French. The ambience was special, as were their menus. See pictures below.

Let’s Celebrate!.

This week, the children have voted for the children who have demonstrated every learning behaviour this year. With the same amount of votes were Alice and Liam.

Alice, the class said you are so focused and ready to learn. You consistently show perseverance, courage, co-operation, curiosity, creativity, self-belief and focus.

Liam - the class said you always do the right thing. Again, you are incredibly focused, you participate fully and you are a kind friend. Well done!

The class have also voted for children who demonstrate all virtues. Again the votes were joint - Anna and Phoebe.

Anna- You are a kind friend who always gives your all.

Phoebe - the class recognise how helpful you are to everyone.

I couldn’t agree more with these - well done!

Notice

With the success of ‘My Happy Mind,’ in school, many parents have downloaded the free My Happy Mind app. This is filled with ideas and activities to help support your child’s mental health and happiness. If you have not done so, here is the link to download below:

Thank you all so much for your unwavering support and for the gift of your children. It has been a privilege to play a part in their story.

Have a lovely holiday,

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Flute Lesson Continuation

Now that you have seen your children take part in their flute concert, there is an opportunity for the children to continue the lessons into Year 5. This will take the form of small music group tuition for 30 minutes weekly. Once we have numbers, we will be able to confirm the logisitcs and groupings. Please complete the form by Wednesday if you would like your child to continue; then we can organise with the Music Service. Thank you.

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 11th July "Nature is the source of all true knowledge." (Leonardo Da Vinci)

What a beautiful penultimate week it has been in Year 4! The highlight of this week was our rivers study at Cuerden Valley Park. What an experience they had! Children blew the staff away with their excellent and extensive river knowledge. The children watched the flow of a river on the outside and inside of a meander by racing ducks! They used nets to see what invertebrates they could find and the staff helped them identify them. They panned for crystals and measured the River Lostock’s width and depth demonstrating excellent teamwork skills. Please do watch the video below of their special fieldwork adventure!

This week, in English, children have been learning the poem ‘Macavity,’ by T.S Elliot. They have again worked in teams to learn a verse and teach it to another group, explaining what it means. They have then performed their verses, planning this carefully themselves.

Children did an excellent job on their biscuits this week - I had to stop myself from sampling them all! I especially liked the box designs they made.

In French this week, we learned about French shops and what products they sell. Next week, we will turn our classroom into a French cafe and serve each other some yummy french food!

Conversation starters

Geography

What did you learn from your geography fieldwork river study?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Roger Robin/Sadie Spider certificate goes to Martha for really ensuring you take your learning into your own hands and use learning behaviours such as focus and resilience to grasp the difficult concept of time. You are always encouraging others, which was so apparent on our school trip.

Our virtues for this half term are Compassionate and Loving. This week we have noticed Rosa - you are so helpful Rosa and put in the effort to make classroom life run smoothly. Thank you.

Notices

Book collection - please have good hunt for any school books to bring back to school before Wednesday.

Could all children bring a plastic bag on Monday/Tuesday take their school books home.

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

We break up on Friday at 2:00pm

Enjoy your weekend in the heat, with your little sunshines!

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Rivers Trip Year 4 Tuesday 8th July

Your day will be as follows (approximately):

 09:45am to 10:00am       Arrival at Cuerden Valley Park, Berkeley Drive, off Shady Lane

10:15am to 12:15pm       River Work

12:15pm to 12:45pm      Lunch

12:45pm to 14:15pm      River Work

14:15pm to 14:30pm      Return to Cuerden Valley Park and departure

You will be outdoors in natural environments where the ground may be muddy, wet and uneven.  Please ensure children dress appropriately for the outdoors and bring suitable footwear. (I advise tracksuit bottoms, top and trainers.)

Everyone needs to bring wellies for the river work, to dress for the outdoors, as we do go out even in the rain.

Please also have in your bag a dry change of footwear and clothing (at very least to bring 2 pairs of socks each)

  Toilets are available in the Orchard Barn and you will have access to a room, where you will be able to eat your lunch and store bags whilst we are out in the park. 

Remember to try to pack a zero waste packed lunch and be at school for 8:30am Tuesday morning.

Thanks, Mrs Lyons

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 4th July "Do not aspire to have more, aspire to be more." (Oscar Romero)

It has been a lovely, hope-filled week in Year 4. On Tuesday we went to St Bedes to experience a prayer day, with the theme, ‘Share your Light.’ Children really were beacons of light in the respectful way they conducted themselves, in their beautiful singing (I could listen to it all day!) and in their kindness towards all. They learned all about the saint, Oscar Romero and made a cross representing themselves, they made prayer beads which they used in the school chapel and made a stained glass window with a message about spreading light upon it. They had a good mix with children from other feeder schools of the same age.

This week, children had their move up morning to their new class. Mr Cornwell is delighted to be teaching them next year -and I will be incredibly sad to see them go but also immensely proud of them for all they have achieved this year.

In class, children invented their own character from the Viking cosmos and thought of a magical object that they might own, lose or steal. This will help them with their upcoming Viking myth stories.

In maths, we have built on our understanding of time with 12 and 24 hour clock using digital time. Children may need a little rehearsal of time at home so I have popped it on the homework

We have started our Geography topic all about Rivers this week. Children loved finding out all about the features of a river and how it changes as is flows downhill. We will be learning more next week prior to our River study trip. Please read the detailed information below about what children will need on the day.

In English, children have been inventing their own Viking myth. Look at our beautiful creation of the Viking cosmos below!

Pledge day - Today, we have been reflecting as a school about how to bring hope to a sometimes dark world. Individually, as a class and as a school, children have thought about how they can make a difference in the world - how they can spread positivity, hope and the message of Jesus to others.

Conversation starters

Geography

How is a river formed and where? Have you ever been to a river? Why not visit Lytham estuary with your family, where the Ribble flows into the sea?

My Pledge

What pledge did you make to help bring hope into our world? Can you remember our class pledge?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Bobby Bee/Clara Clownfish certificate goes to Nathan for being a learner who notices EVERYTHING! You are so enthusiastic about every topic - especially thriving in Science and Geography. You are loving learning about rivers.

Our virtues for this half term are Compassionate and Loving. This week we have noticed Myles. You are such a considerate and gentle human being Myles. You always guide others with your complete respect for people around you.

Notices

Sunday 6th July Holy Communion family mass and breakfast in parish centre. You can bring your children into church as normal for 9:15am in their Holy Communion clothes and Mrs Gregan will lead them into the presbytery where I will be waiting for them.

Monday 9th July -Mini Vinnies: Our Mini Vinnies are really eager to raise money for RSPCA. They have decided that they (the Mini Vinnie children) will gather their good condition/new toys, books as well as chocolate bars and sweets to raise money for this cause. On Monday during pick up time they will set up a table, on the artificial grass by the trim trial, where they will be selling raffle tickets to win the prices they have donated. 50p per ticket and all proceeds will go to the charity RSPCA. The prices will be drawn the following week. If you would like to support this fundraiser please bring some change with you during pick up time on Monday 3:25, 50p a ticket of £2 a strip. Thank you!

Tuesday 8th July Please arrive at school for 8:30.Rivers trip to Cuerdale Valley Park. This trip is now payable on parentpay £20. Children will be getting in the river and will need Wellies, outdoor clothing, sunhat and also a complete change of clothing including extra socks.

The trip leaders at Cuerden Valley are encouraging ZERO WASTE and have asked us to try and bring a lunch which has minimal waste.

Some ideas for how to achieve this:

·         Bring lunches in rucksack or other reusable bag instead of plastic or paper bags (bags will be safely left in our classroom whilst we are out on the park).

·         Bring drinks in re-usable drinks containers, rather than throw away bottles.

·         Put sandwiches/biscuits/cakes etc in re-usable sandwich boxes, not wrapped in cling film or foil.

·         Do not pack too much unnecessary food (we have noticed a lot of completely untouched food goes in the bin).

Schools will receive a certificate if they manage to achieve this.

Wednesday 9th July. Children are baking their biscuits. Their recipes are in their bags. #Please bring ingredients

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

We look forward to seeing you at 9:15 for our family mass on Sunday.

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 27th June “History is the discovering of the principles of human nature.”

Another enjoyable week in Year 4! We have learned more about how to relate to others in our Happy Mind lesson this week. We focused on the ‘Stop, understand and Consider’ strategy to help us see things from others’ perspectives.

The highlight of our week was definitely Viking day! Thank you so much for preparing the children so well - they looked amazing! We started the day by recalling our Viking dance and performing it - see video below. Then the children made movies in groups, explaining everything they have learned about Vikings and giving a more balanced view than the stereotypical one in most History books.

We then split in half and some children went to forest school to learn about Vikings through nature! They made natural jewelry, played Viking games, had Viking stories and Miss Lavelle helped them make porridge with foraged cherries from our tree. Thanks to Miss Lavelle, Mrs Tierney and Mrs Molloy for this!

In class, children invented their own character from the Viking cosmos and thought of a magical object that they might own, lose or steal. This will help them with their upcoming Viking myth stories.

In maths, we have continued our money unit - learning about the most effective ways to calculate and find change. Look out for some homework this week on this.

Also this week, the children below took part in a tennis competition. We had great fun and the children played so well. Thanks to all parents that came to support too!

Conversation starters

Science

What is a circuit?

My Happy mind

Think of a tricky situation you have been in. How could you use the Stop, understand and consider strategy and your character strngths to overcome it?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Sadie Spider/Kiki Chameleon certificate goes to Anna for trying so hard in all you do. You allow your creative mind to thrive! You are always so polite and considerate too.

Our virtues for this half term are Compassionate and Loving. This week we have noticed Alana. You are such a lovely friend to others. You always show compassion for others’ needs.

Notices

Tuesday 1st July St Bede’s Prayer day visit. Please arrive at school for 8:45

Sunday 6th July Holy Communion family mass and breakfast in parish centre.

Tuesday 8th July Please arrive at school for 8:30.Rivers trip to Cuerdale Valley Park. This trip is now payable on parentpay £20. Children will be getting in the river and will need Wellies, outdoor clothing, sunhat and also a complete change of clothing including extra socks. Please fill in the lunch form below for both trips - (To St Bedes and The Rivers Trip) The trip leaders at Cuerden Valley are encouraging ZERO WASTE and have asked us to try and bring a lunch which has minimal waste. More details given next week.

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 20th June. "Collaboration is the essence of life."

What an eventful week we have had in year 4! Monday was our sports day - and I am sure you will agree the children just did brilliantly - such team spirit was shown, but also such determination to do their very best and succeed! Teaching this class is such a pleasure because they are like this with everything - they want to give their all!

In maths, the children were filmed on Wednesday to showcase their super skills in Mastering number. This lesson was watched by lots of teachers from other schools who are new to this super approach to maths, so they could learn from us. I was so proud of their sheer joy and again their unwavering enthusiasm!

This week in our English lessons, we have started reading Viking myths and finding out all about the Norse Cosmos. Children have been doing some reading quizzes and practising their comprehension.

Have a look at the pictures of our lovely English displays below - from our last class novel.

Also this week, we have had our Jim Jam Jog and our enrichment - the children had a lovely dance with Mrs Harrison! What a week!

Conversation starters

Science

How do we keep safe with electricity in the home?

My Happy mind

What helps you concentrate and be engaged in things?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Roger Robin/Clara Clownfish goes to Fletcher for being such a brilliant helper to teachers and also for being someone who pays such good attention in everything. Well done!

Our virtues for this half term are Compassionate and Loving. This week we have noticed Martha. You are so thoughtful and kind to everyone and are often seen looking after the little ones.

Notices

Wednesday 25th June Year 4 Viking day. Children can come to school dressed as Vikings/Anglo-Saxons or Viking gods or goddesses. HOWEVER, THEY WILL BE IN FOREST SCHOOL FOR HALF THE DAY, SO NEED A LONG SLEEVED TOP AND TRACKSUIT BOTTOMS IN THEI SCHOOL BAGS TO GET CHANGED INTO.

Tuesday 1st July St Bede’s Prayer day visit.

Sunday 6th July Holy Communion family mass and breakfast in parish centre.

Tuesday 8th July Rivers trip to Cuerdale Valley Park. This trip is now payable on parentpay £20. Children will be getting in the river and will need Wellies, outdoor clothing, sunhat and also a complete change of clothing including extra socks. Please fill in the lunch form below for both trips - (To St Bedes and The Rivers Trip) The trip leaders at Cuerden Valley are encouraging ZERO WASTE and have asked us to try and bring a lunch which has minimal waste. More details given next week.

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 13th June "The door of heaven is the heart of Jesus. The key to the door is prayer and love."

Today, we celebrated mass at St Joseph’s church, together with First Holy Communicants from lots of different local schools. Our theme was the Sacred Heart of Jesus, reminding us Jesus gave His body so we could feel His perfect love. Children joined in with responses, complete with sign language and sang with gusto.

In our Happy mind this week, we talked about what it means to ‘engage’ in learning and how important this is. We had a discussion about being able to give things our total focus and attention and how difficult this can be in the age of screen time.

This week in maths, children have been learning all about symmetry - how many lines of symmetry different shapes have and how we can reflect shapes over a mirror line. We have grown our knowledge of certain quadrilaterals - like kites, trapeziums, parallelograms and rhombuses.

Children enjoyed working in their biscuit teams to make their biscuits with Mrs Mather this week.

This week in our English lessons, we have been focusing on reading questions. We have started our new novel, “Odd and the Frost Giants,’ and made sure we have mastered all year 4 reading skills. We have also been learning all about the Viking cosmos and children have been creating these in groups.

In PE, we have done a lot of running and hurdling this week. Also we have been practising our obstacle race.

Have a look at our beautiful images in the film below from our proud moments at the Grand Theatre in the Tempest - sent by the photographers. What a special event to look back on with fondness forever.

Conversation starters

Maths

How many shapes can you now name? How many symmetrical patterns can you see in nature?

My Happy mind

What helps you concentrate and be engaged in things?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Roger Robin/Clara Clownfish goes to Hugo for being a learner with such interest and curiosity in his learning - especially with shape. You have also been there offering your help to me and to others this week - like an angel!

Our virtues for this half term are Compassionate and Loving. The first person who comes to mind in class when I think of these virtues is you Phoebe. You have a real gift from God in spotting the needs of others and then showing your love to them by helping.

Notices

Monday 16th June Sports Day - 1:30-3:00 Please ensure children are wearing PE kits - no earrings and have water bottles and sun hats if needed.

Thursday 19th June Its our annual Gym Jam Jog. Children can come in wearing their PJ’s. Sponsor forms have gone out so lets get collecting!

Wednesday 25th June Year 4 Viking day. Children can come to school dressed as Vikings/Anglo-Saxons or Viking gods or goddesses. More detail given in Home learning this week.

Tuesday 1st July St Bede’s Prayer day visit.

Sunday 6th July Holy Communion family mass and breakfast in parish centre.

Tuesday 8th July Rivers trip to Cuerdale Valley Park. This trip is now payable on parentpay £20. Children will be getting in the river and will need Wellies, outdoor clothing, sunhat and also a complete change of clothing including extra socks. Please fill in the lunch form below for both trips - (To St Bedes and The Rivers Trip) The trip leaders at Cuerden Valley are encouraging ZERO WASTE and have asked us to try and bring a lunch which has minimal waste. More details given next week.

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 23rd May "Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on Earth but yours." St Teresa of Avila

Two beautiful events on consecutive weekends! Well done to all children who made their First Holy Communion in the last fortnight. You must feel so close to Jesus. This week, in RE lessons, children have looked at ways in which the people of the church continue the work of Jesus and have studied the communion of Saints.

This week in maths, children have been looking at how to scale numbers and how this can help them solve multiplication and division with much larger numbers. We have now moved onto learning about shape - it has been all about different triangles in the last few days.

This week in our English lessons, we have been describing the Fire-Fiend and then finishing our novel. Children have then written stories based on this and also composed limericks about the characters!

On Tuesday afternoon, many Year children represented the school in A striking and Fielding event. They were impeccably behaved as usual and enjoyed practising their techniques.

Our last Science lesson on souns saw us learning about loudness and pitch. We discovered what is actually happening to sound waves in these two different phenomena.

In PE, we have been practising for sports day - and honing our catching, aiming and running skills

Conversation starters

Science

How do you change loudness and pitch on different instruments? What are the soundwaves like?

My Happy mind

What is your favourite happy breathing technique?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Lizzie Ladybird/Bobby Bee goes to Albert for being such an enthusiastic learner who asks for advice in the net steps in his learning. We are loving your growing resilience!

Our virtue star this week is Emilia . You are such an active learner! You want to do your very best and so you put everything into achieving this. You also help others to do well too.

Notices

First Tuesday back - 10th June, children are making biscuits in DT with Mrs Mather. Here is the ingredients list to bring in on Tuesday.

On Friday 13th June, the children will be celebrating a mass with lots of other new Holy Communicants at St Joseph’s parish. They will attend in full school uniform and we will walk there. They will be having a picnic lunch - so please bring a packed lunch on this day.

Thursday 19th June Its our annual Gym Jam Jog. Children can come in wearing their PJ’s. Sponsor forms have gone out this week so lets get collecting!

On Sunday 6th July we are having the last school family mass in church. On this day, we are asking that all our First Holy Communicants come to church dressed in their outfits. They are then invited with you to the parish centre for a Holy Communion breakfast, organised by the parish. Please could you fill in the form below so we can get ideas of numbers?

Upcoming dates

Monday 16th June Sport’s day for Year 3 and 4

Wednesday 25th June Year 4 Viking day. Children can come to school dressed as Vikings or Viking gods or goddesses.

Tuesday 1st July St Bede’s Prayer day visit.

Sunday 6th July Holy Communion family mass and breakfast in parish centre. See form above

Tuesday 8th July Rivers trip to Cuerdale Valley. More info given soon.

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

Have a great holiday everyone

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 16th May "Bring flowers of the fairest, bring blossoms the rarest."

We were so proud of our Year 4 Holy Communicants on Saturday. What a lovely and special event in their lives - and ours too! They were beautiful and so reverent. Round two this Saturday.

We had a lovely worship to our Queen of the May, Mary. We did the rosary together and we made flowers to crown Our Lady.

In Year 4 this week, children have examined how the church is structured. This has enabled them to learn more about Pope Leo. We have talked about the church as a body of Christ’s followers and that being in Holy Communion with Him means we can be Christ’s body on earth.

In our Happy mind session, we learned to relate properly to others by actively listening to them. Children tried listening without one of the key principles of listening - eg not making eye contact, not smiling, getting distracted etc We then talked about what this feels like and children said they felt hurt, ignored, not valued and sad. See pictures below!

This week in maths, children have been looking at how to magnify numbers by altering their place value and make them ten times larger or one tenth times the size (ten times smaller) This led to us making products ten or one hundred times the size when the factor is magnified by 10.

This week in our English lessons, we have learned how to combine setting and character descriptions when describing ‘The Goddess of the Emerald Lake.” We have now met Rasvani the Fire Fiend from the volcano. That will be a very different description indeed!

In History this week, children have looked at maps of the North of England to discover places where Vikings settled. When children found out typical Viking place name endings, they could figure this out..

In PE, we have been learning skills for upcoming rounders games! We have been focsing on aiming, catching and fielding.

Conversation starters

History

Where did Vikings settle in England? How do you know?

My Happy mind

What is ‘Active listening?’ What happens if you do not make eye contact, smile or you get distracted when someone is talking to you?

Let’s Celebrate!.

Our learning certificate this week is another double whammy. A Lizzie Ladybird/Bobby Bee goes to Lettie for really striving to improve in every aspect of learning. Your handwriting is so beautiful and your writing composition is coming along so nicely. You are so enthusiastic about everything!

Our virtue star this week is Joseph. We are so proud of what an active learner you are becoming. You are starting to challenge yourself to do quality writing and you are participating well, sometimes even demonstrating your understanding to others. Well done!

Notices

Holy Communion

Please bring your children dressed to the Presbytery around the side of the church for 9:15am. You can then take your place in church, where the benches will be labelled with your family name. Please do not take photos in the service. You may take them after the mass on the altar or in the gardens.

On Sunday 6th July we are having the last school family mass in church. On this day, we are asking that all our First Holy Communicants come to church dressed in their outfits. They are then invited with you to the parish centre for a Holy Communion breakfast, organised by the parish. Please could you fill in the form below so we can get ideas of numbers?

Upcoming dates

Monday 16th June Sport’s day for Year 3 and 4

Wednesday 25th June Year 4 Viking day. Children can come to school dressed as Vikings or Viking gods or goddesses.

Tuesday 1st July St Bede’s Prayer day visit.

Sunday 6th July Holy Communion family mass and breakfast in parish centre. See form above

Monday 14th July Flute concert for parents in school at 2:15pm. Children will be showing you all they have accomplished in their flute lessons this year.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 9th May "To live well is to love God with all your heart." St Augustine

This week’s worship has centred around listening to Jesus in order to live a good life. Like sheep to a shepherd, following Him and trusting He knows what is best for us. In RE this week, children looked at The Creed - the statement of their faith. They have tried the unconsecrated host and are so ready to take that next step in faith to make their Holy Communion.

Children were full of awe in Science this week. We have started a new topic on sound. Equipped with a ukelele and cymbals, children watched carefully to figure out what causes sound. We learned about soundwaves needing a medium to travel through and this reminded us of our solids, liquids and gases work from earlier in the year.

This week in maths, children have learned how to convert fractions from mixed numbers to improper fractions. This was tricky - but we are developing our fraction sense.

We delve deeper into our novel in English. Children have learned how to write setting descriptions and have looked at how an author can create two settings which really contrast each other by their choice of language.

We had a super History lesson this week. Children looked at recent excavations and sources of evidence which show the Vikings in a better light. They realised we cannot just paint them as vicious warriors - there was more to them than that. THey produced some excellent work, explaining what each piece of evidence proved about this race of people.

They then took this into their PE lesson, adding to their Viking boat dance and showing the Vikings settling peacefully into their villages.

Conversation starters

History and Science

What else can you say about Vikings, now you have looked at new evidence?

What is sound?

My Happy mind

What does this quote mean, “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”

Let’s Celebrate!.

PE stars this week - Louie, Joseph and Rodnie for super teamwork

Gone Green last week - Ellie-Rose, Heath, Louie and Albert

Notices

Holy Communion

Group 1 Saturday 10th May. Group 2 Saturday 17th May

Please bring your children dressed to the Presbytery around the side of the church for 9:15am. You can then take your place in church, where the benches will be labelled with your family name. Please do not take photos in the service. You may take them after the mass on the altar or in the gardens.

On Sunday 6th July we are having the last school family mass in church. On this day, we are asking that all our First Holy Communicants come to church dressed in their outfits. They are then invited with you to the parish centre for a Holy Communion breakfast, organised by the parish. Please could you fill in the form below so we can get ideas of numbers?

Please see below for a Year 5 doughnut sale!

Have a lovely bank holiday weekend,

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray

Year 4 Weekly blog Friday 2nd May "Never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved."

This week’s worship has centred around the story of Peter reconciling with the risen Christ. Children in RE this week have also learned the difference between an apostle and a disciple. They learned that the twelve disciples became apostles when Jesus bestowed on them the same gifts He had from His Father.

Our Holy Communion sessions are going really well. Children have learned about the eucharist. When we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we become His body on earth and are called to be like Him.

We had a lovely trip to the Grand theatre to watch the RSC’s production of ‘The Tempest.’ It was lovely to watch the children recognise their own lines that they spoke on stage and watch them figure out what was happening.

This week in maths, children have learned how to add and subtract fractions larger than one whole. They are now learning how to convert fractions from mixed numbers to improper fractions.

A busy week in English! We have been learning more about the characters in our novel - they are very unusual and inspiring, especially the lead character, a girl named Lila. Children have written their own character descriptions using their year 4 features and have also written a persuasive letter. I am confident they have mastered these now.

In History, this week, children looked at two different accounts about the Vikings - one written by Anglo-Saxon monks, the other from the same year by Vikings themselves. Children learned to question evidence and form their own opinion based on it.

They then took this into their PE lesson with a Viking boat dance - see below

Conversation starters

History

Do you think that all Vikings were vicious raiders with not a shred of mercy?

My Happy mind

If you have a problem or hardship in your life, is there a person you would relate to and share this with? How can sharing problems help you?

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, it is yet another double whammy certificate! This goes to Jackson for being a reflective and enthusiastic learner. Jackson, you always participate in class discussions and you are working so hard! I love how you have listened to my feedback and acted upon it to help you improve your writing. Your enthusiasm for Science is beautiful!

Virtues

This half term are virtues are Curious and Active. This week Lucia gets our star. You use your curiosity all the time in lessons to find out more. You are actively acting on my advice and you actively notice if others need you.

PE stars this week - Myles and Bea for excellent portrayal of Vikings in dance.

Notices

Tuesday 6th May Holy Communion session 3 for children as normal afterwards. Pick up at 4:20. This is the last session before Holy communion itself.

Thursday 8th May VE day commemoration at school. WE are having a picnic outside as a whole school. Children can wear red, white and blue clothing. Jackie will prepare a picnic lunch for school dinners.

Group 1 Saturday 10th May. Group 2 Saturday 17th May

Please bring your children dressed to the Presbytery around the side of the church for 9:15am. You can then take your place in church, where the benches will be labelled with your family name. Please do not take photos in the service. You may take them after the mass on the altar or in the gardens.

On Sunday 6th July we are having the last school family mass in church. On this day, we are asking that all our First Holy Communicants come to church dressed in their outfits. They are then invited with you to the parish centre for a Holy Communion breakfast, organised by the parish. Please could you fill in the form below so we can get ideas of numbers?

Please see below for a Year 5 doughnut sale!

Have a lovely bank holiday weekend,

Mrs Lyons and Miss Bray