Year 4 blog Friday 4th March. "Books Give a soul to the universe; wings to the mind; flight to the imagination and life to everything."

It has really been a week of using our imagination this week in Year 4! We have written amazing stories about the Dragon Slayer which I am looking forward to you reading on our book afternoon. We have started our Anglo-Saxon topic - finding out what happened when the Romans left and how the Anglo-Saxons managed to take over. Then we created our own Anglo-Saxon community where each child in class is part of an Anglo-Saxon family. They re-enacted a typical Anglo-Saxon day to music and they were immersed in what life would have been like for our early creators of England - or Angle-land!

Then of course we had World Book day! WOW! what an effort we all went to! Children had a lovely time reading to the Year 1 children and making up their own stories with their own characters featuring in them. They enjoyed re-telling this story whilst acting it out. In the afternoon we read and figured out Anglo-Saxon riddles! Very exciting!

Also, using less creative and more analytical skills - children have moved from thinking about life in volcanic areas (and the advatages of this) in Geography, very nicely onto different types of rocks. Children classified rocks according to their properties and then made close observational drawings before naming 6 main types of rock.

We have been gaining a deep understanding of the relationships between our times tables this week - focusing on the 3x and 6x table. Children have been busy constructing the 6x table and noticing patterns. They have also had a test on all their times tables so far. Ask them how they did.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

A Cooper Crab certificate goes to Tabby for giving your best focus to all work and really challenging yourself to get onto all the extension tasks.

A Sadie Spider certificate goes to Leo for trying so hard and being determined with all work you carry out. You are a hard worker and it shows in the quality of your work.

Swimming stars were Millie, Edi, Molly-Ann and Betsy

Notices

IMPORTANT NOTICE: SWIMMING CONTINUES on Mondays - prompt at 8.30am but we are also going on Thursday at the same time too starting next week Thursday 10th March. Please be prompt at 8:30 at St Patrick’s Road gate. This will be their second PE slot - so no PE on Wednesdays and Fridays.

NEW NOTICE - No swimming this Monday due to burst pipe at St Annes YMCA pool Hoping it will be fixed by Thursday.

SCHOOL TRIP NEWS - Tuesday 29th March. We are walking through St Annes square and onto the beach to examine rocks, look at buildings and find fossils! There will be no cost to this trip but we are hoping to have our lunch on the beach, so a packed lunch in a plastic bag will be needed. They will be using the plastic bag to carry their rocks back to school.

Parent meetings begin next week - Please be prompt so we can have our fully alloted time slot.

Friday 11th March at 2:30 is an opportunity to come into school and have a look at your child’s school books in the hall. I look forward to seeing you and I know children are very proud of their books.

DURING LENT - WALK AGAINST HUNGER.

After much thought we have decided that our almsgiving through Lent will focus on CAFOD’s Walk Against Hunger and we will be praying for all those around the world who are in desperate need. The children will be asking you to sponsor them as each class tries to walk at least 200K (125 miles!) over the next five weeks in our lead up to Holy Week in school. You can do this by donating on ParentPay which will be live from today. If every family donates at least £5 in sponsorship we should be able to head towards that magical £1000 for this very worthy cause. In the past a few families have collected Lenten alms with wider family and friends and passed on the donation to our chosen charity so we will put this item on ParentPay showing a range for the amount to be donated but there are no expectations and all donations are gratefully received. Below are some of the items and support which CAFOD is hoping to provide:

• £12 can buy ingredients to make a highly nutritious sesame seed paste so a new mum can help her malnourished child grow big and strong

• £20 can fund expert nutrition and healthcare classes for new mums and dads in rural communities

• £200 can feed ten malnourished children sesame paste for a week, helping them grow big and strong

• £500 can provide an entire community with pepper seeds for planting season

• £600 can help local experts deliver a highly effective door-to-door campaign in rural communities, training people in proper sanitation, hygiene and nutrition

We have decided as a class that collectively we are going to try to walk at least 1500km as a class - all the way to Poland in fact to raise money to fight against poverty and hunger. We will be walking around the playground each day but also round the block twice a week too!

Attention Year four… Art News

Year four, after we finish our Money Containers topic, we are moving on to Textiles and we will be tie dyeing a tshirt. So you will need to bring in a white tshirt, put your name on the label and bring it to school as soon as possible, we start the week after next. It can be a new one or a school or home tshirt that has gone a little grubby, it must not have any designs on it though. The good news is, that after we have finished with it in art, you can wear it to school with your PE kits on PE days to show off your creativity.

Have a lovely weekend and thanks so much again for such a super effort on World Book day!

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog Friday 25th February. "To be grateful is to recognise the love of God in everything."

Well what a busy week we have had in year 4! We have blasted back into our learning like erupting volcanoes!

This half term our Jesuit Virtues are ‘Grateful and Generous.’ We have talked about the importance of seeing the good in each other and being grateful for our friends, our family and our world. In our worship, we have been reflecting on how we can use our bodies to be Christ’s body here on Earth, showing generosity to those around us and ‘Doing small things with great love.’

Class council

In our class council this week, we have started discussing our almsgiving during Lent. The school will be focusing on CAFOD’s ‘Walk Against Hunger.’ We will be trying to walk each day as a class and are planning a reachable target.

We have been gaining a deep understanding of the relationships between our times tables this week - focusing on the 2x 4x and 8x table. Children have been busy constructing the 8x table and noticing patterns such as 4x4 + 4x4 = 8 x 4. In our English lessons we have been writing a story of ‘The Dragon Slayer,’ trying hard to include all our Year 4 features of writing. Here are a few pictures of the children making arrays and being bookworms!

In our Geography lessons, children have shown an excellent understanding of the earth’s structure and how volcanoes erupt. We used sweet treats again to find out about tectonic plate boundaries and how they move in different ways to create earthquakes and volcanoes. We then conduced map work, looking at physical and tectonic maps of the world to find countries, cities, mountains and rivers.

In music, we have started to learn all about Samba! We even performed some with body percussion. Children are getting very good on their recorders and hopefully, some time in the future we will be able to perform for you.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

A Lizzie Ladybird certificate goes to Edi for striving to improve in all he does. You are very responsive when given any advice on how to get better at things and it is really showing in your work.

A Kiki Chameleon certificate goes to Daisy for considering her ideas really carefully and creatively. You always give your best and put thought into what you do.

Music stars this week were Georgia and Leon.

Swimming stars were Tabby, Anncia, Max and Leo

PE stars were Stanley and Dominic for some excellent throwing skills.

Notices

WORLD BOOK DAY: World book day is on Thursday 3rd March and we will be celebrating its 25th anniversary! For this day, we would like to invite the children to dress up as their favourite book characters!

SWIMMING CONTINUES on Mondays - prompt at 8.30am

Also from Thursday 10th March - we will be going swimming twice a week. This will be the same time on a Thursday morning - 8.30am. Then sessions will end at Easter. This will be their second PE slot - so no PE on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Attention Year four… Art News

Year four, after we finish our Money Containers topic, we are moving on to Textiles and we will be tie dyeing a tshirt. So you will need to bring in a white tshirt, put your name on the label and bring it to school as soon as possible, we start the week after next. It can be a new one or a school or home tshirt that has gone a little grubby, it must not have any designs on it though. The good news is, that after we have finished with it in art, you can wear it to school with your PE kits on PE days to show off your creativity.

PARENT APPOINTMENTS - These are now live! Please sign up for an online meeting with me to discuss your child’s progress and targets. Also see if you can make it on Friday 11th March to look at your child’s books. I would love to see you there and meet you properly and they would love you to see how hard they work!

Have a peaceful weekend and lets hope this wind calms down!

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog Friday 11th February. "We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things; because we are curious and this leads us down new paths. (Walt Disney)

We have reached the halfway point of Year 4 and we can honestly say what a joy it is to see the children making such progress and being so interested to learn. Despite their tiredness this week, they have shown what they have learned so well and faced every challenge with a determination which is admirable.

RE

This half term has been all about Jesus as a Teacher. We learned this week about the Parable of the Sower and how Jesus is teaching us about being responsive to the Word of God. We talked about how difficult it is to follow God’s message sometimes, especially when the worries and trials of life can divert us. The children in Year 4 however, often notice the good in each other and ask me to award children points to each other!

Class council

Each class has been tasked with suggesting an item of playground equipment for our outside area. All children today have been voting for their winning class. Here is Year 4’s pitch:

This week in English, we have written a story - a bit each day, focusing on all our skills we have learned so far in writing. These were very entertaining and children strived to make them so - choosing similes carefully and choosing vocabulary to impact on the reader.

In maths, we have continued our Perimeter work and we have been solving lots of problems to apply this. After half term our focus will be on Multiplication and Division.

Tuesday was Online Safety Day. Our focus this time was on SPAM email and we learned about phishing, viruses and identity theft. Children today face such a challenging online world. We are in constant discussion together about how to keep safe. We talked about clicking on attachments and opening email when you do not know who it is from. Children took part in a SPAM email simulation - it was interesting to see if they would reply or report it to teacher! We discussed what the aim of SPAM emails, mAlware and Computer viruses can be and how to keep as safe as possible. The number one rule is ‘Tell a Grown up!”

We have also continued our learning about Volcanoes this week with children completing an explanation text about the process of eruption. We have also looked at our planet’s structure and how this impacts on volcanoes and earthquakes. We made our earth out of different layers and then ATE it!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

A Lizzie Ladybird certificate goes to Charlie for listening to and acting upon every bit of advice give. You always strive to meet the learning objectives of a lesson Charlie and you want to know how you can improve. You are also so kind to others.

A Sadie Spider certificate goes to Rosa for being so perseverant and wanting to do well. Despite having a lot of after school commitments this week, you have absolutely gone for it with your learning and always ask for advice. You are such a hard worker.

Music stars this week were Ruby-Lilly and Daisy.

Swimming stars were Betsy, Owen, Georgia, Iris

Notices

SWIMMING CONTINUES ON THE FIRST MONDAY BACK - prompt at 8.30am

Also from Thursday 10th March, we will be going swimming twice a week. This will be the same time on a Thursday morning - 8.30am. Then sessions will end at Easter.

WORLD BOOK DAY: World book day is on Thursday 3rd March and we will be celebrating its 25th anniversary! For this day, we would like to invite the children to dress up as their favourite book characters!

PARENT APPOINTMENTS - These are now live! Please sign up for an online meeting with me to discuss your child’s progress and targets.

Have a restful half term,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog Friday 4th February. "Follow Me, follow me, leave your friends and family."

Spring is sprung! The snowdrops are out and the children in Year 4 are growing too! In RE this week, we have reflected on the first disciples and what a challenge it must have been to leave everything and follow Jesus. This led us to doing some work about the joys of following Jesus in life but also the great challenges too.

RHE

We have been thinking about how as we grow, similarities and differences arise between us and that is OK. By living and working together and accepting our differences, we create community. Children also reflected on how we can have self confidence in our own qualities because we are loved by God.

In other news! We have been learning many grammar skills this week to enhance our writing skills. We tackled the tricky apostrophe for possession and we also learned all about similes and metaphors. We liked Charlie’s metaphor “A tsunami of girls have just rushed through the door!” Children are spotting homophones everywhere and asking questions about words, such as, “Is that a homophone or a homonym?” We have been busy cementing our skills of persuasion, writing two persuasive letters, one as Brer Fox and one as Brer Rabbit. They are very funny - I look forward to you being able to read them.

We have also been learning about the different features of a volcano in Geography and retrieving all we have learned about states of matter in Science. Children were given statements such as ‘Steam is water is gas form,’ and ‘Water only evaporates when it is boiled,’ true or false. Their depth of knowledge about this topic is fantastic.

In maths we have been getting a full grasp of the concept of Perimeter and how to calculate it. We have also been working out the 4x tables together and practising in class. We have been looking for those all important patterns such as if 3x4=12 then 6x4 must be double this. The 8x table will come next because it is double the 4x table! Thank you for supporting this knowledge and understanding at home with the booklets - children were really confident in their 3x tables this week.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

A Kiki Chameleon certificate goes to Evan for taking such care and consideration in all your work. You try so very hard and always ask for advice on word choices and other things.

A Cooper Crab certificate goes to Aviya for giving 100% focus to everything she does. You manage your distractions and you are a real role model in our class.

Music stars this week were Christian and Anncia

Swimming stars were Millie, Dominic, Lily-Mae and Evan

French stars were Millie and Emilia

Notices

SWIMMING ARRIVAL - prompt at 8.30am

Please could I ask that all children are only dropped off at the gate at St. Patrick’s Road on a Monday morning to save us opening both gates early at 8.30. Thanks. The coach drivers are struggling with the traffic lights at St Thomas’s so we need to set off as near to half past eight as possible!

Enjoy the snowdrops this weekend!

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog Friday 28th January. "Science is magic that works!" (Kurt Vonnegut)

The highlight in our week in Year 4 was of course our trip to UCLAN to find out more about States of Matter in our Cosmetic Chemistry course. The course leaders remarked upon the excellent listening and contributing from the whole class. They are a real credit. We had so much fun - there were a lot of gasps as children watched some spectacular events. They loved to get hands on in the Science lab and many discussed their real love of Science.

We took so many photos of this special day - which we have compiled into a video.

In other news! Swimming was a super success on Monday. Children are making good progress. In English this week, children began by writing another explanation text, linked to their Science, all about the Water Cycle. We are currently learning to recite a Brer Rabbit story off by heart and have been brushing up on many grammar skills such as apostrophes and fronted adverbails. We are also learning how to write similes. This is in preparation for writing our own Brer rabbit stories soon. We have also started our new Geography/Science topic about Volcanoes and Earthquakes. This always fascinates children as they learn about what our planet is made out of!

In maths we have faced some tricky problems to do with length and have begun now work on Perimeter of shapes. It is really important to keep up with all maths work at home, such as IXL so that it reinforces the tricky things we learn in class.

Another thing that has brought great joy this week is that we can now go back to playing with our paired Year 1 class again. Also we managed to have a Key Stage 2 assembly together. We miss gathering together so much and I know that soon you will be invited into school to look at children’s books. It has been such a long time!

Times Tables

In June, all Year 4 children nationally are tested on their times tables knowledge. It is a requirement that they know all times tables facts when they go up to Year 5. They are a vital tool to understanding the upper Key Stage 2 maths curriculum.

With this in mind, I will be setting lots of practice in the form of booklets and also TTRockstars. It is important that this becomes daily practice so that all children have the best chance to master these times tables. I have talked to the children about how they can use facts that they already know to find out ones they dont. We also talked about effort - what you put in is what you will get out of it! They are coming home with their first booklet on the 3x tables this week to use as daily practice.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

A Roger Robin certificate goes to Harvey for learning to take things in your stride and work through setbacks. You are managing your feelings so much better Harvey and I love seeing your joy in that swimming pool!

A Roger Robin certificate goes to Owen for really growing in maturity and becoming a role model in class. You are sensible and try hard to do the right thing. You are such a hard worker.

A Roger Robin certificate goes to Jay for helping friends to make good choices and being a good role model to them. Also for really working on your own resilience and participation.

Music stars this week were Leo and

Swimming stars were Christian, Aviya, Tabby and Charlie. It was VERY hard to pick though!

Notices

SWIMMING ARRIVAL

Please could I ask that all children are only dropped off at the gate at St. Patrick’s Road on a Monday morning to save us opening both gates early at 8.30. Thanks..

WELLIES! On Mondays we need to have our breaktime on the field when we get back from swimming so that we can maintain distance from the other classes. It would be so helpful if children have wellies in school for this, so that they are not getting damp and muddy shoes.

Have a lovely weekend

Kindest regards,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog. Friday 14th January. 'The meaning of life is to find your gifts. The Purpose in life is to give them away.' (Pablo Picasso)

We have had a very inspiring week in Year 4. We began on Monday morning with our very first swimming lesson together. Thank you so much for being so prompt. Children did so well getting changed on their own and showed such bravery - as I know many of them have struggled to get to any swimming lessons due to Covid! It is a favourite lesson of mine because children always make such progress at these lessons.

RHE

This week we have been focusing on the story of Jairus’s daughter and this has led us onto discussing why God put us here - what is our purpose? We have learned that our purpose is to love, to be loved and to make a difference. We have been thanking God for making us unique and giving us so many gifts.

In class council this week, children are putting together ideas for a new item of play equipment outside. We have made a class design which Angel and Matilda will put forward to the school council.

In other news:

We have been learning in maths how to be ‘efficient’ and choose the most effective and quickest way of calculating, depending on the numbers in the calculation. Next week, we will be beginning to learn about Perimeter. We are also going over those important times tables - this week we are doing the 2x and 5x tables. Please enocurage your child to practise these daily so they are second nature.

In English, we have started our topic on Folk Tales and have met the mischievous character of Brer Rabbit! Children are already loving these amusing tales of trickery and cunning! In Science, we have been learning about the states of matter: solids, liquids and gases - through many investigations and children have shared their knowledge by making videos about the 3 states. In computing, we have started our lessons about Animation. I know children did some super animations last year!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

A Tommy Turtle certificate goes to Anncia for being a brave learner and for asking for help when she needs it. You always listen to my advice Anncia and you are making so much progress.

A Sadie Spider certificate goes to Nicola for putting maximum effort into all she does. Nicola you try so hard and you are always ready quickly to get on with your learning.

A Lizzie Ladybird certificate goes to Christian for always listening to advice and enjoying the process of learning so much. You are striving to improve each day Christian and you are such a focused student.

French stars this week were: Evan, Franek and Tabby.

Music stars this week were Nicola and Jay.

Notices

If you received a letter this week regarding extra classes after school, please could you send me an email to let me know if you will be taking up this offer, at the earliest opportunity: a.lyons@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

WELLIES! On Mondays we need to have our breaktime on the field when we get back from swimming so that we can maintain distance from the other classes. It would be so helpful if children have wellies in school for this, so that they are not getting damp and muddy shoes.

Please remember to pay for our school trip on Parentpay if you have not already done so.

Have a lovely weekend

Kindest regards,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog. Friday 7th January. Wishing you all a Happy New Year

What a lovely start to the year! Although I was not back until Thursday, Miss Brisco and Mrs Mather were very impressed with the effort and perseverant attitudes of all children.

On Thursday, we launched our new Science topic - States of Matter by making ice-cream! We used salt to lower the melting point of the ice and measured the temperature before and after. It was very exciting! Mostly we were successful - children churned it by hand by shaking and shaking and shaking!

RHE

We have learned about our new virtues for this half term- ‘Curious and Active.’ We pondered on how love requires actions - not just words. We also discussed how curiosity is the cure for boredom and can lead to a happy, fulfilling life. Deep stuff!

In English this week, we have used all our new Year 4 writing skills to write the fairy tale of ‘The Little Match Girl.’ We have learned the tricky column method for subtraction in our maths lessons this week. Also, in RE our new topic is ‘Jesus, Our Teacher.’ We learned about how Jesus was a Jew and children studied the Jewish faith. They also retold the story of the Presentation of baby Jesus in the temple.

This term is always one of super progress and we cannot wait to see what children can do! They have made a super start.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are as follows:

Max has received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for striving to improve in all he does and for reflecting deeply on his RE

Lily-Mae has received a Bobby Bee certificate for full participation and listening in all lessons and believing in herself to do well!

Notices

Please read the post before this one all about information for swimming lessons which begin this Monday morning. Children will undergo an initial assessment lesson this first week in the pool to place them in a group. We are very aware that not all children can swim as there has been so much disruption to swimming lessons due to Covid so there is no need to be concerned if this is the case.

Please remember to pay for our school trip on Parentpay if you have not already done so.

Have a lovely, cosy weekend with your families.

Kindest regards,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 Information for swimming beginning this Monday 10th January

Today, Graham came from St Annes YMCA to explain all about children’s swimming lessons beginning on Monday. Please read this information carefully so you can be familiar with the procedure.

Children can come to school on Mondays wearing their PE tracksuits. They must be at school on Monday mornings at 8.30am prompt so that they can be registered and on the coach by 8.45am. Girls and any boys with a long fringe must wear swimming hats- we advise that they come to school wearing them please.

Children are not to wear their costumes under their uniform. Please bring a plastic bag containing their swimming costume, a towel and goggles if needed. (there is a letter you need to fill in - given out tomorrow if you wish your child to wear goggles)

They can not bring shampoo as there will not be time to wash hair afterwards but can bring a hairbrush.

Please make sure children do not wear any watches, jewellry or bring any money. Any armbands or floats will be provided at the pool so please do not bring any.

Graham advised that boys can wear normal swimming trunks or shorts - but not the long type bermuda shorts as these are more difficult to swim in. Also girls must not wear bikinis - a one piece swimsuit please.

It is a good idea for children to definitely bring a substantial snack to eat at breaktime as they do expend lots of energy.

Verucca socks must be worn if your child has veruccas. Any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Kind regards and Happy New Year!

Mrs Lyons

Year 4 blog "Christmas isn't a season - its a feeling."

Advent in Year 4 has felt like a real journey this year because of the children’s deep reflection, kind words for each other and a real drive for their learning. This week we have done so much! We learned about other Ancient Civilisations in History on Tuesday and how they were similar in ways, to Ancient Egypt. Then we ended our History topic with a celebration of all the Achievements and inventions of this society.

In maths, we have now mastered the formal method of column addition with 4 digit numbers. Children showed such a sense of pride to grasp this. In English, children have been very busy composing their own stories based on the Pied Piper. My goodness - the progress they have made with writing already! I cannot tell you how proud I am of their work ethic.

In RE we have been learning about the Trinity and how our Catholic believe in who Jesus really is is the true meaning of Christmas.

What a joyous feeling it was on Thursday to celebrate with this beautiful class of children. We had a well-deserved day off school work and the children partied their little socks off! Even though they are all tired, they have remained hard-working and kind to the very end. They have kept me going! Here is a film of the fun we had!

When you have settled down for Christmas, please take some time (whilst munching a mince pie or two) to watch our KS2 Christmas concert. It is beautiful and will well and truly get you in the Christmas spirit. We do long for the days when we can invite you all to watch these performances live again though.

Let’s Celebrate!

These children have met their reading targets this week: Matilda, Rosa, Dominic and Leo.

This week our certificate winners are:

1. Matilda (Kiki Chameleon) For trying so hard and putting so much thought into all she does. Super story this week!

2.Millie (Bobby Bee) for showing such enthusiasm and drive for her learning. Super story too this week!

Notices

• SWIMMING. After the holidays children will be starting going to swimming lessons from Monday 10th January. All children will need to be at school every Monday morning at 8.30. The coach leaves at 8:45 am. Girls will need to wear their swimming hats ready. Children will need a plastic bag with their towel, goggles if wanted and a swimming costume or swimming trunks. No bikinis or long bermuda shorts allowed. If they have a verucca, they will need verucca socks. They can wear their costume under their PE tracksuit - but please make sure then to pack underwear! More details will be given in the New Year - Graham from St Annes YMCA is visiting class on Thursday in the first week to answer questions.

• Linked to our upcoming Science topic of Solids, Liquids and Gases, there will be a ‘Cosmetic Chemistry,’ trip after holidays on Wednesday 26th January to UCLAN, Preston. The cost of the trip will be £11 payable on ParentPay by January 19th

• Children break up on Friday 17th December at 2:00pm

We wish you a happy and healthy Christmas. Thank you for the gift of your beautiful children.

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog. Friday 10th December "Advent is a journey towards Bethlehem. May we let ourselves be drawn by the light of God made man." (Pope Francis)

What a lovely week in Year 4. Our classroom is looking a little more Christmassy as we put our tree up and decorated with tinsel. Children are still working harder than ever! In maths, children have practised many mental strategies for addition and subtraction and they are now selecting the most efficient one to use - reasoning about the numbers in their calculations, which is lovely to see. We have started learning all about fairy tales, using ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin,’ as our model. Children have been practising lots of grammar skills and are now applying these to their own stories which they have created.

This afternoon, children shared their wonderful homework with each other, finding out about Christmas in many different cultures. We also made snowflakes to decorate our class!

In other news, Children have performed in class a medley of recorder songs - some Christmas ones and some others. I have put them in order that they learned them so you can see their progress. Enjoy!

Let’s Celebrate!

These children have met their reading targets this week: Christian, Owen, Rosa and Edi

This week our certificate winners are:

1. Iris (Sadie Spider/Kiki Chameleon) For trying so hard and putting so much thought into all she does

2. Harvey (Tommy Turtle) for being a brave learner and having a go.

3. Emilia (Kiki Chameleon) For using her creativity and listening to advice.

Music stars this week were Dominic and Rosa.

Notices

• Linked to our upcoming Science topic of Solids, Liquids and Gases, there will be a ‘Cosmetic Chemistry,’ trip after holidays on Wednesday 26th January to UCLAN, Preston. The cost of the trip will be £11 payable on ParentPay by January 19th

• Thursday 16th December Christmas dinner and party day. Children can wear party/Christmas clothes and bring in one special snack and their own drink (non-fizzy)

• Children now no longer need a shoebox after Christmas, as the topic has been changed!

• Children break up on Friday 17th December at 2:00pm

Have a lovely weekend everyone. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog. Friday 3rd December "At this Christmas, when Christ comes, will he find a warm heart?" ."

I cannot tell you how hard children are working at the moment - and loving it too! This week we have reflected on the Season of Advent and why the birth of Jesus is so important to us. Children made Advent promises to try hard to improve something about themselves that will make others around them happy and help them grow closer to Jesus this season.

We are loving our new novel, the Butterfly Lion - it has so many clever twists and shifts between narrators, so children really have to think to understand what is happening. They have been practising picking out main events of the story and have also justified their points with three good reasons. They are really improving in their comprehension of texts! They have also written some fantastic persuasive letters, choosing the point of view of Bertie or his father in the story. They are becoming very confident at this genre.

In maths, we are revising key concepts in addition and subtraction and looking at which is the most effective mental strategy to apply to different calculations, now we understand the Additive relationship.

We have also managed to learn all about mummification this week. Mrs Lyons highly enjoyed mummifying one of the children so that she could explain this process - as did the children! They have then written super explanation texts to describe this gruesome process and again, they are really mastering this genre.

Here is a snapshot of our week!

HRSE

This week in Kidsafe we have focused on arguments and although they are part of life, they can give us Yukky Feelings. Please read the letter below which explains this lesson further. This is the final kidsafe lesson for now. A further recap lesson happens later in the year.

Let’s Celebrate!

These chidren have met their reading targets already: Evan and Franek

This week our certificate winners are:

1. Nicola (Lizzie Ladybird) for striving to improve in all work and for trying so hard and

2. Franek (Cooper Crab) for improving his focus to achieve super results.

PE stars this week were Owen and Daisy for some very creative ratty moves!

Music stars this week were Molly-Ann and Leon

Notices

• If possible, could all children bring a Winter hat and/or scarf on Monday to wear in the music lesson? We are putting together a performance for your pleasure and need them for ‘Winter Wonderland.’

• December 10th – a Christmas themed clothes day; a jumper, a t-shirt or simply Christmas colours. Mrs Hodges will organise ParentPay so that each family and members of staff can make a charitable donation.

• Thursday 16th December Christmas dinner and party day. Children can wear party/Christmas clothes and bring in one special snack and their own drink (non-fizzy)

• Children each need a shoe box for an art project in January. They can start bringing them in now.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog. Friday 26th November "An angel in your heart, they say; will give you guidance every day."

There has been a lot of deep thinking in Year 4 this week! In our worship, we have been focusing on how Jesus is king of our hearts and is interested in what our hearts are filled with - hobbies, memories, people, hopes and dreams. In RE lessons we have been reflecting on Angels and finding evidence for their presence in the bible. Children asked so many questions and listened to their friends’ beliefs about angels, using them to refine their own beliefs on this mystery of our faith.

We have an angel to guide our class council each week.

We also practise this prayer in class:

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

To whom God’s love commits me here,

Ever this day (night) be at my side,

To light, to guard, to rule and to guide,

Amen

It is a lovely prayer you could say at night, to bring comfort and foster trust in God’s plan for us.

In other news:

We had a brilliant day on Monday, when children brought in their amazing pyramid creations and all those questions! We looked at evidence to find out who really built the pyramids in Egypt. We found that you cannot always rely on films to tell us the truth in history. Usually artefacts are a super source of evidence and children deduced from what was found, who really did build them.

In maths, we are revising key concepts in addition and subtraction, getting those maths brains flexing ready for some tricky calculations and concepts coming up soon.

On Tuesday, we ended our lovely novel, Charlotte’s Web. We have learned so much about friendship and kindness through this novel, as well as many new reading skills and lots of writing opportunities. We have now started to study our new novel, The Butterfly Lion. Already, children have been so curious, writing many questions and making predictions about this book from reading only the first page!

HRSE

This week in Kidsafe we have focused on Keeping our bodies safe and also discussed keeping secrets. Please read the important letter below outlining what we discussed and what implications it has.

Let’s Celebrate!

These chidren have met their reading targets already: Nicola, Connor-Sean, Millie and Aviya!

This week our certificate winners are:

1. Angel for listening so carefully to teacher feedback and striving to improve in all he does, and

2. Jay for being a very determined young man and trying so hard to do his best.

PE stars this week were Leon and Molly-Ann For super teamwork and focus when practising their sequence.

Music stars this week were Franek and Aviya.

Notices

After great discussion about how to restart our charity work the children have agreed that if every family donates £5 we will be able to raise a large sum to present to Brian House. To do this they have planned two themed Fridays, the first on December 3rd – a Silly Sock or tight with uniform day - make your socks or tights stand out!

The second on December 10th – a Christmas themed clothes day; a jumper, a t-shirt or simply Christmas colours. Mrs Hodges will organise ParentPay so that each family and members of staff can make a charitable donation.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog. Friday 19th November. "Mary's greatness consists in the fact that she wants to magnify God; not herself."(Pope Benedict XV1)

This week, we have delved straight into our new RE topic, Trusting in God.’ Our focus is now on the New Testament. Children wrote some super letters as Zechariah, whose speech was taken away because he questioned the path God wanted for him. We then moved onto Mary and admired her for her obedience to God and deep faith in His plans for her. We love RE lessons in our class because children are so expressive in their feelings towards their faith and said such beautiful things about our Blessed Lady.

RHE

This week in Kidsafe we have focused on Computer and Internet safety and discussed age ratings on films and games. Please read the important letter below outlining what we discussed and what implications it has.

In English this week, children have been outraged that despite being such a loving and terrific pig, Mr Zuckerman still plans to butcher him at Christmastime! We have learned the power of persuasive language this week (so I apologise if your children get even better at persuading you for something they want!) Here they are in action, persuading their friends.

They have written some fantastic persuasive letters to Mr. Zuckerman expressing their feelings about this injustice.

In maths we have finished our block on place value - it is important to keep this ticking over - alongside revision of telling the time too. We are now moving onto addition and subtraction.

History has been so exciting this week and has created such a buzz. We have learned all about Tutankhamun and many children have shared their extra knowledge about this subject. Children worked together to write newspaper reports about this exciting discovery 99 years ago in the valley of the kings!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week our certificate winners are:

1. Alex for full and willing participation in all his tasks and

2. Lily-Mae for asking for advice in her learning, seeking to choose the best words she can in writing and bubbling with excitement about tomb discoveries!

PE stars this week were Molly-Ann and Owen

Music stars this week were Rosa and Iris

Have a lovely weekend everyone. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog: " Church is not something you go to, its a family you belong to."

What a lovely week we have had in year 4! This week we have been reflecting, during our worship, on God’s language of love. Each day we have thought of different ways we can show love for others, such as giving kind gifts and saying encouraging words. We have a whole class of such loving children - they love to be kind and supportive to each other!

We also went to church this week. Since Covid, many of us have stayed away from church to be safe. On Wednesday, we wanted to re-introduce children to church and we prepared a question and answer session for Father Peter! He explained to them why people go to mass and the three main parts - saying sorry, listing to God’s Word and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. Then children had some time to explore and learn about parts of their church. They listened intently to Father and also improvised with lots more questions! Father Peter loved having them and looks forward to seeing them at church. They will have so much knowledge the next time they go!

Other highlights this week involve creating our own design for our Computer coding program we will make next week, ranking the characters in order of kindness in Charlotte’s Web and getting to grips with ordering, comparing and rounding numbers in Place Value maths. History was exciting - children looked at a source of evidence - a wall painting from the tomb of Nebamun, to see if they could interpret what they saw to find out about Ancient Egyptian life. Super little historians! Children have been set some exciting work on Pyramids for homework and have learned the meaning of these words: interpret, evidence, source, tomb, artefact, irrigation, reservoir, provide and crops. Why not ask them what they mean and see if they can remember.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, Evan has received a Bobby Bee certificate for always engaging with every subject and putting his absolute all into lessons. Evan, you are an absolute star. Owen received a Kiki Chameleon certificate for giving everything his best go and putting so much effort, care and thought into all his work. However, both brothers could have had either certificate - you both try so incredibly hard and your enthusiasm is endless. Thank-you!

Music stars this week were: Lily-Mae, Ruby-Lilly and Connor-Sean.

PE stars this week were:

Notices

• Please could children bring in a pair of wellies in a plastic bag, to keep in school. Please put their names in. We can then use our outside area more during the inclement weather.

• Please do not forget that all children need art shirts to keep in their tray as in past years. This can be an old t-shirt or shirt - anything to ensure uniform is kept clean!

RHE

This week in our Kidsafe session, we have thought about Bullying - what is it and how can we stop it. Please read the following letter:

Year 4 blog: " Let your faith be bigger than your fears."

May I begin by saying how much I enjoyed meeting with you all virtually and sharing your child’s learning journey so far. It is such a joy to be able to work in partnership with you to help your child develop academically, emotionally and socially. Thank you.

What a lovely week back! We began the week by learning about ‘All Saint’s Day’ and ‘All Soul’s day.’ We remembered those who have died and children had lots of questions about Saints. Also in RE this week, we have been looking at quotes from the bible such as, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in me.” and reflecting on how we can use these words from the bible to help us in our lives.

In PE, we practised aiming and scoring against our partner in a game called, ‘Are you Ready?’ These children look ready to me!

This week, we spent time retrieving all of the vocabulary we have learned in our Geography topic and in our novel so far. We also examined the issue of Deforestation in the world. Now we have started learning all about Ancient Egypt. We began by thinking about the difference between the hunter-gatherer, like stone age people and the move to civilisation and society. We also examined the meaning of BC and AD and highlighted key events in British history, World history and Ancient Egyptian history. We could then place the Ancient Egyptian civilisation on our timeline. We have learned all about the importance of the River Nile for those first settlers.

In English, we are continuing with our learning of key skills through Charlotte’s Web. Children could use text evidence to infer characters’ feelings and also to justify their own opinions. We have also learned how to write and punctuate dialogue correctly and examined the prefix, ‘ex.’ We had a game of ‘conscience alley,’ where we had to decide whether Wilbur should be told of the plot to butcher him at Christmas time!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, A Sadie Spider certificate went to Matilda who always works so hard and strives to make work high quality. A Bobby Bee certificate went to Ruby-Lilly. We love your enthusiasm for everything. You are such a hard-worker and don’t give up until you get something! A Lizzie Ladybird certificate went to Leo who is striving to improve in every way.

Music stars were Harvey, Charlie and Dominic this week.

PE stars were Iris and Rosa for improving their forward rolls!

Notices

Please could all children have Art shirts for next week to keep in school in their trays.

Children’s reading targets have been set for this half term. Please encourage them to read and quiz often so they have the best chance of meeting it.

RHE

This week, we have started our ‘Kidsafe’ programme which helps children learn how to keep themselves safe. Please read the letter below explaining what we did in our first session.

Year 4 blog week ending 15th October 2021 'Wilbur didn't want food, he wanted love. He wanted a friend-someone who would play with him."

We have all fallen in love with Charlotte’s Web - our novel, this week. What a super text it is for exploring different dilemmas and themes like loneliness, justice and friendship.

HRSE

This week we have been starting to examine the theme of friendship and what truly makes a good friend. Following our work about anger last week, we have also been reflecting on what to do AFTER you have calmed down from a conflicting situation. How do we solve our problems peacefully? Children have been learning to use ‘I statements,’ to explain what bothers them and why, how they feel and what they need. They then have to remember to listen to others’ ‘I statements,’ to understand their feelings too.

We have loved finding out all about trade this week in Geography, through our topic about plants around the world. Children discovered which foods and drinks we import and export by using a climate zone map to locate countries where different foods grow.

In RE we have pulled together our understanding of the Old Testament stories of prophets David, Moses, Joseph and Abraham. Children have looked at what we can learn from them about God and about how we should react to God like them.

In maths we have been very busy grappling with a deeper understanding of 4 digit numbers this week. Here are some photos of the children in action!

Let’s Celebrate!

This week our certificate winners were as follows:

A Kiki Chameleon certificate went to Millie for working so hard and putting considerable thought into all she does.

A Bobby Bee certificate went to Christian for loving his learning - especially his reading and growing so much in self-belief these last few weeks.

Two Sadie Spider certificates were also given to Betsy and Iris who always try so hard and join in with all class learning.

PE stars this week were Leo and Stanley for some excellent tactics in our basketball game and also creative gym balances on equipment.

Music stars this week were Tabby and Owen.

French star was Matilda.

Notices

We break up on Tuesday next week at normal time. HARCOURT house have won the house point competition so can come in their house colours on Tuesday.

I look forward to chatting to you on Thursday next week for Parent meetings. Please be prompt so we can have our allocated time together.

HRSE - the letter below explains what HRSE is in primary school and also gives notice of an exciting new approach to keeping kids safe - KidSafe. These lessons will now begin in Year 4 after the half term. Each Friday a letter will go out explaining what safety aspect has been explored.

Year 4 blog 8.10.21 "The great thing about new friends is that they bring new energy to your soul."

We have had another super week in Year 4. Our three new pupils who joined us in September have been welcomed so completely that Year 4 feels like such a warm class family! The Year 4 children really thrive in their role of looking after the Year 1 children at breaktime. They are such good role models for the little ones!

This week we have dived into our new novel, ‘Charlotte’s Web.’ We use this story as a vehicle to learn vital reading skills such as figuring out the meaning of words from the context and also using dictionaries. Also being able to grasp the main idea of paragraphs they have read. We have been discussing how to read with expression and correct intonation too. Also children explored Mr Arable’s dilemma in the story by writing a short diary entry of his feelings.

In maths this week, the main emphasis has been on rounding numbers and understanding their values. It is lovely to see everyone’s confidence growing when solving things for themselves.

We have moved on from our Science Plants theme to looking at our Geography ‘Plants around the World.’ This week children have really been looking at the way our earth is separated into different Biomes and Climate Zones. They have found out about the characteristics of these different areas and also about Extreme environments on our planet, such as deserts.

RHE

This week, we have been examining the feeling of Anger. We talked about how the feeling is not wrong - everyone feels it. However, it can lead to us behaving wrongly unless we get it under control. We compared Anger to a firework - something lights your fuse, you get a strong feeling in your body, and if not careful you could explode! We looked at strategies for calming down that could work for us - the buckets of water that will soothe the flames! We also looked at what is actually going on in our brain when anger takes over.

Other highlights involved a super invasion game using our basketball skills in PE and finding out all about Moses and the Exodus in RE this week. Children wrote newspaper reports to chart the events. They might want to watch ‘Prince of Egypt,’ this weekend, which tells this story.

Let’s Celebrate!

A big shout out to Owen, Matilda and Angel who have now met their reading targets! Come on Year 4 - you can do it! Only a week and a half left!

This week, two Roger Robin certificates went to Anncia and Aviya. You have worked so co-operatively this week together when working in partners. You both try so hard in everything you do and you are kind to everyone.

PE stars this week go to Max and Georgia for getting really stuck in and looking for spaces to receive a pass.

French stars this week were Evan and Nicola

Music stars this week were Stanley and Matilda

Notices

I look forward to speaking to you all about your child’s progress so far this year on Thursday 21st October. Please be prompt for appointments. If you have not signed up, please could you do so.

Have a lovely weekend with your families. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.

Year 4 blog for week ending Friday 1st October

Our week in Year 4 has been full of fascination for flowers. Even though the weather has been dismal, children have made the most of it with their determined attitudes and thirst for learning this week.

It has been a week for Science, starting on Monday with the dissection of a lily, in order to find out all about pollination and reproduction in plants. We even managed to view the pollen under a microscope! Then it was time to learn all about the tricky processes involved, through re-enacting, answering questions from videos and retrieving all this information until we were secure. Finally, children have blown me away with their excellent explanation texts - all about the life cycle of a flowering plant.

In maths this week, we have moved along to place value. Children have been revising their understanding of numbers to 1000 and the values of each digit in a three digit number. Next week - onwards and upwards to larger numbers!

We were rocking in our recorder lessons this week and learned the next note already. We are starting to sound very tuneful - hopefully at home too! Other highlights include dramatising the story of Joseph and his coat of many colours in RE and climbing the ropes and climbing frame this week in PE.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, A Sadie Spider certificate has gone to Daisy. You always try so hard in everything you do Daisy and you have a drive to do well. Your improvement just in a few weeks is brilliant! A Roger Robin certificate goes to Dominic, for being such a brave boy starting our school and such a friendly one too! A Tommy Turtle certificate goes to Molly-Ann for having such excellent concentration - during reading time, when writing your life cycle and in every subject. Your focus is really paying off and you tackle everything! You should feel very proud.

PE stars this week were: Leon and Harvey for listening well and trying hard.

Music stars this week were: Evan and Millie

French stars this week were: Jay, Lily-Mae and Tabby

Notices:

Please could all children have a coat each day now as the weather seems set to change! Thanks so much for making sure they have the appropriate PE clothes on PE days. It means we could all access the equipment.

Have a lovely October weekend.

Warmest regards,

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow

Year 4 blog. "Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except the ones that sang best.."

Let me begin by saying how very proud I have been of our Holy Communicants on both weeks. I am sure you will agree that they did so well. They were reverent and the whole experience was one of calm and siplicity.

It has been a lovely week in year 4. This week we welcomed our new pupil Dominic, all the way from El Salvador. He has settled in beautifully all thanks to your wonderful children who really are so welcoming and delightful.

RHE

This week we have focused a lot on our 2 key virtues for this half term - being learned and wise. We looked at quotes to help us reflect upon how to have wisdom. Now that we are getting older, it is important that we try to stop and think, before we act, always reflecting on our choices. Some of our favourite quotes were “I have learned that I still have a lot to learn,’ and “Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens.’

As our learning about time in maths has become more difficult, we have had lots of conversations this week about not being worried if we don’t understand things immediately. We discussed how we can keep listening, keep trying and believe that we will understand if we keep engaging with the learning fully.

Children have enjoyed Science this week. We have spent our English lessons applying our science understanding to write explanation texts all about Seed Dispersal. For the first piece of writing of the year, they are superb! Children have loved learning about dispersal and have been running into class with acorns and poppy seed heads they have found outside!

We have also looked at the results of our investigation into what seeds need in order to germinate. Children wanted to investigate further and we are now seeing if plants need light in order to grow healthily by leaving a germinated seed in the dark cupboard.

Also this week, we have been examining what different functions each part of a plant has. Below is our investigation to prove how the stem works! Oh the excitement we have had watching this happen!

Children really impressed me in their second recorder lesson this week. Children are already playing 2 tunes well. We have had some super PE lessons too!

Let’s Celebrate.

Rosa already met her reading target last week! Well done! We have just over 3 weeks to go everyone. Let’s go for it!

This week, our certificate winners go to:

Edi for being a brave learner (Tommy Turtle) who always has a go and tries to engage fully in everything.

Tabby (Lizzie Ladybird) for striving to improve -especially in her writing this week, which got better and better on each attempt.

Rosa (Roger Robin) for being such a supportive and helpful pupil in class. You make wise choices Rosa and try so hard in all you do.

PE stars this week were Nicola and Ruby-Lilly for super focus on apparatus.

French star this week was: Owen

Notices

You can now sign up for Parents day appointments. These will be on a platform called ‘Schoolcloud.’ I look forward to discussing your child’s learning with you.

Please help your child to meet their reading target this half term, by challenging them to read for 20 minutes each night, preferably aloud to you for some of this time.

Have a lovely weekend. The weather is changing and becoming blustery! Enjoy.

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.