Year 4 Weekly blog 25.11.22 " Death shall come on swift wings to any who disturb the resting place of the King!"

Well, we have had Egyptian fever this week, learning about the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Bizarrely, it was exactly 100 years to the day that they discovered it when we learned about it in class. (23rd November 1922) Many children have come in to tell me they are watching documentaries at home and telling me extra facts. We are loving the mystery of the mummy’s curse! Children are avidly reading the Egyptian non-fiction books we have on the shelf and the whole class has gone Ancient Egypt mad! We did think of writing a persuasive letter to Mrs Gregan, to ask her if we could go on a class trip, linking it to our English work on persuasion!

In English, poor Wilbur the pig is still going to be slaughtered at Christmas time. Children have been learning how to write a persuasive letter to convince the farmer to spare his life. They have also written a super newspaper report this week about the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. I know I keep saying this, but my goodness what hard workers Year 4 are! Here are some examples of their amazing work this week!

In maths, children have been learning to order, compare and round 4 digit numbers. We have been busy describing our friends in French and we also learned all about allergies this week, so we can keep our friends safe.

RE was so important this week. Children reflected on how we know we can trust in God. They then learned about Zechariah and Elizabeth. Then they learned about Mary’s visitation by Angel Gabriel and how she too trusted in God.

Let’s Celebrate!
This week’s certificate winners are 3 Lizzie Ladybird learners. Layla, Arthur and Cora, you know what you need to do to improve and you are all being intentional about improving your learning.

Swimming stars this week go to Rafe and Layla for going for it!

Music stars this week, were Elsie and Archie for making super sounds

PE stars were Sophia, Niamh and Isaac for super participation and listening skills.

Notices

For homework, children have their lovely Christmas songs to learn. They have brought home a booklet to practise and there are videos on the homework section to sing along to.

Next Friday 2nd December, we are going to watch Sleeping Beauty at the parish centre with the Year 3 class. The cost of this is £5 and is on parentpay. We will be late back to school, approximately 4:00pm.

On Wednesday 14th December, we will be going to UCLAN in Preston. This is to launch our Science topic beginning in the New Year, about States of Matter. Unfortunately, there is a train strike on the day of the trip. Therefore, we need to get the coach. The trip is being partly subsidised by the school and the cost is £10 payable on parentpay:

Children will need a packed lunch on this day, unless they normally have a school dinner on Friday, in which case Jackie will provide one. If they get travel sick, please let me know and medicate if needed.

Our Christmas performance is in church on Thursday 15th December at 2pm and 7pm.

Have a lovely weekend. Dare I say put the Christmas tree up or is it too early?

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessey and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 18.11.22 " I can be changed by what has happened to me; but I refuse to be reduced by it." (Maya Angelou)

What an inspirational week it has been at school, where we have really learned about the power of Resilience. On Wednesday we were all led in our sponsored event by this amazing athlete, who recently won Gold in the Olympics for wheelchair rugby. Afterwards we were treated to an assembly where Stuart talked to the children about how, despite his injury, he channeled his passion for sport to find one he could thrive in. It was powerful listening to a person who did not let adversity define him and the essence of who he is as a person.

Then on Thursday night we had our Curriculum evening in school where we learned about the power of Resilience again! It was so lovely to see so many families sharing our learning with us and we enjoyed exploring our Jesuit virtues together!

Within class this week, we have worked so hard! Children have been manipulating 4 digit numbers, they have been been news reporters, writing excellent reports about the miracle in the barn and also have started writng persuasive letters linked to our novel. We have explored friendship and kindness this week too, as it is a key theme in this novel and children ranked the characters according to their kindness - giving reasons from the story. Add to that swimming, net and wall games in PE, coding in computing and a lovely French lesson describing personalities - it has been a diverse week!

Let’s Celebrate!
This week’s certificate winners are Sophia and Ola for Tommy Turtle/Roger Robin certificates. Girls you have worked so beautifully together this week. You have helped each other, learned from your mistakes and encouraged each other to have a go. I am extremely proud of you.

Swimming stars this week go to Rose and Ola

Music stars this week, were Rose and Luke

Notices

Please could year 4 collect kitchen rolls for an Art recycling project. They will be making a very exciting Christmas village as part of a whole school project!

On Wednesday 14th December, we will be going to UCLAN in Preston by train for a day on ‘Cosmetic Chemistry.’ This is to launch our Science topic beginning in the New Year, about States of Matter. More details will be given soon.

Have a lovely weekend. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 11.11.22 " In the rising of the sun and in its going down; we remember them.

This morning, we had a beautiful remembrance service in class to remember all those fallen victims of war and conflict, in history and in today’s world. It is always such a poignant, special part of the year.

This week has been a really enjoyable and purposeful one in Year 4. We have been flying in maths with such deep understanding of numbers to 10,000 and the importance of using bar modelling to represent problems - this helps us solve them. In English, we have progressed fat in Charlotte’s Web, whilst learning vital reading skills of inference and grammar skills of writing dialogue and complex sentences. We llaunched into our history topic with great gusto, as we have been learning how the Ancient Egyptian civilisation began around the River Nile. Children have done some super work in partners explaining why the River was such a gift to these people. We have also in RE, learned the meaning of the Our Father prayer and reflected on how we can be like the prophets He chose - perfectly linking to our virtues this half term, ‘Intentional and Prophetic.’ We have also started our computing unit on Coding. Add a bit of swimming and some super PE and you can see what a varied week we have had!

Kidsafe

This week, we have completed our 5th Kidsafe lesson about what to do if your trusted adults are arguing and how this can make us feel. We also recapped the last 4 sessions and children evaluated their understanding of this important learning.

Please click the button below to find out more detail about this lesson.

Let’s Celebrate!
This week’s certificate winners are Michael for a Lizzie Ladybird certificate. Michael, you are becoming such an excellent learner because you listen and try so hard to improve. I love your smiling, proud face!

Also, Rose receives a Sadie Spider certificate. Rose, you are pushing yourself to grasp concepts in maths and you always give your very best effort. You are lovely to teach!

Swimming stars this week go to Luke, Roseanna and Pippa - great swimming!

Music stars this week, were Luke and Layla for focus and effort.

PE stars this week were Liam and Bella for super focus and effort.

Notices

Please could year 4 collect kitchen rolls for an Art recycling project. They will be making a very exciting Christmas village as part of a whoe school project!

On Wednesday 16th November, we will be visited in school by Stuart Robinson. Stuart is a gold medal winning Paralympian, who represented GB in the recent Olympic games in wheel-chair rugby. This has been postponed from last Friday.

The children have all brought a sponsor form home for them to collect as many sponsors as they can before the event next Friday.

On Thursday 16th November it is our whole school curriculum evening at school - beginning at 6pm. Please come along as a family, where your child can show you how we learn at our school and you can find out lots about developing resilience and virtues.

On Friday 17th November it is Pyjama day at school. Your child can come in dressed in their PJ’s and trainers and lets not forget their favourite teddy! Please bring £1 each which we will donate to Brian House a local children’s charity.

Have a lovely weekend. God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 04.11.22 " Intentions are invisible, but they are the truest test of character."

Children came back to school on Monday so full of enthusiasm and have had a super first week back. We enjoyed learning about the true meaning of ‘All Hallows’ Eve on Monday - the eve of All Saints’ day. We then went to church on Tuesday to celebrate this feast. It was lovely to hear the children sing with such vigour and join in so well.

In our geography topic this week, we have learned all about deforestation and how it can harm our planet. Children were so passionate about this subject and they made posters in class all about it. Isaac told us that on the ‘Ecosia’ website, they will replant a tree every time you enter a question in the search bar. They are on over 161 million. We looked at other ways humans can help.

Our virtues this half term are ‘Intentional and Prophetic.’ We will learn about this further next week but children have certainly been intentional this week in doing their very best! Their effort has been astounding. Today, all teachers came into Year 4 to watch our maths mastery lesson. We are really understanding and manipulating our 4 digit numbers in depth and children are getting so good at explaining their reasoning.

Kidsafe

This week, we have completed our 4th Kidsafe lesson about keeping our private areas safe. Your children may wish to discuss this further with you.

Please click the button below to find out more detail about this lesson.

Let’s Celebrate!
This week’s certificate winners are Millie for a Kiki Chameleon certificate. Millie you always put lots of thought and creativity into what you do. You are working so hard in year 4.

Also, Roseanna receives a Bobby Bee certificate. Roseanna, I am so pleased with your effort level and your participation in class. You are listening and thinking all the time.

Swimming stars this week go to Faye, Michael and Ella for improvement.

Music stars this week, were Gabriella and Sophia for focus and effort.

Notices

On Friday 11th November, we will be visited in school by Stuart Robinson. Stuart is a gold medal winning Paralympian, who represented GB in the recent Olympic games in wheel-chair rugby.

Stuart’s visit is part of an event for Sports for Schools. This is an opportunity for the children to take part in a sporting event organised by Stuart, and to then hear about his story as part of an assembly. He will be with us all afternoon. This event is also an opportunity to raise money for our school - for PE, Sport and Active Learning.

The children have all brought a sponsor form home for them to collect as many sponsors as they can before the event next Friday.

Have a lovely weekend all of you,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 20.10.22 "Autumn is the time to find contentment at home by paying attention to the things we already have."

We have had a busy but reflective week n Year 4. On Monday we all went to church to celebrate the Harvest. Thank you all so much for your kind donations! The children were so still and so responsible in church - real role models to the younger children. It was a treat to hear and see our choir on the altar too. We had our Online Safety day on Tuesday. Children reflected on how to keep themselves safe online. We explored what we can share and what we should not share online and also remembered the most important rule - if anything gives you yukky feelings, tell a trusted adult. Children learned the slogans, ‘Take care, when you share, if in doubt, speak out,’ and ‘Report, but don’t delete, reply or meet,’

We have started our learning all about four digit numbers now and children are excited to be reaching higher numbers! We have also learned all about the skill of making a point and backing it up with evidence from the text, in our Charlotte’s Web novel. We have learned about trade, agriculture, exporting and importing food in our geography topic this week. A week crammed full of fascinating things!

As a class, year 4 have grown so much this half term in their ability to listen intently and focus - something to be really proud and thankful for. It is lovely to see them learning to stop and think before they act more often, now thy are getting more mature and I am sure after a good half term rest, they will continue to grow and thrive.

Let’s Celebrate!
This week’s certificate winners are Archie and Erin. We have given you Bobby Bee certificates because both of you always listen intently and participate fully in lessons. It shows in the quality of your work when you have remembered everything taught - like little sponges!!

Swimming stars this week go to Isaac and Dominic for super front crawl with breathing technique and Faye for trying so hard.

Music stars this week, were Arthur and Esther.

PE stars were Sophia and Luke.

Notices

Parent’s online meetings are tomorrow.

On the first Monday back, the following children will begin sports club at 8:am at school:

Riley Archie Ben B Esther Gabriella

Isaac Rex Layla Faye

Michael Dominic Arthur Niamh

Jacob Theo Benjamin Millie

Swimming will continue on the first Thursday back after half-term. Please can we ensure they are all wrapped up now the weather is colder.

Children have a little homework to keep them ticking over - especially those 2x tables for a timed test first week back! I’m sure they will be raring to go!

Have a lovely half term break - children have worked so hard and definitely need some rest and relaxation!

Thank you all so much for your continued support and I look forward to speaking to you tomorrow about your child.

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 14.10.22 "A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it; it just blooms!"

I am so proud of our class team with their performance in the class assembly this week! Every single child worked together and improved on each practice. This class really does take initiative and they are full of creativity! I am sure you will agree they delivered their assembly with such energy and surprised themselves with their confidence! The class are learning to celebrate and appreciate each other’s differences and concentrate on helping themselves ‘bloom’ rather than competing with others!

This week, we have delved deeper into our class novel ‘Charlotte’s Web.’ Through this we are learning vital reading skills which help our comprehension. This week children have learned what to do if they do not know the meaning of a word they read - we can try to figure it out from the context, we can look ti up or ask an adult! Children need to understand 95% of the words they read, in order to understand. We have also learned how to use our reading brain to keep track of what is happening in a story and how to summarise - or pick out the main idea of each paragraph we read. This is useful to practice at home sometimes, during reading.

This week, we have learned the stories of Joseph and of Moses from the Old Testament. Children have written newspaper reports to tell the audience all about the ten plagues of Egypt. We have also written an explanatory text about the Life Cycle of a Plant. All in all, children have worked their socks off!

Notices

On Monday 17th October, it will be our Harvest festival celebration in church. Thanks so much for all the biscuits - they are making a very tempting display in class at the moment! If anyone would like to join us and help us walk to church, we will be setting off from school at 9:05. This will be much appreciated.

Please also begin to sign up for our parents meetings on Friday 21st October, where I look forward to discussing all your child’s achievements so far.

Multi-sports Club

After the holidays, Mr Nay will be running a sports club on Monday mornings 8am-8:45am for Year 4. If your chid would like to attend, please fill in the form below by next Tuesday.

Let’s Celebrate!

Learning certificates this week:

The whole class received a Lizzie Ladybird certificate for improving their assembly each time they practised it, leading to such a great delivery! Also Year 4, you are really improving in your understanding and care of each other and in helping each other learn. I am very proud of you!

Pippa received a Kiki Chameleon certificate for being a great Kiki chameleon and really using her own original ideas in our class assembly. You are so good in class too at listening and using your own creative thoughts.

Isaac received a Kiki Chameleon certificate for using his creativity to help others and producing some super explanatory writing, using lots of the language of explanation in clever ways..

Swimming stars this week were Ben B, Erin and Rafe

Music stars were Bella and Dominic

French stars were Rex for excellent listening and effort and Ben B for so much written work!

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Important message: Year 4 guidance about Nuts.

Dear Year 4 parents,

Currently we have a "Medical Care Plan" under review in Year 4.

We are seeking your co-operation in our duty to keep all children safe.

We are asking you to check snacks/ packed lunches and avoid sending in products containing nuts.

I know this is limited guidance and we’re sorry that we cannot currently be more specific.

Please support us with this measure at this time - every child is so precious.

Year 4 Weekly blog 7.10.22 "Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better!"

My goodness, this week we have looked deep into nature! We have been busy learning about the functions of each part of a plant. We learned about the function of the stem through an experiment with carnations and food colouring. We also dissected a lily to look at its male and female parts so that we could understand the tricky processes of Pollination and Fertilisation. Now it is time to bring our English and Science skills together to write the explanatory text of ‘The Life Cycle of a Plant.”

In English also this week, we have started our new class novel, ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ and already children are theorising about what might happen next! They know the farmer faces a dilemma - whether or not to kill the runt of the litter and a great debate was held in class!

Today we have started our exciting journey into Shakespeare! We have had a workshop in Year 4 from a Broadsides Playwright, who helped the children learn about writing plays. As January 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first works going to print, the Royal Shakespeare company are launching a year of playmaking and playwriting. There is a competition called ‘37 plays’ which we will be taking part in. Year 4 will be also writing our own playscript, which will have a mixture of Shakespeare text and children’s own writing! We will then perform this playscript on the Grand theatre stage in March!

WE have been busy learning column subtraction this week in Year 4. We have also been practising our class assembly - I think you will enjoy it!

This week, we have done our third kidsafe lesson. This week it was about keeping safe during any sort of screen time - be it T.V, mobile or gaming. We gave clear messages about age ratings for films and games and looking after our tender, young minds! Many children talked about things they had seen which they liked watching at the time - but then felt scared when it came to bedtime.

We plan to explore this more on our upcoming E-safety Day. Please read the letter below which explains further.

Notices

On Tuesday October 11th it is our class assembly at school in the hall. We do two performances - one at 9:10am and the other at 9:35am. You are most welcome to come and see your child.

On Wednesday 12th October it is School photographs day. Since this is our PE day, you can choose to send your child in their school jumper and tracksuit bottoms if you prefer their photos to be school uniform.

On Monday 17th October, it will be our Harvest festival celebration in church. This year, we are asking Year 4 to bring in packets of biscuits to give to local food banks. Please could you start sending these in - by Friday 14th October.

Just a reminder also, that any earrings worn for school must be simple silver or gold studs.

Please also begin to sign up for our parents meetings on Friday 21st October.

Let’s Celebrate!

Learning certificates this week:

Elsie received a Sadie Spider certificate for being such a hard worker and also helping others. You listen to every word Elsie and you are a super learner.

Ella received a Tommy Turtle certificate for being a learner who always gives things her best go and learns from mistakes. You did some super writing this week Ella.

Swimming stars this week were Arthur for improving your stamina and Gabriella for being a brilliant listener when improving your strokes.

Music stars were Ben B and Erin

Have a lovely weekend, we look forward to welcoming you to our class assembly on Tuesday!

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 30.9.22 "The creation of a thousand forests can begin with one acorn.""

What a hardworking bunch of children we have had this week. From learning column subtraction, to explaining in writing all about seed dispersal each day, their effort has been phenomenal! Their use of language in their writing has been superb.

In other news, we have now moved onto learning about the process of Germination in Science and next week, will find out all about the life cycle of a flowering plant. In Geography this week, we learned about extreme environments - ask your children all about deserts!

In the clarinet lesson, children spent the whole time learning how to put it together. It can be tricky as they are a fragile and expensive bit of kit.

This week, we have done our second kidsafe lesson. This week it was all about the nature of bullying. We learned the acronym STOP Several Times on Purpose. We thought about how bullying can make us feel and what to do about it.

Notices

On Tuesday October 11th it is our class assembly at school in the hall. (Children’s homework is based on this, this week.) We do two performances - one at 9:10am and the other at 9:35am. You are most welcome to come and see your child.

You will receive a consent letter about clarinets tonight, which we would like you and your child to read and fill in. If you bring it back on Monday, your child will be able to take their clarinet home after the lesson.

On Monday 17th October, it will be our Harvest festival celebration in church. This year, we are asking Year 4 to bring in packets of biscuits to give to local food banks. Please could you start sending these in - by Friday 14th October.

Let’s Celebrate!

Learning certificates this week:

Benjamin received a Bobby Bee certificate for always contributing so enthusiastically in all lessons and being such an excellent listener.

Faye received a Cooper Crab certificate for giving her full concentration in lessons and managing any distractions around her.

Swimming stars this week were Sophia and Ella for lovely strokes and full effort.

PE stars were Isaac and Cora

Keep warm everyone and have a lovely Autumnal weekend.

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 23.9.22 "We can do small things with great love." (Mother Teresa)

It has been a very busy week in year 4—even though it was shorter. Children have been working their socks off to understand column addition and apply this strategy to solve problems. They have been really proud of themselves—especially their level of focus, which is really improving.

We had our first French lesson this week, delivered by Mademoiselle Lyons! We are starting to learn about how adjectives change in French if the noun is male or female. We looked at the Louvre and focused on these adjectives: heureux/se ou serieux/se when describing faces and portraits. We looked at the mystery of the Mona Lisa—is she happy? Or Serious?

In geography, we have really enjoyed learning about different climate zones in the world—and then onto different biomes. Children researched their own biome, practising their searching skills on computers too, to look for specific information. In English, we have been looking at explanation texts and really examining their structure, ready to start writing on Monday.

We had a visitor to our class council this week  - Mrs Hotchkiss! We are together coming up with some golden rules for our break and lunchtimes to help us be happy and safe.

Also, this week, we started our Kidsafe programme  - A Series of lessons which teach children about keeping themselves safe.

This week, we focused on trust and completed a trust building exercise. We also thought about Yukky Feelings— feeling sad, scared and/or worried. Please read the letter below, explaining this approach and the first lesson in more detail.

Notices

On Wednesday it was our induction evening in Year 4. Thanks so much to all those who could make it—it was lovely to put faces to names and have a chat! Also it is so nice to see the familiar faces of parents whose children I have taught before.

If you could not make it, here is a copy of the slides shown that evening. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need to discuss anything or you have a concern, however small..

Here are a few images of us in action so far this year!

Let’s Celebrate!

Learning certificates this week:

Rafe, and Liam received Bobby Bee/Roger Robin certificates. Boys you always contribute so much to the class. You listen intently, you help out. You try your best in all things. You push yourselves to do well. You remain calm when you could react. Brilliant Bobby Bees and Respectful Roger Robins!

Swimming stars this week were Michael and Elsie for super improvements

PE stars were Michael and Bella

You are all trying so hard in year 4!

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 16.9.22 ' Be like a dandelion. Whenever they fall apart, they start again. Have hope.'

We are really coming together as a lovely Year 4 family, looking after each other and helping each other to learn well. It has been a really good week! We have dived straight into our maths and have started completing column addition sums which children are already very good at! We have loved our Science this week and children are fascinated with the dispersal of seeds. We have started to learn in English about lots of different text types and their purposes. Today, we have been reading Explanation texts ready for children to begin writing one next week. Children wrote some beautiful imaginative recounts this week as though they were seeds dispersing away from their mother plant.

Children had their first toot of a clarinet this week! I have to be honest - it is not, as yet a pleasant sound we are making! However, children loved having their first go. We may send them home on Monday, but at the moment, Mrs Maddocks is making sure children know exactly how to assemble them and how to look after the reeds which are easily broken.

In other news, we started our new geography topic about plants of the world and began by revising our world knowledge of continents, equator and countries. We had a lovely swim - lots more swimming done this week.

WE also learned how to find bible references in our bibles and learned some factual knowledge about the Bible as this is our theme in RE.

I have left these important forms to complete online. Please complete by Monday, if not done already.

Please fill in these forms as soon as possible so that we can ensure your child is safe and able to learn well.

Notices

Just a reminder that homework goes out on a Friday and needs to be handed in every Thursday so that I can get it marked on time.

Monday - Clarinets - hopefully children will be bringing these home this Monday. Please ensure they keep them safe, complete their practice and bring them in to school every Monday.

Wednesday - PE Outside

Thursday Swimming each week 8:30 - St Patrick’s Road gate.

Friday - This is our celebration day. If children have received any certificates that week, or trophies or any other achievement, they can bring it into school to celebrate with the class.

Wednesday 21st September is our Year 4 induction evening. You are cordially invited to come to the Year 4 class and meet the team face to face. We will talk about our Year 4 learning journey and give you any information you need. It would be lovely to welcome you on this evening.

Let’s Celebrate!

I love how we are all coming together nicely as a class and growing in love and respect for one another.

Learning certificates this week:

Jacob got a Tommy Turtle certificate for being a learner that always has a go and tries his best. You were so brave at swimming too!

Esther received a Kiki Chameleon certificate, for putting so much care and thought into all she does. What a super learner!

Niamh received a Cooper Crab certificate for always being ready to learn and having excellent focus!

Well done everyone!

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Year 4 Weekly blog 09.09.22 "And now let's welcome a new year; full of things that have never been."

It has been a really beautiful start to year 4 this week. The children have settled in so quickly and my goodness, what a lovely, enthusiastic and intelligent bunch they are! Let me tell you what we have been up to this week.

We began the week by examining our school mission statement, ‘You are Precious in my eyes.’ We talked about how unique we are. We discussed our differences and talked about how it is ok to be ourselves, like what we like and be who we are! We learned we need to treat everyone as precious.

We then learned about everyone’s rights in class and how, with rights, come responsibilities. If we follow our class responsibilities, everyone benefits and we can create a wonderful, loving learning environment. We discussed consequences of not following our responsibilities and how it would affect others around us. This was a powerful lesson - children are so reflective! We did the story of God’s Creation and decided to do ‘the Creation of Year 4,’ keeping all the things in our ‘world’ that would help it grow and thrive!

We learned through the story of Roger Robin, how to co-operate and we played some super co-operation games- making sure to listen to each others’ ideas and be kind if we disagreed. Ask your child about ‘The Balancing Man!’

We have also begun our exciting Science topic all about plants this week - thinking about why they are so crucial to us. Children have written many questions they would like the answer to.

Swimming went swimmingly! Thanks for being on time - it will continue at the same time each week - 8:30 from St Patrick’s Road gate. Children were super organised - nobody forgot which locker they had put their clothes in this year and nothing was lost. That is a first!

Important forms to complete online.

Please fill in these forms as soon as possible so that we can ensure your child is safe and able to learn well.

If your child would like to join our school choir this year, it takes place on Thursdays from 3:30pm-4:00pm. You can pick your children up from Reception area at this time.

Please submit the form below if you would like them to attend. It begins next Thursday 15th September.

Notices

Just a reminder that homework goes out on a Friday and needs to be handed in every Thursday so that I can get it marked on time.

Monday - Clarinets - hopefully children will be bringing these home this Monday. Please ensure they keep them safe, complete their practice and bring them in to school every Monday.

Wednesday - PE Outside

Thursday Swimming each week 8:30 - St Patrick’s Road gate.

Friday - This is our celebration day. If children have received any certificates that week, or trophies or any other achievement, they can bring it into school to celebrate with the class.

Wednesday 21st September is our Year 4 induction evening. You are cordially invited to come to the Year 4 class and meet the team face to face. We will talk about our Year 4 learning journey and give you any information you need. It would be lovely to welcome you on this evening.

Let’s Celebrate!

I want to celebrate all children this week for a really super first week in Year 4. You should all feel very proud of how well you have come together and co-operated this week.

Learning certificates this week:

Bella and Theo received a double whammy certificate each with Sadie Spider AND Roger Robin. This week you have been learning partners and have worked together sensibly and kindly. You have both just quietly got on with your tasks and have done your very best listening too. Well done!

I know it will most likely be a sombre weekend with the devastating news of our beautiful queen passing. It is hard to take for everyone, children and adults. I hope you all find comfort in each other this weekend.

God bless,

Mrs Lyons, Miss Hennessy and Mrs Mather.

Welcome to Year 4!

Our Year 4 team are so excited to welcome your children back to school on Monday! We are hoping you all had a lovely break and the children are feeling more excited than nervous about coming back. Do not worry - it is always a mix of both emotions on that first day back - even for staff!

Here are some important messages especially regarding swimming.

Swimming

Swimming starts this Thursday 8th September. Children need to be in school for 8:30 at the St Patricks Road gate each Thursday as we have to be on the coach by 8:45. They need a plastic bag which contains a towel, swimming costume and maybe a hairbrush. No shampoo or body wash - there is no time to wash hair as we need to be back on the coach and out, ready for the next school’s lesson.

Boys can wear swimming trunks but no long ‘bermuda style’ shorts please.

Girls need a normal swimming costume - no bikinis or two piece swimsuits. They also need a swimming hat which we would like them to come to school wearing please on swimming mornings.

Goggles - there will be a letter regarding goggles going out on Monday, as we need your permission for your children to wear them. This is completely up to you. Some parents like their children to go without so they learn to swim without them. Other children need them as it affects their eyes - or they have got used to wearing them. Please bring the form back by Tuesday so I can make a list of who is allowed to wear them.

Snacks - Children will have break time when they get back and will need a good snack that day.

Graham, the swimming teacher is coming to class on Wednesday to explain further to the children.

Other notices

School start times:

Marsden (Kenilworth Road entrance) and Harcourt (St Patrick’s Road entrance) at 8:45am

Bamber (Kenilworth Road entrance) and Plessington (St Patrick’s Road entrance) at 8:50am.

Reading: Can children bring their own book from home to read as their reading book in class for the first week. We are currently auditing our school library stock. Also, please could you have another look at home to see if you have any more school reading books and bring them back to school.

PE Days: Wednesday - Outdoor Thursday - Swimming - children can wear tracksuits.

Art: Every Friday, the children will spend some time in the afternoon with Miss Neves getting creative! Please make sure that your child has an Art T- Shirt in school by Friday.

Snacks: Children can bring a snack in each day. (A list of possible snack ideas can be found on the discover page of the school website under ‘Daily things to remember’)

Water: Please bring a labelled water bottle each day.

Homework days: New homework will be handed out each Friday. This will vary from week to week, sometimes including computer based tasks and sometimes things that we would like completing in their homework books. Homework is then handed in on Thursday.

Labelling: Please do ensure that all uniform is clearly labelled. It’s very tricky to get mislaid garments back to their owners if we don’t know who they belong to. Thank you in advance.

Induction: We look forward to seeing you in person on Wednesday 21st September at 6pm for our Induction to Year 4 meeting in class. This is a chance for us to share with you the exciting learning journey your child will take this year.

If you have any questions in the meantime, my email is

a.lyons@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

We look forward to welcoming your child on Monday! Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Hennessy

Year 4 blog. Friday 15th July "Sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful."

It is has been a lovely and varied last full week in our class. On Monday we had a real treat! We were transported to the world of Mary Poppins by our Year 5 and 6 children. It was an excellent performance and children were mesmerised!

We have started and nearly finished our Science topic about light - learning all about what darkness is, about light sources and on Thursday we conducted a shadow study (when the clouds had dissipated!) Next week, the children will make a shadow puppet theatre!

In maths, we have persevered with fractions to the very end! Children now have such great ‘fraction sense!’ The beauty of it is that Mr. Cornwell has been in lessons and can see exactly where to take them next year with it!

In English, we have continued with our story and children have written a description of Gudrun, the evil witch - she is very scary!

In PE on Wednesday we had a VERY competitive whole class rounders game (especially between Mrs Lyons and Mrs Mather!) We have a brilliant class of batters - there were some flyers!

I am sure you will agree, Thursday’s recorder concert was special. The children have worked so hard in these lessons - as in all lessons and it showed. It is exciting that they get to continue these skills on the clarinet next year.

RHE

We had our final Kidsafe lesson of the year, where children recapped all the safety messages from earlier sessions. KS our monkey was lucky to receive hugs or high fives at the end. The children love these sessions and the same messages will be repeated to them each year in school.

The final worship of the year was led by the children above. It was all about love and children reflected on the Crucifixion of Jesus - this great sacrifice. Again, it was so reverent and helped us all think deeply. Well done!

Let’s Celebrate

This week our certificate winners were:

Georgia who received a Bobby Bee certificate for full participation and lots of excitement for her learning.

Harvey, who received a Tommy Turtle certificate for being a brave learner and having a go at things which challenge him. Well done!

Edi, who received a Roger Robin certificate for working cooperatively with everyone and often putting others first.

TT ROCKSTARS GIGS COMPLETED THIS WEEK

FRANEK - well done! Let’s see how many others can achieve this over Summer! Go for it!

Notices

1. Miss Hornby’s mass - Monday at 6:30pm in church, then at the parish centre afterwards. You are all so welcome to celebrate our amazing headteacher.

2. On Wednesday, HARCOURT can come in house colours as they won the housepoint competition this half term.

3. Children will be bringing school books home on Monday now. Please ensure they have a plastic bag.

4. Please have a good search in bedrooms etc for any school reading books so we can return them to our library ready for next year.

5. We break up on Wednesday at 2:00pm

I am bracing myself emotionally to say goodbye to this wonderful class of children next week. We will really miss them in year 4 . They are such a special group of children - hardworking, kind, thoughtful and such good friends. They will thrive in Year 5!

Have a lovely weekend - and please tell your children how utterly proud we are of them!

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Mr Cornwell.

Year 4 blog. Friday 8th July. "Your wings already exist; all you have to do is fly!"

Another busy week in Year 4! This week, we said goodbye to Madame Jefferson, who is retiring. Children made her lots of mini cards to express their gratitude and wish her Bonne chance!

We have done some excellent Shakespeare drama this week - please enjoy the pictures below. The spirit, Ariel even took flight around the field! This play has explored such great themes such as entrapment, duty, revenge, freedom and forgiveness! Children wrote a persuasive letter as either Caliban the monster or Ariel the spirit to beg to be given their liberty! Next week, they will find out the rest of this magical story. We are also loving our chilling novel, ‘The Snow-Walker’s Son’ and it has been lovely to sit back and watch the children show such depth of comprehension with what they read. Also their knowledge of root words (and a bit of latin) is really paying off and they use clue in the word to help them figure it out. Children say things like, ‘Exile must mean something about going out because ‘ex’ is Latin for out,’ and ‘subservient’ must mean serving under because the sub prefix means ‘under.’

Maths has seen us develop great understanding about non-unit fractions in various forms - such as in shapes, of amounts and on numberlines. The IXL homework this week will really help to consolidate this.

In Science, children conducted a fair test to explore, “Which material muffles sound the best?” Now, we have swiftly moved onto our last topic - Light!

In other VERY EXCITING news, all children throughout school have learned about who their teacher will be for year 5 next year. Mr. Cornwell is new to our school and will be the Year 5 teacher next year. He is currently spending time within class getting to know all the children and after his first morning with them, he knew all their names! Well done Mr Cornwell - we welcome you to Our Lady Star of the Sea.

This week, the worship was all about Hope. These children did a marvellous job and it was lovely to hear what other children’s hopes are.

Let’s Celebrate

This week our certificate winners were:

Charlie who received a Clara Clownfish certificate for noticing important things and being able to summarise ideas. Also for having a keen mind that loves to figure things out!

Jay, who received a Sadie Spider certificate for pushing himself to achieve this week. You have given super effort and have persevered if you found something tricky.

TT ROCKSTARS - FRANEK HAS ALSO NOW COMPLETED ALL TT GIGS! Well done!

Notices

1. Please could children bring A PLASTIC bag FOR ALL SCHOOL BOOKS TO BE TAKEN HOME ON FRIDAY

2. Next week, Friday 15th we will be swimming. However children will be completing their water safety skills. They will need to wear their uniforms but bring swimming costume and pyjamas. Obviously fleecy pyjamas are a bad idea.

3. Recorder concert Thursday 14th July. Please complete the form on previous blog to say how many will be in attendance.

4. We break up on Wednesday 20th July at 2:00pm

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Mrs Lyons, Mr Cornwell and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog. Friday 1st July 'Concentration is the magic key which opens the door to accomplishment.''

Well it has been a real week of accomplishment in year 4! We have dived into our work on fractions and children have loved gleaning a depth of understanding of the relationship between the part and the whole. We have loved our English - in our Shakespeare work, we re-created a Tempest and children created a chaotic scene, with calls of “Mercy on us, we slit, we split,’ ‘Keep to your cabins,’ and ‘All lost,’ as they became shipwrecked. We then wrote a descriptive piece using all our year 4 features to create a picture of the storm. Amazing writing! We then met the monster Caliban and learned about the relationship between him and Prospero. More writing then - describing poor Caliban and his island. We are also loving our new novel - The Snow-Walker’s son. It is a more complicated story - but it is lovely to see children using the clues in the text to figure it out!

On Wednesday, we went to church to celebrate the feast day of St Peter and St Paul. Children really did sing their hearts out and joined in beautifully with the mass responses. We have also had two worship groups in class this week.

First, these children shared with us how to live our lives. What a beautiful worship! They used the Beatitudes to give advice on how to do as Jesus asks.

Later in the week, these children helped us reflect on Jesus’s Sacrifice. It is a privilege to watch these worships, created by the children. They are so special and the whole class joins in so reverently.

Here are a few pictures of our drama this week and also we learned the game of Rummy instead of outside PE as the heavens opened!

Let’s Celebrate

This week our certificate winners were:

Iris who received a Bobby Bee certificate for full participation and 100% enthusiasm in every subject. You are a role model Iris.

Owen, who received a Cooper Crab certificate for his excellent focus. As the quote says above, concentration is the magic key!

TT ROCKSTARS GIGS: These children have completed all their gigs which means they know all times tables and can do them in less than 6 seconds consistently!) This deserves a special mention because it is a massive achievement and it requires a lot of hard work and dedication! But it is worth it to be confident for Year 5.

ANGEL, EVAN, DOMINIC, LEO, LEON, NICOLA and OWEN

Notices

1. A CARDBOARD BOX PLEA! We really need at least 10 good size cardboard boxes for our upcoming Science topic about Light. These need to be at least 30cm high. We need them for next week.

2. Next week, Friday 8th and Friday 15th we will be swimming. However children will be completing their water safety skills. They will need to wear their uniforms but bring swimming costume and pyjamas. Obviously fleecy pyjamas are a bad idea.

3. Recorder concert Thursday 14th Jul. Please complete the form on previos blog to say how many will be in attendance.

Please see school calendar for any other upcoming events.

Enjoy this crazy weather with your families come rain or shine!

Mrs Lyons and Mrs Mather

Year 4 recorder concert Thursday 14th July 2:30-3:00pm

Dear parents,

Children have worked so hard on recorder this year and would love to showcase their skills to you in the form of a little concert in the school hall. I know this is short notice.

Please could you fill in the form below to let us know if you will be able to attend, and if so, how many people will be in attendance so we can get an idea of numbers for setting up the hall.

Kind regards,

Mrs Lyons

Year 4 blog Friday 17th June " Happiness is only real, when it is shared.'

These lovely children planned and led a really well-thought out worship to the class this week. It was all about God’s Power and they read the story about Jesus calming the storm.

On to other storms - we have been very excited to begin our unit in English on Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest.’ We have some very dramatic children! They will be given opportunities to link their writing to this over the coming weeks. Watch the video below to see them immersed in the play already!

This week has been our health and happiness week in school. In year 4 we thought about what happiness really is. Children asked questions such as, ‘Can you choose to be happy?’ ‘Are richer people happier,’ and ‘Can you feel happy and sad at the same time?’ We then looked at Jesus’s teaching about happiness, ‘The Beatitudes.’ We realised that Jesus wants us to make others happy and this in turn does bring happiness for all. We witnessed this on Wednesday, when we had our fantastic sports afternoon. The children really supported each other whilst racing, jumping, throwing and many other things. They made each other feel comfortable and happy! Thanks for your wonderful support. You were a fabulous audience and it was lovely to welcome you back into school! You can come back again for our Gym Jam Jog!

We also had a big focus this week on keeping safe when in the car, on a bike and as a pedestrian. Children learned the Green Cross Code and practised many elements of road safety, such as finding safe places to cross, identifying hazards and learning about different crossings.

In other news, we continued our work on Sound in Science and children discovered what causes sound through lots of investigations. We proved that sound is not matter - as some children theorised, but vibrations in the air.

I will include pictures from our exciting golf experience today on next week’s blog.

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are:

Connor-Sean who both received a Bobby Bee certificate for really believing in himself and doing so well with his maths this week. Excellent thinking and great explanations too. Well done!

Stanley who received a Kiki Chameleon certificate for having such super ideas in drama and in all lessons in class. We love your confidence and you read out beautifully to the class this week.

Music stars this week were Tabby, Ruby-Lilly, Angel and Georgia

Notices

1. Monday is our times tables check test. Please keep practising over the weekend.

2. GYM JAM JOG NEXT FRIDAY 24th June. This is our ANNUAL GYM JAM JOG (sadly postponed since 2019!) Below are the details for all joggers, old and new:

   • The children are invited to school in their PYJAMAS plus cuddly friend.

   • We arrive super early!!! The gates will open at 8 O'clock.

   • The children are then invited to run with their friends or their parent (pyjamas not essential). It is important that you count the laps.

   This is a sponsored event. There has been much debate at school council level about what the children want in their playground and they want a castle!!!!

   A place where imaginations can run wild! Needless to say, we need money for the build - we know as a community we can do this!

   Use the sponsor form sent home this weekend to ask family and friends to sponsor you for each lap or to donate on the promise that you will jog your heart out!!!

   We will jog right up until our swimming lesson so children will need a good breakfast before school. They will get a school breakfast when they return from swimming too!

   We can't wait to share another event with the whole school family together!

Have a nice, restful weekend in this baking hot sun.

Mrs Lyons and Mrs Mather

Year 4 blog Friday 10th June "Send her victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us. God Save our Queen!"

We have had a delightful week where her main focus has been on her majesty, the Queen. We have learned all about our Royal family and children have written a biography all bout this wonderful lady. We have also learned all about the Commonwealth and what it is. Children made flags for different commonwealth countries. They also made portraits of the queen. Even maths has been linked in some lessons to the Jubilee this week! We have had flag symmetry, dressing the queen in different combinations of outfits and bar charts showing which monarch has ruled the longest.

On Wednesday, we had our wonderful picnic lunch to celebrate. What a joyful experience as all children in the whole school mixed for the first time in YEARS! All children were give a special coin to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee.

In other news, westarted our new Science topic on Sound. We also finished our novel - Odd and the Frost Giants. Children now have reading fluency partners for the last half term and we are working on our fluency -this involves reading at a quick enough pace to get meaning, being able to decode every word they read and reading with expression, using the punctuation. Please practise this at home too.

In our worship this week, we have learned about how we can use the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We also watched a lovely worship about faith prepared and delivered by these children:

Let’s Celebrate!

This week, our certificate winners are:

Leo and Evan who both received a Sadie Spider certificate for really going for it this week. You both have completed so much work in a focused and independent way. Well done!

Matilda who received a Bobby Bee certificate for havng such glowing enthusiasm for all she does and for cheerfully redoing her computer work when it refused to save!

Music stars this week were Matilda, Ruby-Lilly and Evan.

Notices

1. Year 3 and 4 Sports day will take place next Wednesday 15th June in the afternoon at 1:30pm. We are pleased to say you are all most welcome to attend and cheer your children on! They need to be in PE kits on Wednesday and have sunhats/suncream if needed.

2. GOLF trip. Next Friday, Year 4 have been invited to play golf at Royal Lytham and St Annes golf course. Lunch will be provided by the club.

There is no cost as it is just around the corner - so we will walk. The last event is a certificate presentation at 3:00 so children will be late back to school.

Please pick up children from school at 3:30. If it is later, a text will be sent out.

3. SWIMMING continues now each FRIDAY MORNING. Children need the usual things and to be at school for 8:30am.

Please look at the calendar for other events coming up in June.

Also please help your child practise times tables each day - children are doing so well. We will be taking our times tables assessment on Monday 20th June.

Have a lovely weekend - we will cross our fingers for some sun!

Mrs Lyons, Mrs Mather and Miss Woodrow.