It has been another busy and exciting week in our classroom. We have been incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and effort they have shown throughout the week. 

In Literacy, we have continued to explore the wonderful world of poetry, focusing particularly on spine poetry. The children have really enjoyed experimenting with words and discovering how poetry can be created in a fun and imaginative way. 

Throughout the week, we have talked about what makes a poem successful, thinking carefully about the words we choose, how we organise our ideas and the effect our writing can have on the reader. The children have produced some fantastic pieces of poetry and have shown lots of creativity when selecting and arranging their words. 

It has been lovely to see the children becoming more confident in sharing their ideas and understanding that there isn't always one 'right' way to write a poem. We have enjoyed celebrating each other's work and recognising the unique ideas and creativity within our classroom. 

In Mathematics, our focus has been on subtraction. We have been developing our understanding of the different steps involved and practising how to apply these carefully when solving calculations. Some of the children found this a little tricky at first, particularly remembering all of the steps needed to be successful. However, they have shown fantastic perseverance and resilience. We have been reminding ourselves to take our time, work systematically and check our answers carefully. It has been wonderful to see the children supporting one another and growing in confidence as they practise. We will continue to revisit these skills so that the children can become increasingly secure in their subtraction. 

We have had lots of fun in PE this week, where we have been developing our hockey skills. The children have enjoyed learning how to dribble, pass and shoot, while also thinking about how to work effectively as part of a team. We have been encouraging the children to think about controlling the ball, looking up before passing and working together to create opportunities to score. 

Although it is a little bit early, we have been getting creative with our winter-themed artwork for the PTA's Christmas designs. The children have put lots of care and imagination into their designs and we are really excited to see their artwork transformed into special keepsakes. Parents will have the opportunity to choose and purchase from over 30 different keepsake products, providing lots of lovely ways to turn the children's artwork into something special to treasure. 

Important information for next week   

  ·       Spellings: Our weekly spellings have been sent home. Please spend some time practising these with your child in preparation for their spelling test the following week.   

  - Please can all uniform, water bottles and snack pots be labelled. We have had an increase in the amount of lost property with no names. 

  ·  PE: Year 4 PE will take place every Thursday. Please ensure that children come to school wearing their PE kit on this day. This should include black shorts or joggers, a plain white T-shirt and trainers.   

   How can you help at home?   

Literacy- Please can children read as much as possible at home to help build their vocabulary and grammar skills for our story writing lessons. Thank you.  

Maths- We have noticed that children need more practice with their subtraction calculations this week. 

In Mathematics, we have been re-visiting addition and calculating addition vertically. We have continued to practice our times tables and to try and beat our previous score. We are doing a great job! 

In Literacy, we have been learning about similes, nouns and practising our Talk for Writing comprehension skills about Cinderella. 

During our Invasion topic this week, we have been using our literacy knowledge to write our own poems based on ‘The Ruin’. We also had fun building an Anglo-Saxon village with a set criteria to follow on Minecraft. We also explored different elements of art, helping us to build our artistic knowledge to create our own piece of art soon.  

Important information for next week     

·       Spellings: Our weekly spellings have been sent home. Please spend some time practising these with your child in preparation for their spelling test the following week.   

-        Parent Evening is Tuesday and Thursday next week, if you haven’t done already- please book an appointment. 

-        Please can all uniform, water bottles and snack pots be labelled. We have had an increase in the amount of lost property with no names.   

·       PE: Year 4 PE will take place every Thursday. Please ensure that children come to school wearing their PE kit on this day. This should include black shorts or joggers, a plain white T-shirt and trainers.     

 How can you help at home?   

Please can children read as much as possible at home to help build their vocabulary and grammar skills for our story writing lessons. Thank you. We hope you enjoy hearing all about our learning this week.   

Year 4 had a fantastic day on Tuesday at St Fagans. We explored the Celtic village, including the roundhouses, farms, cottages and working mills. We were fascinated by the thatched straw roofs and the tiny stone cottages where families slept on straw beds and cooked over open fires. We can’t wait to use everything we learned to support our topic lessons this term. 

In Mathematics, we have continued to develop our understanding of place value and comparing numbers. We have been learning how to identify which numbers are greater than or less than another number and practising how to use the correct greater than (>) and less than (<) symbols. 

In Literacy, we have been building on our writing skills and focusing on using capital letters and full stops correctly. These important skills will help us as we begin to work towards our own story writing. 

We have also been busy developing our 3D design skills. We have been following tutorials and learning how to use a 3D design programme with increasing confidence. We are looking forward to putting our new skills into practice and creating something that can eventually be made using our 3D printer. 

Our PE lessons have certainly been keeping us active! After completing circuits over the past two weeks, many of us have had a few achy legs! We have been learning about the importance of warming up and cooling down and how this helps to prepare and look after our bodies during exercise. 

During our Jigsaw well-being lessons, we explored the theme ‘Celebrating our Differences’. We discussed how we are all unique and how appearances are not always what they seem. We enjoyed working together as a team and sharing some of the things that make us special. We also had lots of fun playing the ‘Alphabet Game’, where we worked in small groups to use our bodies to create different letters. 

Important information for next week 

• St Fagans Visit: Our visit to St Fagans will take place on Tuesday 22nd September. Please ensure that any outstanding consent forms are returned as soon as possible.  

• Spellings: Our weekly spellings have been sent home. Please spend some time practising these with your child in preparation for their spelling test the following week. 

• PE: Year 4 PE will take place every Thursday. Please ensure that children come to school wearing their PE kit on this day. This should include black shorts or joggers, a plain white T-shirt and trainers. 

How can you help at home? 

We have noticed that some children would benefit from developing greater confidence when recalling their times tables. Short, regular practice can make a big difference and will help children to recall their times tables more quickly and confidently. 

Thank you for your continued support at home. We hope you enjoy hearing all about our learning this week. 

This week, Year 4 have been introduced to our new wellbeing topic which focusses on the story ‘The Magnificent Thing’. Children have discussed the meaning of ‘Resilience’ whilst carrying out many team building activities including building a tower and building a bridge. 

In English, children have started their Cold Task writing a fairy story ready for their literacy topic on Cinderella. In mathematics we have begun revisiting place value. 

2. Important information for next week 

· Our visit to St. Fagans will take place on Tuesday 22nd September. Please ensure that consent forms are returned. 

· Weekly spellings will be sent out alongside learning them in school ready for a test the following week. 

· Year 4 P.E session will be every Thursday please ensure children are wearing their P.E kit to school that day. This includes; black shorts/joggers, plain white T-shirt and trainers. 

3. How you can help at home 

We have noticed that some children need greater confidence recalling their timetables. Please spend a few minutes practising the 2,5 and 10 timetables.