Autumn term
Week Beginning 9.1.23
Welcome back everyone and we hope that you had a fantastic Christmas break. It is lovely to have Lime and Whitebeam classes back for the Spring Term.
We had our first swimming session today, which went really well, and the children seemed to love it - we have some amazing swimmers this year.
In English this half term, we will be writing Greek Myths and non-chronological reports about mythical creatures. We started this week with story maps of Theseus and the Minotaur.
In RE, we will be learning more about Hinduism and in PSHE, our theme is Dreams and Goals.
In Art, we will be drawing Greeks vases for the first few weeks. Here are some of our first attempts:
We will definitely miss Mrs Wells!
Week beginning 05/12/22
Well the fun and anticipation is certainly building for our Year4s! What with the Christmas holidays ever closer, coupled with the World Cup and England playing in the quarter finals, there is a lot of excitement in the air.
However, they have all been working hard as ever and producing some amazing work. In English this week we have been looking at the John Lewis advert - Moz the Monster. The children were describing the characters, planning out the key points of the story and some went on to draw story maps, which helps them retell the story.
During PSHE the children were identifying what is special about themselves. They drew self portraits and wrote what special qualities they felt they had.
For Geography the children continued learning about Fair Trade & its importance. They made wheels which had statements about Fair Trade on. We hear that some children have been looking out for the Fair Trade logo on chocolate bars in supermarkets!
We were very impressed with the World Cup homework this week. There were lots of interesting facts about the countries, lovely flags drawn and information about the teams.
Our Elves on the Shelves continue to be mischievous in the classes but keeping a close eye on children to report back to Santa!
So just one week to go and what a fantastic one it will be. We have Christmas Movie & Munch, Christmas jumper AND Christmas dinner all on the same day Wednesday. We also have our Carol Concerts - two on Thursday and one on the final Friday. Not of course forgetting the White Bridge School disco on the Thursday.
We wish you all a wonderful weekend and thank you as ever for your continued support.
Mrs Curran & Mrs Green
Week beginning 28/11/22
Year 4 have worked so hard this week with all of their assessments and have shown that they are have made great progress in their first term. This week, Lime and Whitebeam classes also handed in their Chocolate posters which are amazing. We didn't think that they could repeat the standard of the Rainforest ones but they did! We have really loved seeing them all and our corridor is looking bright and colourful once again.
The school is looking very Christmassy as are the Year 4 rooms. We have also had some visitors with our two elves (Elvis and Buddy).
Only two more weeks at school - lots more hard work but lots of fun too! Both classes are very close to earning another "Movie and Munch" so one last push to complete those charts of 100 books Whitebeam and Lime - you can do it!
Week beginning 21/11/22
For the past two weeks our Year 4 children have been planning and then writing their own chapter of Roald Dahl's 'Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.' They have had lots of fun designing their own sweets and came up with crazy names such as 'Crackling Candy Floss' (rockets come out of your ears if you eat it) and 'Laughing Lollipops' (you can't stop chuckling when you lick one). There was lots of fantastic describing of the Chocolate Room with its chocolate waterfall and river. They finally wrote their chapters up into best, using their neatest handwriting. These are now displayed on our class writing walls and they can really see the progress they have made since arriving in Year 4.
Mrs Wells has been teaching the children about Piet Mondrian and his style of abstract painting using primary colours and straight lines. As you can see from the photos below they have come up with some amazing, eye catching art.
WB 14.11.22
This week, Lime and Whitebeam classes produced some amazing Artwork with Mrs Wells. This was based on the work of Matisse and entitled "Painting with Scissors" as the children cut up colourful pieces of paper to create their masterpieces.
This week was Anti-bullying week with the message "Reach Out" this year. Year 4 had a class assembly and discussions and also covered this in their PSHE lesson.
On Friday, it was children In Need Day and we all wore non-uniform in exchange for a pound. Year 4 looked amazing and very colourful!
We hope you all have a very enjoyable weekend.
Week beginning 07/11/22
So here we are, finally into November and all the children have been hard at work this week. In English the children have continued with their report writing. They chose a rainforest animal and wrote lots of interesting facts about them under different subheadings.
In Maths they have been learning about the facts of the 3x, 6x & 9x tables. The children have used their investigating powers to solve all sorts of problems related to these tables.
The Art has been seasonally autumnal and they have been drawing and shading beautiful leaves in their sketch books.
All of Year 4 had a chance to show their respect during the minute's silence for Remembrance Day Friday morning.
Both Whitebeam and Lime classes have now won themselves a 'Movie & Munch' reward for the Reading Challenge. There is a good chance they can each win another one before Christmas, if they keep up their regular 4 reads or more at home!
Some reminders for you: next Friday 18th November is Children in Need day and therefore non uniform. Please encourage your children to log onto Ed-Shed regularly as there are many fun & helpful games for spelling, grammar and maths.
We wish you all a wonderful weekend.
Week beginning 31.10.22
We hope that you all had an enjoyable half-term holiday and a very good rest.
We were right back into the swing of things from the start and have had a busy week.
In Maths, we have looked at area and the children have grasped this really well.
In Computing, we continued with our programming using Scratch.
This term, in R.E., we will be looking at the Christmas story and in Music, Rock and Roll!
From Monday and up until Christmas, Year 4 will have P.E. on Mondays and Tuesdays and so should wear their kits on both days.
In English we have been looking at the features of report writing. The children then went onto write their own reports about sloths. They have been using headings & sub-headings and did really well organising their facts under the right heading.
For Geography we are still continuing out topic theme around the rainforest. Now the children are learning about where chocolate comes from, where cacao trees grow and how the cocoa pods eventually become chocolate.
Our subject this half term for French is the weather and they are learning eg how to say it is hot or it is cold in French - Il fait chaud - Il fait froid.
During art this week, the children created some beautiful poppies on card. This is to begin our commemoration of Remembrance Day. As you can see from the photos, how vibrant and eye catching they are.
In Art with Mrs Wells, the children drew some amazing Poppy pictures for Remembrance Day.
Week Beginning 17/10/22
A very big well done to all our Year 4 children for settling in so well to their first half of Autumn Term in Year 4. They have really enjoyed the Rainforest topic and as you saw from your visits to Parents' Evenings how wonderful their posters looked on display. We've been so pleased to hear how much they enjoyed the visit to London Zoo.
Recently, in English the children have been learning the features of diary writing. They planned and then wrote a diary account of a day in the rainforest. They did well using first person, past tense and time conjunctions. You might find some of them start keeping a diary at home now!
We celebrated Black History by allowing the children to first research facts on various famous Black people in history and then writing up into fact files or posters.
In R.E., we continued to look at Sikh celebrations and in Geography, we discussed how the Rainforest is being threatened by deforestation.
We hope you all have a wonderful half term and we look forward to another exciting 7 weeks of Autumn Term and the count down to Christmas!
Week beginning 10/10/22
Both Lime & Whitebeam classes had a fabulous day at London Zoo today. First there was the excitement of boarding a coach (for many their first time) to make the journey and then lots of sight seeing along the way. A few boos when we passed the Tottenham Stadium! : )
When we arrived at the Zoo, we headed straight for the Rainforest section where the children were able to see some of the rainforest animals and their habitats. Everyone was able to enjoy their pack lunches outside as the weather stayed crisp and Autumnal. Other highlights of the day were seeing the penguins, lions & gorillas as well as the sloths.
The final stop was of course the Zoo shop where the children were overwhelmed by the endless choices of what to buy! Our tired but happy children then made their way to the awaiting coaches for the journey home.
Week Beginning 3.10.22
This week, Year 4 returned their Rain Forest projects and we were so impressed. The children had obviously spent a great deal of time on them and, we hope, enjoyed creating them. The posters are also used to help one another learn even more about the Rain Forest with the children reading one another's posters. A huge thank you to the children and of course to the parents for their support. The year 4 corridor looks amazing and you will be able to admire everyone's work at Parents' Evening. Many members of staff have commented on the standard of the work this year.
As well as this, we are, of course, very excited about our Zoo Trip next week!
Week Beginning 26.9.22
In Maths this week, we continued with our work on place value but we move onto adding next week.
In ICT, we began some simple coding using the Scratch Program and in R.E., we continued learning about Sikhism and the Amrit ceremony.
Both classes are really enjoying Science. This week we had fantastic discussions about different groups of animals and then had a go at sorting lots of animals into groups. I think everyone is pretty excited about the Zoo Trip and seeing the real thing. We definitely have some future Zoologists!
This week the children have continued with their 'Growth Mind Set' lessons, where they develop skills for coping, getting on and breaking negative feelings about how they are doing. Below are some examples of their work where the children start off with a negative fixed mindset such as: "I will never get this," or "I'll never be as smart." Then they think of something positive that gives them a growth mindset such as "I'll keep trying," or "This may take some time and effort." These lessons really help the children feel more positive and break those patterns of giving up on themselves.
Week Beginning 19/9/22
This week we have been continuing with our work on the Rain Forest, in Art, English and Geography.
We added some fantastic drawings to our Rain Forest display.
On Friday, we supported Jeans for Genes Day and hopefully helped to raise lots of money for a very good cause.
Following on from their research work on our late Queen Elizabeth during ICT last week, the children were able to put their facts to good use. The children either made posters in their history books depicting facts and pictures about the Queen's life or they worked in groups and made large posters with their facts written out neatly on pieces of paper. Below you can see examples of their poster work.
Week Beginning 12.9.22
The Year 4 children have been researching the Queen's life this week. They went to the ICT suit where they looked up facts and made notes. These notes will be used for a history activity later on where they will be written up in more detail.
The children were also given white squares of paper to write and draw on, either a message to the Queen or the Royal Family. These will be then stuck into a large book containing messages from the whole school. The book will then be taken to Buckingham Palace and Miss Holland will take a photo of it there. The book will be returned to school so that we can keep it as a reminder of the passing of the Queen. The children have been very proud to be part of this touching tribute to an amazing lady.
A huge welcome back to all of Year 4 (Lime and Whitebeam Classes). We hope you all managed to have a fun and relaxing Summer. We are very excited about the next term and thought we'd let you know a brief overview of what we will be learning up until Half Term.
In Maths, we will be concentrating on Place value of numbers up to 10,000 with ordering, comparing and rounding of these numbers and then moving in to addition and subtraction.
In ICT, we will look at E-safety and we have the session from the Two Johns coming up for children and parents. We will then look at software that can be used collaboratively such as Google documents.
In R.E., we will be learning all about Sikhism and the different ceremonies, eg. marriage and baptism.
The theme this half-term for P.S.H.E. and we will be covering Growth Mindset and what makes a good learner as well as how we can all work together in class and as a school.
Music this half term is all about Rainforest music. We will look at body percussion, structure, texture and tempo.
In English we are looking at The Great Kapok Tree book, which is centered around the plight of the Amazon Rainforest. The children will be doing lots of descriptive and innovative writing.
In Science the children will be learning about 'All Living Things.' They will for example, be looking at habitats and classifying animals into groups.
For French, the topic is 'Presenting Myself,' where they will learning French phrases for greetings and how they are feeling.
Geography continues with our topic about the rainforests. The class will be finding out where the rainforests are in the world, as well as who and what live in them.
All the Year 4 children observed a minute's silence this Friday morning in honour of the Queen's passing. They also watched News Round which sympathetically covered the news of her death and it gave them a chance to talk about it. We plan for them write something up about the Queen in their history books and to also create some artwork, which will be displayed in school as part of a memorial for her.
We are looking forward to getting to know all of the children over the next few weeks.
