This week we have celebrated British Science Week across the school! The theme for this year was 'Our Diverse Planet', and the children have taken part in a range of scientific activities linked to this theme.

On Monday, Year 4 explored how animals use camouflage. After discussing ideas of which animals have camouflage and why, they created their own camouflage butterflies by colouring in paper butterflies to match different surroundings around the classroom. Some were very tricky to spot!

On Tuesday, we had a visit from some chemistry scientists from the University of Birmingham. The chemistry experts set up an experiment involving milk and food colouring; the children observed how the fat and food colouring would repel from a cotton bud dipped in washing up liquid, which created some amazing patterns.

Wednesday saw the whole school engage in different experiments in different classrooms. The children travelled between 5 different classes throughout the day and got some experience of creating a boat to carry weight, using magnets, test balloon rockets and exploring resistance in different liquids. It was wonderful to see so many parents and grandparents come back into school at the end of the day to give it a try too!

On Thursday, Year 4 learned about one of history's most important figures, Alexander Graham Bell. The children learned how he studied sound from a young age, how his parents inspired him, and how he came to eventually invent the telephone. After learning facts about his life, everybody wrote a biography for Bell. It's impossible to imagine what the world would be like today without his invention! In the afternoon, the children explored some diverse places on Earth, particularly focusing on Antarctica. They learned about how Antarctica was discovered, and then created a powerpoint about the things we would need to explore this frozen continent and how we would survive!

The past two Friday mornings have been wonderful in Forest School! The children have loved playing in the outdoors, with some children getting particularly muddy and others getting totally covered! Next week, Forest School will be cancelled due to the Mothering Sunday service and activities. We look forward to seeing lots of family members on Friday morning to do crafts and for the children to share their song in the service. 

Have a great weekend,

Mr Bennett

World Book Day! - On Thursday this week, we celebrated World Book Day in school. I have never seen such a stripy classroom, it was like we had an unusual new uniform of stripes and messy hair! The Beano and Dandy theme was really well received across the school, and lots of children who were unfamiliar with some of the lesser known characters enjoyed learning about them too. We had a cartoon drawing session in the afternoon where we used online tutorials to learn to draw Dennis, Gnasher and Walter, then the children used these skills to create their own new comic strip. We also spent a lot of time in the day discussing an listening to stories; Mrs Clarkson read Cliffhanger! by Jeremy Strong, Mrs Cutler read Into the Forest by Anthony Brown and I started reading My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons with the class, which we will continue for the foreseeable future. It has been great to hear the children speak so passionately about the books and authors they are currently reading.

Maths - We have finished off our focus on long multiplication and have just started moving into division. For now, the children are able to use times tables knowledge to help them divide (for example in calculations such as 66 divided by 3, when they can see that the tens and ones can easily divisible by 3). However, we will move onto more tricky examples over the coming week.

P.E. - We have began exploring gymnastics in P.E. and working in partners to create balances. For now, the children are exploring a range of balances they can construct together, but will son be weaving them into a sequence. They have worked hard to use tension and extension to get the most out of their different balances. 

Science - We have started learning about Sound this week. We have collated ideas that the children already have regarding how sound is made, how it travels and why we can hear sounds. Some children have started to notice in some of the experiments we have done that there are vibrations involved, which they began to understand is a big part of sound. Next week is British Science Week, and we will be sure to be taking part in much more hands on Science next week too!

Thank you to all who came in to parents consultations this week, it was a really fantastic opportunity to discuss the progress of all the children, as well as discuss how they are feeling about coming towards the end of their Tardebigge journeys and soon onto pastures new! Please get in touch if there are any other queries or questions throughout the remainder of the year.

The Cross Country Trials have now been rescheduled for Thursday 12th March, and will take place in the morning. We will leave the school promptly after the register. On Wednesday night, we will send children home with their P.E. kits and a jacket and jogging bottoms pair from school which they can come into school wearing the next day. They will also need to come in trainers, bring water bottles, and also bring their uniform to change into when we come back to school. If there are any other changes due to weather we will be sure to let you know. 

Have a fantastic weekend everyone,

Mr Bennett

English - The children are working towards writing their own 'escape story'. This week they started by looking at an example, and identifying the features to include in this text type. We focsued on two skills in particular; using speech punctuation and using a possessive apostrophe. The latter being particularly tricky when we use plural nouns, such as wolves, children and volcanoes.

Maths - Although we have been practising times tables frequently, we have moved onto further multiplication and division. This involves some tricky calculations; timesing 10 and 100, multiplying 3 numbers together, 2 x 1 digit and 3 x 1 digits. Everyone has really persevered as the challenges have got tough. Using the times tables has been necessary for the calculations, and quick recall has been particularly helpful!

Shared Reading - As a class we have been reading and discussing, 'The Captive Celt' by Terry Deary. The children have loved reading this historical fiction text, and enjoyed that there is a mix of fact and fiction throughout the story. This is one of the 'Roman Tales' series from Terry Deary, but he has also written a number of 'tales' from other periods in history that I'm sure many of the children would like to read.

Computing - Our new focus has been 'We are Music Makers' and the children have used a game called 'Isle of Tune' to create a range of sounds to build some music. This helped us learn about sequencing and building up patterns using software. The childrne have really enjoyed creating different sounds, and we even built this into our music lesson and combined the glockenspiels with the digital music.

R.E. - The children have been thinking about 'What sort of World would Jesus want?', and are starting to consider what sort of World they would like for themselves too. The children are considering our Christian values as part of their thinking, as well as many new ideas of their own!

It was such a shame that the cross country trials were cancelled this week, although considering the weather this was certainly the right decision! We will let you know when the trials will be rearranged for. Next Friday, we intend to start Forest School with Year 4 again. The children can come to school wearing their waterproofs and warm clothes ready for the session, although please can they bring any muddy wellies or boots in a bag to change into. I know the children will look forward to getting out into the fresh air on Friday, weather permitting! 

Have a lovely weekend,

Mr Bennett

English - We have been learning more about Pompeii in English. This week, the children have planned, written, edited and redrafted a setting description for the eruption. Phew! They have worked really hard and produced some wonderful pieces of writing. 

Maths - We have started learning more about multiplication and division, and focused on reinforcing some key facts; including what happens when we multiply a number by 0 and 1, and what happens when we multiply 3 numbers. We have also been doing a lot of times tables this week, which we will continue doing for the rest of the year. This will prepare the children for the MTC (multiplication tables check) later this year, as well as giving them quick recall of important multiplication facts that will hold them in good stead for middle school and beyond.

Science - We are lucky to have a set of microscopes in school! The class loved exploring the different materials under the microscopes; particularly looking at a wasp very close up!

Computing - This week we took part in Safer Internet Day. We discussed ways that the children keep themselves safe online, but also about their online identity. We discussed ways to make the internet a better place so people can feel free to be themselves. #freetobe

PE - We have done some more Cross Country practise today and I have been so impressed by the perseverence and determination of everybody in Year 4! I know they are all going to do us proud when we go to Birchensale on the first Friday back to do the Cross Country trials.

The children have worked really hard throughout this half term and have earned a well deserved rest this week! All the adults in Year 4 wish everyone a great week off and look forward to another exciting half term in a weeks time. 

Mr Bennett

We can't believe there is only one week left until half term, January has certainly flown by!

English - This week we have began learning about volcanoes. As we build to writing a description of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the disastrous effect it had on Pompeii, we have been focusing mostly on 'volcanic vocabulary' in order to build up some relevant words for our writing. We have read a variety of texts, including webpages, in order to develop this vocabulary. The children have picked up many volcano facts along the way!

Maths - We have been learning about symmetry this week. The children have worked really hard on spotting symmetrical shapes, as well as reflecting shapes along lines of symmetry.

Science - We have carried out an experiment to test different materials to see if they are conductors or insulators. In conclusion, the children found that the different metals that we tested were the most effective conductors, which explains why wires are often made from copper!

RE - We have watched a video adaptation on 'The calling of the first disciples', where Jesus performed a miracle to help the fishermen catch much more fish, even after a very unsuccessful trip. We then observed and discussed a range of artwork that depicts parts of the story, which inspired the children to have a go at creating their own piece of artwork with watercolour paints.

History - We have learned more about the three invasions of the Romans on Britannia, with the third one by Emperor Claudius being finally successful! We retold the story of each invasion using drama, then the children told this story again with drawings and writing in their books.

Some of the home learning that has already come into school has been brilliant! Thank you so much for all the support with the topic home learning tasks, and the continued support with reading and maths homework too. This weekend, the class have also taken home brand new home reading books, which are levelled to their Guided Reading band. The children are very enthusiastic to get stuck into their new books!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Mr Bennett

In History this week, Year 4 have learned more about the life of a Roman soldier and how the Roman army was so powerful. They identified necessary items that each soldier had to carry with them, including a gladius (sword), scutum (shield) and pila (javelin). The children learned how weapons that the Romans carried were often very different to that of their enemy, which along with a strict training schedule and rules, resulted in such a powerful army!

In Maths, the class have been learning about geometry. We have identified isosceles, scalene and equilateral triangles as well as a variety of quadrilaterals. 

In English, we are concluding our focus on Marcus the Roman soldier by redrafting and editing the diary entries the children have written from his point of view. I am so impressed with how well the class have taken on the role of this character, and particularly thought about his feelings at a time of war, something very difficult to imagine!

As part of our Electricity topic in Science, the children have learned about Thomas Edison. Having discovered facts about his inventions (the light bulb in particular), the class have made posters to display what they have learned about this fascinating inventor!

Finally, in PE this week, we have continued circuit training. The children are really enthusiastic about pushing themselves to the limit when training! They have enjoyed setting themselves a challenge and making little improvments to beat it. No doubt all this cardio will give them an added boost when it comes to cross country later this year!

Roman topic homework sheets went home this week, and we look forward to seeing lots of wonderful creations come into school over the next few weeks. The children have always been really proud to bring in and show their home learning, and we appreciate all the time and effort put in by parents and family members to support them.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Mr Bennett

It has been a super week in Year 4! This week has been very heavy on our topic of the Romans. We have weaved Romans into all aspects of the curriclum, and the class are all really loving finding out so much information about the ancient civilisation. 

In English, the children have been writing diary entries from the point of view of Marcus, a Roman soldier. They have been learning all about life as a Roman soldier, and about Marcus' dilemma in particular. They have created balanced arguments within their diary entries discussing whether or not to stay in the army or to desert and return to Marcus' homeland. The children have been really enthusiastic about this character, and I'm sure would explain to you a little more about his dilemma.

In our whole class Guided Reading and History, we have learned about Hadrian's Wall. The children learned how it was more than just a wall, but also a series of milecastles, forts and turrets built to keep the Picts in Scotland out of Roman Britannia.

In Maths we have concluded our focus on Roman numerals, and began focussing on Geometry. The children have worked hard to identify angles as acute, obtuse and right angles.

In our PE this week, the children have started circuit training. They have enjoyed a range of activities to develop fitness and strength. 

Have a great weekend everybody!

Mr Bennett

Year 4 have made a brilliant start to 2020! The children have started learning about the Romans as their new topic, and have been very enthusiastic to learn as much as they can!

In English, the class have been learning about Marcus, a Roman soldier with a dilemma; to sail with the army to conquer Britannia or to desert the army and return to his family. We will be considering all the arguments for both sides in our English lessons!

In Maths, Year 4 have learned a lot about statistics, and have been focussing heavily on line graphs. The children have learned how this graph is often the best to show changes in data over time, and they have created their own as well as interpeted existing graphs.

In History, we have explored the spread of the Roman Empire from the early days of Rome and Italy, to the height of the empire, spreading across Europe and into North Africa and Asia.

In our Science, we have began learning about Electricity. The children have really enjoyed exploring circuits using different components and have worked hard to create a complete circuit to light a bulb.

Over the next couple of weeks, the class will continue to have myself as the class teacher until Mrs Stevens' return. I know the class are missing her, and we wish her all the very best! Mr Bennett

This term really has whizzed by and I am very proud of the children and how hard they have worked.

The performance the children put on for our Christmas play was phenomenal and I am sure that you loved watching it as much as they loved performing it!

This week, we have very much enjoyed doing cross stitching the Christmas cards and our Maths mystery problem solving activities, which has really encouraged team work and perseverance- so many children would not go out for break times or lunch times until they had completed the tasks. Party Day was extremely good fun and there was a lot of laughter throughout the day!

I hope that everybody has a wonderful Christmas holiday break, spending lots of time with family and friends. See you all in 2020!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS YEAR 4!

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the University of Birmingham yesterday. The children met some real life scientists and took part in some practical investigations, which they absolutely loved! It was also brilliant to have a tour around a real life science lab and to see some of the scientists at work.

In Maths, we have been working on division. So many children have been really enthusiastic to work towards their times table badges which has been brilliant and they have also been able to give the related division facts. In English, the children have worked on creating plans for a diary entry with the focus skills of applying subordinate conjunctions and effective vocabulary to describe emotions.

We started our Christmas play and have made so much progress with it this week. The rehearsals have certainly been very entertaining and we are looking forward to putting it all together.

Have a lovely weekend everybody!