Dear Year 4,

Mr Smith and I are sorry that our year with you has once again been affected by Covid but it can't be helped. We are both disappointed that we could not have the final week with you to finish off our learning, enjoy some fun activities and, of course, share your Roman projects. We've had a wonderful year together in spite of it all and we could not have wished for a better class. I am so glad Mr Smith and Mrs Bevins are your teachers next year as I know that I am leaving you in good hands! I will miss all of you but I'm hopeful I can pop in early in September to have a look at those brilliant projects, do the Raffle and finish off those Class Dojo points! Have a good summer break and we will both see you when you come back to start Year 5.    

Best wishes,

Mrs Carmichael and Mr Smith.

Second half of the Summer Term

We hope you have all had a good half term and enjoyed the proper sunshine at last. Please see some updates below on days for various activities this half term. If and when there are any further restrictions lifted then other activities may be announced as well.

Spellings will return to a Wednesday in the second half term.

Cracking Times Tables will continue to be tested on a Thursday.

Our PE slots for the second half term will be on a Monday and Tuesday. Tuesdays will be the Year 3/4 bubble's day in the Hall so we will have a small assembly that morning and the use of the Hall for PE in the afternoon. Children should come to school in their PE clothing on a Monday and Tuesday. Earrings must be taken out for PE and we would thoroughly recommend not wearing them on days when there is PE.

We hope you will continue to support your children at home with Home Learning activities, especially reading, spellings and learning multiplication tables. There is the National Times Tables test for Year 4s at the end of the year (postponed but we may still do the unofficial one) so that is something we will hope to do really well in as a class. For the Summer term, we will revert back to 2 pieces of Home Learning a week and we would expect the children to spend about 20 minutes on each. Maths will be set on a Wednesday for the following Monday and English set on a Friday for the following Wednesday. Home learning will be quarantined once handed in so please make sure it is handed in on time as anything late impacts on when feedback can be given. 

Reading Record Books - Parents are asked to continue to read and discuss texts with children and record a minimum of 4 sessions a week in the Reading Record Book. Reading Records will be checked on Mondays but will need to be handed in on a Friday so that they can be quarantined over the weekend. We are trying something slightly different this year so there is a different look to the Reading Record and it includes suggested activities that can be done. We will visit the Library when it is our turn on the rota so children will always have the opportunity to change their books and we also have a range of books in the classroom. We can’t stress enough the importance of reading and the understanding of reading as it is vital to access so much of the curriculum. We are also looking into an interactive Reading River idea for the Summer term - more to follow later.

Home Learning Diaries - There will be regular Home Learning as mentioned above and we often follow this up in class so please ensure your child completes tasks by the given deadlines. Children should write Home Learning tasks and any reminders in their Home Learning Diary every day. If there is no Home Learning they should write “No HL” so parents know they haven’t just forgotten to write it down! Please sign the diaries during the week as these will be collected in on a Friday, to be quarantined, and checked on Monday each week. This is an excellent way to communicate too, so feel free to send any non-urgent messages using it. Diaries should still be in school every day.

PE & Games - Please note that Gym and Dance inside will be done in bare feet unless there is a medical need for shoes to be worn in which case a letter detailing this will be required.

Uniform - We are now back to our usual expectations for school uniform but some key points to remember are: Hair should be tied back with plain hair ties and clips of a colour which blends in with the school uniform. Ear studs are permitted as the only type of jewelery but nothing else. 

Pencil Cases - Pencil cases will not be required in school as we have been doing all year. Please send your child in with the equipment they need and we will then provide a ziplock wallet for them to store their equipment in. This makes wiping down of equipment far easier so we thank you for your help with this. Whilst we have spares, we please ask that your child has all the equipment needed and spares as we want to minimise the amount of sharing of resources where possible.

Trips – Given the current situation, no trips have been booked at present. We will update on this throughout the year and it may be that enrichment activities are provided on the school site rather than making trips out this year.

Finally, please communicate with us as it is important that your child is happy in school and making good progress. This is more difficult than normal in the current climate but please contact the office via phone or email and we will ring back as soon as possible.

'Working together to be the best we can.'

Mr Smith & Mrs Carmichael

The children each presented their Greek projects to the class in the last few days before the Christmas break.  We learned lots of new things about Ancient Greece, such as how to build a temple and how to make delicious Greek meals.   We also learned that the Romans stole many of the Ancient Greeks' inventions - like underfloor heating!  Well done Year 4 for all the effort you put into these projects and for presenting them so clearly and confidently to each other.