Well that first term absolutely flew by! It was lovely to see so many of you at this week’s consultations. I really enjoyed getting to talk to you all and discussing the children’s progress.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their stories for the BBC’s 500 Word Competition. I have been really impressed with the imagination the children have put into work and have no doubt that year 4 will be offering plenty of competition! The official deadline isn’t until Friday 7th November so there is still plenty of time for you to submit your work if you haven’t already done so.

I would like to thank you all for your continued support over these past weeks. Please know that if ever you would like to talk regarding your child’s progress and wellbeing, I am available at the end of the school or my email.

I hope you all have a lovely half-term, whether you are enjoying doing nothing or have an action-packed week - have a great time!

I will see you all in November.

Best wishes,

Mr Chanter

Mr Chanter's Spelling Group

 expression

discussion

confession

permission

admission

transmission

possession

profession

depression

impression

Mrs Friedmann's Spelling Group

happily

angrily

lazily

easily

busily

greedily

messily

wearily

cheekily

clumsily

Mr Chanter's Spelling Group

 

expansion

extension

comprehension

tension

corrosion

supervision

fusion

conclusion

persuasion

suspension

Mrs Friedmann's Spelling Group

 

kindly

quickly

safely

rudely

sweetly

strongly

bravely

secretly

finally

usually

 Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you have all had a lovely week. It’s been another busy and exciting few days of learning in Year 4!

This week, we were delighted to welcome the NSPCC into school to deliver their Speak Out, Stay Safe assembly. The children learned about the importance of speaking up if something is worrying them and knowing who they can talk to, both in and out of school. It was a really valuable session that encouraged pupils to think about how they can keep themselves and others safe.

In English, the children have been rewriting The Mermaid of Zennor – but this time from the mermaid’s point of view. It’s been wonderful to see them using all their spelling, punctuation, and grammar knowledge to bring a new perspective to the story. Next week, we’ll begin researching the Cornish village of Zennor, ready to create our own informative guides about this fascinating coastal location.

In Maths, we’ve continued working on column addition and subtraction, with a particular focus on exchanging. The children have been showing great determination in tackling more challenging problems. Next week, we’ll be wrapping up this unit by comparing different methods for adding & subtracting and exploring how estimation can help us check the accuracy of our answers.

In Art, we began preparing our scratch art pieces. The children used wax crayons and oil pastels to create vibrant, colourful backgrounds before painting over them with a mixture of black paint and liquid soap. Once dry, we’ll scratch our designs into them next week – we can’t wait to see the final results!

For RE, we have been exploring the idea of Christian pilgrimage, discussing why certain places are considered sacred and what makes them special to believers. We’re looking forward to our upcoming visit to the local church in November, where the children will take part in a workshop to deepen their understanding of this topic.

In Geography, the children have been concluding their topic on ‘Where does the food we eat come from?’ by weighing up the pros and cons of buying locally grown versus imported foods. Next week, they will be putting their ideas together in a balanced argument, using evidence and reasoning to support their opinions.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you at next week’s consultations.

Kind regards,

Mr Chanter

Mrs Friedmann's Group

 

berry

bury

brake

break

meet

meat

ball

bawl

fair

fare

Mr Chanter's Spelling Group

division

invasion

confusion

decision

collision

television

revision

erosion

inclusion

explosion

Good afternoon,

It was lovely to see some of you at this week’s sharing assembly. I know it takes a lot of courage to stand up and perform in front of an audience, and the children all did a fantastic job! I can’t quite believe we only have two weeks left of this term now. It has been truly wonderful getting to know each and every child in the class — it honestly feels as though they’ve always been here (in the best possible way!).

English
This week, we started our new book The Mermaid of Zennor by Charles Causley — a Cornish legend about a mysterious mermaid who visits a village church and enchants the locals with her beautiful singing. The story has helped us explore the theme of mystery and the sea. In our lessons, we’ve been practising using fronted adverbials linked to the ocean (for example, “Deep beneath the crashing waves,” or “At the edge of the misty shore,”). The children also came up with some wonderful questions they would ask a mermaid, which they then used to write creative and thoughtful letters to mythical sea creatures.

Maths
In maths, we’ve been focusing on adding two 4-digit numbers using both the column and expanded methods. The children have been learning how and when to exchange digits between columns, which can be a tricky concept at first, but they’ve shown real perseverance! Next week, we’ll move on to subtraction, where the idea of exchanging will come up again — this time when taking away a larger digit from a smaller one in the same column. We’ll also be solving word problems that put these new skills into context.

Computing
Our computing lessons have continued to explore how the internet works. This week, we discussed what content means online and who actually owns it once it’s uploaded. The children have been brilliant at thinking critically about what should and shouldn’t be shared online, and they’re beginning to understand how important it is to respect other people’s work and privacy on the internet.

Spanish
In Spanish, we have been learning how to say and write the dates of some famous celebrations in Spain, such as El Día de San Antonio and El Día de la Hispanidad. The children practised saying the months of the year and learned how to structure sentences like “El Día de San Antonio es el trece de junio.” It has been lovely to see their confidence growing as they begin to recognise familiar words and patterns.

Science
This week marked the end of our “eggs-periment” — an investigation into how different drinks can affect our teeth. We observed the changes that occurred to eggshells (which act like tooth enamel) after being left in liquids such as water, juice, and cola. The results were quite eye-opening! We talked about the importance of brushing twice a day, reducing sugary drinks, and making choices that help keep our teeth healthy and strong — unlike the poor eggs from our experiment!

I’m very much looking forward to seeing you all at our parents’ consultation meetings in a couple of weeks’ time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warm regards,

Mr Chanter

Whole Class Spellings

 

medal

meddle

knew

new

scene

seen

your

you’re

there

they’re

Week Ending 3.10.25

 Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you are all keeping well. It was such a pleasure to see so many of you at our Harvest Festival service today. The children really did have a wonderful time and I suspect the cakes and biscuits on offer may have had something to do with the smiles we saw! Thank you once again for your continued support – it makes these events so special.

In English, we are now moving on from our study of Tar Beach to our new text, The Mermaid of Zennor by Charles Causley. This beautifully written story will give the children the chance to explore rich vocabulary and develop their comprehension skills. Alongside our reading, the children will be working on spelling, punctuation and grammar, ensuring they can apply these skills confidently within their writing.

In Mathematics, we will be consolidating the children’s understanding of place value, building on all the hard work they have put in this week. We will then begin our next topic: addition and subtraction. This will involve solving problems with larger numbers, including adding two 4-digit numbers with exchanges, which will really help to strengthen their accuracy and fluency in calculation.

In RE, the focus this week has been on Christian symbols and their significance. The children enjoyed choosing meaningful backgrounds and drawing Christian symbols on top, thinking carefully about their importance and reflecting on where these symbols might be seen or used in everyday life, such as in churches, stained glass windows or even in personal jewellery.

In Art, the children have been developing their drawing skills. They selected a range of objects from around the classroom and worked carefully on creating tone using soft shading pencils. They also used rubbers to lift areas of graphite and highlight where light fell on the objects, before building up darker shadows for contrast. The results were thoughtful and skilfully observed – a wonderful step forward in their artistic journeys.

A highlight of the week was our Book Fair. The children thoroughly enjoyed browsing the wide selection of books on display, sparking lots of enthusiasm for reading. If you haven’t yet had the chance to visit, the fair will still be open on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Every purchase helps our school earn additional books, so it is a lovely way to support both your child’s reading and the school library.

Finally, a quick note about spellings: unfortunately, due to a change in today’s timetable, we were unable to complete our weekly spelling test. Instead, the children will sit this on Monday, at which point I will also be setting their new spellings for the week.

Wishing you all a restful weekend and I look forward to another exciting week of learning ahead.