Week ending 21st June 2024

 Good evening Year Four,

What a busy week we have had! 

The children enjoyed 'Talent Night,' and it was so great to see them perform. They did a brilliant job!

Sports Day was also a successful event, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

This week the children have continued to learn about decimal numbers.

For English we have learned how to use subordinate clauses.

We have started our new art project on Gaudi and the children have been sketching different aspects of the beautiful architecture he designed in Barcelona.

More D and T projects are arriving at school and the games are really quite sophisticated! They all enjoy playing them on Friday afternoons. 

We went on an invertebrate hunt during our science lesson. The children found several species and researched lots of information about them. They drew detailed pictures of their findings and used keys to classify them.

The children were fascinated to discover that a Zeppelin was shot down and landed in Oakmere Park, Potters Bar. They wrote extensively about the incident.

For PHSE the children learned about the responsibility of having a baby and that to create a baby a sperm from a male fertilises and egg from a female. They learned that the baby grows in a female's womb. There may be further questions about this which the children want to ask you. 

NEXT WEEK

English

We begin a poetry project next week. We will begin with a poem called 'A Raging River.' The children will learn about similes, metaphors, alliteration and personification before they begin to plan their own poem.

Maths

We will complete our exploration of decimals next week and move on to learn about money.

Science

The children will be studying key classifications in science, with regard to living things.

History

Next week we will be exploring old and recent photos of Potters Bar and recognising the differences and similarities. We will be investigating the reasons for certain changes.

Spanish

The children will be learning how to say and write important events.

Spellings

Group 1

image

steal

themselves

persuaded

usually

necklace

video

accident

disrespectful

safety

Group 2

teacher

family

anyway

else

everybody

says

learn

money

punished

people

Group 3

happy

soon

any

hide

didn't

I am looking forward to seeing you on Thursday morning or evening for parent consultations. There are still a few gaps, if you have not already made an appointment.

Have a great weekend.

Ms Davis

Week ending 14th June 2024

Hello Year One,

The multiplication tests Have now been completed. The children tried their best and should feel proud of how well they learned them.

We are continuing to work on decimals in our maths lessons.

For English the children have been writing explanation texts. This week they explained how a toaster works and then wrote an imaginary text about how an invention could work. They also had a comprehension lesson.

The children have been looking at old photos of Potters Bar and comparing them to recent pictures. They enjoyed finding out which shops had changed and researching why. They noticed the differences in the old police station as it is now a nursery. We explored the reasons for this.

For science we looked at vertebrates. Next week we will explore invertebrates

We learned about our genes in PHSE. 

For Spanish we found out how to say our names in Spanish and how to say the letters of the alphabet.

Next Week

Maths

The children will continue to learn about decimals.

English

Next week we will be using subordinate clauses. The children will write a piece about an animal of their choice using subordinate clauses to expand the sentences.

Spellings

Group One

wondered

wardrobe

furniture

expected

ancient

breakfast

simile

appeared

terrorizes

massive

Group Two

chocolate

opened

fire

queen

surprise

beautiful

animals

machine

finally

sure

Group Three

could

would

should

used

school

It will be a busy week next week as we have 'Talent Night' and 'Sports day.' We are all looking forward to both events.

Have a restful weekend.

Ms Davis

Week ending 7th June 2024

 Hello Year Four,

We have been working on our multiplication tables every day this week as the test will be carried out next Wednesday,12th June. The children did carry out a couple of pre tests this week to help them feel familiar with the procedures and the format of the actual test. As we only have a few days left please could your child work on their tables over the weekend. They are aware of which multiplications they find difficult so you could help them concentrate on those. The children have worked extremely hard over the past few months and should feel proud of their achievements.

This week we began our new science topic on living things and their habitats. The children spent a lesson classifying animals according to a range of criteria.

During our English lessons we have been learning how to write explanation texts. The children have used fronted adverbials to order the texts.

We had Spanish today and the children were asked to get into pairs and have as long a conversation as they could. They did really well. They could practise this at home with you.

We are looking at printing this half term for our art topic. We have the theme of nature, so we went for a walk and collected natural objects to use for printing. The children created some beautiful art with the natural objects and acrylic paint! (Sorry if any paint got onto the children's clothes).

For maths we have continued to understand how to use decimals and have moved on to hundredths.

Spellings

Group One

punishment

amphibian

characteristic

classification

variation

endangered

vertebrate

mammal

extinct

environment

Group Two

reptile

vertebrate

horse

mammal

toad

habitat

living

behind

before

scared

Group Three

horse

dinner

drink

always

goes

when

Next Week

Maths

We will continue to work on decimals. We are learning how to use tenths and hundredths as decimals and we will begin to add decimal numbers.

English

Next week we will carry on writing explanation texts and will be using the book ' How I met Dudley' to explain how crazy inventions work.

Science

The aspect of living things we will be exploring next week, is vertebrates and invertebrates.

Art

We will begin the new art topic '\Gaudi' by exploring the buildings he designed. The children will be drawing the different styles.

PHSE

Our focus for the last half term is 'changing me,' and we will begin by looking at the genes of parents and how these are passed down to children.

History

Our topic is 'Our Local Area.' Next week we will begin by looking at past and present photos of Potters Bar and Little Heath Primary School. The children will learn about the Zepplin that landed in Oakmere Park.

D and T

If your child has completed the labelled design for the home project please could he/she bring it in next week as we will be looking at these as part of our lesson.

I hope you all have a happy weekend.

Ms Davis

Week ending 24th May 2024

Year Four,

We had a fabulous time at the Mini-Marathon today. The children all took part and ran well.

 We have been working hard and have completed our fraction block in maths. We have begun to work on decimals now.

In our English lessons the children finished their stories and worked on using subordinate conjunctions.

For geography we looked at maps of the UK and located five of the main rivers.

We completed our science project on electricity which leads on to the children's home project.

Home Project

As the children are now adept at creating electrical circuits we are incorporating this into the home project for the final half term.

The aim of the project is to design, make and evaluate a game that uses an electrical circuit as part of the design.

I do not expect the children to complete all of this at home. I have explained that they have to do the following:

• Design the game
• Draw it and label it with all components
• Write a list of materials
• Explain how to play the game

If your child wishes to make the game at home and this is possible please feel free to do so. The above is what is expected, but the whole project can be completed at home if you wish.

Times Tables

When we return from the half term break we will only have a week or so to work on the speed needed to recall tables. The children have done so well and those taking the text have learned every table, so it would be great if they could keep working on the speed aspect.

They should be working on TTRockstars on a daily basis at the moment as we are so close to the test.

I am planning for the children to take the test on Wednesday 12th June. 

I wish you all a very happy half term break.

Ms Davis

Week ending 17th May 2024

 Hello Year One,

What a busy week!

Monday was amazing. We had a brilliant trip to Lee Valley Regional Park. The children learned about The River Lee, Seventy Acre Lake and The Navigation. By the end they were very knowledgeable about the similarities and differences between the waterways. They soaked up the information and enjoyed learning about the birds that inhabit the area. They watched birds from a bird hide, saw a lock being opened and closed as the narrow boats went through, found bird's nests and focused on the features of rivers.

English

The children have been continuing to write their stories. This week they planned their story, wrote the opening and the build up. They have completed the dilemma. 

Maths

We have completed our unit on fractions and the children did very well in the end of block assessment. I am so happy that they have made such excellent progress with their times tables. Thank you for encouraging them to practise at home. Now they just need to increase their speed. They need to go through mixed tables on a daily basis to get up to speed. They have six seconds to answer each question in the test. 

Geography

The field trip was perfect for our geography study. They took in so much information and returned to school and carried out a detailed piece of work referring to all they had experienced.

RE

The children have been learning about sacred texts. I read them some Bible stories today and on Wednesday we explored The Bhagavad-Gita (The Hindu sacred text.)

The children were able to take an extract from the book and interpret it's meaning.

Spellings for next week

Group One

exercise

away

listen

isolated

mystical

spectacular

tranquil

sinister

horizon

courageous

Group Two

bravely

away

listen

daring

fairy

swiftly

adventure

unicorn

beyond

clouds

Group Three

with

work

duck

lock

please

thank you

Next Week

English

The children will be working on the resolution for their story and will create a final conclusion. They will be using subordinate conjunctions as we will be having a lesson to learn how and when to use them. They will add similes or metaphors and hopefully one or two fronted adverbials.

Maths

Next week the children will be using TT Rockstars to gain speed at answering times tables questions. It is all about speed now. 

We will be moving on to decimals next week.

Science

We will continue with our electricity project as we look at conductors and insulators.

Geography

The project on rivers will continue as we look at rivers around the world and rivers in the UK.

RE

It will be our last week focussing on sacred texts as we explore The Bhagavad-Gita further.

Spanish

This week we began to learn Spanish instructions for the class room. We will continue with this next week.

Mini Marathon

On Friday it is the local mini-marathon and we will be travelling by coach to the school that hosts this event. The children will be in school PE kits for this trip and will change into their school uniforms when we return to school, which will be before lunch.

I wish you all a restful and pleasant weekend.

Ms Davis

Week ending 10th May 2024

 Hello Year One,

We have had a wonderful week. Our trip to The Mariner's Base was fabulous! The children launched themselves into the activities with great enthusiasm.

We have been writing a story setting in our English lessons. We will be building on this each week until a fantasy story is complete. The children love the book we are reading in our guided reading sessions. It is called Gorilla City. They were able to answer several comprehension questions correctly. The children also completed a dictation exercise which focused on punctuation. They are very familiar with the correct punctuation and managed this well.

We continue to work on fractions for maths. The children are also working really hard on their tables. We are practising every day and they have made huge progress.

For science we made electrical circuits and the children were able to name and label all the components of a circuit.

For PHSE we have been discussing right and wrong. We looked at different scenarios and the children were able to vocalise their thoughts well.

NEXT WEEK

Monday 13th May 2024

We will be going to Lee Valley Regional Park for a field trip about rivers. We will all be learning about rivers as this is our geography topic this term. 

The coach will be leaving at 9am and will return by 3.20pm therefore the children can arrive and leave school at the usual time.

The children will need to wear weather appropriate clothes. It is difficult to predict what it will be like next week, but if it is hot and sunny I suggest they bring a hat as we will be spending most of the day outside. They need waterproof footwear and a coat or jacket in case of rain.

The children will need to bring a packed lunch.

English

Next week we will be learning how to use subordinate conjunctions and will use these in our story writing. We will be writing the plan and the opening of the story.

Spellings

Group 1

covered

want

firstly

finally

grabbed

belief

believe

ancient

bustling

abdomen

Group 2

want

with

covered

empty

hectic

silent

whisper

familiar

gentle

noisy

Group 3

cold

told

another

with

want

flowers

Times Tables

We are getting closer to the scheduled MTC this year and the children have worked so hard to learn their tables. They need the final push now to become fluent as they get 6 seconds for each one. 

Each week we have been learning random tables and some children will come home with a list which they will need to practise as well as the table they are currently learning.

As the early tables 3, 4, 5, 6 etc were learned a while ago I have found that some of the children have forgotten them as they concentrate on the higher numbers. I have suggested that each day they practise the set tables and one other. They really need to be doing this every day at this stage.

If you need any further support with the tables please come and see me.

I wish you a very happy weekend and look forward to seeing you Monday for yet another adventure!

Ms Davis

Week ending 3rd May 2024

 Hello Year Four,

I have some of the pictures from the PGL trip. I suggest you also look on the Year Three blog as well because I know Miss Davis is posting others today.

Back on the coach to go home!

As you can see the children were very adventurous and managed some challenging activities. they had a fabulous time.

As you are aware the children will be going to The Mariner's Base on Tuesday. They will need waterproof coats and footwear. They will need two changes of clothes and a packed lunch. They do not come in school uniform, but in sensible outdoor wear. They are looking forward to this trip.

You should have received a text asking you to be at school at 8.30am on Tuesday as the coach is leaving at 8.45am.

On Wednesday we will be back to normality!

English

We will be focussing on the setting for a story. The children will be preparing to write a fantasy story and next week we begin with the setting.

Maths

We will continue to learn about fractions and we are concentrating on our tables at the moment. The children did so well this week and it is obvious they have been practising at home. Please keep this up at least three times a week or ten minutes a day.

Science

Next week the children will be experimenting with electricity by making circuits. They will be learning all the vocabulary associated with electrical circuits, making circuits and recognising the equipment they will need to make a variety of circuits.

Geography

The children are currently learning about rivers. This week they investigated the formation of rivers and the vocabulary associated with this. As you are aware this topic will be supported by our visit to the Lee Valley Centre which will enhance the children's understanding.

Spanish

We will be having an oral session next week as the children use the words and phrases they have learned so far.

PHSE

We are exploring peer pressure and how to manage difficult situations.

Spellings

Group One

happened

expected

weather

dense

hazardous

emerge

lurking

wandered

foliage

among

Group Two

happened

sunshine

bright

swaying

crawling

growling

furry

bushy

prickly

live

Group Three

trees

flowers

sunshine

want

went

Enjoy the bank holiday and I am looking forward to seeing you all bright and early Tuesday morning at 8.30am.

Ms Davis