Year 4 at Little Heath

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you have all had a lovely week.

It was fantastic to see so many of you at our Sports Day on Thursday, supporting the children throughout what was a brilliant day. We were very lucky with the weather and I know the children definitely appreciated the water activities that helped keep them to keep cool! It was wonderful to see so much determination, teamwork and encouragement and the children should be very proud of how they represented themselves and the school.

In English, we have continued reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the children are really enjoying the story as we delve further into the world of Narnia. A definite highlight this week was getting to try some Turkish Delight! The children have also been developing their journalistic writing skills by writing newspaper reports about the arrest of Mr Tumnus by the White Witch. We have explored the key features of newspaper reports, including headlines, quotations and reporting events in a factual way. I am sure you will enjoy reading their finished reports at our next open afternoon.

In Maths, we have been focusing on Time. The children have been practising telling the time on analogue clocks, as well as converting between 12-hour and 24-hour times. We have also been solving problems involving durations and start and finish times. This is often a tricky topic, so we will continue working on it for the remainder of the year. If you are able to spend some time practising telling the time at home, it would be greatly appreciated and will really help to build the children's confidence.

In Science, we have continued our topic on Electricity. This week, the children have been learning about the potential dangers associated with electricity and identifying electrical hazards that they may come across in everyday life. They then used this knowledge to create posters explaining these risks and sharing advice about how to stay safe around electrical equipment. The children had some excellent discussions and demonstrated a mature understanding of the importance of electrical safety.

In D.T., the children have been enjoying their food technology unit. Last week, they worked brilliantly in small groups to weigh and mix ingredients, carefully following instructions to make fairy cakes complete with glacé icing. The DT room smelt absolutely delicious and everyone was eager to taste the finished product! This week, the children evaluated their baking by discussing the skills they had used, as well as the smell, taste and appearance of their cakes. They thought carefully about what went well and what they might do differently next time. We are now looking forward to making a fruit salad next week using a range of seasonal produce.

In Computing, the children have been using Scratch to create different loops based on the skills they learnt and developed in previous lessons. They enjoyed experimenting with different commands and seeing how loops can make programs more efficient. These are all important skills that they will use when they begin creating their own games later in the topic.

I will be away next week from Monday to Wednesday on the Year 6 PGL residential. During this time, the class will be taught by Ms Davis and Mrs Edwards, two teachers the children know well and are very familiar with. I know they will be in very safe hands and I look forward to hearing all about their learning when I return.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine!