Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you have had a lovely week – we certainly have in Year 4! The children may have told you that we have a new teaching assistant in Year 4 called Mrs Andersen. She has spent the last week getting to know everyone and is looking forward to working with the class for the remainder of the year.

In English, we have begun exploring our new text, The Story of Tutankhamun by Patricia Cleveland Peck. Over the coming weeks, the children will be learning about the life of the young pharaoh, the discovery of his tomb and what life was like in Ancient Egypt. This week, the children examined a range of evidence surrounding Tutankhamun’s death. They considered different theories, including whether his death was accidental, caused by illness, or the result of murder! Using the evidence they gathered, the children wrote persuasive pieces explaining which theory they believed was most likely, supporting their ideas with reasons and evidence.

In maths, the children have shown great perseverance while tackling some challenging learning around mixed numbers and improper fractions. They explored how these two forms of fractions are connected and practised converting between them. The children also used visual models and fraction bars to help them understand how whole numbers and fractions combine, building their confidence in recognising the value of fractions greater than one.

In history, we continued our learning about Ancient Egypt, focusing on the importance of the River Nile. The children discovered how vital the river was to the survival of the civilisation. They learned that the annual flooding of the Nile left behind rich, fertile soil which allowed crops to grow, helping communities to thrive. The river was also an important source of water, food, and transport. However, we also discussed the challenges it brought. Floods could sometimes be unpredictable or destructive, and dangerous animals such as crocodiles lived in the river. The children explored how the Nile could both support life and, at times, present dangers to those living nearby.

As part of Science Week, we were very lucky to take part in a science workshop all about forces. The children carried out a variety of exciting experiments where they investigated pushes and pulls, friction, and how different forces can affect the movement of objects. They worked like real scientists, making predictions, observing what happened, and discussing their results. You will be able to see just how much they enjoyed the session from the photos below!

In computing, the children have started their new unit called “Creating Media.” In our first lesson, we focused on editing images. The children learned how to use tools such as crop to remove unwanted parts of an image and rotate to change the orientation of a picture. They also discussed why editing images can be useful, such as improving the focus of a photograph or making an image more suitable for a presentation. The class enjoyed experimenting with these tools and beginning to develop their digital editing skills.

Looking ahead to next week, the children will be spending some time rehearsing for our middle school performance of Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies. For their part in the performance, it would be greatly appreciated if you could send your child into school with a black or dark outfit where possible by Friday 20th March.

If you would like to attend the performances, they will be held on Wednesday 25th March at 1:30pm and Thursday 26th March at 6:30pm. Please make sure to book your tickets through the school office as soon as possible.

Have a lovely weekend, and we look forward to another great week of learning ahead!