Class 4 Newsletter Spring Term

Welcome back! Happy New Year.

We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break.

A big thank you for the very generous and thoughtful gifts. A special thank you to all the children who made fabulous Christmas cards and decorations – our room looked amazing!

Here is an overview of the plan for the coming term.

English – Handwriting and spelling will continue to be a focus. I hope to gradually introduce the use of handwriting pens on a more regular basis. The children have made a brilliant start. Spellings will be given to the children on Monday, they will complete spelling activities during the week and then have a test on Friday.  The children will write a list of their spellings and the timetable they are learning in their reading journals for you to support at home.  Children will continue to participate in guided reading sessions and will have their own reading book. Please listen to your child read as often as possible – thank you.

We will start the term looking at fairytales (with a twist) and playscripts, followed by Myths and legends. This will be followed by some persuasive writing and recounts.

Maths – we will continue to focus on quick recall of times tables. Please encourage your child to practise their tables as often as possible at home. They will know which table they are learning. They will be tested weekly on a Thursday. We will start by looking at number, place value and money, followed by written and mental addition and subtraction. The children will also be learning about time, position and direction, length and weight.

Science –We will start the term learning and investigating properties of solids, liquids and gases.

History/Geography – Our Topic this term will be The Anglo Saxons and The Vikings.

Music – We will be starting with composing (using notation and symbols) and performing, using percussion instruments, with a ‘Winter’ theme. Wider opportunities will begin shortly.

Computing – we will be using computers to support other subjects and continue to focus on the importance of E-safety.   We will be editing text, further developing word processing skills and extracting information from websites, as part of our topic on The Anglo Saxons.

PSHE – We will be looking at keeping safe, assessing risks and dangers.

RE – Class 4 will be finding out about both the Old and the New testament, including stories about the twelve disciples and Palm Sunday. We will also be finding out about Pesach and the story of Easter.

PE – There will be two PE lesson each week; this term will be Invasion Games and Dance. Sometimes there may be opportunities for extra PE lessons, so please ensure that children have their full kits in school every day. PE will be on Monday with Miss Crosby and Thursday with Mr Snelling.

Art/DT – We will be studying and painting in the style of Cezanne.

French – We will continue to focus on building confidence and learning how to describe seasons and the weather.

Homework will be given each week on Thursday/Friday. Please return to school for marking on Monday (Tuesday at the latest). Spelling and reading will continue to be on-going. Children will bring a spelling list home with them on Mondays and will be tested on Fridays. Children will continue to learn their times tables (they will know which one) and be tested on a Thursday. Those who are already familiar with all the tables will be focusing on even faster recall!

Please could you remind your children to limit the amount of rubbers/sharpeners etc that they bring into school. ‘Trading’ of any toys, rubbers etc is not allowed at any time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Mrs Abusham and Mrs Sullivan. Thank you for your continued support. We are looking forward to another fantastic term with your children.

Miss Crosby, Mrs Webb, Mrs Abusham and Mrs Sullivan.