Year 4

6th July 2020

Dear Year 4 (Download Full Letter Here),

Everyone in school has been given the challenge of sending a letter to their new class teacher for September and I am really looking forward to hearing from you and finding out what you have been doing. Our class is in the strange position of having a the same teacher in September so I am sending a letter to you about our time together this year and remembering some of the things we have done.

Mrs Biggins has asked me to include a message for you all:

Hello Year 4

I can’t believe we are nearly at the end of this school year and I must admit I feel a bit sad that we’ve missed the last term together but I have lots of memories of all the fun things we got up to during the year.

I really enjoyed our time together as a class and you all made it so enjoyable in your own little ways.

Making our tie-dye bags was great fun and they turned out to be fantastic.

I was so glad I got to go to Robinwood this year as it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a few years and to go with most of Year 4 made it even more enjoyable. We all conquered our fears, especially me on the giant swing – I have to thank the children in my group for talking me into it and cheering me on!

I have missed my Friday afternoons playing games with you all. We had great fun playing Snakes and Ladders, Jenga and KerPlunk.

You are all so kind and thoughtful and really look after each other as a class which is lovely to see.

Thank you for making this year in school so enjoyable and I wish you all the best for Year 5. I’m sure you will all be FANTASTIC. I can’t wait to see all your beaming smiles when we start back in September.

Take care, keep well and safe and have a fantastic summer at home with your families.

Mrs Biggins

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I know all the other teachers are enjoying looking back over the year and sharing memories. Even though we didn’t get to spend a whole year together, I’m really proud of all of the things you have achieved and the fun things we did, both as Year 4 and as part of ‘Helvellyn’.

These are some of my favourite memories from the year:

Our DT work with tie-dye and making juggling balls was great fun! I’ve never done that unit of work with a class before and will admit to being worried about whether or not the tie-dye patterns would work while they were in the hot water… but luckily they did, and your drawstring bags and juggling balls were amazing to see.

I think we all really enjoyed the Egyptian feast that we had at the end of our History topic. It was great to see so many of you being brave and trying new foods for the first time; I remember that the feta cheese and pomegranates were very popular and there was very little left over after lots of you had gone back for seconds (and thirds!).

Robinwood is one of my favourite times every year and it was really lovely to go (for my 15^th visit!) with some of you. I was so impressed with how you challenged yourselves with things that were quite scary! Even just being away from home for 2 nights can be a challenge so you were all very brave in all kinds of different ways. The way you supported and cheered each other on during different activities made me feel very proud indeed.

The way lots of you have challenged yourselves in PE lessons has impressed me too; especially with the large apparatus and swimming. Your skills and bravery with the high level balance beam and other pieces of equipment and the way you supported your ‘buddies’ was a delight to see; I know lots of you gave yourselves individual challenges each week and were successful with them. Well done! Swimming was a lot of fun too – I know many of you enjoyed the challenges of the Personal Survival tasks and swimming in your pyjamas! The Beginners group that I swam with every week took on and succeeded with their own challenges too – those of you who gained your first certificates or were determined to brave the deep end and swim your first length deserve a huge round of applause!

Your writing work in English has been wonderful and you have all improved so much. I think lots of you enjoyed the work we did on ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and acting out playscripts we had written for key scenes. I will admit to a few tears during some of the final scenes with Charlotte when we watched the film together – I think a few of you felt the same! Our ‘Beowulf and Grendel’ work was exciting too; your descriptions of fearsome monsters and bloodthirsty battles kept me on the edge of my seat when reading and marking your work!

The afternoon subject I think I have enjoyed the most with you all is French and it has been a delight to see your confidence grow with speaking in another language. We were the first class in the history of Askam Village School to share French work in our class assembly! I know the other Key Stage 2 teachers were impressed with your skills and I’m sure parents and other family members who came to watch were too – both with your confidence speaking in front of an audience (either as individuals or in groups) as well as with all the other amazing work you wanted to show off to them.

Science has been another subject I have really enjoyed and think you have done too. We’ve done lots of amazing practical experiments and investigations involving melting chocolate, investigating gases in fizzy drinks, making models of the water cycle and creating amazing electrical circuits… and so many more. You are a bunch of budding ‘Super Scientists’ indeed!

It does feel very strange to be writing to you so say ‘Goodbye’ for this school year, when we will all be saying ‘Hello’ again in September but I wanted to say that I have really enjoyed being your teacher this year and feel very lucky that I will be able to work with you again. I know there is lots of new and exciting work and topics that we will be able to enjoy together and I am very much looking forward to seeing you all in September.

I hope you all have a lovely Summer,

Miss Merritt

Welcome to the Autumn term in Year 4.  We hope you have all enjoyed your Summer holiday.  We would like to take this opportunity to provide you with some useful information about your child’s new class.

Year 4 is taught by Mrs. Newton on a Monday morning and Mrs. Coates on Tuesday to Friday mornings.

Autumn term curriculum

The enclosed curriculum plan contains all of the necessary information on what your child will be learning during the Autumn term.

P.E.

Our Year 4 P.E. lesson is on a Thursday morning.  This term we will be focusing on hockey, gymnastics and large apparatus.  Pupils will need to wear a T-shirt, shorts, and plimsolls or trainers.  Long hair must be tied back and all jewellery needs to be removed.  It is also very helpful if all items are clearly named.

Homework

All pupils receive homework once a week on a Friday in their homework book.  It should be completed and returned to school by the following Wednesday to be marked.

Firstly, Year 4 will all receive a set of spelling words to learn.  The words on their spelling sheet need to be carefully copied twice into their Homework book using the Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check method.  Pupils will be tested on these spelling words on a Friday morning in their Homework book.  This will allow you to see how they performed in their spelling test.  Five Class Dojo points will be awarded to anyone who scores full marks and three Class Dojo points will be awarded to anyone who only makes one error.

Pupils will also have either a Maths or a SPAG piece of work to complete.  This could be an assigned Mathletics or SPAG.com task or a worksheet based on the learning taken place during that week.

We would very much appreciate your help and assistance in ensuring your child completes their homework and hands it in on time so that it does not have to be done at school during playtime.

Reading Books

All pupils will have their own independent reading book which they need to have in school daily.  They are listened to on a regular basis by teachers, classroom or learning support assistants and adult helpers, either individually or in groups during guided reading.  It is hugely beneficial to listen to your child read at home and discuss their book with them whenever you can spare the time.  The Reading Stars initiative will continue to be used this academic year and reading records for your use will be sent home next week.

We hope this has provided you with some useful information on Year 4.  Please feel free to contact us at school to arrange an appointment if you have any questions or concerns.

We look forward to working with your child and we hope they will enjoy their time in Year 4.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. Coates                                                     Mrs. Newton