CHRISTMAS TIME!

Wow, nearly at the end of the first term of Year Four, and it has been such an exciting and TIRING term.

As we approach the end, there's just a few housekeeping things to update on. Firstly I just want to say what a fantastic time we had during STEM week. Lots of different activities were happening across the school in our North Pole Research Centre. All children enjoyed this, and it was lovely to see the Year Four's take on a leadership role to support the younger years.

We are also well underway with the practices for our christmas play. The children have been super and the singing/acting has been fantastic! Please can you ensure that if your children have lines, they are learnt off by heart by Monday and also bring in their costumes. Monday is our tech rehearsal, Tuesday is the dress rehearsal, and Wednesday and Thursday are the real performances! I'm excited to show you all what we have produced!

This week we have also had Christmas Craft day where children took part in 3 different activities across the morning. This was such a fun morning and the crafts made were brilliant! We also had a christmas jumper day......

There is no home learning this week as we've had such a busy week and it's getting closer to the end of term! Next week home learning will be sent home to do over the christmas holidays!

There is also a sign up sheet outside of year 4 for our christmas party! Please sign up if you are able to bring anything in for us!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
The Year Four Team!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hello!

Just a quick blog to update on a couple of things that have been happening in Year 4 this week and last week. I want to start by saying how impressed I am with the incredible writing that was produced for our Big Write last week. Each and every child blew me away with their fictional writing skills. Well done Year Four!!

As promised, I am adding my email address to this blog as well. Please contact me if there is anything you want to let me know or you have any questions. I do check my emails regularly throughout the day - a.white@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk

This week in Maths we have started looking at negative numbers. We have looked at this in a variety of ways by relating this is so real life contexts such as hotel floors, car park levels and also thermometers. The home learning this week will be focused on this.

We have also been busy conducting science experiments which link to the water cycle. We did three today in class which looked at evaporation and precipitation. All children enjoyed thinking scientifically and conducting experiments.

In art we have started to look at the artist Claude Monet and children have started to create their own version of the famous 'Bridge over a pond of water lilies'. These will be completed next week! I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. 

Rehearsals for the Christmas play have also started properly this week. Please can you read through any lines your child may have. Reading through the songs would also be beneficial.

Thank you!

The Year Four Team!

This week in Year Four!

Hello everyone!

Sorry we haven't posted a blog for a little while, we have all been so busy in Year 4 and it's only going to get busier as we approach CHRISTMAS.

I just want to start this blog but saying how impressed we all were with the imaginative eco-friendly inventions that were thought of. These ranged from a magnetic warehouse (to limit the electricity used) to a party bike that collected rubbish from parties and recycled this. We also wrote instructions on how to use these! We were all amazed by the children's abilities to explain how these work.

In Power Maths we have been looking at 4 digit numbers. We have been working on how to round 4 digit numbers to the nearest 1000, 100 and 10. All children have been engaged with this and are coming up with some really good explanations on how they got to their answers.

In Literacy this week we have been focusing on the book Flotsam by David Wiesner. This book has no words but pictures to tell the story. This has been the perfect book to develop imagination and ideas. On Friday we have planned in a Big Write, which will focus on what happened next in the Flotsam Story. We are really excited to see the results from this!

We have also given parts for the school musical which is Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Rehearsals have started this week for this by learning the songs. Next week we will be starting to act and place children on the stage.

Parent/Teacher consultations are also starting tonight and tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you all.

The Year Four Team.

WOW AMAZING INCREDIBLE!!

Well, I don't even know where to start with this blog as I am still in complete awe of the Year 4s or should I say professional Shakespearean actors!!

We are all so incredibly proud of the children. They blew us all away last night with their show stopping performance of Romeo and Juliet. We have all been in agreement that the performance they put on last night was the best they have ever done it, and believe me the last few rehearsals were hard to top. They have become so professional as actors and have really made themselves and us proud. WELL DONE YEAR 4!! Also a big thank you must go to all of the parents/carers who have helped the children learn their lines as there was not a missed word/line last night. To thank the children for doing so well we had a little celebration party this afternoon in class where we watched Gnomeo and Juliet .

I also want to take the opportunity to say WELL DONE to the children who have brought in their mobile water cycles so far. They are all so unique and very imaginative. I look forward to seeing the rest of them!!

Today we started our new topin, Blue Planet - Water. We started by having a discussion about what we could do as individuals to save our oceans and seas. Lots of different ideas were discussed such as limiting the use of plastics, not hunting so many sea animals and being aware of how much water we are wasting (e.g. when brushing teeth and leaving the tap on). The children produced some really good posters and seemed very passionate about it. The topic will start to unfold over the coming weeks.

One last thing. I know you all received an email about a trip on Monday. These were meant to be sent out on Tuesday, but I'm sure you can understand that with Romeo and Juliet these were not given out on time. We are sorry about this!! Some of you have already signed these sheets this morning which was perfect thank you, the rest are coming home tonight! Sorry once again.

Thank you for your continued support!
The Year 4 Team.

Year 4 - clarification of arrangements for Wednesday!

I thought I would just write a reminder blog about the arrangements for Wednesday.

Children should come to school in the morning as usual, wearing their school uniform. We will have an early lunch and then be taken to the theatre by coach. As stated in the letter sent out before half term, the time between dress/tech rehearsal and curtains up is not long so Mr. Spracklen has kindly arranged for the staff and children to go for a meal close to the theatre. We will NOT, therefore, be returning to school! Please simply arrive and make yourselves comfortable for an amazing performance! You will need to collect your child from the theatre at the end of the night, details of the logisitcs will be shared on the night.

Taking the time to reflect, wow - what a journey our 8 and 9 year olds have been on!? Learning about William Shakespeare, his plays and poems, immersing themselves in Romeo and Juliet, not only understanding many of the themes and complexities of the tragedy but also learning the Old English. Finally, performing it with such maturity in a theatre. I am not sure that many Year 4 children will have had this fantastic learning opportunity. We are VERY proud of you all Year 4!

We are looking forward to this week...............

The Year 4 Team!

Next half term!

Hello everyone. I hope you've all had a really good half term and are feeling ready for the next half term leading up to......CHRISTMAS!!

The main topic that we will be looking at is Blue Planet: Water, which was introduced in the knowledge organisers and the home learning books. I am really looking forward to seeing all of your water cycle projects!

I'm sure you are all just as excited and nervous as I am for Wednesday which is when we are performing the amazing Romeo and Juliet at The Pavilion. If you haven't already, please can you bring the forms back signed on Tuesday. It's going to be such a good production, and the children have worked so hard on it, I can't wait for you all to see it.

Just one more quick reminder from me. We are back to school on Tuesday, not Monday, as this is an inset day for all children.

Look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday!

Year 4 Thursday 24th October 2019

Good evening,

Thank you to all those of you who have been able to hand in the new home learning books. The children did very well with their times tables and Roman maths. Spellings will be tested tomorrow and new home learning will also come home tomorrow.

We had our pre-dress rehearsal today and it was perfect! Please can we ensure all costumes are in school tomorrow as we will be doing a final dress rehearsal for Liz and Suzanne from stamp.

This week, in literacy, we explored "what if........" ideas relating to the story of Romeo and Juliet, for example, "What if Tybalt didn't die?" "What if the letter did get to Romeo?" The children then had to write the next part of the story with a change of events as a result of a change in the story. This learning demanded us to think and reason deeply about the story and then to apply our writing composition skills.

In RE, in order to use and apply their learning, the children had to write a diary entry according to a day in the life of a Jewish child.

In light of recent changes, we felt it would be beneficial and appropriate to lead a PHSCE discussion about "changes". The children were open and honest as well as sensitive, articulate and caring. Many sensitive areas were brought up, lead by the children, and these were discussed with great maturity. The children really enjoyed this opportunity and it helped to ease any anxieties about the rest of the year in year 4, whilst also building important relationships with Miss. White and the rest of the team.

You should have received an A4 brown envelope with the Autumn 2 knowledge organiser in and 2 letters; one letter detailing final arrangements for the performance on the first Wednesday back and the other about Hooke Court. If you did not receive any of these, please see one of us tomorrow.

See you all tomorrow - many thanks again for all your support and positivity!

The Year 4 Team.

Hello!

Loved my first week in Year 4, it's been great to get to know the children more and their personalities are really starting to come through.

This week Power Maths focused on Roman Numerals and place value. We've had ongoing challenges linking to larger Roman Numerals on the board which the children have been working hard at. This challenge has seemed to be very enjoyable. We completed a Star Reading test and all new AR reading ages are now on the front of the reading logs. The rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet are well underway and we have managed to complete a run through...in front of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I. Please can you send children in with costumes as of Monday. Just another reminder, if you do not already have a scooter or a skateboard please do not go out and buy one!

Coming home with the children today are their new home learning books and reading logs. If you have any queries please contact me directly.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, hopefully the sun will come out!

Miss White

Year 4 Tuesday 15th October 2019

It has been another super successful day in Year 4, with lots of happy children.

The children have new table groups now, which pleased them no end!

We had a brilliant Power Maths lesson today, applying our learning about Roman Numerals.

Our rehearsal was very good - please could we ensure the children with speaking parts (not narrators) know their lines to the end of the play - thank you!

The RWInc spelling, guided reading, individual reading and grammar lesson introduced new spelling patterns - Orange group = silent "t" and Purple group the pre-fix "inter". Spellings have been sent home for the children in these groups to practice, ready for next week - Friday.

In response to questions about home learning, you will have received a letter detailing the plan and expectations for the rest of the year - as per the previous blog - and the new homelearning books and reading logs, that Miss. White and I have spent time creating, will come home on a Friday to be handed in the following Thursday.

As Miss. White stated in her letter to you all, introducing herself, please do find time to come and introduce yourselves to her.

Swimming tomorrow!

Queries about home learning in Year 4.

I would just like to say, on behalf of the staff in the school, thank you for your support and understanding over these last few weeks.

The learning and happiness of all the children in our school are our priority and Year 4 as well as Reception have been incredible, particularly testement to the previous teachers of our Year 4 cohort because their independent learning skills and learning powers have been very evident and this has been one of the aims of the school to enable and equip children with, not only knowledge but, the skill set needed to be a lifelong learner. We have very high standards and expectations which the children rise to every day and we ensure that each individual child's needs are met, whether it be academic, physical or emotional.

I know that we are very lucky to have such a supportive community of parents who work with their children at home to reinforce learning that takes place in school. Currently we are working very hard to produce our performance ready for 11 school days time! I want ALL children to feel confident on the stage - the skills they are learning from this experience are such valuable life skills as well as immersing themselves in Shakespeare and Shakespearean language, something not a lot of children this age are lucky enough to experience. Therefore, specific homelearning has not been set. This will resume after the performance.

Ofcourse, 15 minute daily mathletics and 20 minutes daily reading are already expected as stated in the Knowledge Organisers you were given at the beginning of term. Should you wish to carry out further home learning, aside from learning lines, there are plenty of areas to choose from on the Knowledge Organisers to take their learning further and to build upon their learning in class. I would even just encourage you reading a novel to your child, not only as quality time together, to enrich vocabulary and communication skills as well as language and grammar and an all round enjoyment of reading.

The children were all super excited about having Miss. White back. She is a very welcome addition to the Prince of Wales team!

If you have any further questions, please see me in the morning to make an appointment.

Mrs. Johnson and the Year 4 Team

Year 4 w/c 14th October 2019

Good evening Everyone,

I am sure you were as proud as we were of Year 4 for all their hard work preparing for Harvest, as well as focussing outstandingly on our Romeo and Juliet performance rehearsals. 11 school days of rehearsals to go!!!!!!!!

There is not a great deal to worry about for props and costumes so I will send a letter home tomorrow with the view to having their labelled items in school by the end of the week, ready to practice with them next week.

Swimming was very successful this week, especially as it was the first time we have taken both year groups together. Year 4, yet again, demonstrated excellent behaviour, listening and swimming - well done!

This week we will be continuing with Power Maths as usual, learning about Roman Numerals. Our literacy lessons and afternoon lessons, where possible, will be rehearsals.

Please can you check at home to ensure your child has an AR reading book, which also needs to be coming into school daily. Thank you!

See you all tomorrow,

Mrs. Johnson and the Year 4 Team.

Year 4 w/c 7th October 2019

Good evening Everyone!

I have really enjoyed my first few days in Year 4, getting to know all the children who made me feel very welcome and have been extremely kind and helpful. They really are a lovely class!

We have made a super start to Romeo and Juliet and have decided to tell the story with a modern day, 21st Century, twist!!!!!!! I will send home a note this week detailing props and costumes.

We have a very busy week ahead, not only rehearsing but preparing for Harvest! Not forgetting our trip to the farm on Friday afternoon.

Home Learning: keep reading daily, taking AR quizzes, times tables..........I will send home the orange and purple group spellings on Friday. Most importantly, learn your lines for the play!

I was astounded by the outstanding quality of the Shakespeare and Mask home learning that has come in! You should be very proud of yourselves.

Thank you for all your support and positivity,

Mrs. Johnson and the Year 4 Team

Year 4 — Permissions for Trip - 21st September

As permissions for Monday's trip were not clear on the paperwork sent home and returned to school, please can you take a moment to fill in a permission slip at drop off on Monday.  Sorry for the inconvenience.
Many Thanks,
Year 4

Year 4 — Home learning - 20th September 2019

Home learning - Year 4 - Autumn Week 3

20th September 2019

2nd Week of a 2 Week project - The masked ball

A massive thank you to all of those who have already returned their wonderful masks.

In scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet the characters attend a masked ball.  I would like you to have a go at designing and making a mask for the partygoers.  It can be as fantastical as you like and decorated as befits a wealthy italian family from the late 16th century and ideally will have a stick or elastic to hold them in place when being worn.  Here are some ideas.

Please return your home learning by Friday 27th September.

All the World Is a Stage!

On Monday we will be going to Weymouth Pavilion for our Shakespeare Schools Workshop.  The children will be learning techniques that they can use for the performance. Also we will be having a go at developing one of the scenes in the play.  The scene I have chosen is the final scene. I have included a copy of it, so pick a part and have a go. Be as dramatic as you like. I will be casting this weekend, the auditions have been so strong I know I will have problems choosing!  Also apologies in advance if not everyone gets to be their favourite characters. There will be plenty of opportunity for us to have a go at all of the parts as we polish our performance and practise scenes.

X tables

Keep hammering those 2s, 4s and 8s.  Why not try times table practise at:

https://www.timestables.co.uk/speed-test/

Please remember:

READING, Times Tables Rockstars, Mathletics, AR Reading Quizzes and Purple Mash which can all be accessed at home to support your learning in school.  All logins remain the same as last year, all children have now set their personal log in for google classroom too.

Miss Johnson's Spelling Group - 20th September 2019

Spellings for this week are:

Name………………………………

Spellings - Miss Johnson’s Read Write Inc Group 20th September 2019

Orange Group	Check 1	Check 2	Check 3
accommodate
accompany
according
achieve
aggressive
amateur
ancient
apparent
appreciate
attached
available
average
awkward

Name………………………………

Spellings - Miss Johnson’s Read Write Inc Group 20th September 2019

Purple Group	Check 1	Check 2	Check 3
accident
accidentally
actual
actually
address
answer
appear
arrive
believe
bicycle
breath
breathe
build

Year 4 - Shakespeare Workshop - 20th September for 23rd September

A reminder that we will be going to take part in our Shakespeare Workshop on Monday 23rd September, we will arrive back at school a little late for lunch so please bring a packed lunch to eat when we get back.  If you haven't returned your agreement form please bring it with you on Monday.  We will have some spare copies in the classroom.

Also, please return your request form for tickets by Monday, so that we can order the tickets.  We will request payment once we have the tickets.

Year 4 - Shakespeare and Swimming - 19th September 2019

I have been absolutely astounded by year 4 and their amazing acting skills this week.  Lots of children have come to audition (in the limited time that we have had).  We will be holding more auditions tomorrow during our Literacy lesson.  I plan to give out the parts at the beginning of next week so that children can start learning their lines.  We will be rehearsing hard over the next few weeks.

If you have not yet returned your reply slip for tickets for our performance on 6th November, please return these as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.  We will be block booking at the end of next week, if you request tickets after this time you will have to buy them directly from the pavilion at a slightly greater cost.  We will let you know when we need the money!

Swimming will begin next Wednesday 25th September.  Please ensure your child brings their swimming kit, goggles, hat and towel and if you haven't please let a member of the year 4 team know if you wish to pick up your child from the pool. 

Looking forward to our non-school uniform day tomorrow and be prepared for a POW greeting in the morning!

Miss Johnson's Spelling Group Spellings - 13th September 2019

Name………………………………

Spellings - Miss Johnson’s Read Write Inc Group 13th September 2019

Orange Group	Check 1	Check 2	Check 3
doubted
thumbnail
numbness
subtle
indebted
lambing
climbed
bombing
doubtless
unsubtle
combing
crumbs

Name………………………………

Spellings - Miss Johnson’s Read Write Inc Group 13th September 2019

Purple Group	Check 1	Check 2	Check 3
disagree
inhuman
misbehave
mislead
mismatch
misplace
misprint
mistreat
misspell
mistrust
misunderstand
unfair