17^th October 2025

This week brings us to the end of a busy first term in Year 4, well done to all the children.  We are so happy with the way everyone has settled into Year 4, and am pleased with all the hard work and commitment everyone has shown.  Thank you to everyone who is able to join us for our open classroom this afternoon, we have all been looking forward to sharing  some of the fantastic work the children have completed over our first term.

We have celebrated the end of term 1 with our fantastic Forest School session with Mrs Woodhouse.  The children built their own looms out of natural materials, and created some decorative weaving.  Some looms were a little longer lasting than others, but we all learnt about the importance of creating a strong structure and learnt that when things don’t go to plan the first time, it is important to persevere.

In PSHE this week we discovered that disagreements and ‘fall outs’ are part of all relationships, especially with our friends.  We discussed how different situations make us feel, and looked at how those situations might feel from another perspective.  The children created some thoughtful and considered role plays to explore different ways that we can solve disagreements positively and without confrontation. 

Next term we move onto our new topics, Food and the Digestion System, States of Matter and Fresh Food, Good Food.  We will be delving into the world of science to discover more about our digestion system, healthy food choices, food preservation and characteristic properties of different materials.

Our class book for next term will be The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Rauf. This book gives a child’s-eye view of the increasing problem of food poverty, and of course a mystery for the main characters to solve.  If anyone has a copy of the book, or would like to purchase a copy, please do send them in with your child (named) so they can follow the story as we read.

Congratulations to this terms Headteacher Award winners, Haydn and Flora.

Homework There will be no Atom homework over half term, however we would like the children to work on some spellings and their times tables.

Spellings - Please take some time over the holiday to look at the Year 3 and 4 Statutory Spellings.  I have attached the list for your information, and have given the children an activity book to help them revise the spelling words.

Times Tables - I have challenged the children to really concentrate on learning their times tables this half term.  When we return after the holidays, we will start a weekly times table grid to track our times table knowledge and any additional practice over the holidays will support them in this.  Please make use of the children’s TTRS accounts (https://play.ttrockstars.com/).   

Other good online games include:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button and https://www.topmarks.co.uk/times-tables/coconut-multiples.

Date for the diary: Year 4 will be visiting the National Science Museum on Tuesday 18th November.  Full details of this trip will be sent by email at the start of next term.

Have a lovely half term,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick

10^th October 2025

Thank you for joining us at our Harvest Service on Wednesday, it was a fantastic celebration of harvest and the children all sang beautifully.  Well done to our Year 4 readers, Monty and Edie who both delivered their verses with confidence.

In English this week we have written some informative and carefully constructed fact files about Katherine Johnson.  We have learnt a lot about Katherine over the last term and the children have all worked incredibly hard to compile their fact files.  I wonder how much they can tell you about Katherine and her role in the Space Race?

In maths we have continued to look at different mental math strategies looking for the nearest 10 and 100 to help us to calculate problems without the need for column addition.  This has been very tricky and the children are becoming more confident in recognising the nearest round numbers, maybe they could help point some out to you if you are shopping this weekend?  Next week we will start to look at using subtraction to find the difference between two numbers.

Taylor Swift has provided this weeks musical time table practice: 6 Times Table Song (Cover of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift!)

Next Week:

• Year 4 will have Forest School on Thursday (16^th) morning, please see the email for details.
• On Friday (18^th) afternoon, Year 4 would like to invite you into our classroom so that the children can share a little bit of what we have been learning in Term 1.  The classroom will be open from 3pm.  We look forward to seeing you if you are able to join us.

Spellings: We are looking at words that have the /k/ sound spelt ch.

Homework: Due by Thursday 16/10/2025

Maths – Atom Homework on written addition problems and mental addition and subtraction.

English – Comprehension.  The children all did brilliantly last week and were able to discuss their reasoning in our review. Please return the homework in their folders by Thursday 16th we will look at the answers together in the class.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick

3^rd October 2025

Year 4 had a fantastic day on Monday at Painshill, spending the day outside in the autumn sunshine.  We had some imaginative Viking and Anglo-Saxon adventures, making and sinking longships, escaping and capturing, crafting and cooking.  In the afternoon we tried out our map reading skills, plotting orienteering points around Painshill before navigating our way around the estate to find them. Thank you to Mrs Brown and Mrs French for accompanying us.

Our trip inspired our English this week.  The children have planned and written some accurate chronological recounts of their day at Painshill.  I have been impressed with their ability to use some challenging historical vocabulary in their writing.

In maths we have started exploring addition of numbers up to 10,000.  We have used both column addition and different mental math strategies looking for the nearest 10 and 100.  We have also continued to practice our times tables and discovered that we can use Ed Sheeran’s Azizam to help with our 3 times tables: 3 Times Table Song (Azizam by Ed Sheeran)

Spellings: We have looked again at adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters (-ed, -ing) to words of more than one syllable to make sure that everyone is confident.

Homework: Due by Thursday 09/10/2025

Maths – Atom Homework on written addition problems and mental addition and subtraction.

English – Thank you for supporting the children in their handwriting last week.  This week I have sent home a written reading comprehension task.  There is a short piece of text for them to (please support the children in reading the text if needed) and then answer the questions.  Please return the homework in their folders by Thursday 9^th as we will look at the answers together in the class.

Harvest Service, Wednesday 8^th October

We are all looking forward to our Harvest Service on Wednesday.  Please could all children bring in a decorated Harvest envelope with a donation for Bondeni inside and tinned/non-perishable good to donate to Edenbridge Food Bank during the service.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick

26^th September 2025

In maths this week we have finished our place value chapter, including rounding to estimate.  Next week we will be starting to explore addition and subtraction within 10,000.  The children have also showed off our rapping skills with McGrammar to practise our 4 times tables – here is the link if the children would like to show off their new talents! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL-vLcjVj5o

In English this week we have been exploring Katherine Johnson’s involvement in the Apollo missions, in particular her role in ensuring that the astronauts on the fated Apollo 13 mission landed safely back on earth.  The children have written some insightful descriptive passages about the explosion that brought the mission to an early end.  

In our Invasion topic with have revisited our timeline of Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain, discovering that the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons both lived in Britain at the same time, but not always harmoniously!  The children have also been learning about the artform of weaving and how it has developed over time, including the materials and techniques required to create woven patterns and products. This afternoon, they began creating their own wall hangings using a loom and thread.

Painshill Trip – Monday 29^th September: Please see the email from the school office outlining the details for the day, in particular the 08.15 drop off time.

Spellings: In spelling this week our mastery focus adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters (-ed, -ing) to words of more than one syllable.

Homework: Due by Thursday 02/10/2025

Maths – Place Value, comparing and ordering and rounding.

English –I have sent the children home with some handwriting practice in a homework folder.  We have discussed this in class and practiced using the Bubble Writing sheets (I have attached an example for your information).  If any of the children are finding it tricky, please encourage them to give it a try, they don’t need to copy out the whole text.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick

19^th September 2025

Year 4 have had a busy week in the classroom as it has been assessment week.  Everybody has worked incredibly hard. The assessments will help us identify any gaps and inform our planning as we progress through the next few months. 

In English, the children have been investigating the role of the astronaut John Glenn in the Space Race.  They have grouped their research into similar themes to write some paragraphs about John’s life. Finally, in spelling, we have continued to look at suffixes, exploring how we add -ing, -ed, -er and -est to a root words ending in -y and words ending in -e.

We have continued to explore Anglo-Saxon Britain, learning about how the arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes helped to form some of the boundaries that we still use today, I wonder if the children can remember any?  The children have also created some imaginative and colourful posters showing what they have learnt about life in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period.

In maths the children have worked hard to understand how we round 4-digit numbers to 10, 100 and 100 to help us estimate.  Some of the maths homework on Atom involves rounding, please do support your children in understanding this as it is a very tricky concept.

Spellings: In spelling this week our mastery focus is: adding -er and -est to a root word ending in -y and -e with a consonant before it.

 

Homework: Atom Homework due by Thursday 25/09/2025

Maths – Place Value, comparing and ordering and rounding.

English – Punctuating sentences, conjunctions and adding suffixes.

Times Tables: There has been some fantastic efforts with times tables, please do keep this up.  The Garage game is a fantastic way to increase confidence with times table facts.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick

Friday 12^th September 2025

Two weeks into term and the children have all settled into Year 4 with enthusiasm.

This week in maths we have continued to build confidence in place value to four digits and have been exploring different ways to represent a number, recording it pictorially, in numerals and in words.  With their newfound confidence, the children have looked at comparing and ordering, and investigating patterns.

In English we have begun to read fantastic book called Counting with Katherine by Helaine Becker which will inspire our writing this term.  We have explored Katherine’s character and the challenges that she faced.  The children have already written some impressive character descriptions and a job application for their dream job!  Their writing, and career aspirations, are ambitious and imaginative which is fantastic.

Homework: 

Maths and English homework has been set on Atom Learning.  Log in details for the children are the same as last year.  Please avoid giving your children too much help with this as it is better to allow the algorithm to set the challenge level. If they are finding it too difficult, please let us know.

Maths – Place Value up to 1000’s and comparing and ordering.

English – Punctuating sentences and conjunctions.

Times Tables - Yr4 have reminded themselves how to log onto, and use, Times Table Rock Stars (TTRS).  All the children have the same login details as last year.  We have stuck them into reading diaries for safekeeping.  Please encourage your child to spend some time practising their times tables this week on their school TTRS account as we will be using TTRS throughout the year to support our learning.

Spellings - Our mastery focus is adding -ing, -ed, -er and -est to:

• words of one syllable ending in vowel consonant

 e.g. skip -> skipping, skipped / shrug -> shrugging, shrugged.

The key spelling rule is to double the last consonant before adding -ing and -ed.

• words ending in -e with a consonant before it

e.g. make -> making / slide -> sliding / wave -> waving.

The key spelling rules are that the -e at the ending of the root word is dropped before adding -ing and -ed.

• words ending in -y with a consonant before it.

e.g. apply -> applying, applied / steady -> steadying, steadied, steadier, steadiest.

The key spelling rule is that the -y is changed to an -i before adding -ed, -er and -est but not -ing.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick

5^th September 2025

A very warm welcome to Year 4.  It has been an absolute pleasure to welcome the children into the classroom this week.  I have been incredibly impressed with how well everyone has settled in, getting used to our new classroom and routines.

This term where we will learn about life in Britain after the Roman withdrawal in our Invasion topic.  This week we have spent some time exploring different timelines, both of where Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain fits into world history and to discover the main events that occurred during the period.

In maths this week we have started working with five-digit numbers in place value.  We have been recalling how to count on in 1’s 10’s, 25’s, 100’s and 1000’s, checking our place value knowledge and explaining our understanding in our maths journals.

We have all enjoyed meeting the main characters in our class book, The Saga of Eric the Viking by Terry Jones, and have used our reading comprehension skills to predict what we think might happen as the plot develops. 

New Writing and Spelling Programme – Message from Mrs Hester

We are in the process of introducing a new writing and spelling programme called Pathways to Write and Pathways to Spell. This enables us to conform to the Government's latest advice in the newly published Writing Framework, and will lead to a more consistent approach across the School. As a result, we will no longer be doing weekly spelling tests. Our focus will be on techniques for learning spelling rules and spelling words, encouraging children to first recognise and understand the words before breaking them down in order to recall their spellings. We will still put the weekly focus words and spelling rules on this page and we encourage you to go over these with your children. We will, however, no longer be working towards a test. This is a far more inclusive approach and we hope it will help broaden children's vocabulary while embedding strategies for learning how to spell. 

This week in Year 4 we have been reviewing words from the Year 3&4 Statutory Spelling List (attached) which the children are expected to be confident in by the end of Year 4.

Homework:

There will not be any set homework this week, but I would be grateful if you could encourage your children to look at their times tables over the weekend.

Date for the diary: Trip to Painshill, Cobham on Monday 29^th September 2025.  The full details of this trip will be confirmed in an email next week.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Chapman and Mrs Frederick.