Welcome back I hope you have had a

Welcome back! I hope you have had a lovely Christmas with your family and friend. I can’t believe 2018 is here already! Happy New Year. Miss Croft. Potions Welcome to the amazing magical world of potions! We will use George’s Marvellous Medicine, The Witches, Alice in Wonderland Harry Potter to inspire lots of different writing. We’ll explore and write our own instructions, recipes and explanation texts about lots of different lotions and potions. Now Scientists, beware! There are some powerful and deadly potions out there which will EXPLODE! We’ll need our lab coats on and safety goggles to protect ourselves! We’ll listen to Mussorgsky's A Night on the Bare Mountain and explore how music can be used to tell stories using BBC Ten Pieces. This composed piece of music describes a short story in which a man sees a witches' gathering on the Bald Mountain. . . scary. This term we’ll go out with a …. BANG! Spelling Children will have weekly spellings based on taught spelling rules in the class and Year 3/ 4 Common Exception words. There will be a maximum of 10 spellings each week. Children will get a fresh set of spellings each week. In school we will track how they are doing with their spellings. We do appreciate it if you could practise these with your child at home. Spelling tests will be tested and marked every Friday. Year 4 C Spring Term 1 Cornerstones Homework New homework will be given out shortly for this topic, with a list of exciting things to do at home. Children can bring their homework into school to share with the class and receive a well done dot. We had some great pieces last year – thank you for your support with this. Maths Homework This term we will be continuing Multiplication and Division using formal written methods. This term, your child has the opportunity to practise and consolidate all 4 operations ( + - x ÷) using formal methods. In Year 4, children are expected to use and apply more formal methods of calculating as they are dealing with larger numbers. Please can your child hand it back to Miss Croft by Wednesday 7 th February 2018. Please use this booklet in a way that works best for you and your child and perhaps aim for 1 or 2 pages a week. If you have any problems, please see Miss Croft. Water Bottles Children need to bring their water bottle into the classroom daily which can be used anytime except at lunchtime. You may wish to send a named carton of juice or named juice bottle at for your child to access at lunchtime if they wish but water is provided.

RE and British Values In RE, we will be learning about The Journey of Life and Death. This unit enables children to reflect on emotions and feelings linked to celebration and loss and investigate key beliefs and concepts in Christianity and Islam connected to birth, growing up, marriage and death. The children will also be focussing on Teamwork and Confidence as apart of their Brinsley Values. They will be talking about what these words mean and how it links to society. PE Days Our PE day will take place on Wednesday morning with the PE Coach and Tuesday afternoon with Miss Croft. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit in school at all times. Earrings should be removed at home or a letter obtained from the office if ears are newly pierced. Science This term we will recap over Solids, Liquids and Gases along with different types of teeth. On our Science day, we will explore sound. Reading & Bug Club In Key Stage 2, we ask that the children read to someone at home every day for 5 minutes. The reading may consist of a variety of texts; from novels, to recipes, newspapers and even football programmes! Don’t forget reading on Bug Club also counts as home reading! Bug Club puts more emphasis on comprehension skills as, ultimately, this is what children are assessed against at the end of Key Stage 2. The children have to answer the questions, by clicking the little bugs, which Miss Croft can see. Guided Reading will happen every day for KS 2. Miss Croft will also allocate their guided reading books on Bug Club under the tab, comprehension. Changes to filling in home reading log At the front of your child’s reading log, you’ll find a star reading chart which, when completed, allows the children to move up the reading tower, gain a certificate and choose a prize from the treasure box. Please write at least 1 weekly comment when you have listened to your child read and get the children to tick on the chart when they have read. Reading is an essential area where practice at home really pays off! Hometime Children will exit through a different door to last year. We will now be sending your children home near the rock climbing wall. Please can you wait until all the children have been collected before coming to speak to either Miss Croft or Miss Baldwin. Please beware that we may not always be free at the end of the day or in the morning. Therefore, if you let Miss Croft know in advance that you need a chat, then we can sort a suitable meeting or phone call. Thank you. Helpers for Reading If you are available for an hour on any afternoon to hear readers, please speak to Miss Croft. Diary Dates 08. 01. 18 First Day Back 10. 01. 18 Potions WOW Day 06. 02. 18 Science Day/ Safer Internet Day 12. 02. 18 Parent Reading Workshop 3: 154: 15 16. 02. 18 INSET DAY – school closed 19. 02. 18 - 23. 2. 18 School closed for half term