The days are getting longer and the sun is staying out more and more, at last! January is almost done and it is not just our nights that are getting brighter everyday, but Year 4’s own light has been shining even more as each day passes. Year 4 have had a very positive week and have been trying everyday to make themselves the best they can be through their resilience and improving selflessness. They need to keep up the good work!

In Maths this week, Year 4 have moved on to learning all about written multiplication. It has been quite a challenge! The class started at the very beginning by practising their partitioning, using their place value skills excellently. Once Year 4 felt as confident as they could with their partitioning, they then proceeded to move on to the formal written method, using columns to multiply a two digit number by a one digit number. This written multiplication has really been putting Year 4’s times tables knowledge to the test! Please remember to keep practising times tables at home!

In English, Year 4 have started working on their brand new topic! We have joined our Science topic up with English so that we can work towards writing an explanation text about the Science of Sound. We have started to prepare ourselves for independently writing our own explanation texts by brainstorming all of the features we believe make an explanation text good at explaining a piece of information. These features include having headings and subheadings, direct questions, key vocabulary, adverbs, conjunctions, diagrams and lots more! We have also worked together to identify and record the key vocabulary that the class will use when they come to write an explanation text all about Sound.

In RE, Year 4 have been exploring ‘The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant’ and the messages that this parable gives to Christians. The main message in the story is all about forgiveness and how it is our responsibility as part of God’s family to make sure we forgive those that trespass against us as many times as they may need, just like God always forgives us. This particular parable really makes us think about the qualities and values that Christians can adopt to make them more forgiving and empathetic individuals.

In History, Year 4 learnt all about King Ethelred the Unready and his troubles with those pesky Vikings! Year 4 expanded upon their debating skills from last week week and showed off how much they have improved! Year 4 created arguments for and against the question; ‘Is it fair King Ethelred was called unready?’. Then the class learnt all about how King Ethelred would pay the Vikings to not invade Britain, this was called “paying the Dane”! We then challenged ourselves to even more civilised debating with the question; ‘Was King Ethelred right when he was “paying the Dane”?

This week Year 4 have also combined their Science topic of Sound into their PE lessons, using all the skills they have learnt throughout gymnastics. Year 4 spent two lessons creating their very own sequences and were challenged to use travelling, balances, rolls and jumps in these sequences. Year 4’s sequences represented how sound travels from being a vibration all the way through to being sound waves, electrical signals until it reaches the brain which tells us all about the sound we are hearing. Year 4 were wonderful! They not only created fantastic, technical sequences but also developed their teamwork skills as well as their independent resilience. The staff in school and from Blackpool Football Club could not have been more proud.

This week, Year 4 have been challenged to a brand new piece of sheet music for their recorders which they should have received on Thursday! Please remember to keep practising and to bring recorders every Wednesday.

Also a big well done to our Year 4s undertaking Holy Communion sessions, everyone was extremely impressed with the positive and respectful way in which the children conducted themselves. The groups spent time working through the order of the Mass and completing Chapter Five of their ‘I Belong’ books. Please remember to bring these books in on Monday!

Congratulations to our Award Winners:

Golden Award - Oscar.

Writing Award - Max.

Maths Award - Oscar.

Thank you from everyone in Year 4!