Rosen

Year 4

Isaiah 26:4 – Trust in the Lord forever, the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal.

Welcome to 4 Rosen’s blog – this is where you’ll find news about what we’re doing in class.

The Class Teacher is Mr Faith who is (very capably!) supported by Miss Amy and Miss Tracey.

Class Updates

Week Commencing Monday 11th March 2024

Hello!

I hope this update reaches you well and that you have had a lovely week.

During English, we started our new topic on non-chronological reports. We began our week by identifying the features of a formal letter, then moved on to answering reading comprehension questions about Fairtrade. As the week progressed, we practised laying out a formal letter, wrote about a Fairtrade cooperative, then rounded out things by researching Fairtrade products. As you can see, we fit a *lot* into our program of study for the subject this week!

In our Maths lessons, we brought our work on fractions to a close. In doing this, we added fractions and mixed numbers, subtracted two fractions, subtracted from whole amounts and mixed numbers, and finally, completed and reviewed our end-of-unit assessments. Another busy week!

During our DT lesson, we created the side panels for our cars, cutting tabs into them to ensure that they can easily be fitted to the chassis next week.

In our Computing lesson, we all added an entry to a class database on weather conditions, which we will use to answer questions from next week.

For Geography, we reflected upon the roles plants play in agriculture, whilst for Science, we investigated how sounds can be different pitches / volumes and how length, thickness and tightness of string affects pitch.

In our RHE lesson, we looked at ways we can be influenced, and thought about how the act of Holy Communion demonstrates God’s peace in RE.

Here is this week’s homework:

150324 – Spellings Homework Sheet

150324 – Reading Comprehension 11 – The Dragon’s Egg

A reminder from Mrs Pereira, our school librarian that sponsorship money can still be paid for the school sponsored read that we conducted between 4 – 10 March. The final deadline is 22nd March, and the JustGiving link can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ststephens-primary

Have a great weekend and I look forward to speaking to you all during our parents’ / carers’ evenings next week,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 4th March 2024

Hello!

Another busy week!

A big ‘thank you’ for coming to the ‘Mums and Chums’ breakfast this morning; it was great talking to many parents, carers and other significant females of pupils past and present!

In our Maths lessons, we did some more work on fractions. We converted improper fractions to mixed numbers, identified equivalent fractions on a number line, identified equivalent fraction families (*click click* – ask your child about this one if they’re in my maths group) and started to add fractions with the same denominator.

During English, we brought our unit of work on explanation texts to a close. We did this by first planning our explanation text on the history of chocolate, then writing the same over a two day period. On World Book Day, in lieu of a regular English lesson, we instead had a day of book appreciation, which included:

  • Participating in our annual Book Character Parade;
  • Having a ‘book share’ where we talked about the books we are currently enjoying reading;
  • Creating word searches about the same books;
  • Participating in an in-class sponsored silent read to raise money for our school;
  • Visiting the pop-up book fair that opened up in the library.

A big ‘thank you’ goes out to Mrs Pereira, our school librarian, for organising the events that took place throughout the day.

We rounded out our week by refreshing our knowledge on how to use dictionaries, completing a range of independent and group activities designed to improve and consolidate our understanding of using them. A great time was had by all and we look forward to using our newly-refined skills to ensure our spellings are as good as they can be going forward!

In our RE lesson, we reflected upon how the act of sharing Holy Communion demonstrates God’s piece, and thought about ways we can make a difference in school during RHE.

For Science, we learnt about ways sound can be muffled, while in Geography, we looked at harsh climates around the world.

In our DT lesson, we designed the side panels for our cars (ensuring that they are aerodynamic in doing so) and attached the wheels to our chassis.

Here is this week’s homework:

080324 – Spellings Homework Sheet

Please note that two trip letters have gone out digitally this week for events in the coming weeks and months. Please ensure you provide consent and payment at your earliest convenience. A huge ‘thank you’ to those of you who have already done this.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 26th February 2024

Hello!

It’s been another busy, albeit damp, week!

During English, we continued to work on explanation texts. As part of doing this, we practised our summarising skills, answered a reading comprehension related to our exemplar, recognised and used prepositions in our writing and used synonyms to make our sentences more interesting.

In our Maths lessons, we continued to work on fractions. In doing this, we partitioned mixed numbers, placed mixed numbers on number lines, compared and ordered mixed numbers and finally related mixed numbers to improper fractions! So, in a nutshell, it was a very mixed number-heavy week!

For Science, we explored the relationship between volume and distance via an experiment where we dropped coins from varying distances, exploring the effect it had on the volume of the sound we heard.

In our RE lesson, we looked at how and why Christians share the body and blood of Jesus Christ during the act of Holy Communion. We also compared and contrasted the differences between Catholic and Church of England versions of the ceremony.

During RHE, we reflected upon the various rights and responsibilities we have, alongside the responsibilities that *we* have towards others.

In Geography, we explored biomes, whilst during Computing, we started to look at the importance of working with databases, using the Met Office’s website to find interesting facts about the weather from last year.

We also started work on our new DT unit, where we will be creating slingshot cars.

On an Art / DT related note, here is a message from Mrs Allen, our wonderful Art / DT Coordinator:

Royal Academy Young Artists Competition

There is still just under a month left to enter your artwork into the Royal Academy Young Artists Competition. The artwork can be in any medium you’d like: painting, drawing, sculpture or even performance art!

The deadline for entries is 5pm March 27th. Please visit: https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/ to find out more and enter your child’s artwork.

If you have any questions about the competition please email Mrs Allen: e.allen@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk

Here is this week’s homework:

010324 – Spellings Homework Sheet

010324 – Reading Comprehension 10 – The Swoose

Reading Challenge (please read the ParentMail message sent on February 28th for further information):

Primary_Letter to Parents and Carers – St Stephens (1)

RSR Reading Log (2)

RSR Sponsorship Form – St Stephens (3)

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 19th February 2024

Hello!

It’s been a very busy first week back!

In terms of physical activity, the children upped their in-class (well, technically out of class, but you get the idea!) output with the addition of a dance session, which they thoroughly enjoyed!

In terms of regular learning, here are some of the week’s highlights:

During English, we have continued to work on explanation texts, conducting a deep dive into an exemplar piece on the chocolate making process, answering a related reading comprehension and practising writing introductions that engage the reader and leave them wanting to continue.

In our Maths lessons, after finishing our unit of work on perimeter, we moved onto fractions. We did this by first comparing a fraction to the whole, then started to work with mixed numbers.

We doubled up on Science this week, working on our new unit of work on sound by first exploring how sound is created and transmitted, then carried out a simple experiment where we looked at ways in which soundwaves can be blocked.

During RE, we explored what Jesus did and said at the Last Supper, reflected upon the same and drew our own miniature versions of Da Vinci’s masterpiece.

In RHE, we started our new unit of work on ‘Rights and Respect’ (the knowledge page for which can be found in the homework section) by looking at those people who help us stay healthy and safe.

Our first Geography lesson of the term consisted of a look at various plants around the world as part of our new unit of work on, well, plants around the world!

We also held a mini Coding Day, where we created online safety-related chatterboxes and programmed virtual BBC Micro:Bits. The latter activity was particularly popular, and pupils requested I post the link to the website used so they can continue the activities at home. It can be found here:

https://makecode.microbit.org/#

Here is this week’s homework:

230224 – Spellings Homework Sheet

4 Rosen Class Poem for Spring Term 2 2024 – Hobble Gobble Wobble

Year 4 Key Vocabulary List – Spring Term 2

RHE Knowledge Page – Spring 2 – Rights and Respect

As there was no update on the last day of Spring 1 due to our residential trip, here is our half termly poem performance:

https://youtu.be/iReIMwIdLSw

An important message from Mr Gane, Year 6 teacher and Maths Coordinator:

Always ahead of the curve, St Stephen’s has already instituted a ban on smartphones for children in school, and is strongly promoting collective move action by parents / carers to not give their primary aged children smartphones at all. There is now a strong and growing movement to persuade the government to take the issue of smartphone addiction, and the mental health damage it can cause children, more seriously – have a listen to this very powerful, short radio discussion from earlier in the week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0h9h4nt

Let your Class Rep know that you will join the No Smartphones Moratorium, if you haven’t already.

Thanks as always for the continued support and I look forward to speaking to you all during our upcoming parents’ / carers’ meetings in a few weeks’ time.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 29th January 2024

Hello!

In English, we started our new unit of work on explanation texts, where we started by looking at the key features of the same. We also completed our end of half term tests in reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

During Maths, we started our new unit of work on perimeter. We did this by first calculating perimeter using a grid. After doing this, we moved onto calculating the perimeter of rectangles. After a lesson where we built upon earlier concepts learned by calculating the perimeter of rectilinear shapes, and rounded out the week by finding missing lengths in shapes we had been provided with the perimeter of.

In RE, we looked at the concept of ‘Nirvana’, reflected upon life in the Sangha, learned about Buddhists’ thoughts on the meaning of life and explored how Christianity and Buddhism, although different, share many similarities.

During Art, Miss Amy worked on lovely scratch paintings with the class!

We finished up our current unit of Science work by looking at ways we can look after our teeth, reflected on how our digestive systems *might* work, then actually learned how they *do* work!

In Computing, we continued to research our chosen countries using search engines, learning how to produce more detailed search results.

During RHE, we looked at the differences between a dare and a challenge, as well how why and how we safely use medicines.

In History, we finished up our unit of work on the Normans by exploring the feudal system and the creation of the Domesday Book.

Here is this week’s homework:

020224 – Spellings Homework Sheet

020224 – Reading Comprehension 09 – I Love Our Orange Tent

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 22nd January 2024

Hello!

During our Maths lessons, we finished our unit of work on multiplication and division. In doing this, we divided 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers, calculated answers to correspondence problems and worked on efficient methods of multiplication. With regards to the correspondence problems, my group’s minds were blown when they discovered just how many combinations of pizza are available at the local Domino’s (we got into the millions)!

In English, we finished our unit of work on stories with historical settings by planning, writing, editing and redrafting our own retellings of ‘St George and the Dragon’! I hope to mount and display many of these wonderful pieces of work next week. Your children were most excellent in following the success criteria that was set for them too – the stories featured abundant use of fronted adverbials (with commas), words that followed certain spelling patterns, direct speech and varied pronoun use; well done them! We also fit in a significant amount of handwriting practise.

During Art, Miss Amy led the children in working on tonal sketching and creating a background for a wax resist picture.

In our RE lesson, we learned about the Noble Eightfold Path and why it is of such significance to practising Buddhists.

During Science, we looked at our teeth, learning the purposes our incisors, canines, premolars and molars serve.

In Computing, we looked at different web search engines, how they can produce different results and the importance of being wary of sponsored content.

During RHE, we looked at the differences between a dare and a challenge, as well how why and how we safely use medicines.

In History, we explored the fallout of William the Conqueror’s victory, looked at Norman castles and learned about life as a knight.

Here is this week’s homework:

260124 – Spellings Homework Sheet

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 15th January 2024

Hello!

Our first full week has been a very busy one!

During our Maths lessons, we continued to work on multiplication and division. This week, we worked with related multiplication and division facts, used informal methods for multiplication and division, multiplied 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers, and divided 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. So in a nutshell, the children covered a *lot* of mathematical concepts this week!

In our English lessons, we continued our work St George and the Dragon. In doing this, we reread Geraldine McCaughrean’s retelling of the legend, inferred and retrieved information from the text via several different activities, and learned about St George’s links to Ethiopia and Turkey. Our GPS lesson consisted of a look at adverbials and determiners.

During History, we learned about the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the Battle of Hastings, putting ourselves in the shoes of those leading the charge/s.

During RHE, we reflected upon ways that people can share their photographs online in as safe a fashion as possible.

In Science, we explored the concept of food chains, ensuring that we used the correct associated terminology – producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore – in doing so.

In our Art lesson, Miss Amy completed a Henri Matisse-themed task where they ‘drew with scissors’! Exciting stuff for sure…

This week’s homework can be found here:

190124 – Spellings Homework Sheet

190124 – Reading Comprehension 08 – The Wind In The Willows

A note from Mr Gane, Y6 teacher and St Stephen’s Social Media Impresario:

St Stephen’s Instagram: Who has spotted the new Instagram account?

Do take a look using the links below and follow us to keep an eye on what’s been happening here from day to day.

Children whose parents have given consent will appear anonymously, unless specific permission has been obtained when pupils names will be included.

This supersedes the X / Twitter social media account, now dormant.

https://www.instagram.com/ststephensce_w12/

A note from Mrs Allen, Y1 teacher and Art / DT Coordinator:

Royal Academy Young Artists Competition 2024

The Royal Academy Young Artists Competition has opened again this year! Children can enter with any art they have made, be it at home or at a club. The winning entries are displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London! The deadline for entry is the 7th of March. To find out more about the competition, or to enter your child’s artwork, please visit: https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/

If you have any questions about the competition, please email Mrs Allen (e.allen@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk)

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 8th January 2024

Hello and a Happy New Year!

Thanks again for the lovely gifts; ‘thank you’ cards have been sent to you all, so if you haven’t yet received yours, ask your child to have a dig around in their bag!

We’ve crammed a lot into our first four days back together!

During our Maths lessons, we continued our work on multiplication and division, focusing on related multiplication and division facts and using informal written methods. If you haven’t already done so, please practise rapid times table recall with your child, alongside their related division inverse operations. This will be of increased importance as Year 4 continues and, indeed, as your child works their way further up Key Stage 2!

In our English lessons, we started a new unit of work based on the classic tale of St George and the Dragon. In doing this, we read Geraldine McCaughrean’s retelling of the legend. Our GPS lesson consisted of a look at pronouns, both regular and possessive.

During RHE, we learned about the differences between a danger, a risk and a hazard.

In our History lesson, we started to learn about the Normans, understanding who the contenders for the throne were in 1066.

For Art, we began work on our new unit entitled ‘Power Prints’.

On an Art / DT-related note, we really put in the overtime this week, with a few marathon sessions where we created our lovely pavilions!

During Science, we started our new unit of work on animals, including humans, with a focus on eating and digestion. This week’s lesson consisted of a look at the terms carnivore, omnivore and herbivore, and then explored the dietary habits of a wide range of creatures.

Here is this week’s homework, alongside our poem and other resources for the half term:

120124 – Spellings Homework Sheet

4 Rosen Class Poem for Spring Term 1 2024 – Bugs Go Wild

Year 4 Key Vocabulary List – Spring Term 1

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 18th December 2023

Hello!

Year 4 have had an exciting, activity-packed week, which has included our marvellous Key Stage 2 Christmas Quiz!

I hope you enjoyed our carol service; a big ‘Thank You’ goes out to our wonderful assistant head, Miss Bell, who organised, planned, rehearsed and led the event, as well as Miss Rachel, who diligently taught and practised the songs with all pupils and provided some most excellent backing music!

However, it is definitely time for a much-deserved rest! Thank you for all the support you have offered me over the past term; it is hugely appreciated. I would also like to say thank you for the lovely Christmas gifts – you have been *extremely* generous! Expect ‘thank you cards’ early in the New Year!

Please note that there is NO HOMEWORK for the Christmas holidays; normal service will resume on the first Friday back (12th January.)

Here’s our poetry performance of ‘Don’t Put Mustard in the Custard):

https://youtu.be/tBKndaI_s9M

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year; I’ll see you all on Tuesday 9th January (please remember, Monday 8th January is an inset day!)

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 11th December 2023

Hello!

Not long now until the Christmas holidays!

In Maths, we focused on multiplication and division by 10 and 100. My group remember multiplication by 10 using a catchy tune (which really does need the heavy rock backing track to do it justice): “Move the digit one place to the left, then add zero and you’ve multiplied by 10.” From that, we sang variations of the song to remember how to multiply by 100, divide by 10 and divide by 100!

During our English lessons, we continued to work on imagery in poetry. In doing this, we wrote our own versions of ‘Summer’ and conducted a deep dive into ‘The Magic Box’ by Kit Wright by completing a related reading comprehension and exploring the poem’s structure and style by writing our own versions of it. To round off the week, we wrote our own, totally original poems and performed them to the rest of the class.

In Geography, we explored Indian culture and the influence it has had on the rest of the world, then compared and contrasted life in India with that in the UK.

In Computing, this week on Logo, we clicked on Level 3 and we continued to work on writing instructions on drawing shapes, building on our last lesson.

During Science, we explored the processes of condensation by means of a hands-on experiment and also looked at evaporation.

Here is this week’s homework (please note that there is a reading comprehension component and this is the last homework set this term):

151223 – Spellings Homework Sheet

151223 – Reading Comprehension – Tim The Trumpet

Poem for Autumn Term 2 2023 – Don’t Put Mustard In The Custard – Please practise this some more ahead of the class performing it next week.

Y4 Rosen – Class Hymn – Come They Told Me – Please practise this some more ahead of the class performing it next week during Carols By Candlelight. If you haven’t already done so, please read the ParentMail that was sent out to you regarding the same.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 4th December 2023

Hello!

Less than two weeks to go before the end of our first full term together! I would say “My, how time has flown!”, but despite the general delightfulness of your children, our current eight-week whopper of a half term has made it seem anything but! Still, not long now and, in the ‘swings and roundabouts’ department, we don’t come back until well into January 2024, so it’s all good :-)!

During our English lessons, we finished our end-of-unit dragon pieces and moved onto a new unit of work on imagery in poetry. In doing this, we wrote and answered our own VIPERS questions about ‘Summer’ by Walter Dean Myers and conducted a deep dive into the poem’s structure.

In Maths, after completing our end-of-unit tests for our unit ‘Multiplication and Division A’, alongside our end-of-term general tests (the latter of which we reviewed on Monday), we moved onto our new unit of work, which is… Drumroll please… ‘Multiplication and Division B’! In doing this, we looked at and used factor pairs, then moved on to multiplying by 10.

During our RHE lesson, we explored stereotypes, the negative effect perpetuating them can have, and worked on ways of combating them.

In Geography, we explored the human and physical features of cities in India.

During our RE lesson, we reflected upon how the Church lives out its message of peace, particularly at Christmas time.

In Computing, we used Logo (Level 3) and continued to work on writing instructions on drawing shapes. Building on our last lesson, we learned how to write a set of simple procedures, then activate them using the command line.

During Science, we researched the temperatures at which materials change state and conducted an experiment where we explored the concept of evaporation further.

Here is this week’s homework:

081223 – Spellings Homework Sheet

Y4 Rosen – Class Poem – Come They Told Me – PLEASE PRACTISE THIS!

We were also lucky enough to be visited by class parent (and optometrist), Fazlin, who gave us an inspiring talk as part of our school ‘Cracking Careers’ initiative. Thank you Fazlin for being so generous with your time, and for inspiring the children in Year 4 and 5.

Time for another gently-paced weekend: two grown-up parties, one toddler party, one toddler swimming session, an afternoon carolling / drinks gathering, a visit to Apollo’s grandma and a walk along the river with his uncle. Oh, and buying and decorating a Christmas tree along the way. Like I said, gently-paced…

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 27th November 2023

Hello!

Another busy, busy week!

In our English lessons, we continued to work on ‘Dragonology’, first learning about expanded noun phrases and using them to create some descriptive dragon-related sentences. Later in the week, we planned our explanation texts about our dragons and started to write about them in detail, completing paragraphs about their habitats, diet and appearance.

During Maths, we finished our current unit of work on Multiplication and Division, answering related challenges and then completing our end-of-unit tests. We also completed our end of Autumn Term arithmetic and reasoning / problem solving papers; the results of these will be used to aid our planning and groupings for the upcoming Spring Term.

During our RHE lesson, we reflected on similarities and differences and how we can demonstrate respect to others.

In Geography, we studied the rivers of India.

In our RE lesson, we thought about what the Bible tells us about Jesus’ message of peace.

During Computing, the children continued to work on ‘Level 3’ of Logo, these time including ‘repeat’ instructions in programming their turtles.

Here is this week’s homework:

011223 – Spellings Homework Sheet

011223 – Reading Comprehension 06 – What’s It All About

Finally, we had a fabulous trip to the Science Museum to enjoy a range of videogames from the past 50-odd years via the ‘Power Up’ exhibition. The children thoroughly enjoyed playing these games, and in doing so, made connections with the work they have done in Computing (Computer Science and coding in particular). In playing the games, pupils focused on how input (giving a game instructions using a controller) leads to an output (something happening within a game) and how sprites and backgrounds are used to create compelling gaming experiences. For those children, parents and carers interested in delving into the world of ‘Power Up’ further, extra resources can be found here:

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/power/resources

A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to class parents Andra and Miranda, who did an amazing job in helping out on the trip; you were absolutely invaluable!

Right, after that incredibly busy week, I’m looking forward to my (ahem) ‘restful’ weekend – I’ve got my godson / Apollo’s godfather coming over for dinner tonight, followed by *two* birthday parties for Apollo to attend over the weekend. Add two other family gatherings and the Christmas Fair to the mix and work seems rather sedately paced in comparison!

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 20th November 2023

Hello!

A big thank you to all parents and carers who came to watch our class Collective Worship / assembly on Thursday – keeping in with the Christmas commercialism theme, I’m sure you’ll join me in being incredibly prideful of your children’s wonderful performances. My further apologies for dredging up dormant memories of Mr Blobby at number one during Christmas 1993…

It wasn’t just assembly practise this week either. We also crammed in a full slate of lessons! Here are some of our highlights:

During Maths, we continued to work on multiplication and division, this week working the 12 times table and its related division facts, multiplying by 0 and 1 (rock hard, that one – ahem – but still, very important to go over as it helps establish a foundational understanding of both processes), dividing numbers by 1 and itself, and (finally) working on some multiplication and division related word challenges.

In our English lessons, we moved onto a new unit of work, explanation texts. In doing this, we will be looking at the book ‘Dragonology’ by Dugald Steer and various other texts. In unleashing said dragons, hopefully Sisqó won’t make an appearance, although without him showing his silver-haired face, one could argue that said unit would be Incomplete (a very late 90s / early 00s reference there – if you know, you know!)

In our RE lesson, we reflected upon ways in which Christians believe Jesus brings peace.

During our RHE lesson, we thought about ways we can deal with aggressive behaviour.

In our Science lesson, we conducted a simple experiment where we observed materials changing state when they are cooled and heated.

In our DT lesson, we drew floor plans for our pavilions.

During Computing, the children moved on to ‘Level 3’ in programming their Logo turtles.

Here is this week’s homework:

241123 – Spellings Homework Sheet

Right, after that incredibly busy week, I’m looking forward to my weekend – I’ve got my brother’s birthday meal to look forward to. Caribbean food and drinks in Romford – lovely stuff!

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 13th November 2023

Hello!

Firstly, a huge thank you to all of you for our parents’ / carers’ evening meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday – it was fantastic to speak to you and tell you all about the wonderful things your children have been doing in and out of class!

In our English lessons, we continued to study ‘The Dot’ by Peter H Reynolds. In doing this, we further reflected on the use of speech in the tale, annotated an exemplar short story, reflecting upon its use of language, structure and other techniques in creating a compelling piece of writing. We rounded out our week by planning our own short stories inspired by ‘The Dot.’ Oh, and we even had some time for Book Talk!

During Maths, we worked on multiplying and dividing by 3, 6, 9 and 11 using a range of techniques.

In our Science lesson, we conducted an experiment where we explored whether or not air has weight.

During our RHE lesson, we explored the different relationships we have, and identified the differences between a friend and an acquaintance as part of this process.

In our RE lesson, we started our new unit of work on peace at Christmas. We did this by reflecting upon ways we can attain peace, and depicted relaxing Christmas scenes.

During Computing, the children moved up to ‘Level 2’ in programming their Logo turtles!

During our DT session, the children designed their pavilions.

The class continue to do well in terms of squeezing in our Class Collective Worship (class assembly in old money) practise sessions this week – just under a week to go – see you on Thursday 23rd at 9am!

Here is this week’s homework (please note that your child’s top priority is memorising their lines and song lyrics; if you are pushed for time, please have this take precedence over writing their sentences / answering the reading comprehension):

171123 – Spellings Homework Sheet

171123 – Reading Comprehension – Stowaway

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 6th November 2023

Hello!

To say this was a busy week would be huge understatement! However, to paraphrase Mr Schumm, I am really pleased with how it all went…

During English, we moved onto our new unit of work on Short Stories. In doing this, we have been studying the (extremely!) short story of ‘The Dot’ by Peter H Reynolds. Just because a story is short doesn’t mean that it lacks substance though – it packs a real emotional punch in its 32 illustrated pages, teaching the children about the importance of accepting one’s emotions, managing them, finding ways of persevering and moving forward positively. This week, we reflected upon the feelings of the main protagonist (Vashti,) reflected on how anger is portrayed in different media, storyboarded the tale and answered VIPERS-related reading comprehension questions about it. We rounded out our week by analysing the use of speech in the short story and created our own imaginary dialogues between Vashti and her parent / carer.

During Maths, my group moved onto their new unit of work on multiplication and division. We have started off with the basics, working with multiples of 3 and 6. We also looked at multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100, but with a more considered, thoughtful approach, looking at the mechanics behind the processes beyond the classic ‘just add / take off a zero or two,’ which is likely what you, and certainly I, were taught! Looking at the processes underpinning multiplication and division by 10 / 100 allows the children to have a greater depth of understanding regarding such calculations, and will stand them in good stead when it comes to doing the same to decimal numbers (where, of course, adding / lopping off zeroes doesn’t work!)

In RE, we wrote our own Beatitudes and reflected upon all work done during our mini unit of work.

We also started our new DT unit of work. In doing this, Miss Amy started to work on pavilions with the class – I was loving some of the Jelly Tot-and-toothpick structures that the children fashioned!

Here is this week’s homework:

101123 – Spellings Homework Sheet

The children were fortunate enough to enjoy a drama session with Mark too – fantastic stuff! They also rehearsed their upcoming class collective worship as part of this process; hooray!

This week, we celebrated Parliament Week. To mark this occasion, we were joined by MP for Hammersmith and Fulham, Andy Slaughter, who spoke to the children about our British Values and the importance of democracy. The children asked a variety of probing questions which sparked a healthy debate.

We have an upcoming Year 4 trip, one which I am *very* excited about. If you haven’t already done so, please provide payment and consent via ParentMail.

As promised, I have sent the children home with their scripts for the upcoming class collective worship on November 23rd. Apologies in advance for that second song 😉

Also, I am looking forward to our parents’ / carers’ evenings next week. If you haven’t already done so, please book your slot as soon as you can!

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 30th October 2023

Hello!

I hope you all had a fun and (hopefully!) restful half term!

After a week of Black Voices Week activities that were fun and thought-provoking in equal measure, we moved back to a week of ‘regular’ English lessons. In doing so, we finished off reading ‘The Last Bear’ (talk about a powerful ending!) We started our week by using our retrieval and inference skills to make predictions based on stated and implied details. We then moved on to working on our understanding of how to use a formal tone in our writing. From there, we planned and wrote formal letters to Mr Schumm echoing the environmentally-conscious message that underpins the entire ‘Last Bear’ book.

During Maths, after finishing our work on addition and subtraction, we have been working on a short unit on area, calculating the same by counting squares, making shapes by shading squares and understanding the important of being fastidious when calculating areas.

In our Science lesson, we started our new unit of work on States of Matter by exploring the differences between solids and liquids, while in RE, we started to learn about the Beatitudes.

In our Computing lesson, we started our unit of work on Logo programming by creating shapes using experimentation and gave clear sets of instructions. In doing this, we started to understand the importance of giving and writing clear instructions.

During our new unit of work in Geography, we started to explore India and where it is in the World, while in Art, Miss Amy led the children in their ‘final paint’ task of their current unit.

Here is this week’s homework:

031123 – Spellings Homework Sheet

031123 – Reading Comprehension – Thrills City

4 Rosen Class Poem for Autumn Term 2 2023 – Don’t Put Mustard In The Custard

Year 4 Key Vocabulary List – Autumn Term 2

Years 4, 5 and 6 also enjoyed a fabulous cross-country event at Wormwood Scrubs! A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to Miss Marchant and Clare for arranging the event. Another sporting event is taking place next week, for which Clare has sent out a ParentMail message. Please ensure that you have read this and followed the instructions within. Thank you!

Finally, you may have heard rumblings from your children that we have started preparing for our upcoming class assembly. As it is on November 23rd, to avoid burnout, I am planning on doing this lightly for the next week, then ramp up things during our final fortnight. As such, I expect I will send the children home with their scripts next Friday!

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 16th October 2023

Hello!

This year’s Black Voices Week has been an amazing one! It started with a whole-school assembly led by, well, me, where we outlined the activities that laid ahead.

In-class, 4 Rosen worked on a series of activities related to our notable BVW person, who was Diane Abbott, the first-ever female Black MP. In doing this, we learned about her life story and wrote letters ‘to her’ asking for her help in handling the homelessness crisis.

We were also visited by master puppeteer Caroline Yawa Ada, who led the class in creating traditional puppets. The whole school also got to enjoy her production of ‘Anansi’ – wonderful stuff!

Miss Marchant’s class shared their amazing class assembly all about Black History Month.

Thank you to all of those mentioned in this section for your contributions this week!

During Maths, we focused on column subtraction, first performing it with no exchanges, then with one exchange, and finally two. To end the week, we started to work on efficient calculation methods and estimation.

In our English lessons not related to Black Voices Week, we continued to read ‘The Last Bear.’ Over the course of the week, we inferred how a character felt through their words and actions, then planned a descriptive paragraph. In completing the latter task, the concept of DADWAVERS (Description, Action, Dialogue, Where, Adverbial, Verb, Estimation of time, Rhetorical questions, Similes or metaphors) was introduced, which allowed children to craft a wide range of highly descriptive sentences.

In terms of other lessons, during Science, we recapped everything we already learned about electricity this term (different components, how circuits work, conductors and insulators.) We then designed our own simple circuits to include simple switches made from paper clips and drawing pins, understanding that bulbs will only light up when a circuit is closed.

In RE, we looked at the story of ‘Buddha and the Angry Elephant’ and used it to explore how Buddhism sets an example for others in terms of remaining calm and kind, especially in the face of adversity.

In our RHE lesson, we explored the range of feelings we can have and the purposes they all serve.

During our Computing lesson, we continued to code in HTML by working on Webtech Tutor in pairs. This was a very popular activity, and for those pupils who wish to continue to work on this during the half term break, the weblink is webtech.lgfl.org.uk.

Here is this week’s (well, a week today’s homework if we’re being specific!) homework:

201023 – Spellings Homework Sheet

Here is a YouTube video of our class performing our poem for the half term:

https://youtu.be/mQST764t81g

Finally, thank you for all of the support you have offered me during our first half term together; I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching the class, and long may it continue!

Have a great half term,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 9th October 2023

Hello!

Another fun-packed week; here are some of our highlights:

In our English lessons, we continued to read ‘The Last Bear.’ Over the course of the week, we had a GPS lesson where we practised writing formal letters and described April’s mood using similes. As we are nearing our half term break, on Thursday, we completed our end of half term spelling test. After doing this, we completed a separate grammar and punctuation test. On Friday, we completed our end of half term reading comprehension tests.

During Maths, we added four-digit numbers using column addition, starting with no-exchange problems, then moving onto ones that did involve exchanging (one and two exchanges in fact). We rounded off our week by subtracting without exchanging.

In our RHE lesson, we reflected upon the different feelings we may have, while during History, we learnt and rewrote the story of Beowulf. Miss Amy also led the children in creating compositional drawings this week – lovely stuff!

Here is this week’s homework (please note there is a reading comprehension component):

131023 – Year 4 Spellings Homework Sheet

131023 – Year 4 Reading Comprehension – Three Girls

131023 – Optional Homework – F1 car designing tips

131023 – Optional Homework – F1 competition with Hammersmith Library poster

The written homework for this is to be handed in no later than this coming Thursday, October 19th 2023.

Also, we will be performing our poem for the half term this week; feel free to practise it (for your convenience, a link can be found here):

4 Rosen Class Poem for Autumn Term 1 2023 – Down Behind The Dustbin

On Tuesday, as a prelude to Black Voices Week, Miss Bill led the school in participating in a whole-school Collective Worship session where we enjoyed this year’s online ‘Great Big Assembly’. While that took place in the lower hall, I was hosting my yearly online safety workshop in the upper hall with a group of parents / carers. Busy times ahead of our half term break…

Speaking of Black Voices Week, if you haven’t already done so, please read the letter I sent out earlier this week regarding the same. I’m very much looking forward to it!

On Wednesday, we had our annual Hispanic Day! We enjoyed singing our school song, participated in a folk dance workshop with Ilusion Flamenca and watched a salsa concert at the end of the day. In the classroom, we focused on our given country, Argentina. We explored the Argentinian tradition of Tango, designing our own shoes as part of the process. We also had a visit from 4 Rosen parent Ana, who read to the class (in Spanish, naturally) and hosted an extended Q&A session. A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to Mrs Pereira, who organised the whole event and Ana, for being so generous with her time in visiting us!

On Thursday afternoon, both Year 4 classes took a trip to the London Buddhist Vihara in Chiswick to hear about what happens in this place of worship and how Buddhists live their faith. A great time was had by all during this most interesting and informative trip.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 2nd October 2023

Hello!

I’m sure you’ll be stunned to hear that 4 Rosen have, in fact, had a very busy week!

Here are some of our highlights:

During English, we moved onto a brand-new unit of work, Letter Writing, doing this by reading and studying the book ‘The Last Bear’ by Hannah Gold. We got off to a great start this week, using the text to make inferences about characters’ thoughts and feelings, write from the main character (April)’s point of view and construct detailed answers using evidence from a given chapter.

In our Maths lessons, my group finished our first unit of work on Number and Place Value by rounding numbers to the nearest 10 / 100 / 1000 and completing our end-of-unit test. We then started our new unit of work – Addition and Subtraction – by adding and subtracting 1s, 10s, 100s and 1000s. We did this by working through multi-part questions that involved adding and removing counters, then noting the numbers that had been made.

In RE, we looked at the story of ‘Buddha and the Angry Elephant’ and used it to explore how Buddhism sets an example for others in terms of remaining calm and kind, especially in the face of adversity.

During our RHE lesson, we explored the importance of teamwork.

In our History lesson, we enjoyed an immersive activity where we joined in with various activities that Anglo-Saxons, Picts and Scots may have enjoyed in their spare time.

Miss Amy led the class in a fabulous Art activity where the children used a range of painting techniques to create fabulous renditions of apples, all with a delightful 3D effect (and some were sparkly to boot)!

During Computing, we learned about how adverts within search engines work, and started to program mini websites using HTML.

We ended our week with two two-hour Science sessions with our wonderful scientist-in-residence, Mercedes. Over the course of the day, the class was split into two groups, with one having a morning session and the other an afternoon one. During these sessions, both groups explored a range of learning objects centred on creating electrical circuits. In doing this, they enjoyed a range of fun activities and even created moving vehicles! A huge thank you also goes out to Miss Kelly and Mrs Hayes, our lovely Science Coordinators, who, well, coordinated the entire day!

Here is this week’s homework:

061023 – Spellings Homework Sheet

The written homework for this is to be handed in no later than this coming Thursday, October 12th 2023.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 25th September 2023

Hello!

Another fun-packed, busy week for 4 Rosen!

In our Maths lessons, my group continued to work on Number and Place Value. This week, we compared numbers to 10,000, ordered numbers to 10,000, worked with Roman Numerals, rounded numbers to the nearest 10, then rounded out the week (if you’ll pardon the pun) by rounding to the nearest 100.

During English, we finished off our unit of work on Varjak Paw. After starting the week with a GPS-focused look at fronted adverbials (don’t forget the comma at the end!) we planned, wrote and improved our own stories told in the Varjak Paw universe. A lot of effort was put into these across the class; well done 4 Rosen! We even ended the week by writing and sharing our own VIPERS-related reading comprehension questions based on our stories.

In Science, we looked at ways we can use electrical appliances safely.

During RE, we took a look at the Buddhist story of the Monkey King, exploring the concept of sacrifice as we studied it.

In our RHE lesson, we learned about the importance of being assertive and practised ways of saying ‘no’ in a polite fashion that is unlikely to cause offence.

In our History lesson, we learned about the Picts and Scots, using online information texts to answer a range of questions about them both.

During Computing, we learned about the ways in which internet search engines work.

This week’s homework can be found at the link below:

290923 – Spellings Homework Sheet

290923 – Reading Comprehension Sheet

The written homework for this is to be handed in no later than this coming Thursday, October 5th 2023.

Finally, a massive ‘thank you’ to all those pupils, parents and carers who came over to say hello to Apollo and I during the Family Supper. I think it is fair to say he was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of people present, and your kind words, smiles and interactions really helped to put him at ease!

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 18th September 2023

Hello!

Somehow, we managed to have an even busier week than the last!

During English, we continued to look at Varjak Paw. In doing this, we b wrote a range of VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, Summarise) questions related to the text, used it to define and identify pronouns and identifiers, shared exciting vocabulary and phrases contained within the story and practised our paragraphing. We also got some creative writing practice in by writing short, detailed paragraphs that made good use of adjectives, pronouns and determiners.

During Maths, my group continued to work on Number and Place Value. This week, we worked with numbers to 10,000. We initially represented numbers to 10,000 using a range of means, then partitioned similarly-sized numbers, both regularly and flexibly.

In our Computing lesson, we finished looking at how emails work, demonstrating how confusion can often occur in their use, and simulated the use of email via Google Classroom.

During RE, we learned about the concept of suffering and how Buddhists perceive it, while in our RHE lesson, we reflected upon the various aspects of a healthy, positive relationship.

During History, we talked about the end of the Roman Empire and what that meant for Roman Britons. We learnt about the Anglo-Saxon invasion from the East coast which left Britain open to another attack from the Picts and the Scots in the North. We then discussed the impact of the invasion and the consequences of the Anglo-Saxon settlement. Finally, the children worked in pairs to find the answers to a quiz.

This week’s homework can be found at the link below:

220923 – Spellings Homework Sheet

Please note that there is no reading comprehension task this week.

The written homework for this is to be handed in no later than this coming Thursday, 28th September 2023.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

Week Commencing Monday 11th September 2023

Week Commencing Monday 11th September 2023

Hello!

A busy week for Year 4 Rosen; we’ve crammed a lot into the last week.!

During Maths, my group started to work on the Year 4 learning for the unit on Number and Place Value. As part of doing this, we identified place value up to the thousands, sequenced numbers according to their value, partitioned numbers and worked with thousands.

In English, we looked at SF Said’s modern classic, Varjak Paw, and in doing so, predicted and inferred the content of the story by looking at its front cover, inferred character traits of the book’s main protagonists and practised our weekly spellings and inverted comma (altogether now: “Also known as speech marks!” – ask your child about this) use.

In our Science lesson, we started to work on Electricity by looking at currents and appliances that are powered by mains electricity and batteries.

During RHE, we explored how our emotions affect our physical state.

In Buddhism, we learned about the origins of the faith.

During History, we started to look at Anglo-Saxons, Picts and Scots.

In our Computing lesson, we looked at emailing and how the concept of ‘packets’ works via a hands-on unplugged lesson.

This week’s homework can be found at the links below:

150923 – Homework Sheet

150923 – RC01 – The Eagle and the Turtle

4 Rosen Class Poem for Autumn Term 1 2023 – Down Behind The Dustbin

Year 4 Key Vocabulary List – Autumn Term 1

The written homework for this is to be handed in no later than this coming Thursday, September 21st 2023.

Have a great weekend,

Mr Faith

 

Week Commencing Monday 4th September 2023

Hello!

4 Rosen have settled in well and we have been having a lovely time together!

Our first week together has been a most excellent one – the class have worked extremely hard in getting our new room in tip-top shape (lots of display material has been produced and mounted) and completing beginning-of-year tests, and I am delighted with the work they have produced.

Homework will be set for the first time next week.

Also, please find attached a copy of our current timetable and curriculum map:

Timetable – Year 4 Rosen 2023-24

Year 4 Curriculum Map 2023-2024 v1.1 (slightly revised from initial version uploaded earlier)

Have a great weekend, and please ensure that your children have a good rest – despite only being here for three days, they’ve certainly earned it!

Mr Faith