Year 4

  Hello Year 4  

Welcome to the second half of the Autumn Term. We hope you are ready to continue with your learning journey and take part in a variety of activities.

We had a busy first half term settling in, starting new topics, going on a nature walk in Gunnersbury Park, celebrating Black History Month and exploring emotions through colour, for World Mental Health Day. We will continue to develop our work based on our whole school text called ' The Promise', by engaging in re-wilding/planting in Gunnersbury Park, during the course of this half term and into next year. 

We have included below, our Year 4 Curriculum Overview for this second half term, to let you know what we are covering in each subject and what parents/carers can do at home to help further their child’s development. Please take a look.

Dear Parents/Carers

Please continue to encourage a love of books and reading with your child, which is vitally important to their life chances, by, for example, joining your local library, reading with/to your child, listening to your child read, discussing books and asking ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions; you can check out our ‘Reading for Pleasure’ section on our school website for further ideas. Your child should be reading at home for at least 20 minutes every day and complete their reading record book at least three times during the week. Please could you sign this.

Homework is set every Friday on Google Classroom. This links to English, Maths and Topic work. Please support your child to complete their homework, in small chunks, by the following Tuesday evening. Your child should also practise 2-3 spellings each day on paper, and their times tables so that they can recall them in any order at speed (within 6 seconds), using strategies taught in class.

This half-term, pupils who have not been swimming yet, will be going to Isleworth Pool on Mondays and Wednesdays. You will have been informed via parent mail, which day your child is going. Your child will need to bring a large bag with a towel, swimming hat and costume (one piece for girls; trunks for boys). No jewellery must be worn.

A reminder that P.E. days are as follows:

Willow Class: Monday and Wednesday

Poplar Class: Monday and Wednesday

Spruce Class: Wednesday and Thursday

Your child needs to bring their P.E. kit to school every Monday. It can be taken home on Fridays for washing.

Key dates and events: (subject to change)

We are looking forward to our ‘Poetry by heart’ competition during November and hope that every pupil has learnt a poem off by heart during half-term and is ready to perform it in class, with actions and expressions.

We are thinking about climate change by taking part in a virtual workshop on Thursday 4th November.

Parents’ Evening is scheduled for Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th November 4-7 p.m. This will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and targets.

Anti-Bullying Week activities take place during the week of the 15th November.

Individual and family group photos will take place on Thursday18th and Friday19th November.

We are also planning to take part in raising money for Children in Need, during November.

Christmas Jumper Day in on Friday 3rd December and class parties will take place on Thursday 16th December.

If you wish to contact us, our email address is: year4@lionel.hounslow.sch.uk or office@lionel.hounslow.sch.uk.

We look forward to a happy and successful second half-term. Thank you for your continued support with your child’s learning.

With kind regards from the Year 4 Staff

Willow Class: Miss. Khanna / Mr. Kavanagh

Spruce Class: Mrs. Ressin / Mrs. McMillan

Poplar Class: Miss. Nelson / Mrs. Krivosic

AUTUMN TERM 2021

We are delighted to welcome you to our Year 4 page.

During the Autumn Term, there are lots of new, exciting and creative learning activities to take part in.

We hope that you find the following information useful.

• Each day, pupils should bring with them a water bottle (which can be re-filled in school) and if possible, some fruit as a mid-morning/afternoon snack. As part of a healthy life-style, may we encourage pupils to drink water and eat fruit in class, rather than consume sugary drinks or snacks. A small bag/ruck-sack should be brought in on Fridays, to take reading books home in.

• Pupils should be dressed in their school uniform, with black shoes (see our school uniform policy on the school website for detailed information). If your child has long hair, it must be tied back before coming to school. In the winter months, your child will need a coat, hat, scarf and gloves. In the summer months, please apply sun-screen before school and provide your child with a sun hat.

• If your child has a medical condition, please see Ms. Smith in the medical room and also let us know.

• Pupils need to have their P.E. kit in school, in a small bag, on a Monday morning. The P.E. kit should be kept in school for the whole week. It can be taken home on Fridays for washing. P.E. kit consists of: a pair of navy blue school shorts, a white school T-shirt, plimsoles and a plain navy blue track-suit for cold weather. Trainers may be worn for outdoor games. It is advisable for your child to wear a vest on P.E. days. Please ensure that all items belonging to your child, fit them and are labelled with their name.

• On swimming days, pupils need to bring in a swimming costume (no bikinis) / swimming trunks (no long shorts), a towel and a swimming cap in a large bag/ruck sack. A spare carrier bag and pair of socks would be advisable too. No jewellery or watches must be worn.  Spruce and Willow classes have swimming lessons on Mondays. Poplar class goes swimming on Wednesdays. Each class is split into two groups, so one group will go swimming for the first half term and the second group will go swimming the second half term. You will have received at letter about swimming, letting you know when your child will be going.         

• P.E. Days:

• Reading for pleasure and to support learning is vitally important and a key factor in improving the life chances of all children.  Pupils should be reading their books every day at home. They can choose up to three books each week from school. Books are changed once a week on Fridays. We would also encourage you to enable your child to belong to their local library where they can select a greater variety of books to enjoy and research from. Please find time to explore and read books with your child. Ask them to tell you what they are reading about. Asking ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions will also check their understanding. Complete / sign your child’s reading record book each day. Check out the 'Reading for Pleasure' tab on our school website for lots of exciting book suggestions.

• Homework is accessed via Google Classroom with your child’s Year 4 log-in details. It is explained in class each Monday. It consists of Spellings, Times Tables and one other activity linked to the week’s work. It must be completed by 08:30 a.m. each Friday. Pupils must also read every day and look up the meanings of unknown words in a dictionary. Some pupils may also be given extra handwriting sheets to practise on at home. We will let you know if your child has not completed part or all of the week’s homework via a short note home on Fridays, with the expectation that it must be completed at the weekend. Pupils are expected to complete their homework to a good standard (half marks or more). Your child will also need to have an exercise book and pencil at home, for notes and working out. Please support your child with completing and handing in their homework on time. The homework is marked and returned via Google Classroom. The weekly spelling and times table checks are carried out in school each Friday, with the expectation that if your child receives less than half marks, they re-learn the errors at the weekend and are re-checked on Monday. Access to a suitable study area and equipment (internet-enabled device, pencil, exercise  book, dictionary, thesaurus) is recommended for all pupils. 

• Our expectations for this year are that the pupils work hard and try their best with their learning and presentation; show good listening skills and contribute sensibly to class activities and discussions; behave well and are kind and friendly. Pupils are expected to work silently during independent tasks so that they can focus; they should not disturb teaching, their own learning or the learning of others. Pupils are also expected to share ideas and work with a partner at times. Our school rules are:    WE ARE READY.        WE ARE RESPECTFUL.        WE ARE SAFE. 

• During the Autumn Term the pupils will be learning the following:

English: Reading for pleasure, Handwriting, Spellings, Reading Comprehension, Grammar and                 Writing, The Power of Reading texts: The Promise, Firebird, The Great Kapok Tree

Maths: Place Value, Addition and Subtraction, Length and Perimeter, Multiplication, Division

Computing: Hardware Investigators, Coding, Online Safety

History: The Ancient Mayans

Science: Living things and their habitats

Geography: The Rainforest

D.T.: American Muffins

R.E.: Hinduism, Advent, Christmas

Art: Observational drawings - self-portrait, tone, light shade, 3D, perspective, water-colours - Henri Rousseau's rainforest animals, textiles - poison-dart frog

Music: singing, playing pitched instruments/musical notation, rhythm, appreciation, Mamma Mia

P.E.: Swimming, Vaulting

P.S.H.E.C.: Health and Well-being

French: Greetings and farewells, introductions, numbers/calendar, colours and objects, people, actions and jobs

A more detailed Year 4 curriculum grid for the year, follows below.

• If you have any queries, please speak to us as soon as conveniently possible. You can contact us via our email address: year4@lionel.hounslow.sch.uk or office@lionel.hounslow.sch.uk

• A positive and mutually supportive partnership between home and school is vital in helping your child achieve to the best of their ability. We all want the pupils to do well academically and socially.

Thank you for your support with your child’s learning.

We look forward to a happy and successful year.

From the Year 4 staff