Class 14

Class Teacher: Miss Fenwick
Learning Assistant: Miss Bland

Hello and welcome to Class 14,

I am very excited and looking forward to a fun, hardworking and successful term in Class 14. Our class page will include lots of important information about our upcoming learning so please remember to check back regularly for any updates. Keep your eyes peeled for any photos too!

In Class 14, we have very high expectations of exceptional behaviour and attitudes to learning. All children are expected to stay on green by following our school rules, listening carefully and trying their best. However, they should be striving for gold by showing the Ghyllgrove Learning Powers. You should aim to be getting your green certificates to take home every Friday to show how fabulous you have been at school.

Curriculum

Maths

We will be focusing on improving and consolidating our multiplication and division skills.  New learning this term will include area and perimeter, recognising and adding and subtracting fractions as well as converting fractions to mixed numbers. We will continue to practice our times tables with the aim that all pupils will know their multiplication and division facts for all tables to x12 by the end of Year 4. 

English

We will be reading “Beaver Towers”, by Nigel Hinton.  This is a story about a boy who travels to a magical island inhabited by talking animals and an evil witch who wants to control the island.  We will be focusing on descriptive writing, non-fiction reports and exploring various features of the story.  We will continue to improve our punctuation, vocabulary and grammar, including our spellings which will be sent home every two weeks.

Topic

In the first half term the topic is ‘Rockstars’. In this topic, the children will learn about sound and carry out different scientific investigations. We will launch our topic with an exciting music festival and throughout the term we have planned many hands-on activities. In the second half term our topic is ‘Essex Explorers’. The children will investigate their local area using a variety of map skills. In addition, they will look at the key features of towns and settlements and how their uses differ.

Our PE lessons will take place on Tuesday. PE kits (white t-shirt, red shorts and trainers) are to be kept in school and will be sent home half-termly to be washed. Please can you include a cold weather P.E. kit (plain joggers and sweatshirt) as a number of PE lessons will take place outside.

Swimming

Class 14 will be swimming on Wednesday afternoon. Children will need to come to school with a separate bag for their swimwear, towel and hat. We walk to and from the Basildon Sporting Village, rain or shine, so ensure your child is prepared with the appropriate outdoor clothing.

With so many exciting things going on in school, there will be lots to talk about on those journeys home. Make sure you’re impressing your parents and telling them all about your learning.

Homework

All of the staff in Class 14 will work to ensure everybody does their best this year. We will regularly hear the children read and set them times table challenges too, so look out for these in the Home School Diaries.

In order to help your child achieve and accelerate their progress, we ask for the following commitments from you at home too:

• Listen to your child read at home at least 4 times a week and record this in your child’s Home School Diary. Please take the time to put a small note and we will also do the same every time we hear your child read in school.
• Practise your times tables and spellings regularly.
• Homework for the half term will be uploaded to Google Classroom.

We are incredibly lucky to have access to some fantastic online resources, which will also support their learning too. Your child’s login details are included at the front of their Home School Diary.

Times Table Rock Stars is a fun and challenging online programme designed to help pupils master their times tables by playing the different games and answering different questions to improve their Rock speed and status. Children will earn coins for correctly answered questions which they can use to improve and upgrade their Rock Star Avatar. Just go to https://play.ttrockstars.com and use the login information inside your Home School Diary.

Please remember, if you have ANY concerns during the year then come and see us. We will always help you if we know about anything that is worrying you. We want to keep everybody at Ghyllgrove safe, happy and achieving.

Miss Fenwick