Who are the Y4 teachers?
What do we expect from your child in Year 4?
Our focus this year is to help your children continue to build their independence and confidence ready for Upper Key Stage 2 in a supportive and nurturing environment. In Year 4 the children will be encouraged to take on more responsibility for themselves and their learning journey. They will be expected to complete and return homework on time and will be encouraged to take ownership and responsibility for remembering the things that they need in school; for example, ensuring they get their reading diary signed by an adult at home and bringing it to school every day, bringing in PE/swimming kits and book bags. We will encourage the children to use the tools around them in their learning environment such as working walls, table resources/prompts and their peers to ‘have a go’ and become independent in their own learning. However, we will support and guide them in their learning when needed and strongly encourage them to ask for help if they need support.
Times Tables Check
The children will also be preparing to take the Statutory Multiplication Tables Check in the summer term. This will be done online. The purpose of the MTC (Multiplication Tables Check) is to determine whether children can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. However, we do not want the children to worry, panic or get upset about this check. The check will help us to identify children who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that we can provide them with additional support as they move forward into Upper Key Stage 2. We will be doing a lot of preparation in school as well as providing information and resources for you to support at home. For further guidance and resources to support your child at home please click on the MTC tab on the front Y4 web page.
Rewards and Sanctions
This year, we will continue to use Class Dojo to reward children for a range of different things, including showing Gospel Values, being kind and helpful, working hard, showing resilience, persevering, completing homework, contributing to learning, teamwork, listening well, using their manners as well as much more.
As before, we will also be using 'minutes' as a sanction- these will be taken off Golden Time at the end of the week.
As always, parental involvement is key and we will work with you to give praise or tackle any issues.
PE, Swimming and Forest School
Again this year, we will be having PE on a Wednesday so every child will come to school dressed in their PE kit. This should be their indoor kits (shorts/t-shirt) with black or navy joggers on top and outdoor trainers. Any hoodies worn should be either school branded or plain navy/black. Please ensure your kit is labelled to avoid any mix-ups or lost items!
We will also be going swimming every Tuesday, so children will need to bring their swimming kit, towel and goggles in a bag so they can change when we get to the swimming pool. On Tuesday's children can come to school dressed in their PE kit for a smoother and quicker changing process at swimming.
We will have forest school on a rota basis on a Friday afternoon- you will be notified in advance but please have a kit ready including wellies/trainers, clothes you don't mind getting muddy and a waterproof jacket.
Homework
Everyday- Reading. Please encourage your child to read everyday at home and please sign their reading diary. We strongly encourage reading for enjoyment so if children would like to read their own books, magazines, newspapers etc. at home we encourage them to also keep a record of this in their reading diaries as it will count as their daily reading. There will be rewards for children who get their diary signed everyday.
Thursday- The EBL research question will be handed out weekly following each EBL lesson. This is to be completed and bought in the following Thursday.
Friday- Maths and literacy homework based on the week's learning will be handed out and is to be completed for the following Friday.
Friday- Spellings handed out and are to be learnt ready for a quiz on the following Friday.
Daily- Violin practice.
If your child loses a sheet, it is their responsibility to come and ask for a new one so that their work can still be completed. If children are unable to complete their homework at home, they will need to complete it in their own time at school.
Violin:
In Year 4, for our music curriculum, the children will be having violin lessons from a DPA Teacher who will come into school every Friday. Every child will be given their own violin which is theirs for the year and they will be expected to return it at the end of the year. The children will be expected to practice what they have learnt at home. We will also expect them to take responsibility for looking after their violin and they will need to remember to bring it into school every Friday to ensure that they don't miss out on accessing the music curriculum in Year 4.
Thank you for reading and for your continued support in your child's education. If you have any queries/questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
God Bless
Miss Moran and Mrs McCahill