Sycamore | St John Southworth RC Primary School

Our Year 4 learning team includes Mr Mason, Mrs Breton, Miss Hussain and Miss Sagar.

Justice is our value for this half term and we have linked this to St Mary. We look for everything we do to be fair and just. To do this, we need to do the right things, make the right decisions, say the right things. As a result of this, we get the response that we require. If we do not do the right things or make the wrong decisions, there is likely to be a consequence and we need to learn from this to be better. Jesus' teachings was to do the right thing. He saw the best in others when they had done wrong and allowed them to right this.

Justice is our school value for this half term.

Sycamore Class - Summer 1 timetable

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Class Information

PE Day

P.E days in our class are on a Tuesday and Friday afternoon. Our themes for this half term are athletics (running, throwing and jumping) and striking and fielding (using cricket as the lead activity). Please send your child to school with their full P.E kit in a bag on a Monday morning and then it is ready in school for the week. This will then be returned home on a Friday. Please make sure that the clothing will keep the children warm as we will use the space outside where appropriate. Thank you.

Reading Books

Reading Books will go home each evening and need to come back to school every morning. Please read with your child for 10 minutes at home each evening, then sign their reading journal.

Children who read phonics book will get a new book every Monday.

Children who are reading accelerated reader books will get a new book after they have completed a quiz at school.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting their children at home. Your support at home is very beneficial to the children's learning overall. Please ask if you have any questions about this.

Here are some ideas to help you with reading at home:

Follow your child’s natural interest and look up information on the internet. They won’t notice that they are practising their reading. They will also be practising vital retrieval and research skills

Some children just prefer non-fiction. Reading non-fiction is a great way to improve vocabulary, learn how to tackle new words, improve knowledge and develop a love for reading. Joke books, fact books, top ten books are all just as good for learning to read as reading fiction

Many children love graphic novels or comics. These are great for developing imagination. Children also learn how stories are presented in different ways and understand how pictures and text work together. There’s also quite a bit of reading between the lines needed here

Read signs and information boards as you are out and about. These often contain new vocabulary to discuss. Recipes or instructions for craft projects are also great for this and also encourage us to read with accuracy

Try to encourage your child to tackle a longer fiction story. Reading a longer story for pleasure has many benefits. It develops imagination and empathy; it builds reading stamina and introduces new vocabulary and sentence styles

Although they don’t practise phonics, listening to audiobooks does practise comprehension skills and might even encourage your child to read other books for themselves. Listening to books develops imagination, teaches new vocabulary, and allows your child to experience books above their reading age.

Times Tables

Times tables are a big focus for us in Year 4. The children are currently exploring a different times table fact every day when they come into school between 8.45-9.00am,

Your child we bring home a different times table to learn at home each week.

Your child should be using TT rockstars at home to practice. We have been setting up different competitive 'battles' to allow the children to challenge others and improve their understanding. They have a username and password in the front of their home school reading books.

You can access TT Rockstars here: https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school/student/24057

We have been using some chanting and repetition to practise our times tables when we have had some spare time, here are some useful links that you can use to help.

2 x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zrrx92p

3 x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/z6sw382

4x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zmsw382

5x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zhbm47h

6x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zrq3xyc

7x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zjp8y9q

8x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/z4mrhbk

9x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zr2gt39

10x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/zm32cqt

11x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/z464nrd

12x https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/articles/z7v7rj6

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSZ7kwwxKqVrNgLP2s3sQbRXaTHr9LFI

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSZ7kwwxKqXpdLA0hIA9fa8RVmRC32pv

Subject knowledge organiser for Sycamore Class for Summer 1

	Name	Format
Files

	athletics_knowledge_organiser.pdf	.pdf
	Y4 Computing - Animation - Knowledge Organiser - Unit 4.6.pdf	.pdf
	Y4 Rivers knowledge organiser - summer 1.pdf	.pdf
	SOUND ko.docx	.docx

Sycamore swimming sessions - April 2024

We had a swimming pool come to school in April to offer daily swimming sessions to all of the class. Every day we had a 45 minute swimming session with teachers from ProSport. We learned different strokes for swimming and increased our confidence in the water. Everyone was confident in the water and we all reduced the number of water aids as the week went on. Lots of us were able to swim the 25m distance with some going even further! Keep practising your swimming wherever you can. Remember that you have your very special swim passes to use Nelson Wavelengths, Colne and West Craven Leisure Centre during the school holidays.

Forest School - Spring 2 2024

Sycamore Class have had Neil from Elemental Forest leading them through their forest school sessions. We have some fantastic grounds around school that allow us to explore nature and life in different ways using different skills. This half term, we have linked our learning to our science unit of solids, liquids and gases and have extended our learning from the classroom to the outdoors. The weather has been against the group at times but we have made the most of every opportunity. We are very lucky to finish our sessions with hot chocolate, juice, smores and biscuits.

Inter Faith Week - Hinduism

The children enjoyed learning a special Diwali dance on the story of Rama and Sita. The teamwork from everyone in the class was fantastic!

Our visit to Nelson Library and the Cenotaph

Sycamore class had a visit to Nelson Library on Thursday 9th November. The children learned all about what the library has to offer for everyone in the local community. There's not just books but courses, computers, sessions for young and old people, maps, information about Nelson and the local area, texts in different languages and there's even a free cinema at the weekends!!!! All of this is free!!!! Please visit the library from Monday - Saturday and you can sign up and start using all of these great materials! Whilst at the library, the children visited the Cenotaph to pay their respects prior to Remembrance Day. The children layed a wreath that they have carefully crafted together and shared a two minute silence. This was also observed by some of the local community who saw what the class were doing. Great respect Sycamore class - well done.