Class teachers - Miss Tompkinson and Mrs Martin

• January - Determination and Perseverance

• February - Honesty and Trust 

• March - Learning and Effort

This term, we will continue to build on literacy skills and learn new skills from the Literacy Tree scheme. We will start the term reading 'Varmints'.  Helen Ward and Mark Craste created this picture book to allow children to recognise that living things can be grouped in various ways, that environments can change, and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things. Pupils will be writing diary entries, persuasive posters, instructions, and letters and will finish the series of lessons explaining the life cycle of plants.  Whilst we are reading the book, pupils will plant seeds and dissect flowers to better understand the natural world. 

Once we have finished 'Varmints', Year 4 will read 'Baker by the Sea' by Paula White.  This is a story based on courage, loneliness and belonging. It will give pupils opportunities to develop cross-curricular skills linked with our ‘What in the World’ focus: naming and locating counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time.  Pupils will write job applications and finish by producing a tourist guide. 

On Mondays, all pupils will continue to participate in spelling sessions.

Pupils will continue to participate in Whole-Class Reading sessions each day. Over the week, they will read with the teacher and complete tasks independently and as part of a group, developing Voice 21 skills, spelling, and comprehension. 

We encourage the pupils to read every day at home with an adult. We ask you to ask questions about what is read, developing pupils' recall, vocabulary, and understanding of their chosen text. These can be magazines, fiction or nonfiction books, journals — anything that interests and engages them

This term is all about applying our knowledge to different contexts.  Pupils will start the term recapping multiplication and move on to using it as a tool for division. Pupils will use these operational skills to answer procedural and reasoning style questions, developing their mastery and oracy skills.  As we continue to embed these skills, we will encourage children to learn their timetables at home, practising them in and out of order and using division facts.  This, in turn, will support Year 4 when they start learning about fractions, how to identify fractions, counting in fractional steps and dividing totals into equal parts.  Practising times tables daily will help pupils calculate problems more efficiently. In Year 4, pupils should know their 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 10 times tables.

This term, we will continue to use real-life contexts in our maths and encourage pupils to use manipulatives to support their learning. We will move on to Geometry and Shape, converting units of measurement, estimating and calculating area and perimeter, volume, weight, and time, before developing knowledge and recall of 2D and 3D shapes. 

Our application of numeracy will be apparent during our challenge sessions. Our ‘What in the World’  topic will allow pupils to use timing, statistical analysis, data collection, graph creation, and distance measurement to make valid numerical predictions.

Our health and wellbeing sessions will take place on Mondays and be split into two: a physical session and a theory session.  The theory, practical and outdoor learning will have common themes, building on one another over the weeks. We will learn what health and fitness are and why they are important for our body, mind and social wellbeing. Pupils will take part in a range of physical activities to understand how exercise changes breathing and heart rate, and why the body needs oxygen. Pupils will learn to be active every day and explore fun, energetic ways to stay healthy. Through team games and problem-solving activities, pupils will develop teamwork, communication, leadership and creativity while planning and creating their own games.

During Enrichment Week in Spring 2, Year 4 will take part in an exciting, hands-on learning adventure. Pupils will develop teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills through fun team games, map-reading activities, and orienteering challenges around the school and local area. They will have the opportunity to create and lead their own courses, solve puzzles and observation challenges, and test strategies as part of their teams.

To enrich the experience, Scout leaders, local coaches and teambuilding experts will visit to demonstrate navigation, teamwork, and practical outdoor skills, giving pupils real-world experience in problem-solving and exploration. Throughout the week, children will also practice leadership, planning, and creativity, while reflecting on their learning in team discussions.

The week will culminate in an Explorer Adventure Challenge, where pupils will combine everything they have learned in a large-scale orienteering expedition. Teams will complete checkpoints with mini-challenges, rotate through skill stations such as blindfold navigation and problem-solving puzzles, and try out each other’s created challenges. 

During our challenge sessions, Year 4 will be learning about: ‘What in the World’.  Much of our learning this term will be practical, building on Years 4's love of problem solving and learning through 'doing'.  They will be designing and taking part in experiments, making predictions and using real-life items to demonstrate knowledge and show understanding.  We will begin the term looking at Earth itself and how it is formed, moving onto tectonic plates and the effects they have on the natural surroundings.  We will link in with local, national and international physical features.  After looking into Earth itself, we will move on to looking at local issues with flooding, threats to ecosystems, renewable energy models and how we can be more responsible and sustainable as a school, community, nation and world. 

Children will also celebrate St. David's Day by participating in 'Welsh Week' and take part in Welsh based activities to celebrate the Eisteddfod and St. David's Day. Children will be able to wear House Colours to join in the celebrations. on March 2nd. 

PE will take place on Mondays and children should wear their PE kit to school on this day. School uniform should be worn on all other days.   

Pupils must bring a water bottle daily and an age-appropriate reading book for independent reading sessions. 

Please ensure pupils wear weather-appropriate clothing; we will aim to be outside daily; therefore, coats are essential if forecasted wet weather.  Please label all of your child’s property to avoid losing items

Download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.