Monday 30th April

Hello and welcome back to all our Year 4's. What a fantastic time we all had at Kingswood last week - I hope you've all caught up on your sleep ready for this week! The children had a wonderful time, participating fully in all the exciting activities and behaviour was exemplary!!! A big thank you to Mrs Bethell, Mr McGreal and Mrs Clancy for giving up their time to come with us all. We will be arranging a date and time for the children to do a presentation for their parents to give you a small taster of what they did. Details will follow shortly.

Well done to the Year 3's for being so sensible while the Year 4's were away - I've heard that you all worked hard and had a good time without us!

Anyway onto this weeks news now.

International School Award - Our school has been awarded an International Schools Award by the British Council and the Department for Education and Skills. This has been awarded to us because of all the work we have been doing in languages and across the curriculum. They were really pleased with how we have linked with our partner school in Malaga and are looking forward to when we can work with all the teachers and pupils.

There is a Holy Communion Meeting this week on Tuesday at 6 o' clock in the hall at school.
It is an important meeting that will answer many of your questions about the day and the actual sacrament itself.

Please ensure that your child has their complete indoor and outdoor P.E. kit in school - we will be taking advantage of the weather to do P.E. outside as much as possible.

LITERACY

In Literacy this week we will be finishing our work on explanation texts and moving onto explore diary writing. Check out the sites below to brush up your skills. We are currently reviewing and extending our knowledge of punctuation too.

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/writingfun/writingfun.html - a guide to many of the different genres of writing we have covered. Make sure you check out the explanation and diary (recount) writing sections.

http://www.athena.bham.org.uk/diary.htm - what does a diary need? A useful list of features.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/diary/index.htm - check out the Steps to see an example of a diary and how to write your own.

Do you understand speech marks? Can you help tell the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops?
http://www.mystery-productions.info/hyper/Hypermedia_2001/Edd_Hartley/Artefact/index.htm

http://www.mape.org.uk/startower/menu.html - a great site with a mixture of activities to try. Have a go at WORD DROP and STAR PUNC.

http://www.saintambrosebarlow.wigan.sch.uk/lowerjuniorspelling.htm - swot up your spelling patterns and rules.

NUMERACY

Keep on with your tables and your mental maths. Use the sites below to keep improving your skills:

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/a_mental/index.htm

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/mentalmachine2.html

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/buttons.html

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/testtest.html - multiplication

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/dividermachine.html - division

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/additiontest.html - addition

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/subtractiontest.html - subtraction

In Miss Robinson's group we will be moving on from length to other measurements, including weight and capacity. We will be learning what each is measured in and will work on reading scales too. As well as this we will be using our mental starter to review what we have learnt so far. Have a go at all the links below:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/measures.htm#Measure - games to practise your measuring skills

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/measures.htm#Weight - games to learn about weight

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/measures.htm#ReadingScales - can you read the scales accurately?

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/liquidvolume/liquidvolume.html - capacity

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game15.htm - capacity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/ - review your learning so far this year with the games in each of the sections. Can you remember how to use data? How much do you remember about number work? What about shapes, angles or measures?

In Numeracy this week Mrs Harding's group will be concentrating on decimals and how to add/subtract and multiply them. We will also be learning/revising how to multiply and divide decimals by 10, 100 and 1000. We will also be making sure we can find fractions of numbers.

http://www.mathsisfun.com/multiplying-decimals.html


http://www.toonuniversity.com/flash.asp?err=198&engine=


http://www.mcwdn.org/Decimals/AddDecimals.html


http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/switch.html


http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/powerpoint/fractions_lesson5.ppt

HISTORY

In History on the topic of the Romans we will be starting to look at the invasion and the Roman army and its soldiers. To find out more please look on:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/army.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/

http://www.kidinfo.com/World_History/AncientRome.html

http://www.links4kids.co.uk/romans.htm

http://www.salariya.com/web_books/gladiator/index.html - you wouldn't want to be a gladiator!

http://www.show.me.uk/topicpage/Romans.html

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/Romans.html - lots of basic facts to read.

SPANISH

We have been learning about Spanish numbers. An excellent resource for this can be found at:

http://www.jvlnet.com/~liliana/Spanish_Numbers.html


http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/mfl/powerpoint/spanish_numbers_1-20.ppt


We may also be learning the Spanish names for colours.

http://www.quia.com/mc/280547.html


http://www.klbschool.org.uk/interactive/spanish/color.htm

This is a good site that offers lots of words to learn.

http://members.aol.com/alvareze/spanish/frame.html

That should be plenty to keep you going.

Take care and have a good week.

The Year 3/4 team

xxx

Monday 23rd April

Hello! A big thank you and well done to all our Year 3 children who attended their Communion Presentation Mass with their families. It was a lovely service and I'm sure the Year 3's all felt very special as they embark on their preparation for receiving their First Holy Communion. A thank you to all the staff who attended too.

I'm sure the Year 4's haven't forgotten that they are going away to Kingswood on Wednesday. The children will be leaving at dinnertime and are expected to return on Friday at approximately 2.30pm. Please could we ask that you bring luggage into the hall on Wednesday morning. You will be able to collect your child from the hall too on Friday.

Don't forget to make sure you have packed these important items:
Nightdress/PJs, dressing gown
Toothpaste. toothbrush, soap in a box
Towels - large and small
Hairbrush or comb
Trousers,tracksuits, shirts,blouses,jumpers
Underwear and socks
Coat
Pumps, slippers, shoes, trainers with gripping soles
Small rucksack/bag
Plastic bag for dirty washing
Set of clothes for disco.

Please make sure there are long sleeve tops for all three days and that they are wearing a long sleeve top on the departure day. Thank you.

Good news for the Year 4's is that they will have no homework this week. Year 3 will be set some activities to do at home during the week.

Things will be pretty normal with the curriculum this week until Wednesday afternoon. The Year 3 will be taught by Mrs Harding and Mrs Riley in two classrooms.

LITERACY

During this week the children in Year 3 will be reviewing/learning about speech marks.
They must know when to put their speech marks and that we start a new line for a new speaker. This could really help their writing in general, perhaps you could help by talking to your child about how speech looks in their reading books too.

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/powerpoint/speechmarks_kl.ppt

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/powerpoint/speechmarks_PR.ppt#256,2,Slide

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/speech_marks/index.htm

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy2.htm#speech

NUMERACY

The children will be reviewing lots of number work through the course of the week so do spend some time looking at the CALCULATING sections on http://www.mathszone.co.uk/. They will also be reviewing/learning about co ordinates. If you look at the SHAPE section on mathszone too you will find some super co-ordinates games.

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/coordinates2.swf

http://www.mathsroom.co.uk/downloads/Coordinates_Treasure_Map.xls

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/powerpoint/treasuremaps.ppt

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/stgeorge.html


HISTORY

The Year 3 children will be getting a bit of a head start on their History topic of the Romans this week. They will be exploring and creating some Roman mosaics this week when the Fours are away. To find out more click on:

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/mosaic/mkmosaic.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/mosaics_gallery.shtml

http://www.inspiredmosaics.co.uk/

To find out more about the History of Roman mosaics see:

http://www.archaeology.co.uk/ca/timeline/roman/mosaics/mosaics.htm

SPANISH

We are trying to learn numbers at the moment. This week we will be trying to use the Spanish date too. A great web site for this is:

http://www.ictgames.com/dateChartEspana.html

Here's to a really exciting week for everyone.

Take care.

The Year 3 and 4 team
xxx

Monday 16th April

Gosh - doesn't time fly when you're having fun. I hope that you all had a super holiday and are ready to come back to school all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I can't believe we're about to start a new term! We've got lots of new and interesting things to cover in our final term, so there's lots to look forward to.

I'm sure the Year 4's are getting more and more excited with the thought of Kingswood looming just over a week away. Don't forget to check what they need to take (long sleeve tops are a must, and leave the designer gear at home!). I'll add more details once we're all back in school properly. The adults who are going with the children are Mrs Bethell, Mrs Clancy, Mr MacGreal and myself (Miss Robinson).

As the weather turns ever warmer can I remind children of the importance of remembering to bring a hat (with their name in) to school, and to make sure they have sunblock on.

Please can we remind parents and guardians to continue to read with your child as many times as you can fit in each week, as well as checking high frequency words at the front of the diary. It does make a huge difference in improving their reading skills. It would be great if you could ask them questions on what they have read, what they think of the characters in their book, what they think will happen next and why, etc. This will help support the development of their comprehension skills in school too.

LITERACY

We start this new term with a review of lots of the 'basics' that we have covered so far this year. We hope that a refresher will help to continue to improve writing skills. We will be looking at punctuation, describing words such as adverbs and adjectives. We will be reminding ourselves how to extend and improve the detail in our sentences to make them more interesting to read. Check out the sites below to help:

http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/B/bookbox/home.htm - particularly check out the Writer's Toolkit. Hear what the experts have to say on how they write! How does Jacqueline Wilson get her characters? How does Philip Pullman choose his words? How does Allan Ahlberg decide the story? Pinch all their secrets and much more.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/english/j_thorogood/grammar_family_1.ppt - a great powerpoint to review the different types of words.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/sentence_detectives/eng/Introduction/default.htm - work through the starter, main and plenary activities and become a SENTENCE DETECTIVE!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/sentencebasics/whatisasentence/quiz.shtml - do you know when a sentence is a proper sentence? Try this quiz.

http://www.gardenofpraise.com/mugram.htm - one of the strangest sites I've found so far. Want to learn a song to help you remember what an adverb is, or when to use an adjective. Click on the learn a song link and join in with the words.

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/english/activities/literature_comp/lit_comp_home.htm - keep your comprehension skills improving - can you read the text and answer the uestions?

NUMERACY

Have you let your times tables slip? Refresh your memory with the games below:

http://www.freewebtown.com/weddell/mw/multiples/intro.htm

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/tabletrees.html

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/resources/gordon/Hit%20the%20button%20v9.swf

In Miss Robinson's Numeracy group this week we are concentrating on measuring length. The children will experience accurately measuring using rulers as well as learning the relationship between mm, cm, m and km. We may even challenge ourselves to look at converting measurements to decimals.

http://www.subtangent.com/maths/flash/measures1.swf - how to use a ruler and a protractor.

http://www.funbrain.com/measure/ - more work on using rulers.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/measures.htm#Measure - check out the different activities.

Fancy moving on to our next topic and giving yourself a challenge with Perimeter and Area check out:
http://www.mathplayground.com/InteractiveGeometry.html
and
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/perimeter_and_area/index.html
In Mrs Hardings group we are continuing our topic of Fractions, with a bit of decimal work thrown in too. Look back at recent links for activities and games, or check out the links below:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/fractions/index.htm

http://www.mathszone.co.uk/ - look in the COUNT AND UNDESRTAND section

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/fracto.html - converts fractions to decimals

http://www.ictgames.com/equivalence.html - fancy a challenge? Can you place the fractions, decimals and percentages correctly?

SCIENCE

We continue with our topic on Materials and Solids, Liquids and Gases with a review of our learning so far. Swot up on the sites below:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/changingmaterials.htm#2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/solids_liquids.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/changing_state.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/gases.shtml

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/science/material/index.jsp

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

In Design & Technology we will be thinking about money containers of all shapes and sizes. Eventually the children will get the chance to design and make a money container but first they need to look at lots and lots of designs for purses and wallets. So please send in any of these clearly named and empty of course he he!!

HISTORY

We start a brand new History topic for this half term and we will be looking at the Romans. First of all, we will be finding out as much as we can to create a title page in our books. Also we will be thinking about our own lives and why people move to different countries. We will be learning key vocabulary related to this. To get ahead and be well prepared why don't you visit your local library to get some books on the Romans or go on line to find out some background information. Check out some of the links below:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/

http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/romans.html - a collection of information.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/city.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/timeline.shtml

http://www.headlinehistory.co.uk/swf/main_launcher.htm - a really interesting and unusual way to learn about the Romans. Click on the North West and Romans and then choose a skill level and a story. Lots to explore!

http://www.roman-sandy.com/start.htm - can you become time detectives to solve Roman Sandy's mystery?

And finally keep up with the news and play cool games on http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/games/default.stm

Have a safe and happy week.
Take care.

The Year 3 / 4 Team

xxx

Monday 2nd April 2007

What a very busy time we had last week - thank you to all parents who came to Parent's Evening. We hope that you found it informative and enjoyed the opportunity to look through the books to see the work your child has done so far. We had a lovely day on Friday and it was a really good way to finish our week in school. The response to the Easter Garden competition was overwhelming and they were an absolute pleasure to see. Thank you to every one who contributed to the boxes as they were a great standard this year and have been the best we've so far. We can't wait to see how they turn out next year!! Results of the winners will be published on the newsletter at the end of this week.

This week Year Four will be working on the Easter service which which take place on Thursday morning at 9a.m. Parents are welcome to attend. Please see below to remember the true meaning of Easter in our school and to remember it is the most important part of the Church's year. We will be spending time in class exploring this special time.

http://www.findinggod.org/soc/ - a fantastic site that takes the children through the Stations of the Cross. (It's the one that wouldn't work in my room so do check it out!)

http://www.ainglkiss.com/stations4kids/

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/christianity/easter/easter.htm

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/re/b-dag/ngfl-container/re-unit2-en.html - a really interactive sites that encourages children to think and talk about the events at this time of year.

http://www.reonline.org.uk/allre/tt_nframe.php?http://www.whyeaster.com/ - my class had lots of questions about the customs we now follow to do with Easter. This site explains many - eggs, chicks, food alongside the Easter story. It also has some activities to do too.

http://www.request.org.uk/infants/festivals/easter/Easter01.htm - some more visual input on Holy Week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/christianity/easter.shtml

There is no swimming this week and it will start after the holidays. However, we are becoming quite concerned with the number of parents who can no longer accompany us on a Thursday morning. We would hate to cancel sessions because of the lack of adults accompanying us. If you are free on a Thursday morning that would be a great help! 9.30 or 10.00am. Thank you.

LITERACY

In Literacy this week we will be finishing off our work on Poetry whenever possible. The children have greatly enjoyed the challenge of writing similes, alliteration, and rhyming couplets over the last couple of weeks. Please take the opportunity to review the links from the last two weeks blog.

NUMERACY

Keep the tables going! Use this week to review the hundreds!? (well there do seem to have been a lot), of times tables games we've used in the past. Which is your favourite? Try going back to a game you haven't played in a while - can you beat your score or time now?

Miss Robinson's group will be continuing to make the links between addition and subtration through work on word problems. We are also linking this work to money too. Please have a look at the links below:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/wordproblems/index.html

http://www.mathszone.co.uk/ - work on the USE AND APPLY MATHS section.

Mrs Harding's Numeracy group will continue when possible to work on decimals. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals.

http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/freesite_tour/resource/whiteboard/decimals/dec_notes.html

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/decchall.html

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/switch.html

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/maths/powerpoint/y5_t1_w5_tenths_hundredths.ppt

I'm sure that's enough for now. Just for those who are excited about the new series fo Dr Who starting check out the website below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/

Have a safe and well-earned break.
A happy and Holy Easter to you all.
Take care.

The Year 3/4 team
xxx