Autumn One Update

 

Apollos have had an excellent first half term back at school. They have settled back into the routine of school really well and have been enthusiastic and curious learners.  I have really enjoyed getting to know each of them.

This halt term, in English, we have focused on writing for a purpose. We began with a unit inspired by ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’ where we wrote to entertain our readers. We created our own quest story and turned part of it into a page from a graphic novel. We have also worked on writing to persuade. The children wrote and delivered really engaging and interesting speeches about an issue that they thought was important. Topics ranged from introducing a ‘Bring your Pet to School’ day to changing the school uniform. They worked on using direct and persuasive language to convince their audience. We have also studied poetry and have all written our own poem about finding a strange creature.  The children have impressed me with their creativity and use of ambitious vocabulary. We are continuing to focus on improving their use of punctuation and spelling as well as using a variety of sentence structures.

In maths, the children have been learning about how they can use their understanding of number to solve problems in the most efficient way. They have looked at place value and how to accurately position numbers on a number line. They have learnt about how to round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000 as well as looking at a variety of mental methods for addition and subtraction.  The children have shown great resilience in trying out a variety of methods for mental calculation that have required them to think flexibly. More recently, we have been looking at formal methods for addition and subtraction. The children have shown a growing awareness of the importance of organised presentation in their books. They have been learning how to tackle addition and subtraction calculations with numbers that include thousands, as well as testing their understanding with trickier missing number calculations.  Please continue to focus on helping the children to learn their times tables facts as recall of these is essential in Year 4.

 

History, this term, has been all about the Romans and the effect that their arrival in Britain had on the country.  We looked at why the Romans came to Britain and the resistance that native tribes and leaders like Boudica put up against the invaders. We also examined what life was like for Romans living in Britain. We explored evidence for why Emperor Hadrian decided to build a wall across the north of Britain. Finally, we learnt about the Roman ruins that are found all across Britain, including here in St Albans.  We loved our visit to the museum and the children were brilliant on the trip and the walk there and back. At the end of term, the children have also written a persuasive letter to explain why living in Verulamium was so good AND showed off their oracy skills while presenting their Romans learning to the rest of the class.

In computing this half term, the children have been learning about 'The Internet' - what it is made up of, how it works, different parts of a website name and how web pages are broken up. The children learnt new key vocabulary, such as 'switch', 'router' and 'data centre' and the different roles that each of these play in 'The Internet'. They have also looked at different ways to access the internet and looked at 'content'; what web content is, how it is uploaded to the internet, who has access and authorisation to upload content to the internet and why.

Our French lessons this term have focussed on introducing ourselves. We have learnt how to say hello, our names, how old we are, where we live, and our nationality.  The children have had shown good conversational skills as they have role played conversations in French.

In PE, the children have developed their rugby and handball skills and have practised working as a team. Their attacking and defending skills have progressed well across both sports.

 

In science, we have been learning about living things and their habitats. We have focused on how and why scientist classify living things in the way that they do. We have done lots of practical work – from creating our own human classification system on the field to hunting for mini-beats outside. The children have developed their ability to ask questions that separate one type of plant or animal from another and have impressed me with their curiosity.

 

In music, we have been working with Mr Dickenson our drumming, rhythm and improvisation skills.

In art, Mrs Khalid has worked with the children to develop their understanding of tone, texture and proportion. They have created some lovely drawings of sweets, fruits, bottles as well as practising collaging techniques.

 

In RE, we have learnt about a non-religious worldview – Humanism. We have learnt that Humanists do not believe in a god and instead choose to behave towards others in the way that they would like others to behave towards them. We have learnt that they use science and reason to explain the world.

In PSHE, we began our first topic: ‘Being Me in My World’. We explored what rights we have as individuals as well as looking at the responsibilities and rights of all members of our school community.  We talked about rewards and consequences as well as how our actions affect us and other people.  Additionally, we celebrated Hello Yellow Day – where we learnt just how important it is to care for ourselves and others, as well as wearing red to support anti-racisim. Throughout October we have celebrated Black History month by learning about stories of significant black pioneers in science, civil rights, sport and the arts.

Your children have worked so hard this half term and have lived by our Margaret Wix values. I hope you enjoy a restful break Apollos and I look forward to seeing you soon!

 Mrs Rowson