General Information

Welcome to Year 4! The children are now maturing and will have a clear understanding of the behaviour and learning expectations at St Cross from Key Stage 1 and I will ensure that these are upheld throughout Year 4. We will be continuing our ‘cross-curricular, “3-D” ’ approach to learning at St Cross and I have planned 5 very exciting topics that will engage them and allow them to apply newly learnt skills in different subjects. Please make sure ALL of your child’s clothing is clearly labelled.

PE

Please make sure your child comes to school dressed in their PE kit on their PE day. Indoor and outdoor PE kit: Navy shorts/skirt, blue T-Shirt and plimsolls/trainers, school tracksuit or navy tracksuit bottoms/school jumper and trainers – all labelled please!  Please also ensure your child has an additional pair of trainers/plimsolls at school every day to allow them onto the meadow.

Homework

All homework is in line with our Whole School Homework Policy and is consistent throughout the school. Please refer to the ‘Homework expectations’ document on the website for further information.

Reading

Children are free to choose any books from the book corner or library in Year 4 however we will monitor the books they choose. We would appreciate your support when guiding them towards appropriate texts for their interests and ability. They are also able to bring in a book from home if they choose. They will be expected to read for 15 - 20 minutes every night to an adult. Daily reading should be recorded on the BoomReader app. In addition to their home reading, the children will have an adult listen to them read on a regular basis during the school day, either as a daily reader or through Reciprocal Reading sessions. In order for your child to gain the most out of reading, ask them comprehension questions about the text they are reading, check their understanding and help them to foster a love of books.

Spellings

The children will be given 15 spellings every Thursday (10 that follow a spelling pattern and 5 that are related to our science, geography or history topics). These are available on the Year 4 class page on the website. The children will follow the Year 4 spelling scheme but there will be occasions where Year 3 spellings and statutory spellings form part of the scheme to ensure these rules are not forgotten. They will be tested every Monday. Please ensure that the children practise their spellings throughout the week in preparation for their spelling test. We will monitor their spelling results throughout the year and re-test where necessary.

Maths

The children will be set a Maths tasks on Atom Prime. They will be given on a Friday; these are expected to be completed by the following Thursday. Please also refer to the weekly signposts that will have the week’s learning focus should you wish to do any additional work with your children at home to consolidate their learning. The ‘Bank of Home Learning Resources’ is still available for you to make use of if you wish. In addition to this, the children are expected to play Times Table Rock Stars (15 – 20 minutes 3x per week) to ensure they are becoming fluent in their ability to recall the facts with ease and speed as they have a times tables check towards the end of Year 4. Additional websites to help with this preparation are attached below. Please support your child by practising their given times table with them each night to ensure they are successful.

1. https://www.timestables.co.uk/multiplication-tables-check/
2. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
3. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables

You can find additional links for the times table test on the homework page link below.

Please see the website for further information about ‘Homework expectations’.

I hope you find the information in this document useful to help you support your child at home this coming year.   

Miss Nixon and Mrs McIntyre