Year 3

We’ve had a fantastic start to 2026, with wonderful behaviour for learning and great energy from all the children. They have settled back into learning brilliantly and are showing enthusiasm across the curriculum.

In English, we are writing exciting recounts by thinking and writing as worms! This creative approach is helping children engage the reader as they describe their journey through the topsoil and clay layers. Our writing includes strong adjectives, co-ordinating conjunctions and creative prepositions. The children are learning to edit their work thoroughly and uplevel to make it even more exciting! An especially exciting addition has been our very own class worms, which the children observe daily and use to inspire their writing.

In maths, we are tackling the challenge of dividing one-digit numbers by two-digit numbers. This is tricky learning, but the children are working hard, using partitioning strategies and checking their answers with inverse operations. Using counters and tens and ones has helped the children significantly to break down their thought process and explain what is happening when we divide big numbers. Please continue to practise at home (either on TTRS or 1 minute maths) as this will benefit those who are finding some of their times tables a little tricky.

In geography, we are developing our atlas skills by locating countries in North America and using latitude and longitude to find their positions. We’re excited to uncover more knowledge about this incredible continent and look forward to discussions where the children share about their own travels around the world.

It’s been a great start to the year, and we’re very proud of the children’s effort and curiosity. 

  

     

w/b 12.01.26	w/b 19.01.26
Spelling rule:Words with short /i/ sound spelt ‘y’   myth gym Egypt pyramid mystery symbol lyric  typical   Key words:  co-ordinating conjunctions,  Prepositions, adjectives, partitioning, division, ten times bigger, longitude, latitude   Maths facts: 4 x tables	Spelling rule: Adding suffixes   gardener  gardening  limited  limiting    offered  offering    focused    focussing   Key words:  co-ordinating conjunctions,  Prepositions, adjectives, partitioning, division, ten times bigger, longitude, latitude   Maths facts: 8 x tables

 

Key dates:

January

• 22.01.26 - Open Classrooms 8.45-9.15am
• 29.01.26 - Ballet trip 
• 30.01.26 - International Day (pm) - please let your class rep know if you could offer an activity based on your national food/music/language

February

• w/c 02.02.26 - NSPCC Number Day 
• w/c 02.02.26 - Children’s mental health week
• 10.02.26 - Safer Internet Day
• 13.02.26 @ 3.15pm - End of half term

 

Year 4

The children have returned on good form from their Christmas break and enjoyed catching up with classmates and exchanging holiday news.  Year 4 started the year by proudly publishing their newspaper reports of the “murder” of the two little pigs.  They are now drafting instructions to help other pigs build houses that should withstand a wolf attack.

In maths, we are focussing on formal multiplication methods and the children’s times tables practice on TTRS has really helped their confidence with this.  Please continue to practise at home (either on TTRS, orally or on paper) as this will benefit those who are finding some of their times tables a little tricky, as well as prepare them for the Multiplication Tables Check later this year.

We have enjoyed reading Great Rivers of the World in reading lessons and this, together with our Year 3 geography knowledge of rivers, will help us with our topic this term of comparing the River Thames and the River Nile.

To finish our States of Matter topic, we have been investigating rates of evaporation by drying tea towels in different locations around the school. This week, we are solving the problem of how to use evaporation to create a clean water supply should we be stranded on a desert island.

The children were amazed by the artwork of Stephen Wilshire, who can draw cityscapes from memory.  He is our inspiration for this term’s art lessons focussing on mark making and drawing in perspective.

Using physical resources, the children have been experimenting with computational thinking in their computing lessons.  

Onyx class are excited to have started their swimming lessons.

Well done, Year 4, for a positive return to school!

  

  

w/b 12.01.26	w/b 19.01.26
Spelling rule: Homophones & near homophones   cereal serial check cheque through threw draft draught stares stairs   Key words:  multiplication, column, 2-step  word problems sentence types, headlines, sub-headings, past and present tense  evaporation, condensation, temperature  source, mouth, meander   Maths facts: 11 x tables	Spelling rule: Nouns ending in the suffix - ation   information adoration sensation preparation education location exaggeration concentration imagination organisation   Key words:  multiplication, division, efficient parenthesis, apostrophes to denote possession, cohesive devices food chain, predator, prey, consumer River Thames, Cotswolds, human features   Maths facts: 12 x tables

 

Key dates: 

January

• 22.01.26 - Open Classrooms 8.45-9.15am
• 30.01.26 - International Day (pm) - please let your class rep know if you could offer an activity based on your national food/music/language

February

• w/c 02.02.26 - NSPCC Number Day 
• w/c 02.02.26 - Children’s mental health week
• 10.02.26 - Safer Internet Day
• 13.02.26 @ 3.15pm - End of half term