Class 4 2025 - 2026

Miss Hymers

Class Teacher Class 3 and Class 4, Art and Design, Design and Technology

Mrs Glew

Class 4 Teacher, Wellbeing and Fitness

Mrs Rowley

Class 4 Teaching Assistant, Eco Committee

Welcome to Class 4

Mrs.Glew, Miss Hymers and Mrs. Rowley,

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Class 4. It is lovely to see the children back in school and settling so well. We have tried to include in this letter all the information that you need to know in order to help with equipment they may need, explain our routines and to help you support your children at home.

Curriculum

Children will be taught the National Curriculum 2014 and we pride ourselves on teaching a full, creative curriculum which fosters curiosity, is enriching and promotes independent well-rounded learners.

English Literacy

We will be starting the term using The Night Mail poem as inspiration for performing and writing our own poems. Our first class novel will be Leila and the Blue Fox by Kiran Millwood which will inspire our writing but also initiate many cross curricular links with Oracy and debate opportunities, Geography and History links and I hope will energise our children in their courageous advocacy.

Reading

The children should all have arrived home with a new reading book by now. They are able to change their reading books as often as they require. In class the children will be reading a wide variety of genres and will be exposed to many new concepts and vocabulary but we also encourage their reading for pleasure. The impact that reading each day can have on a child's understanding of literacy is well documented and we have a fantastic selection of books for them to borrow and explore. We welcome your support on reading with them, being read to and discussing their books with them. Please ensure they read for ten minutes each day and encourage them to talk about what they have read and understood. If you have a reluctant reader, please do let me know and I can provide reading material until they are in the flow of their reading book.

In year 6 we do not ask them to have parents/carers sign their reading record, instead we write book journals in school and the children choose whether they would like to track their reads towards a certificate.

Whole Class Reading

We will read either our whole class novel or extracts related to our curriculum subjects daily. Every child will read aloud at least twice a week, this will be a focused read; involving class and partner discussion, quizzes and comprehension questions.

Topic Work

This term our history topics are World War1 and World War 2. We will use a combination of historical enquiry and analysis of photographs and artefacts to build a broader picture of the causes of both wars and what it was like to live during this time.

PE this year will be taught twice weekly, Tuesdays and Fridays. We have planned wherever possible to have lessons outside, so therefore days may change depending on the weather. Please could we therefore ask that their PE kits are in school every day. During colder weather, navy blue tracksuit bottoms and jumpers can be worn.

NB Earrings cannot be worn at any time during PE. Please ensure your child can either remove and replace their own earrings or they take them out before school on the days of PE and put them back in after school – taping them is not an adequate strategy to keep the children safe.

Homework

Homework will be sent weekly on Thursdays, we encourage the children to take ownership of their homework and attempt it independently though obviously we welcome your support and input. Children usually are given a Maths and an English task each week.

In year 6 we always have one eye on preparing your children for high school and encourage them to take increasing responsibility. There may be times when your child finds a gap in their understanding, please encourage them to talk to us if they need help or it is causing anxiety. Homework is a further opportunity for children to retrieve and revise information and embed knowledge, understanding and strategies though on some occasions may also be research in preparation for something in class. Homework will be set on google classroom so it is easy for both parents and children to find.

Spelling

In addition to the homework above, there will be a weekly spelling focus and list of words to learn, these words will be taught in class and opportunities to practise them provided in school at least 3 times a week.

On occasion a mini homework may be sent home outside these times, if this is the case the task will take no more than 10 minutes and will usually involve completing something started in school that day or additional practice to a task found tricky.

Snack Time

Children are allowed water bottles filled with water (not juice).

Only healthy snacks or toast are allowed at morning break time.

Children can buy up to two pieces of toast at a cost of 20p each.

Timetable
Please see the link below for a copy of this term's timetable.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch at any point this year. We operate an open-door policy and are available if you ever have any concerns.

Mrs Glew, Miss Hymers and Mrs Rowley

Spelling practice:

https://spellingframe.co.uk/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zv48q6f

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2literacy.html

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar