Trip to Yorkshire Museum
We had a great time at Yorkshire Museum this week.
Before lunch, we had plenty of time to explore the museum exhibits — the Roman gallery was a clear favourite! We loved dressing up as Romans, spotting Latin words we recognised from our lessons, writing our names using the Latin alphabet and getting up close to swords and helmets discovered by archaeologists. One highlight was examining the impressive Roman mosaic floor and imagining what life might have been like all those years ago.
We also made exciting pit stops in the Viking and Jurassic exhibitions, where there was lots to see and discover.
After lunch, the fun continued with a hands-on Roman workshop. We learned key vocabulary, examined real artefacts and even practised marching like Roman soldiers. The perfect end to the day (for some, at least!) was an action-packed showdown — charging at the defenceless Celt, Mrs Poole, armed with swords and shields!
A brilliant day full of history, discovery and plenty of smiles.
D:Side – Staying Safe Online
This week we enjoyed another visit from D:Side Dave.
It was really interesting to learn how AI can be used to create fake images and why people might choose to do this. We loved spotting the difference between fake images and real images.
We also thought about what happens when you share a photo with someone. We learned that when it has been shared you can’t get it back. This made us think carefully about what photos we might be happy to share and which we wouldn’t want to share.
Finally, we learnt about PEGI ratings and how they are designed to help keep us safe. It was quite surprising to learn about the PEGI ratings of some of our favourite games and to think about why they might have that rating.
Help at home: we will be looking at how to stay safe online next week on Safer Internet Day and next half-term in our computing topic. In the meantime, you could explore this advice for parents https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
Writing – battling those Rotten Romans … a gruesome recount!
We’ve loved writing our recounts of our battle against the Romans on the Chromebooks. Hopefully you enjoyed reading them when the children brought a copy home on Friday.
It was great for the children to be able to edit their writing further when writing on the Chromebooks. The joy that filled the classroom when the children found out they would be typing their recounts was palpable.
As well as editing our writing, the Chromebooks helped us to fix spelling mistakes and we learned how to write a capital letter using the shift key and move down a line by pressing the enter key.
There was a glow of teamwork as children helped each other out and a huge sense of pride as their recounts flew off the printer.
Reading
Following our Watch Us While We Work, it has been great to see children’s reviews of videos from Authorfy in their Reading Record.
Popular videos include:
- Isadora Moon author Harriet Muncaster https://authorfy.com/masterclasses/harrietmuncaster/
- Boy at the Back of the Class author Onjali Rauf https://authorfy.com/masterclasses/onjaliqrauf/
- Good Thieves author Katherine Rundell https://authorfy.com/masterclasses/katherinerundell/
Today we finished our class novel The Game I Will Never Forget by Onjali Rauf
This one evoked lots of different emotions. Using books like this combined with our Feelings First sessions we are hoping to support children to talk about their emotions.
On a lighter note, there’ll be a little surprise on Monday to help the children choose our next class novel … watch this space!
Help at home – check out the resources on https://authorfy.com/ or ask your child what they thought about The Game I Will Never Forget.
Sorry about the circle thing …
It’s been great hearing from so many children about how they’ve been picking your brains about how many sides a circle has. I hope the debates haven’t become too heated!
If you want to get your own back, you could get them puzzling over this brain teaser:
How many triangles are there?
I think this unit about perimeter is our favourite maths unit so far.
Help at home: You could watch this video together Area and perimeter and discuss the difference between area and perimeter.
If you’re looking for a more hands-on activity … in class the children have loved measuring the perimeter of various objects and shapes using a piece of string and a ruler. Challenge your child to a competition to see who can find a shape that has a perimeter of 10cm. You could measure and cut the string to the correct length then race each other to see who’s finds an object first.
Living & Learning – British Values – I know what democracy is
Following some great conversations in class about what democracy means and why it is important, I have turned this website post over to our JLT representatives.
And here it is in action:
Watch this space for more information from our JLT about some exciting initiatives coming up this year!
Romans In Britain
We have begun our exciting new half-term topic, all about the Romans and Anglo-Saxons.
We started by exploring the word chronology, learning that it means putting events in the order they happened. After examining key moments from British history, we successfully placed them into chronological order and did a fantastic job.
To gain context about life before the Roman invasion in 43 AD, we explored Iron Age Britain. We learned about the Celts, who lived in tribes, and discovered what daily life was like during this time.
We then moved on to discuss why the Romans wanted to invade Britain. We learned that Britain’s rich natural resources, such as precious metals and fertile farmland, made it an attractive place for trade and expansion.
When the Romans finally succeeded in expanding their empire into Britain, it was a huge cause for celebration, as they had been trying to conquer it for many years.
We imagined what Emperor Claudius might have said to his Roman citizens and wrote some amazing speeches. Using our fantastic oracy skills, we performed our speeches with confidence and enthusiasm.
Here is an example of one of our brilliant speeches:
Help at home: Can you child put some events from their life in chronological order?
Welcome Back!
I hope you’ve all had a restful break and have enjoyed a positive start to 2026.
As we start the Spring Term, I thought it might be useful to let you know what’s coming up.
Things to remember each week
| Monday | PE
Spelling Test |
| Tuesday | Swimming (not the first week back – PE lesson will happen in school instead.) |
| Friday | Library book swap
Reading records checked in Book Club |
Important dates this half-term
| Wednesday 14th January
9.00 – 9.30 a.m. |
Watch Us While We Work
Pop in to class and join the children in their learning. We will be looking at reading, maths and Feelings First. |
| Monday 19th January
6.00 – 6.30 p.m. |
Staying Safe Online
Parents’ Zoom meeting. |
| Thursday 5th February | Year 3/4 trip to Yorkshire Museum |
| Tuesday 10th February and
Thursday 12th February |
Parent-Teacher Meetings |
| Full details are available on the school calendar. | |
Our learning this half term
- Reading – We’re looking forward to finding out what happens at the end of our class novel and will continue developing our inference skills in our daily reading sessions. We will continue to explore the work of different authors in our weekly Book Club.
- Writing – We’ll start the term exploring what makes a good recount before writing our own.
- Spelling – See the weekly homework sheet for details of the words we will be focussing on.
- Maths – We’ll be consolidating our understanding of rounding before looking at some more challenging addition and subtraction problems.
- Times Tables – We start our ‘Going for Gold’ sessions and focus on two key facts each week (see the homework sheet for the facts of the week.)
- History – We’ll be exploring the key historical concepts of power, invasion and innovation through our study of the Romans.
- PE – The class will be very excited to know that our game focus for this half-term is dodgeball.
- RE – We’ll be thinking about how people (of different faiths and no faith) express spirituality.
I look forward to another action-packed and fun-filled half-term. If you have any questions or I can help at all please do let me know. You can grab me at the end of the day at pick-up or by calling or emailing the School Office.
Mrs Poole
That’s a wrap!
As we reach the end of 2025, it’s hard to believe how quickly this term has flown by! It’s been a lovely, festive finish this week, packed with special moments and lots of smiles.
One of the biggest highlights was a visit from Father Christmas who spread plenty of cheer and excitement. The Christingle service was another memorable moment, bringing our whole school family together to celebrate and reflect on what we value about this time of year. There was also the Christmas party – a perfect way to unwind and enjoy each other’s company – and a jolly Christmas lunch!
Thank you for all of your support and positivity in 2025. I hope you all have a relaxing, joyful holiday and I look forward to seeing you in 2026! 🎄✨
Living & Learning – I can give and receive compliments
This week we’ve been thinking about the power of compliments. Compliments are wonderful to receive and lovely to give. We thought about how “I like your hair” might not be as meaningful to someone as “I admire how creative you are.”
Fortunately, Year 4 had lots of compliments to share with each other. Here are some of the most popular words used:
We also thought about how we might react when someone compliments us. We talked about how we might feel embarrassed but how we also might respond by saying thank you, smiling or giving a compliment back.
These are the words we thought of when we thought about how we might feel when someone gives us a compliment:
Help at home: A well-placed compliment can make someone feel valued, seen and appreciated. For children and adults alike, receiving genuine praise can boost self-esteem and strengthen emotional well-being. You could play a compliments game at home, taking it in turns to compliment someone in your family. Challenge your child to explain what makes a compliment a meaningful one.