Easter Church Visit

March 2023

We have been offered a brilliant opportunity to visit the Parish church for an Easter Experience!  It is a visit that will enhance your child’s RE curriculum and their understanding of such an important event in the Christian calendar.

It is during the school day, so no travel arrangements are needed, no costs incurred.  The dates are Tuesday 28^th March for Year 3 and Redwood class and Wednesday 29^th March for Poplar and Sycamore classes. 

                             We will leave school at 1pm and return to school before end of day.

If you are able to come as a parent helper for these visits, please see the letter sent with your child, or email their teacher directly.

Thank you,

Year 3 and Year 4 Teams

Spring Term Newsletter 2023

Dear Parents/carers,

Happy Spring Term!  We would like to share information about the forthcoming term:

The Year 4 Team

Sadly this term, we have said a fond goodbye to Mrs Lawrence – Poplar Class thanks her for everything she has done.  Mrs Pegg has now returned after her maternity leave, joining Mrs McGibbon in Poplar Class.  Our teaching assistants in Year 4 are Mrs Seeds (in Sycamore with Mrs Worthington), Mrs Gibbins, and Mrs Winfield.  When Mrs Winfield goes on maternity leave, Mrs Lloyd Anderson will cover for her.

PPA (Planning, Preparation & Assessment)

On Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, the Year 4 teachers will be out of class on PPA time. Mr Wardle will continue to cover lessons across the Year 4 classes.

Our Curriculum

Our main topics this term are, ‘The Ancient Egyptians’ and ‘Project Arctic: Poles apart’. If you have any specialist knowledge or resources linked to the topics, we’d love to hear from you!

Work in other subjects will include:

• Maths: Multiplication and division; Length and Perimeter; Fractions; Decimals
• English: The Dragon Slayer; Writing to inform – linked to mummification (History)
• Computing: Online safety; Animation
• PE: Real PE (indoor) and Invasion Games (outdoor)
• French: En Classe
• RE: Why is the Bible important to Christians today?; Easter and Pesach
• PSHE: Living in the Wider World; British Values
• Music: Music Partnership – Learning a brass instrument (Sycamore Class/half the Year 4 children from Redwood); Poplar Class from Spring Term 2(and the other half of Redwood Year 4)
• DT: Mechanical Systems: Designing and making Easter/Spring cards with moving parts.
• Art: Artist Study: Vincent Van Gogh

Homework

1. Daily reading (4 times a week minimum) noted in homework diaries.
2. Learning times tables – the Soundcheck ‘game’ on TT Rockstars is a good way to prepare the children for the Government’s End of Year Tables Assessment.  Both Poplar and Sycamore classes have undertaken a times tables assessment this term and each child has been given the tables they need to concentrate on.  These will be discussed during parent consultations this term.
3. Learning spellings in preparation for tests each Friday – a combination of spelling out loud, writing words in sentences and using Spelling Shed works best for most children.
4. Completion of pages from the Homework books – these are given by the class teachers and marked with the children.  This may vary from class to class.

Reading

It is an expectation that children will read a minimum of four times a week, preferably aloud to an adult. This recognises the importance of practising this vital life skill.  Many reading skills, such as expression and intonation, can only be developed when reading aloud.  Please record and sign all reading in homework diaries. Children, who meet the minimum target by the weekly diary check, will receive a reading reward.

Home Learning

If your child is absent from school for a prolonged period of time (with Covid 19 or other illnesses) and they are well enough to do schoolwork, please contact the school via teacher emails or through the office.  We will then be able to set up work according to the circumstances.

P.E.

Our P.E. days this term are as follows:

Poplar Class – Wednesday morning and Friday afternoons

Sycamore Class – Tuesday morning and Friday afternoons

Children should come ready for PE on their allotted days.  It is recommended that a tracksuit is worn during this term as it is cold outside.  A note would be appreciated if your child is to be excused from his/her P.E. lesson. For health and safety reasons, earrings should be removed and long hair tied back.

We look forward to working in partnership with you to ensure that your child has a happy and productive year.  If you have any queries, please email your child’s teacher or the office – the latter is the better option for a more immediate response.  You can also use your child’s Home School diary (but please remind your child to show us the diary as we only have the diaries in once a week).

Mrs Worthington, Mrs McGibbon and Mrs Pegg

Autumn Term newsletter 2022

Dear Parents/carers,

Welcome to the new school year at Melbourne Junior School as your child moves into Year 4. We would like to let you know a little more about the Year 4 team and what we will be doing over the forthcoming term.

The Year 4 Team

We have a team of dedicated adults working with the children to support their learning.  In addition to our class teachers: Poplar  - Mrs McGibbon, Mrs Lawrence, Sycamore - Mrs Worthington and Redwood – Mr Radburn, our teaching assistants, Mrs Donnachie, Mrs Fortin – Tobin, Mrs Gibbins, Mrs Seeds and Mrs Winfield will also be working with and supporting groups of children.

PPA (Planning, Preparation & Assessment)

On Tuesday mornings, Mrs Worthington will be out of the classroom on PPA time,  Mrs McGibbon and Mrs Lawrence will be out of class on Wednesday mornings on PPA time and Mr Radburn will be out of class on Friday mornings on PPA time. Mr Wardle will be teaching the Year 4 classes during these mornings.

Our Curriculum this term:

• Maths – Number & Place value, Four Operations of Number and Area
• English – Picture books and poetry, writing to inform
• Science - Rocks and Soils and Animals including humans
• History - How did Britain change from The Stone Age to the Iron Age?
• Geography - Where in the World?
• Computing – Inside a computer, effective searching and e-safety
• PE – Gymnastics (indoor) and Net, Wall and Court Games (outdoor)
• French – Phonics and Presenting Myself
• RE – What does it mean to be a Christian in Britain today? Major festivals (throughout the year)
• PSHE – Relationships
• Music – Music Partnership – Learning a brass instrument (Wider Opportunities), A Night on Bare Mountain and Singing
• Art – Cave Drawings and Paintings
• DT – Textiles - designing and making decorations

Dates for the Diary:

Thursday 15 September Project String Quartet concert for the whole school- Vivaldi

Monday 19^th September Bank Holiday for The Queen’s Funeral

Thursday 22 September Online Safety workshops for all classes

                                         5pm: On line safety workshop for parents – details to follow

Thursday 6 October National Poetry Day

Thursday 20 October Parents evening

Friday 21 October School closes for half term

Monday 31 October School reopens - Flu immunisations this half term

Tuesday 1 November Parents evening

16/17/18 November Y3/4 visits to Cresswell Crags (More details will follow)

Wednesday 21 December End of Term

Homework

1. Daily reading (noted in homework diaries) At least 4 times a week, signed by parents/carers
2. Learning times tables (TT Rockstars)
3. Learning spellings in preparation for tests each Friday (Spelling Shed)
4. Work will be set on Fridays alternating between a Maths activity and an English activity using the Dactyl Homework Scheme.

Spelling

All children will be able to log-on to Spelling Shed in order to work on their weekly spellings.

Spelling activities also take place in the classroom each week.

Spellings are tested and new wordlists will be given out each Friday.

Reading

It is an expectation that children will read a minimum of four times a week, preferably aloud to an adult. This recognises the importance of practising this vital life skill.  Many reading skills, such as expression and intonation, can only be developed when reading aloud.  Please record and sign all reading in homework diaries. Children who meet the minimum target by the Friday diary check (Sycamore and Redwood)/Monday diary check (Poplar), will receive a Reading Reward.

P.E.

Our P.E. days this term are: Sycamore - Tuesday (indoor) and Friday (outdoor), Poplar – Wednesday (indoor) and Friday (outdoor) and Redwood – Tuesday (outdoor) and Friday (indoor).

Children should continue to come to school in P.E. kit on their P.E. days.

A note would be appreciated if your child is to be excused from his/her P.E. lesson. For health and safety reasons, earrings should not be worn on P.E. days and long hair tied back.

Parental Support

Parental support is highly valued and we are indebted to those parents who are able to provide consistent, or occasional, help within school with tasks such as reading, practical tasks or helping to prepare resources. If you can offer any help, please contact your child’s teacher.

Getting in touch

There are a number of ways you can contact us. We encourage the use of the homework diary for simple messages or queries and to contact the office in person or via the school email:

info@melbourne-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk

We are also available to be contacted via email using the following email addresses:

jmcgibbon@melbourne-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk

kelly.lawrence@melbourne-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk,

sue.worthington@melbourne-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk

mradburn@melnourne-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk

We will endeavour to respond to emails as soon as it is practicable to do so.

In addition, we are usually available after school.  Alternatively, an appointment can be made for a mutually convenient time.

Thank you.

The Year 4 Team

Mrs McGibbon, Mrs Lawrence, Mrs Worthington, Mr Radburn,

Mrs Donnachie, Mrs Fortin-Tobin, Mrs Gibbins, Mrs Seeds and Mrs Winfield.