Welcome to the Giraffes

Teacher: Mrs Fotheringham
Teaching Assistants who support in KS2 - Mrs Blake & Mrs Gear

The school rules of LOVE and RESPECT run through our class where everyone is important and part of our class family and where we share the love of learning together. Working walls support class learning and displays reflect the children's work.

In our mixed Year 3/4 class, children are encouraged to become increasingly independent, resilient and curious learners. We follow a carefully structured two-year rolling programme, giving our children a rich variety of experiences while ensuring they do not revisit the same topics during their time in the class. Although children learn alongside one another, teaching is carefully planned around the National Curriculum objectives for their individual year group, with appropriate levels of challenge, support and depth. Opportunities for collaborative learning enable children to share ideas, learn from one another and develop their communication and problem-solving skills, while targeted teaching and adaptations ensure that individual needs are recognised and supported. As children progress through Key Stage 2, we place increasing emphasis on developing the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to become successful, self-motivated learners.

Reading

Children are expected to read regularly at home, preferably with an adult. Our target is to read every night. Reading books can be changed any day at school, but parents must sign to say they have heard their child read and that the book is finished. The children will get a dojo if their reading book has been signed, 2 dojo points for completing a Reading Bingo square and a Gold for completing a Reading Bingo line. Look at the back of the Reading Record to find the Bingo card. The children will receive a certificate for completing a bingo card.

Maths

At St Mary's we teach maths through Power Maths. We recap and keep different elements of maths alive everyday by completing Mini Maths warm ups, focusing on subtraction, addition, multiplication and division. Instant recall of number facts is an important part of being a good mathematician, so each term we focus on a KIRF target (Key Instant Recall Facts). The children need to practise these facts regularly so they can answer them within a 6 second time frame without using their fingers to calculate. Each week they will be given a timed test on these number facts; the tests are sent home so that they can show you their results and complete extra practice if necessary.

Autumn 1 KIRF is to know number bonds for all numbers to 20.

Test day: Friday

TT Rockstars

It is the government's expectation that by the end of Year 4 the children can recall all their times table facts to x12, and recall them within 6 seconds. At the end of Year 4, the children will complete a SATs multiplication test which is similar to the Soundcheck mode on TT rockstars. Regular practise on TT rockstars at home will ensure the children are prepared for the test and meet this expectation.

TT Rockstars Progress check : Thursday

points will be allocated to children who have been on TT rockstars at home, to those who have gone up the leaderboard and to those who have changed their Rock Star Status!

Spellings

The children learn 5 spellings each week in their spelling booklet. If two or more spellings are spelt incorrectly on test days, they must stay on this set before they move on. For every set they complete, they can colour part of the picture at the back of the spelling booklet.

Test Day: Friday

This half term our topic is the Stone Age. In this history topic, we will be finding out about life in the Stone Age. Our art work will be linked to this with cave paintings, and animal pictures. Our English text will be Stone Age Boy.

Science this half term is Rocks. We will be looking at different types of rocks and their uses and sorting them into man-made and natural as well as finding out some of the properties.

Swimming will be on Tuesdays in the Autumn Term (dates will be confirmed with parents) and PE will be on Thursdays.

Toast Sales: If your child would like toast at playtime please send £1.20 in an envelope on Monday, which will cover the cost of toast for one week.