Year 4 – Orchid

15.07.26 – PSHE – Friendship Workshop

Today we took part in a workshop to discuss friendships and how to manage them as we grow. We discussed good friends and their qualities. We then took time to consider what to do when friendships have difficulty and how to prevent it from becoming more difficult. We were also given feelings journals that we are going to take onto year 5 with us. These are for times we need to share happy moments and times we want to share negative feelings around friendships.

09.07.26 – PSHE – Water Safety Code

Today we had are final water safety lesson today and we had to use all our knowledge to role play a scenario. We had to decide how to save someone in certain situations and act out the appropriate way to save them. We were using the correct language from the water safety code.

03.07.26 – DT- Adapting a biscuit recipe

Year 4 have been working on their DT project and learning about how recipes can be adapted. We have thought out our target audience of the products and the packaging. Then we made our adapted recipe and taste tested them.

09.06.26 – Computing – Coding with scratch

Today we began our new programming topic in computing. We needed to use scratch and the coding blocks. We programmed a simple game called catch the donut and it even included a score box!

05.06.26 – Art – Batik Fabric Design

Our art topic is about looking at fabric design and taking inspiration from it. In this lesson we learnt about the Batik technique and have previously used PVA glue to create a patter. Then today we have used fabric paint to add colour around the glue.

05.06.26 – Maths – Turns

During our lesson today we began our shapes topic and we used the bee bots. While using them we were practising using the language of quarter turn, half turn and three quarter turn. This was a fun way to link our computing skills with maths!

02.06.26 – English – Predicting our next text

Today in class we were given different clues and worked in groups to develop our verbal predictions. We used sentence starters to come up with detailed explanations of what we predict and when new clues were introduced we amended our predictions. We also used the new clues to back up some of our earlier predictions as well. Some of are predictions were:

“I predict the suitcase shows someone is going travelling or on vacation.”

“I thought the character could be a child because of the teddy bears and the wellies. They might be going on a big trip and need the things they like.”

“After seeing more clues I now definitely predict they are travelling as the first clues showed a suitcase and the second ones show a passport and money. I have used these things when I go on holiday.”

18.05.26 – Computing – Coding with languages

In club today we have further developed our coding skills to use text to speech blocks and translating languages. We created sprites and then asked them to speak and translated it into a different language.

11.05.26 – DT – Sewing book sleeves

Our DT project has been to use sewing to create a book sleeve to carry our reading books in. This needed us to learn how to sew a button onto the fabric and then use a running stitch around 3 sides leaving the top open. See our finished products below!

08.05.26 – Trip – Martin Mere Wetlands

Year 4 had a wonderful time exploring Martin Mere. We had time to walk round and see the varieties of birds that live there. It included spoonbills, flamingoes and swans. We then took part in Generation Wild to learn all about how we can be guardians of the planet and look after it. We ended the day with seeing the otters!

07.05.26 – DT – Running stitch

We have been continuing our book sleeves today and we have been using a running stitch . This stitch is to sew together three of sides so we can place our books inside to protect them when we carry them around.

06.05.26 – Science – Investigating Circuits

In our science lesson, we used our knowledge from last week about complete and incomplete circuits to investigate if the circuits we were given to make would work. In our pairs we worked to create each circuit and decide if it was a working circuit.

28.04.26 – Science – Complete Circuit

Today we have begun our work with circuits and looked at what a complete circuit is. Then we were given components and had to investigate how to make the light bulb light up!

20.04.26 – Maths – TTRS Showdown Winners!

Today the top three winners in each class from year 3 to year 6 had their prize. These children were the ones who scored the most points at home when practising their times tables. They had juice and biscuits in the library and the out to have an extra break time with equipment.

20.04.26 – Maths – Tenths on a place value

Today we have learnt how fractions can be written as decimal number by adding the tenth column to the place value chart. We have also discussed why there is a decimal point. This is because it shows the wholes are on the left and the fraction is on the right.

19.03.26 – RE – Three Pillars of Lent

Today during RE we focused on Prayer, fasting and Almsgiving. We linked this to our previous lesson about having a choice to be a ‘sheep’ or a ‘goat’. We have discussed how this time of year is about choosing God and giving to others. We then created our own flapbooks to show each pillar.

12.03.26 – Writing – Invention Narrative

Today year 4 have begun to write their invention narratives using the life of Jacques Cousteau as inspiration. The stories are considering how to use pronouns to replace nouns and using feeling to show what the characters body is doing to react to those feelings.

11.03.26 – PE – Navigating round a grid

During PE this week we have been using map to navigate around a grid. They have practised communicating while blindfolded to guide our partners round the grid we designed.

05.03.26 – Reading – World Book Day

We have had lots of fun today and our costumes were amazing! We have written book reviews for the school library. We have designed world book day tokens to enter the competition for next years voucher designs and even spent some time in the library.

23.01.26 – Science – Sound is made with vibrations

while learning about sound we focused on how it is made. To investigate this we made our own harmonicas using elastic bands. When we blew into them we made the band vibrate which created sound.

02.03.26 – English – Michael Rosen Live Lesson

Today year 4 took part in the live lesson ran by the British Library. We had the pleasure of listening to Michael Rosen. Tell us wonderful food stories while an illustrator drew live images to match each part.

27.02.26 – Art – Still life painting

Today we completed our art unit which was all focused on painting using tints and shades. As this was our final lesson we had used items from the classroom to create a still life composition. Once we had sketched it we began considering the tints and shades before mixing colours to paint our images.

24.02.26 – Music – Ukulele Concert

Today, the whole school had a fabulous opportunity to listen to a special concert by the local ukulele group called the Dingle Ukes. They played folk songs, older pop songs and locally written songs. The children had a fantastic time listening, clapping and singing along with the music. Thank you to Wheel Meet Again group and Dingle Ukes for coming along.

13.02.26 – Maths – Division

We have begun our work on division this week. We started by using the counters and part whole models to show division in action.

13.02.26 – Science – Low and high pitch

In science today, our lesson was linked with music. We have been exploring sound for this topic and our learning looked at how sound can have low pitch or high pitch based on the speed of the vibrations. After we understood the word pitch we used digital instruments to create low and high pitch ourselves.

10.02.26 – Art – Painting techniques

Today we used our tint and shading techniques to learn different painting techniques we can use for our final piece. We practised stippling, washes and dabbing.

10.02.26 – Art – Painting techniques

In art we are painting and today we looked at different painting techniques. We looked at dabbing, washes and stippling. We also used our previous lessons learning about tints and shades to mix white or black.

06.02.26 – Maths – Number Day

For number day today we completed multiple different activities. We began the day by learning the Childline number. Then we designed our own number day T-shirts and carried out real life problems. We enjoyed solving a quest to find the secret saying and solving the problem about how many legs in the field!

28.01.26 – PE – Basketball skills

In PE we have been working on our skills such as dribbling, passing and shooting with the ball.

16.01.26 – Science – Sound is made by vibrations

Our topic this half term is all about sound. We looked at how sound is created through vibrations. To investigate this we created harmonicas with elastics bands. When we blew into the harmonicas we caused the elastic band to vibrate creating sound.

26.01.26 – Computing – Conditional logic

Today year 4 have continued learning about coding as part of this half terms topic. We looked at how some games need conditional logic to give the game choices within the code.

17.12.25 – Music – Cornet concert

Year 3, 4 and 5 had a fantastic cornet concert getting everybody into the festive spirit. The children have worked hard across the autumn term to improve their music skills and be ready for this performance. Singing was great , the audience participated and there was excellent cornet playing. Wow, well done everyone.

12.12.25 – Guitar Club Concert

This afternoon we were treated to a lovely guitar performance by our children in guitar club. It was an excellent performance. Well done to all involved.

11.12.25 – Visit from Father Christmas 🎅

Father Christmas visited our class today and we enjoyed a sing along of some of our favourite Christmas songs like Feliz Navidad and Jingle bells. Then we were given a gift from Santa for all our hard work in school this year.

11.12.25 – DT – Strengthening our helmets

Today we have continued our design and technology project of making helmets, which are shell structures. Our focus today was how we can use layering to strengthen the structure of the helmets.

10.12.25 – Coverdale Puppets

This afternoon we had a visit from Coverdale puppets and they performed their Christmas show called ‘Angel delight’. We found it funny and enjoyed seeing all the different puppets. We even had a little boogie to some fun music and songs throughout.

08.12.25 – Singing Club – Alfred Stocks Residential Home

What a lovely afternoon singing club had at Alfred Stocks. Singing Club members of Year 1, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 all came along. We sang our hearts out, we had carols, songs and actions. Some of the residents could not believe how professional we sounded! All the children got lovely treats afterwards, thanks you Alfred Stocks!

05.12.25 -RE- Father Silviu Visit

Today year 3 and 4 were visited by Farther Silviu to discuss the meaning of advent and how it is celebrated by Christians at this time of year. The children also asked their own questions about advent.

05.12.25 -English- Freeze frames

During English today we were looking at writing in the report style for a newspaper. Before we completed the writing activity we worked in groups to act out and freeze in place to represent what was happening in the news report we had read.

04.12.25 – Singing Club – Christmas Carols and songs at Tesco.

What a lovely afternoon we had with Year 2 and Year 4 singing club today. We went to Tesco and sang really well. There were lots of people to see us and we raised money for school as well.

29.11.25 – Science – Tooth Decay

Over the last two science lessons we have been learning about the digestive system and we started with teeth. The teeth start the process by chewing and swallowing our food and drink. We then set up an investigation to look at how different liquids can cause problems for our teeth and which ones are better for the enamel. We observed over the week how the shells of the egg changed.

27.11.25 – Maths – Multiplication fact families

Today we have been practising our 6 times tables while learning an out making arrays. When we were confident with the arrays we linked this to how we can use it to find the fact family. This meant we could find two multiplication and two division facts that linked together.

26.11.25 – PSHE – UK parliament week

This week we have celebrated UK parliament week and we focused on what a MP is and how they use their voice to represent their constituency. Then we look at who our local mp was and researched Kim Johnson. To finish our learning we completed an MP profile about her.

20.11.25 -Maths- Making shapes using area

Today we have been using given areas to create rectangles, squares and rectilinear shapes. We have drawn them and fond different shapes with the same area.

14.11.25 – PSHE – Anti-Bullying week

For our second lesson we recapped the roles in bullying and acted out different scenarios. We then discussed as a class how we could solve each situation and take the power away from the ringleader and assistant. To link our work to computing we the designed storyboard creating our own bullying situation and showing how to solve it.

12.11.25 -PE- Dancing like Spies

We began our lesson with a warm up where we were in a big circle using our reaction times to clap. Then we moved onto our dancing where we took on the role of spies and learnt a series of moves and practised with the music.

10.11.25 -PSHE- Anti-Bullying

Today Orchid class have completed their first lesson on Anti- Bullying and have learnt about the different roles that people can take on during a bullying scenario. We discussed how it is not just the ringleader who gives power to bullying and how we can make sure to use our power for good.

10.11.25 -RSHE- Odd Sock day

Today we launched Anti-bullying week by participating in odd sock day. We attended an assembly and Miss Summers introduced our theme for this year’s anti-bullying week, which is ‘Power for good’. Then we had fun learning the Andy and the Odd socks song called ‘Power for good’.

05.11.25 -Class Meeting – Vegetarian options for lunch

This week we held our first Smart school council class discussion and we discussed the need for vegetarian options on our lunch menu and why it’s important. Then we held discussions in groups about ideas for new lunch options which are vegetarian.

04.11.25 -Music- Honing our skills

As we move into our second half term, we our continuing our music lessons and trying to improve the sounds we practised in autumn 1. We are enjoying learning jingle bells in preparation for our Christmas music concert.

10.10.25 -Science- Ice cream investigation

You may have heard about our exciting lesson which included making ice-cream in class! We were exploring how the change in state takes place from liquid to solid using freezing. We took milk, vanilla essence and sugar and out them in a small freezer bag. Then we put the bag inside a bugger bag filled with ice and salt. Then shook it for 10 minutes to make the state change and then we tasted our ice cream!

08.10.25 -PE- Gymnastics

This half term we have been focusing on gymnastics in PE and during this specific lesson we were working on different types of roles. You can see in the pictures how hard we were practising to get the rolls right.

03.10.25 -Science- The rate of melting

Our topic in Autumn 1 was states of matter and in this lesson we were looking at the rate of ice melting. We discussed how ice is a solid and it changes state to liquid when it melts. Then we set up an investigation looking into whether adding water with salt, baking soda and sugar could slow down or speed up the rate of melting. Our conclusion was that salt was the one that slowed down the rate of melting the most.

25.09.25 – St Finbar’s Feast Day

To celebrate today we had a mass in the all and then were given cupcakes to take home!

22.09.25 -Maths- Using base 10

During this lesson we were learning about thousands. Once we were confident with where thousands belong in a number we moved onto building given numbers with the base 10 equipment. After building the number we then practised recognising the value within each column.

16.09.25 -Music- Oh when the saints

During music this week Orchid class have been learning how to play on when the saints. They are starting to feel very confident with the notes and are getting better each week! Can’t wait for you to see it at the end of the term!

06.11.25 -RE- Abraham and Sarah

During our RE lesson we heard about Abraham and Sarah being blessed with a child named Isaac after showing their strong faith in the Lord. After hearing the scripture we used freeze frames to show our understanding of the story and the emotion of the people involved.

15.09.25 -Maths- Place value charts and counters

In maths we focused on learning about the thousands column and the value of it. We then practised creating a number we were given and reading the number aloud. We felt really confident and were able to build a number when Miss Summers said the values in a random order. This showed how well we were understanding the values and which order they belong in to create the correct number. To end the lesson some of use became the teacher and created a number for others to build!

08.09.25 -Maths- Place value to hundreds

During this maths lesson we looked at recapping our place value learning from year 3. We discussed ones, tens and hundreds before using the base 10 to build and say a number. We were even able to build and say a number after being given the numbers as base 10 all jumbled up.

03.09.25 – School council applications

To kick start the school year we have begun with completing the school council applications and carrying out our class speeches. The children first decided if they wanted to apply and then completed the application form. Then they stood up and spoke to their class about what they felt they could do if they were voted into the council.

Orchid Class PE

This morning, Orchid class have had their PE lesson out on the field. We began with a warm up game of infinity tag and practised our athletics skills.

Science in year 4

Today, year 4 have moved in to a new science topic all about electricity. We started off looking at what electricity is and how static electricity is created. Then we investigated how we can create it ourselves to pick up salt and pepper with a ruler. You can see the fun we had in the pictures and watch the video of how we created the static electricity!

No Pen Day!

Today we are going to be completing our learning all day without picking up a pen and writing! Orchid class have kicked off the day with grammar and using their learning to go on a quest of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Spending time reading our favourite poems!

Over the last couple of days we have been enjoying our poetry and spending time reading our favourite poems! #nationalpoetryday #nationalliteracytrust

100% attendance ?

?? have started the week off strong with 100% attendance. Happy dance incoming ?

Whoop whoop ?

Whoop whoop ? @StFinbars_Year4 100% attendance today happy dance time

A fantastic start to this week for Y4…

A fantastic start to this week for Y4 100% attendance today ??