Year Four Trip to Gunwharf and Old Portsmouth

Year Four had an exciting and educational trip to Gunwharf and Old Portsmouth as part of our Geography topic. We began our journey by travelling via minibus and train, which helped us think about different modes of transport people use to visit the area. Our first stop was Spice Island, where we used the Spinnaker Tower as a reference point to practise our compass skills and identify directions. From there, we walked over the Hot Walls, taking in stunning views and observing key landmarks such as the Round Tower, the harbour, and old fortifications.

We stopped for lunch outside the historic Garrison Church, where we enjoyed eating in the sunshine and discussing what we’d seen so far. In the afternoon, we had a fascinating guided tour of Portsmouth Cathedral. We explored each section of the building, learning about its history, architecture, and importance to the city.

After our cathedral visit, we returned to Gunwharf Quays to complete a survey as part of our Geography fieldwork. We asked members of the public about their purpose for visiting Gunwharf, how long they planned to stay, how they had travelled, and who they had come with. This helped us gather real data to support our learning and begin to answer our key question: Is Portsmouth a gateway to the world?

Overall, the trip was a fantastic opportunity to explore the city first-hand, develop our fieldwork skills, and understand more about Portsmouth’s global connections, past and present.

We hope you have a great weekend,

Best wishes,

Year 4 team.

Celebrating Diversity in Year 4 – EARA project.

This term, we’ve been focusing on the theme of diversity and celebrating what makes each of us unique. We recently took part in a very special session where we explored where we come from in the world. It was amazing to discover the range of countries and continents that are part of our class community!

This learning experience linked perfectly with our Geography topic, where we’ve been studying the world map, learning about the continents and oceans, and identifying different countries. We were able to use our new knowledge to find our countries of birth on the map and talk about the cultures and traditions we’re proud of.

As part of the project, we designed our very own flags. These flags represent our countries of birth but also include our own personalised badges and icons to show what we love and enjoy about our heritage. Some of us added symbols for food, animals, music, nature, and more. The flags are a celebration of our individuality and remind us that everyone has something special to bring to the classroom.

We’ve learned that our differences make us stronger, and it’s this mix of cultures, interests, and talents that makes our class such a special place. By sharing our gifts and passions, we help each other grow and make our school community richer and more exciting.

Best wishes,
The Year 4 team

ANGLO-SAXON FOREST DAY

Yesterday morning, Monday 28^th April 2025  we had an extra-ordinary day as life like a Saxon.

Matt from Bluebell Bushcraft taught us skills people from the past had to use to survive,

Just like ;

Weaving and woolcraft

Slowly but happily we created braids full of vibrant colours.

There is many different ways and many admired the activity.

Excitement definitely came after today the 29^th ,when people were wearing them in their hair. I was impressed because this is actually how Saxons made their clothes, but we did not have many tools like a crochet hook so it was like we were back in history when they only could use their hands.

FIRE-CRAFT AND AXING

First we collected a few cotton wool pads and started a fire on it with the help of a flint and steel fire starter. It turned into ashes when it disinagrated. Luckily it does not hurt the grass because it has chlorine in them.

After, we used clippers to cut off branches off of this big tree btw very big.

We threw them into the fire to keep our stew cooking… oops spoiler alert!

For the axe,the best part was when we lodged it into a timbered chunk and banged it down .My fire team Emily,Brooke,Emmanuel and Finn.

When the fire was defusing we blew on it to give oxygen and this is 1 of the things Anglo Saxons have to deal with when cooking.

DENS AND STICKS

Dens we built are secure ,creative and stable planned to survive harsh weather.

We only used natural resources and things we found around our area. Some of us used soil and water to activate as cement since we don’t have it. Yes we did get dirty but we were thrilled as it is.

We had a great support stick as a holder for the roof, shaped as a cross, so it has the right force. As for the floor, we had picked fresh leaves and beautiful daisies.

COOKING AND CUTTING

We made 2 tasty meals made with a recipe from the Anglo Saxons which were honey bread and vegetstable stew. Then we cooked them over the fire. The Honey bread recipe will be somewhere on this blog . And it even looks like a small pancakes and it tasted really nice. We learned from Mrs Stray that honey is the only sweetener they had because sugarcane doesn’t grow in Brittan.

We cut up vegetstables  with great strong tastes  and plopped them in a pot , bubbling over the campfire and a smell no other smell has.

STORY TIME with Matt

The scenery was beautiful and we could hear the birds chirping then Matt told us this epic story of how trees were made some of us decided to try the stew and I loved it and I will cherish this memory forever.

All thanks to Matt  would rate 10/10 

EMMA   SMITH     

Year 4’s Great British Quiche Off Day!

Dear Parents and Carers,

What an exciting day we had at school for our Great British Quiche Off! The children had a fantastic time sampling and taste testing a variety of delicious quiches, scoring them based on flavour and presentation. They also enjoyed creating beautiful salads and working collaboratively to make a special group quiche for our esteemed judges.

Throughout the day, our budding chefs learned valuable skills such as chopping, slicing, and grating, using the safe bridge and claw techniques to cut, slice, and dice vegetables with confidence. A huge well done to all of the children for their enthusiasm and creativity, and a special thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the day a success.

Congratulations to our Year 4 Star Bakers: Joshua, Sophie, Seb, and Ellodie, who worked brilliantly together as a team! We can’t wait for our next culinary adventure!

Best wishes and have a lovely half term break,

Year 4 Team

Hello everyone,

Year 4 Learning – New Excitement Awaits!

We’ve been busy learning and growing in Year 4! Recently, we’ve been focusing on developing our time-keeping skills, learning to tell the time on both digital and analogue clocks, as well as understanding the concept of the 24-hour clock. Now, we’re eager to move on to a new topic: measurements of length! This will include learning about centimeters (cm), meters (m), and even kilometers (km)! We’re looking forward to applying our new skills to real-life measurements and exploring the world of lengths.

In addition to our maths lessons, we’re also delving into the thrilling world of reading with our class novel, ‘Race to the Frozen North’ by Catherine Johnson . As we follow the journey of this inspiring African American explorer, Matthew Henson, we’re also learning about the incredible achievements he had made, being the first person to reach the North Pole! His determination and perseverance are truly inspiring! It has been a fantastic opportunity to explore attitudes and beliefs held at the time, in comparison to the views we hold today – we truly appreciate and are grateful for our diverse world, the equal opportunities and fairness we experience and witness today.

Remember to keep up with your home learning and continue logging on to Times Table Rockstars…

With very best wishes,

Y4 team

During Summer 1, our Year 4 pupils took part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This was a very special time for the children, who enjoyed a calm, peaceful and reflective opportunity to consider what they wished to apologise for and put right, as they continue to ‘Walk hand in hand with God, to make our world a better place’.

We were very fortunate for two of our Parish priests, Father Jeremy and Father James, to join our pupils in the Unity building to administer this special sacrament. As the children made their confessions in a private and sacred space, Mrs Semple (Oaklands Chaplain) spent some time with the children to create clay models which they could keep and use as a focal point for prayer. Please see the images below…

Hi everyone,

We hope that you have all been having a great week so far. This week, the children in Year Four have been learning all about Judaism and Islam. We have enjoyed making ‘solidarity sandals’ as we pray for refugees around the world, having read the book ‘Four Feet two sandals’ as part of our learning on Islam. The children also had a wonderful time during their interactive session, where the classroom was turned into a Mosque and we listened to the call to prayer and used the religious artefacts to explore and learn about each of the steps of worship – following this, we compared the similarities and differences between the prayer life of Christians and Muslims. We have also had a great time learning about Judaism, and lots of discussions about Yom Kippur as a time of atonement which reminded us of the purpose of Lent in Christianity. Please see the images below of our fun week!

Best wishes,

The Y4 team

In Year 4, we have been working very hard on our stewardship project to support the local community. We have been designing, planning and creating Fiddle/Fidget blankets for elderly people who are suffering with Dementia, as well as for younger children who have ADHD and Autism. We cannot wait to send our blankets to the local care homes as well as to our St. Peter’s pumpkin room, in order to support others. Please see a few sample images below!

We’d like to say a big thank you to all parents and carers who came to support the Year Four children with sewing their sensory items onto their final product for their chosen customer,

We look forward to seeing you all at parents evening next week,

Best wishes,

Year 4 team

Hello everyone,

We hope that you are all well and keeping safe.

We have been having lots of fun with our Science learning in Year Four. In our current unit of work, we have been studying the parts of the Human Digestive System and have even explored non-fiction pages on this topic, as part of our Guided Reading sessions. Last week, both of the year four classes made a human digestive system in small groups. It was lots of fun to see how the stomach acid was used to break down the food and to watch the release of nutrients through the intestinal walls as they passed into the blood stream! Please see a selection of photos below…

A few quick reminders: 

• The children have been given RE home learning for the Easter break – when we return to school after half term, the children shall be learning about the Resurrection of Christ and the impact of this miracle upon His believers. We would like all pupils to complete their 3-page RE task, as an alternative to the standard spelling, vocabulary and maths home learning slips this week. We ask for all pupils to return these completed activities to school, after the Easter break.

• On Friday 21^st April 2023, the children in Y4 shall be taking part in an Earthquake STEM day, as part of our Geography learning. In the weeks leading up to this date, please could your child bring in any junk modelling materials to school, such as cardboard boxes, toilet rolls, egg cartons, etc. This is because the children shall be creating structures and investigating the impact of Earthquakes and tremors upon buildings and infrastructure.

Have a wonderful Easter break,

Best wishes,

Year Four Team

Hi everyone,

We hope that you are all well – it has been lovely to see  you all again at parent’s evening to discuss the children’s learning and progress. Last week, we really enjoyed dressing up for World Book Day as our favourite story characters. Please see the photos below…

In English, we have started our learning on Jemmy Button and creating our own paintings to illustrate the journey taken by Jemmy throughout the story. We have also generated expanded noun phrases and used thesauruses to make powerful descriptions. In Maths, we have been having lots of fun completing our potions problems, as part of our learning on measurement and statistics.

A few reminders for next week: 

• Mother’s Day sale to take place next week.
• Please ensure your child continues their Times Table Rockstars practise for 10 mins a day, using the sound check option.
• Red and yellow home learning books to be completed and returned to school on Friday  17th March 2023.

We hope you all have a pleasant weekend,

Best wishes,

Year Four Team