Welcome to Team Foss
(Year 4)
Team Foss are the Year 4 children at Brotherton and Byram C.P. Academy. Mrs Forster is the class teacher and we are very lucky to have Mrs Caffrey as our assistant teacher. The children also have specialist teachers in PE, Arts & DT and Spanish during the week.
Our day begins with TT Rockstars and Numbots on chrome books. This is followed by a maths task, focusing on basic skills and the four operations. Next, we have a ‘check in and this is a very important part of our day where we can share how we’re feeling. We then have reading, focusing on developing the children’s stamina and fluency skills. This is followed by comprehension skills, and then writing. After playtime we have our maths session.
In the afternoon, the children have handwriting and spelling practice. We use Spelling Shed to practice spellings on the chrome books along with other techniques. We then have another reading session which allows children to focus on vocabulary, definitions of words, dictionary and thesaurus use. The rest of the afternoon is spent on our creative curriculum. This year, we will be
On Monday afternoons we focus on geography, history and British values. On Tuesday afternoons we focus on science. On Thursday afternoons we take part in a carousel across key stage two and enjoy music, Spanish, ICT and RE in 6 week blocks. On Friday afternoons we focus on art and DT. On Wednesday mornings, as well as PE, the children spend time with Miss Knight exploring their feelings and considering those of others during restorative circle time.
Water bottles
Please send your child daily with a water bottle filled with fresh water (no juice) that they can keep in the class and use throughout the day to hydrate themselves.
Reading
Every day your child will bring their reading book and planner home. Please encourage your child to read every day, to a sibling, to you or to themselves, and please record this in their planner. Your child’s planner will be checked daily and if your child reads five times in a week they will receive a stamp. When they get five stamps they will receive a special prize from Mrs Fletcher. A stamp will also entitle them to a certificate that will be presented in assembly at the end of the week.
PE kit
Please ensure your child brings their PE kit to school on a Monday morning to leave at school throughout the week. They can then bring it home on a Friday. Our PE session is on a Wednesday morning with Mr Jeff but there will be other occasions when it will be required.
Time tables
Please encourage your child to practice their times tables regularly at home. There are lots of ways you can do this. Your child has a log-in for ‘TT rockstars’ which is a great game for practicing times tables. We practice timetables in class daily and have a test at the end of the week where children can climb the Foss TT Rockstar wall of fame! The times tables your child will be focusing on will be in their planner weekly.
Spellings
Your child will have a set of spellings each week to learn that they will be tested on. These will be made up of statutory year 3/4 spellings, spelling patterns and targeted words. A list will be attached to planners weekly and the new spelling list available on ‘Spelling Shed’ every Friday. Please support your child to practice their spellings on a regular basis.
Spanish
Spanish is taught by a specialist Spanish teacher on Thursdays. In year 4 Spanish we focus on 5 key skills; listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Children build confidence in answering simple conversation questions and talking about themselves. They learn to count to 30 and in tens to 100, and develop their vocabulary including describing themselves, animals, dates and food. We continue to join in with songs and stories and develop our understanding of how to structure sentences.
We also have an eTwinning link with a school in Spain and collaborate on various projects and themes together.
Some useful websites:
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/users/MrsSadullah
https://www.spanish-games.net/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zxsvr82
