Warwick Road Primary School

Year Four - Classes Polaris and Rigel

WELCOME

Year 4 consists of two classes – Class Polaris and Class Rigel, which are both named after stars in the night sky. Polaris (also known as the North Star) is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor.  Rigel is found in the constellation of Orion.

  Teachers working in Year 4 are:

• Mrs Adam - Polaris Class Teacher
• Miss Barrow - Rigel Class Teacher
• Miss Rawat - SEND ETA

Year 4 is very much about depth of learning and independence. There is a great deal of new content in the curriculum, but there are also some familiar concepts from Year 3 and Key Stage 1.  These concepts are revisited to allow the children to secure their understanding and to apply their existing skills to new tasks.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

• The Year 4 school day starts at 8.45am and finishes at 3.15pm. Please drop off and pick up your child promptly.
• Book changes will take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. Please ensure your children bring their book bags on Tuesdays.
• PE for both classes is on Tuesday. Please ensure that your children are wearing their PE kit to school.
• Children will have swimming sessions every Wednesday at swim! in Batley. Children must bring a swimming costume or trunks (no shorts), a towel and a swimming cap. For safety reasons, no jewellery, including earrings, is allowed during swimming lessons. Please note that swimming is a part of the National Curriculum and schools are required by law to ensure that it is taught. Although many children are nervous to begin with, swimming lessons help encourage self-confidence.  
• Spellings are handed out periodically, at the start of each half-term. The half-term's spellings are broken down into weekly lists and form an essential part of your child’s homework.  Please help your child to learn their spellings each week –they’ll be tested every week on Tuesdays and will need to know the National Curriculum spellings up to Year 4.
• At the end of the school year, Year 4 children will have to complete a statutory test in their times tables. More details of this will follow. In the meantime, it is vital that your children learn their tables up to 12x12, with a high degree of fluency. This, like spellings, is an ongoing part of your child’s homework and will be tested each week.

OUR CLASS RULES AND REWARDS

Class Rules

We have a set of class rules which we expect all children to follow. These are:

• Listen when the teacher and others are talking.
• Put our hand up to answer or ask a question.
• Keep our classroom tidy and respect all property.
• Concentrate and finish our work on time.

Behaviour Chart

We operate the same behaviour management strategies that the children are already familiar with, including the 'Rocket' whereby children move their names further up for good behaviour.

• The rocket behaviour chart displays red, amber, green, silver, gold and platinum (in that order).
• Each day, all children who were on amber or red the previous day will begin the day again on green to demonstrate the expectation that each day will be a positive one.  All children who were on green or above will remain in the same place, with the aim of building on their good behaviour.
• Children are encouraged to move from green to silver and then gold and platinum.
• When children have shown positive behaviours, they will move up the chart, one step at a time.  When children have shown negative behaviours, they will move down the chart, one step at a time.
• In KS2, all children who are at ‘gold’ at the end of the week will receive a prize.  Children in KS2 who are on ‘platinum’ will receive a platinum badge which they can wear with pride!
• On the rare occasion when children are on amber, a phone call to parents will be made at the end of the day.  When children are on red, they are taken to either the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Parents will receive a call home.
• At the end of the week, all children on green or above will earn points for their house colour - these are counted on a Friday. 

Secrets of Success

Every Friday, up to 5 children from each class will be awarded a certificate because they have demonstrated some of the Secrets of Success (see below). These qualities show positive behaviour for learning and with all of these ingredients, children will reach their maximum potential! Throughout the year, children aim to achieve each of the 8 certificates for an additional reward!  

UPCOMING AND EXCITING EVENTS

Year 4's school trips for this academic year:

Autumn Term- Ribchester Museum (history), Local Church (RE), Local Park (geography)

Spring Term-Sculpture Park (DT)

Summer Term- Tropical World (geography). Local Park (geography).

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP AT HOME

Reading at home: Please aim to read with your child at least 3 times a week. The most important (and enjoyable) part of reading with your child is that in which you talk about the book for a little while afterwards.  As your child reads through their book on Bug Club, they will have the opportunity to answer a variety of question types. Questions like these promote the higher reading skills which are increasingly the focus of your child’s learning as they progress through school.

Times tables at home: As mentioned above, aim to help your child to become fluent in their multiplication tables up to the 12 times table. This will be monitored regularly by timed multiplication activities.