Dear Parents/Carers,

          Welcome back to Brighton Avenue after what I hope was an enjoyable winter break. The children have come back in high spirits and we are looking forward to getting back into school life.

          This term, our theme will be 'One Planet, Our Planet'. We are going to be learning about the world that we live in by learning about other countries which the children may have links with. We will compare our lives to those who live on the other side of the world and get the chance to read the weather forecast for the entire planet. We will also learn how to make our very own musical instruments using only recycled materials. To support our theme work, it would be fantastic if your child could bring in photographs of them in different countries across the globe. We will of course take great care of them and return them to you

          There will be a few changes to the timetable this term. We will no longer be swimming; instead this will be replaced with an extra PE lesson on Monday afternoons.

          Can I remind you that reading books need to be brought into school every day and they will changed if your child's reading record has been signed. Reading with your child at home is a very important aspect of their learning and it also gives them extra points towards rewards at the end of the term.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask.

Thank you,

Mr Burns and Miss Greaves.

This term, Year 4 have been writing their very own fantasy stories with mysterious characters and strange settings. Every single story was very well written however Alesia wrote a fantastic fantasy story in which her main character is poisoned by an old enemy. She is this weeks Star Writer, well done Alesia!

We have been taking part in a brilliant project called a Linking Project. Our Year 4 class are linked with a Year 4 class at St Alban's School in Pelaw. It is all about learning what our identity is. In the first session we met our new friends for the first time at Shipley Art Gallery and thought about our own identities through many activities.

During the second meeting at Brighton Avenue, we learned about Hinduism through role play and the story of Rama and Sita, making the Taj Mahal and Bollywood dancing. We looked after our partners for the whole day. We had a fantastic time.

During the third meeting we visited St Alban's School. On this occasion we learned about Judaism. Mr Glickman told us about a Synagogue, we acted out the story of Hannacat, sketched Jewish artefacts, tasted Jewish food, made a Havdala candle and Mezuzah.

We have learned a lot and would like to keep in touch with our new friends.

In year 4 we received a letter from Sir Arthur Knight asking us to design and make a model castle which could be made into a toy for Christmas. We worked in groups to draw different views of a castle, make decisions about which to use, plan our group design, plan the order of work needed and make the castle. The results are fantastic. The Countess Castle group (Niamh, Avalon and Chloe K) won the prize. Have a look outside our classroom to find them all. Samuel, Daniel and James D worked hard on their castle too.

Year 4 had a fantastic visit to Warkworth Castle to start our theme of castles. We explored the castle and found the keep, the bailey the turrets and towers, the beer and wine cellar, the great hall and the kitchens. We had a Medieval banquet where we performed in a role play while we learned many facts. Some sketches were completed to help us design our own castles back at school. The whole day was brilliant.

During our visit to the Centre for Life, the children investigated which habitat worms and woodlice preferred. We put live organisms into a four sectioned container. After 15 minutes we observed which habitat they had chosen. The majority of worms and woodlice wanted to live in dark and damp conditions.

We organised organisms into a food chain to find out which organisms were producers, predetors or prey.

We had a great time on this visit.