1. Welcome to Year 4!

2. Main areas of the curriculum Literacy: Narrative, Non-Fiction and Poetry. Numeracy: Place value, 4 rules, data handling, shape & space and measure. Science: Moving and Growing and Electricity. ICT: Text and graphics, databases and control. Humanities: RE, PSHCE, History, Geography, Music, French, PE.

3. Swimming It is a legal requirement that every child can swim 25 metres when they leave Primary School. Year 4 is the optimum age to learn to swim. Each class will attend lessons for half a year. Class JB will start in September and swim until February, when Class KL will start.

4. Swimming Kit. The children will need to bring their kit in a clearly labelled bag. Girls should wear a one piece swimming costume. Boys need to wear closely fitting swimming trunks (Bermuda type shorts are not allowed for swimming lessons). Long hair and fringes should be tied back or a swimming cap worn. Earrings should not be worn on Mondays or taken out at school before leaving for the pool. Goggles are allowed but need to be named. There is a cover charge of £1 a week for transport which we try to collect before the lessons commence, but you can pay as you go.

5. Homework Routines Homework will be set on a Friday and is due in each Wednesday but children can hand it in earlier. Whilst it is not compulsory, we do encourage all children to do homework because it enhances their learning. Usually they will get two pieces of homework each week. It is expected that each piece will take approximately 20 minutes. You can help by reading through and helping your child complete it if necessary. You could also encourage them to do their best and complete it to a high standard.

6. Reading and Spellings Encourage your child to read each night even if it is only a few pages. Record when your child has read in their homework diaries. If they read three times in a week and bring their signed homework diary every Friday, they will win extra Team Points! Spellings will be given out on a Friday and tested the following Friday. Please help your child to practise their spellings at home and if they are unsure of the meanings, they should look them up in a dictionary. They will also be given the chance to put them into sentences.

7. Homework Diaries Homework diaries are provided so that the children can jot down homework tasks and important messages. Because we recognise most parents are busy, please feel free to use the diaries to jot down any concerns or issues you wish to bring to our attention. We will check the homework diaries every Friday but children can hand them to us any morning if they have a message for us.

8. Parent Help! If you would like to come and help on a regular slot or as a one-off, we would be very happy to have you! Regular Help Listening to readers, group and individual. Group tasks and activities. One-off Help Help on trips. Classroom help for practical activities and projects. E.g. DT sewing and practical. Enrichment and Enjoyment Afternoon: Anybody who has a skill or talent that they would like to provide for a term would be gratefully accepted!