Welcome to Hedgehogs Class!

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Hedgehogs Class! We hope you have all had a wonderful summer and that the children are feeling refreshed and excited for the new school year.

We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back to school and beginning another exciting year of learning together. 

The Hedgehogs Class team this year is Mr Puddick, our class teacher, and Miss Jade and Mrs Day, our teaching assistants.

We are looking forward to working closely with you throughout the year and supporting every child to achieve their very best.

Our Learning This Autumn

We have lots of exciting learning planned for Hedgehogs this term.

English

We will begin the year by revisiting and developing some of our basic English skills, ensuring that children have a strong foundation for the year ahead.

We will then explore the wonderful book Orion and the Dark. The children will use the story as inspiration to develop their writing and create their own journal entries.

Later in the term, we will begin reading The Wild Robot. This will inspire us to create our own instructions, while continuing to develop our vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuation and overall writing skills.

Maths

In Maths, we will begin by developing our understanding of place value and number. Children will explore the value of digits within numbers and develop their ability to read, represent, compare and order numbers, with learning matched to their year-group expectations.

We will then move on to addition and subtraction, developing both mental and written calculation strategies and applying these skills to solve a range of mathematical problems.

Science 

Our Science topic this term is States of Matter. We will investigate the properties of solids, liquids and gases and explore how materials can change from one state to another. Through practical investigations, the children will develop their scientific enquiry skills and learn how to make observations, record results and explain what they have discovered.

Geography

In Geography, we will be exploring the continent of North America and answering the key enquiry question “Why do people live in different places across North America?” Throughout the topic, we will investigate its countries, landscapes, climates and people. We will consider how physical and human features affect where people live and how communities develop.

Art 

This term, our Art focus is drawing. We will explore the work of artists Laura Carlin and Chris King, considering how they use line, shape, detail and composition to communicate ideas and tell stories. The children will have opportunities to experiment with different drawing techniques before creating their own scene that tells a story.

Religion and Worldviews

In Religion and Worldviews, we will be exploring Judaism. We will learn about key Jewish beliefs, traditions and practices and consider how these are important to Jewish people today. 

PE

PE lessons will take place on Tuesdays.

On PE days, children should come to school wearing the correct PE kit:

• White PE top

• Black trousers, shorts or leggings

• Suitable trainers

Year 4 Swimming

Year 4 children will also have swimming on Wednesday mornings. Further information about swimming arrangements and what children need to bring will be shared with parents and carers.

Phonics

Phonics sessions will continue for children who are still accessing the school's phonics programme.

These sessions will provide children with opportunities to strengthen their phonics knowledge, decoding skills and reading fluency. Phonics will be carefully matched to children's individual needs.

Reading

Reading is an important part of life in Hedgehogs Class and we want to encourage every child to develop a love of reading.

Every child will read to an adult in school every day. Children will have access to books that are appropriately matched to their reading ability and will also bring a reading book home.

We encourage children to read at home every day, ideally for around 10 minutes. This could include reading aloud to an adult, reading independently or sharing a book together.

Reading at home is a great opportunity to talk about characters, events, new vocabulary and ideas from the book. Even a short conversation about what your child has read can make a big difference.

Please ensure that reading books and reading records are brought into school every day so that we can support and monitor children's reading.

Homework and Home Learning

Homework will be set in accordance with the school's Homework Policy and will provide children with opportunities to practise and reinforce the important skills and knowledge they are developing in school.

This will include regular reading, spelling and opportunities to practise key mathematical skills such as number facts and times tables.

Children may also be asked to complete activities using the school's online learning platforms, including Lexia, Mathletics, Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots, where appropriate.

Children will be provided with the login details they need to access their accounts. Please encourage your child to keep these details safe and to practise regularly.

Knowledge Organisers will be uploaded to the Hedgehogs Class page for each half term.

These provide the key knowledge, vocabulary and important facts that children will be learning in their different subjects.

We are really looking forward to an exciting year with the Hedgehogs. We can't wait to see the children grow in confidence, develop their independence and enjoy all of the wonderful learning opportunities ahead.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,

The Hedgehog Team