Year 4 really enjoyed the circus activities this week. We were in awe at the performance during our special assembly and then had a great time learning how to perform and master the activities ourselves. This took lots of practise not only of the skills but also in applying the Roebuck value of resilience and applying a great deal of growth mindset. 

We were amazed at how quickly we were able to learn and develop the skills and took great pride in achieving this!

We have also taken great pride in our learning across other areas of the curriculum and have all written exciting rainforest adventure stories where we were challenged to include vivid descriptions, exciting dialogue and action to engage and excite the reader.

This week Year 4 had a very exciting start to the week. We visited Paradise Wildlife Park where we enjoyed exploring the zoo and finding out more about the animals there. To support our science topic, each class had an interactive workshop called ‘All the Vores.’ During this we found out more about the diet of different animals and how you can tell if an animal is a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore by looking at different parts of its body. We also looked at the skulls, which had been created using a 3D printer, of different animals to help support this learning. After lunch, we explored The World of Dinosaurs where we saw 30 life-sized, animatronic dinosaurs. These were amazing to see and helped us to visualise how big they were! Everyone had a fantastic day and the children were thrilled to be able to go on a school trip again.  

Year Four were fortunate enough to be visited my members of North Hertfordshire College this week to gain an insight into the wide world of recycling and have their awareness raised on their own decisions. The children split off into a carousel of activities where they had participated in various eco-friendly tasks. Some of these wonderful tasks included: creating flower Earth bombs to grow in the garden, sorting materials into their correct recycling groups and making pledges on how they will save the environment. 

Year Four stepped into the workings of the famous artist Paula Rego this week titled 'The Dance'. We focused on asking questions about the painting, created predictions for why the people gathered together and finally undertook a small drama freeze-framing activity which involved plenty of on-the-spot thinking. The children enjoyed the freedom that came with this activity and making a picture have a story that was unique. 

Click in the photos below.

Year 4 put their investigative hats on this week as we started our new Geography topic "The River Nile". To guess our new topic, we began with a puzzle that tested our continent knowledge. We explored the 11 countries that The River Nile flowed through as well as finding interesting facts about the purpose of the river and the affects it has on the surrounding land. .

Year four have been reading a new book called Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp by Philip Pullman. We have been using this for our chunking but this week have also taken part in some drama activities. 

We got into role as ‘Aladdin’ after he was betrayed by his ‘so-called Uncle’ and was left abandoned and vulnerable inside the cave. Being alone in the dark, the children imagined and brainstormed what might be lurking in the depths of the cave.  

We went under our tables to try to get into character and feel what it would be like to be in a small space. We became Aladdin in the centre of the lonely cave and thought tracked the central character by focusing on the elements form our FANTASTICS – Feeling, Asking, Noticing, Touching, Action, Smelling, Tasting, Imagining or Checking.