Cassiopeia2018-2019

As part of the pack I sent home last week, there was a skip counting maze. These might be new to you and your child so I thought I would explain how they work. Skip counting, just means counting in multiples. E.G. 2,4, 6, 8, 10 etc. The aim of the maze is to start at the beginning of the counting sequence, E.G. 2 and then follow the sequence through the numbers until you reach the end. The maze can take you beyond x12 the given number, but this really help with quick recall of times tables and is a bit different. You can download lots of examples for free from the internet, the sites might be American as this is a very popular activity there. But I think it works really well and can be a fun challenge.

This week was Maths Week, the highlight was our Money Sense workshop with Natwest where we were planning a party. The children were very sensible, creative and all managed to stay under budget. I gave them £200 to plan a party for 15 children. When I asked them at the end, what had they learnt? These were their answers. Think about how much money you have and what is the most important thing to buy, buy that first and then work out what you can buy with what you have left. Think carefully about how you can save money or get/make things for free. Budget carefully. Don't buy things because you want them, look for the best deal first. Great responses I feel! We also played a game that created art. We were developing our thinking and planning skills whilst looking for patterns.

At first, I have to admit I was not completely excited by the thought of investigating rocks in Science! However, we are finding out some really interesting things and so far all of our investigations have worked! We were looking at the permeability of rocks by dropping them in water and watching for air bubbles and then discussing the results.

We are really enjoying Forest School, the children are becoming more and more engaged and developing their team building skills. There is always lots of resilience during the tasks, and it is great to chat to the children in a more relaxed way, whether it's about what we are doing or how they are. This week we were tying knots, making natural looms and weaving, shelter building and making our own bows and arrows.

Please come and have a chat about the Year 4 residential trip. When- Wednesday 26th September at 3.30pm Where- Cassiopeia's classroom What- So you can see where we are going and what we are doing and ask any questions! Please do come!

We had a great day at Avebury on Thursday, it was a bit wet to start with and rather windy at times but we learnt a lot about Avebury and its history, also what life might have been like for Stone Age people. We learnt things like, it took 100 years to dig the ditch around the circle, using pick axes and spades made from bones and antlers.

Hello, we have got straight into our year together, with lots of super learning. Here we are investigating weathering on rocks by simulating rain and wind. In Computing we have started with E-Safety, the first part of our learning has be to be alert. Thinking about what should be shared and with whom, and more importantly why. In RE we thought about what makes us happy and why, we listen to "Happy" by Pharell Williams to help!

We were very excited to be the first class to take part in Forest School. We met Mrs Lander on Tuesday afternoon and played some welcome games in our new meeting place in the school garden (by the swimming pool). We discussed toasting marshmallows on a fire pit, if we get one! Mrs Lander also shared with us a mushroom she had found that morning, we passed it round and discussed Forest Schools safety. We then went on a walk around the school grounds, we were looking for interesting natural things to add to out journey stick. Choosing leaves helped us to create clans, we then played games and created a clan sign in our small groups and made mini Stone Age villages from natural resources. It was a lovely relaxed afternoon, that was filled with fun and learning. Please can Forest School clothes be back in school on Tuesday, we will be out in most weather so waterproof clothing would be great.