Year 4 - Spring 2 - Week 1

Date: 26th Feb 2026 @ 1:14pm

What a fantastic first week back!

In RE, we began exploring the themes of trust and betrayal as a foundation for understanding how these ideas appear in the Easter story. Before looking at the biblical events, we discussed what the two terms mean and watched clips from popular children’s films to help us recognise these concepts in action. The children identified moments such as Wendy placing her trust in Peter Pan when taking her first flight, and Lotso’s betrayal of Woody in Toy Story 3. 

During Collective Worship, we learned about Ramadan and reflected on the values of self‑discipline and self‑control. The children took part in small challenges designed to test their ability to stay focused, resist temptation and think about how Muslims show commitment during this special month.

In Maths, we had great fun creating our own Peri the Snail, who helped us measure perimeter by “slithering” around the edges of shapes and leaving a trail to count. We explored kilometres, perimeter on a grid, the perimeter of rectangles and the perimeter of rectilinear shapes. Next week, we will move on to equivalent fractions, counting in fractions and beginning to calculate with them.

In English, we revealed our new text for the term: When the Giant Stirred. Using two different versions of the front cover, we made predictions about the setting, characters and plot. We also explored rich vocabulary and used expanded noun phrases to describe topic‑specific nouns such as macaws, loggerhead sea turtles and the Pacific Ocean. Next week, we will use scenes from Moana to help us understand the roles and responsibilities of villagers and begin writing diary entries using fronted adverbials to describe daily life in a tribal village.

Teamwork played a big part in our art sessions this week. One activity involved holding a peg instead of a pencil and working together to guide the pen, while another required one partner to describe a drawing while the other, blindfolded, attempted to recreate it. These activities encouraged communication, patience and collaboration.

We welcomed James from Active Sefton, who led a calming yoga session in our PE lesson this week. The children enjoyed stretching slowly and learning how mindful movement can help relax both the body and the mind.

In History, we learned about the push and pull factors that encouraged the Anglo‑Saxons to invade Britain. The children explored why life in their homelands pushed them to leave, such as poor farming conditions, and what pulled them towards Britain, including better land and new opportunities. We also compared these reasons to why people might move to a new place today.

During Guided Reading, we studied a rainforest poem and created a five‑point summary to capture the key ideas. The children used inference skills to work out the poet’s message and discussed how descriptive language helped build the atmosphere of the rainforest.

Reminders:

• If your child would like to take their clarinet home after their weekly Music lesson, please email permission to y4@tsp.allsaintsmat.org.
• Multiplication Tables Check practice resources are available on Google Classroom, along with optional Maths and Reading activities.
• PE days this term are Tuesday and Friday.