Poetry Passwords
Last week, during a reading lesson, the children were asked to use their retrieval and inference skills to answer questions about this poem.
I made a new password!
I made a new password
That no one could guess. Which words rhyme with secure?
It’s long and confusing How many symbols does the password contain?
And truly a mess. Is the password easy to remember?
It has random letters Could a person work out the password?
and numbers galore, What is the problem in the poem?
with dozens of symbols Find and copy a part of the text that makes you laugh.
and spaces and more.
My password is perfect,
completely secure,
and no one will break it;
of that I am sure.
It’s flawless and fool proof.
I don’t have a doubt.
But, whoops! I forgot it
and now I’m locked out.
–Kenn Nesbitt
Following this, we discussed how having a secure password helps you protect your personal information.
Albie stated that: “Passwords should be something personal to you and easy to remember, but difficult for someone else to figure out.”
“It could be a special word or phrase, name of your favorite character, movie, food or song,” added Hifza.
The class thought about tips for creating safe passwords.
“Have a mixture of symbols, numbers, lowercase and uppercase letters,” recommended Daisy.
Smoothie Ingredients to Promote Tooth Health
Over the last few weeks, Year 4 have learnt that practicing good dental hygiene, flossing and brushing regularly, seeing a dentist for check-ups and cleanings, go a long way toward keeping our teeth and gums in good health. But, hygiene is not the only factor in your dental health. What we eat and drink can cause damage to our teeth.
Everything we put in our mouths has to get past our teeth and gums, and therefore impacts their health. We have spent some time looking at smoothie recipes, with ingredients, that do not harm our teeth. There are many that have healing and strengthening qualities.
Great For A Beautiful, Bright Smile
3 apples (kill bacteria to make your smile whiter and brighter)
2 kiwis
1 avocado (contains calcium for strong teeth) and 1 orange
A few mint leaves for extra flavor (and fresh breath!)
We discussed that, not all smoothies are created equally. It is very easy to make a smoothie that is loaded with sugar, and while it may taste good, can contribute to tooth decay, cavities, gum disease, and an array of other health problems.
To find out more about sugars in food, the children studied a leaflet.
“I can’t believe how much sugar is in a can of coke!” stated Jasraj.
The children were fascinated to find out, that white, refined sugar is not the only source of sugar that you might be putting into your smoothies. Fruit juices are high in sugar. “I never realised that some fruit juices have so much sugar in them! I thought the ‘low sugar’ ones were OK!” commented Priya.
Honey and maple syrup, although natural and with other health benefits, are both sugars.
“Yogurts can also be very high in sugar, so read the labels before you choose one to put in your next smoothie recipe,” recommended Year 4.
“Not only do these sugary ingredients promote tooth decay, they add extra calories that you probably don’t need!” added Mrs Freeman.
Great For Strong Teeth 
2 kiwis
1 cup of strawberries
1 and 1/2 cups of milk (contains calcium to make the teeth and bones strong)
2 tablespoons of mint (great for fresh breath!)
1 cup of crushed ice cubes
Great For Fighting Oral Bacteria And Strengthening The Teeth
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (plenty of healthy bacteria known as probiotics to attack bad oral bacteria) and 1 cup of fruit of your choice (Strawberries, bananas, and blueberries are great options.) 1/4 cup of milk (calcium for strong teeth)
Question your child about this learning.
Can you describe the taste of the smoothie?
Which ingredient is full of calcium?
True or false? Apples help to kill bacteria to make your smile whiter and brighter?
Why did we chooses to drink the smoothies through paper straws?
What are the oral health benefits of mint? 
Poetry in maths
Year 4 have been learning to tell the time. By the end of the school year, the age related expectations require children to be able to:
- read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12- and 24-hour clocks
- solve problems involving converting from hours to minutes; minutes to seconds; years to months; weeks to days
Yesterday, the class focused on seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries and a millennium. We converted different units of time and solved a few problems. We would like to encourage the children to practise telling the time as often as possible. Test your child on questions such as:
How many seconds in 4 minutes?
How many hours in 5 days?
Which months of the year have 30 days?
Which is the longest amount of time? 360 minutes or 5 hours
Harry takes part in a sponsored silence.
He says, “If I am silent for five hours at 10p per minute, I will raise 50 pounds.”
Do you agree with Harry? Explain why.
Sally is 7 years and 2 months old. Macey is 85 months old. Who is the oldest? Explain your answer.
True or false
3 days is >than 72 hours
2 and a half years =29 months
11 weeks 4 days <10 weeks 14 day
To help with this learning, the class rehearsed a poem that involved knuckles!
Make a fist.
If the month is on a knuckle, it has 31 days. Otherwise is has 30 or less days.
Starting with the 1st knuckle as January,
The space between knuckles as February,
2nd Knuckle is March… etc.
Once you get to the fourth knuckle, July, start over at the first knuckle for August.
Below is an activity that was completed in class. It is a short RIC starter that was used within a maths lesson. RIC stands for Retrieve, Interpret and Choice. These activities require children to read, watch, observe or listen to a stimulus and then answer some questions.
LO: RIC
After-school clubs summer term
Our summer term after-school clubs are now available to be booked for your child/children. Some of the clubs are open to Reception class.
Living and Learning: Money Matters themed week – HotShots charity fundraising event
To launch the themed week, on 20 May, we will be holding a Hotshots fundraising event, led by PE Partner, to raise money for our school charity, WWF.
During the day, each class will be able to take part in the Hotshots event, with each child having three chances to score a goal and their fastest time recorded. All children will receive a certificate with their fastest shot and medals will be awarded for the fastest boy and girl in each class.
Sponsor forms have been sent home and children are encouraged to raise money for this event. These should be returned, with any money raised, by the end of the themed week (Friday 24th May). Please ask at the office if you need a sponsor form.
Living and Learning: Money Matters themed week 20 May
Our next whole school themed week Money Matters, based around money and financial education, will be taking place from Monday 20 May 2019. A variety of events and visitors are planned to help us deliver this key aspect of our Living and Learning curriculum.
During the week we will include looking at questions including:
- What is money?
- Where does money come from?
- How do we spend money?
- How do we manage money?
To launch the themed week, on 20 May, we will be holding a Hotshots fundraising event, led by PE Partner, to raise money for our school charity, WWF. During the day, each class will be able to take part in the Hotshots event, with each child having three chances to score a goal and their fastest time recorded. All children will receive a certificate with their fastest shot and medals will be awarded for the fastest boy and girl in each class. Sponsor forms have been sent home and children are encouraged to raise money for this event. These should be returned, with any money raised, by the end of the themed week (Friday 24th May).
Another way we will be raising money for our school charity is by having a penny trail at the end of the week. Children are encouraged to bring in any 1ps and 2ps to their class and a trail will be created using all the money brought in at the end of the week.
Did you know we offer a School Savings Club account, in association with Leeds Credit Union, available to all pupils? Jordan Francis, from Leeds Credit Union, will be available from 3:00pm – 3:45pm on Wednesday 22 May to give more information about the account. This will also be the regular half termly paying in session for pupils who already have an account.
Finally, if your job involves an aspect of finance and/or money and you can support our themed week by coming into school, please pass on your details to the office.
Living and Learning: Money Matters themed week – School Savings Club
During our Money Matters themed week (20 May), we will be holding an information and paying in session for the School Savings Club account.
The account, run in association with Leeds Credit Union, is open to all pupils. Jordan Francis, from Leeds Credit Union, will be available to give out more information and application forms should you want to open an account for your child. As there is not minimum deposit requirement, it is a great way for your child/children to learn the importance of money. We hold paying in sessions every half term.
This session will also be for children who want to pay in to their existing accounts. If you are unable to attend in person, please hand in any money to be paid in, to the office in a sealed envelope addressed to Mrs Tiffany.
Active Schools Dance Festival
As part of our involvement with Active Schools, two teams of dancers have taken part in the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 dance festival today at Ralph Thoresby. With a total of eighteen routines performed, it was a great showcase of dance.
Congratulations to all the children who performed their routines with confidence on the ‘big stage’. A special well done to our Key Stage 1 team who won the award for ‘Best Choreography’. A great achievement!
Thank you for Miss Marsden and Mrs Charlesworth for running the after-school clubs in preparation for the event.
Thank you as well to parents who helped with transport.
Homework
Last week, the children were asked to get creative with their homework and show what they know about teeth.
Yet again, the class produced some outstanding pieces of homework. It is always an absolute pleasure to see such amazing creations. It is clear that, the children have thought through their work and spent time reflecting on their learning. Well done Year 4!
Eggciting Investigations
This week, Year 4 have begun to investigate the effects of acid on our teeth.
Sugar creates a sticky substance, called plaque, which can build on your teeth and become a home for bacteria. And guess what that bacteria does? It produces acids which act directly on your teeth, slowly eating them away.
What is tooth decay?
Bacteria in the mouth feed on sugars from foods and drinks. These bacteria produce acid, which damages the outer surface of the tooth (the enamel). Saliva helps to repair this damage, but if over time there is more damage than repair, it leaves a cavity or ‘hole’ in the tooth.
To begin with, we discussed what it was we wanted to find out. The children were able to generate some scientific questions. This project focuses on two different dental hygiene issues: stains and decay.
What equipment will we need?
I wonder if we should use different liquids?
How will we know that the shell has been damaged?
Teeth are made from minerals. These minerals will begin to dissolve if exposed to acid. We decided to use hard boiled eggs as a substitute for teeth. This may seem like an unlikely pairing for an experiment, but eggshells make a realistic model of dental enamel.
Next, we chose a scientific enquiry to help us to answer our questions.
Let’s put the eggs into the liquids and look at them at the end of the day.
“I wonder if we will see any changes straight away?
Maybe we should leave them for a week.”
We could observe the eggs every few days and record any changes.
The class decided that an ‘observation over time‘ would be the best way to get some information about tooth decay in a very visual way.
Make it a fair test
To make this a fair test, the children recorded what needed to stay the same and what could change.
Then, it was time to make some predictions.
What do you think will happen to each egg? Why?
I think the egg in the water won’t look any different.
The coke will stain the egg.
The shell will disintegrate in the vinegar.
I predict that the sugar free juice will weaken the eggshell.
The outside will become sticky and change colour
Five eggs have been placed in different liquids: coke, vinegar, low sugar juice, water and milk. The children will observe and record any changes every couple of days. 
Stay posted to find out our results.
