Year 4 Topaz Class

Mrs Woodgate	Miss Hatzfeld	Miss Cooper
Class Teacher	High Level Teaching Assistant	High Level Teaching Assistant

Topaz Class have started the year as Clever Writers learning about free verse poetry from A.F Harrold's collection of nonsense poems: Midnight Feasts. We looked in detail at the poem 'Crisps with Custard' and came up with some of our own strange food concoctions. During this Clever Writer unit, we have been developing our use of figurative language such as metaphors, onomatopoeia and similes as sentence openers. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them.

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This half term, Topaz class have been thoroughly enjoying our history topic on Settlers and Invaders. Following on form our learning of the Anglo-Saxons, for the last few weeks we have been exploring the lives of the Vikings. These ruthless warriors travelled far and wide on longboats, seeking to raid and pillage. A few weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to spend the morning with a Viking Reenactor at Chertsey Museum. We were able to learn from a range of historical sources and discover more about Viking everyday life, the clothes that they wore and the weapons that they used. We were excited to find out that the Vikings invaded Chertsey and were able to look at a real Viking sword that was discovered locally in Thorpe.

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This term in science we have been exploring sound and how sounds are made. We have been developing our sticky knowledge of how sound reaches the ear through vibrations, and how the different parts of the ear allow us to hear sounds. We have learnt about the various parts of the ear in detail and used this knowledge to work scientifically to create our very own amazing models of the ear.

We explored the main parts of the inner ear and the roles that they play in how sounds are heard. We were curious to learn that as well as detecting sounds, the inner ear also helps humans with their balance!

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Year 4 have had an action-packed spring term, and a stand-out moment has been taking part in the Delight in Watts immersive art project. The program started with a trip to the Watts Gallery in Compton, Guildford, where we explored the lives and works of George and Mary Watts. The children were inspired by the many paintings and prints on display and used these to create their very own Styrofoam print in the Clore Art Studio.

Back at school, we benefitted from working with a professional artist to develop out artistic and creative skills. The children worked over a period of three weeks to sketch, create and paint their own canvas painting of a rainforest animal, linked to our Geography topic of Rainforests.

The project culminated in in a ‘Topaz Exhibition’ at the Watts Gallery, where parents, family and friends were invited to celebrate their children’s creative achievements over a cup of hot chocolate. It was a wonderful experience that empowered the children to be proud of their learning, whilst sharing in the joy and pride of the adults around them.

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This half term has been an action packed few weeks in Topaz class with a range of learning including a residential trip to Marchants Hill. Our adventurous few days away from home were full of fun, hands-on activities that left us with unforgettable memories to last a lifetime. We tried our hands at rock climbing, abseiling, the zipwire, giant swing and campfire, to name of a few.

For those children not on the residential trip, they had a fun filled few days in school on their school stay-cation, which involved creative activities such as gardening, baking and painting. The children even had a chance to get outside the classroom to create their very own bee-corridor to encourage more biodiversity within the school grounds whilst improving their sustainability and environmental knowledge.

After an action-packed few days, it was great to be back in class altogether to share our experiences. Within our writing, the children have used these adventures to create their own recount of events, drawing on their personal experiences, feelings and recommendations.