Category: Our Classes

On Monday, we went to St Albans Cathedral and took part in two fascinating activities that had cross-curricular links to our geography and art units.

The first activity was called The Land of the Monks, where we delved into the past. We examined a map of St Albans and used grid references to locate different places in the city. After this, we went outside the cathedral with a compass, map, and instructions. We hunted for clues that helped us answer questions about different buildings that existed in the past.

Our second activity involved working with clay tiles. We walked around the cathedral, drawing inspiration from its beautiful architecture and rich history. Then we created and assembled our own clay tiles, focusing on specific clay techniques.

We welcomed Daisy Cooper MP to our class yesterday. We had written to Daisy as part of our work in geography, where we had learnt about food inequality and its effect on the world population.

We had the chance to ask Daisy questions about how parliament worked to ensure a fairer world – both for the people of our country and for the wider population – and to learn more about the work of members of parliament.

It was great to meet Daisy and we hope that her visit will inspire our children to be agents for the change they want to see in the world.

The “lost hour” hasn’t held year 4 back this week at all and they have participated well in the end-of-term events. They showed respect during the Stations of the Cross assembly and have done the same, as well as reflecting well, during the class Lenten daily prayer accompanying each Station of the Cross. They sang beautifully at the assemblies this week and have enjoyed the sun at breaktimes, as we all have.

Many thanks for everyone’s support in helping your children create their own prayers in the class prayer book. I have been moved by the ideas and beliefs expressed in these original, heartfelt prayers which have been carefully written out and beautifully presented. The prayer book will continue to be passed down the register. There will be a new one in year 5.

We completed writing from “The Matchbox Diary” with the children making excellent progress in writing clear, meaningful and well-spelt sentences with a good range of vocabulary. I think there definitely several Geography graduates in the cohort, judging from their interest in the physical features of the earth – especially volcanoes! We will come back to finish some learning on Decimals after the holiday.

We finished the term with creating “stained glass” Easter cards which I hope you all like.

The purses/wallets the children sewed will be on display at “open evening” and will go home at the end of the year. All the children worked very hard on their sewing, whether they are used to sewing or it was their first time. They all showed resilience and good humour in enjoying the pleasures and tackling the challenges of sewing! The class was lovely and calm and there was lots of co-operation throughout the sessions.

Although we all enjoyed the sun this week and are looking forward to our Easter break, there was also some sadness today as we had to say good-bye to someone most of the children have known for a huge part of their lives. We are all extremely sad to lose Bella from our class community. However, just as importantly, we send her off on her adventure with love and best wishes for an exciting new chapter in her life!

For those of us staying closer to home, I wish you all a relaxing, happy two week holiday, hopefully with some sun and fresh air.