Dosbarth Pedwar

5.12.25

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in our classroom. The tree is up, and we are all super excited! The children have been busy with our enterprise projects, where they have created a persuasive video to sell their products. They’ve also been calculating costs and potential profits, which has been a fantastic way to learn about budgeting. In the spirit of the season, the children have been crafting beautiful natural floral bouquets and delightful gingerbread garlands. The profits from these creations will go towards purchasing new resources for our class, ensuring that our learning environment remains vibrant and engaging. We are also excited to share that we have been practising traditional carols for our upcoming concert on Tuesday, 16^th December. The children’s enthusiasm is truly infectious. During our Forest School session, we collected various natural materials to enhance our floral bouquets. Just a quick reminder: this was our last Forest School session until the New Year. In Literacy, we have been exploring different podcasts to prepare for creating our own. The children have identified key structures and elements to include; together with understanding how different episodes, themes, sound effects and music can enhance the podcast. Thank you for your support. 

21.11.25

 

We hope you’re all safe and well after the recent floods. It's heartening to see the resilience in the community during these challenging times. We can only imagine how devastating it has been for so many in the Monmouth area.  

Last week, the children took part in a wide range of meaningful Remembrance Day activities across the curriculum. In literacy, they wrote thoughtful reflections and poems, while in art they created symbolic poppy-themed pieces to honour those who served; together with creating stunning Zen doodles with a Remembrance theme. We were truly impressed by their creativity and thoughtfulness. During history discussions, the class explored why remembrance is still important today, showing maturity and empathy in their responses. Despite the rainy weather, we still enjoyed marking Children in Need with charity-focused activities and conversations about kindness and helping others. The excitement was palpable as we tackled the Strictly 25-Step Challenge—cha cha cha! The children had a blast showing off their dancing skills, and we even performed for the Reception Class, who cheered us on with infectious enthusiasm. Furthermore, we took part in a fitness session with Year 5 and 6 which certainly tested our strength and stamina. Our creativity continued to shine brightly as the children crafted a fabulous Pudsey Bear using natural materials and designed vibrant sporting T-shirts in his iconic colours. As a school, we came together to contribute to the impressive challenge of walking the 25 km, showcasing our spirit and dedication. In maths, children have been learning to read and plot co-ordinates in one quadrant, gaining confidence in using grids accurately. They also applied their geographical skills by using Digi Maps to explore the local landscapes around Trellech, identifying key features in and around the village. In ICT, the class completed a valuable Common-Sense lesson on creating safe and memorable passwords, learning how to protect their personal information online through strong password strategies. Additionally, we had some special visitors from Google last Friday who educated the children about internet safety in such a fun and engaging way! It was a wonderful opportunity for them to learn important skills while enjoying the process. In PE, the children continued developing their rugby skills, practising passing, dodging, and teamwork—even managing great progress despite the soggy pitch! 

These fortnightly newsletters are flying by. Thank you for your support. 

7.11.25

What a busy and exciting week we’ve had in Year 4! Before half term, the children made Stone Age bread, and I must say, it was surprisingly tasty, using just flour and water! We had a great discussion about how bread would have been cooked in those times, exploring the progress from hunter-gatherers to simple farming methods. At Forest School, we individually found a comfortable sitting spot. There’s so much going on in nature around us—buzzing insects, fluffy clouds transforming shapes, spiders weaving webs, and ants tidying up. Do we really take the time to notice? A sit spot is the perfect way to enjoy nature’s countless mysteries; together with being present and concentrating on your immediate environment. In Literacy, we’ve explored powerful Remembrance Day poetry, using “In Flanders Fields” as inspiration to write our own thoughtful verses about peace, courage, and gratitude. The children have shown great empathy and creativity, producing moving pieces that reflect the importance of remembrance. In Maths, we’ve been investigating positive and negative numbers, learning how to read temperatures below zero (very handy for chilly Welsh mornings!) and practising weighing and measuring using grams and kilograms in practical activities. Our RVE lessons have focused on Harvest and farming in Wales, where pupils researched local produce and designed bright and informative infographics showing how food is grown, shared, and celebrated in our communities. In Commando Joe’s, teamwork has been the key as the children worked together to build and protect their own Stone Age villages, planning how to collect food and keep their settlements safe — a fantastic mix of strategy, cooperation, and creativity! In Humanities, we’ve travelled back to 1605 to discover the story of The Gunpowder Plot, using debate to explore different viewpoints and understand why we still remember this historic event today. Year 4 have truly shown enthusiasm, imagination, and teamwork across all areas of learning — da iawn pawb! 🌟 

17.10.2025

What a busy couple of weeks we’ve had in school! The children have truly immersed themselves in their learning, and their creativity has shone through in every activity. During our forest school session, the class had a fantastic time building a den for a small world character. It was wonderful to see them collaborating and using various natural materials to create an unusual shelter. In Literacy, we delved further into “Stone Age Boy” where the children created dialogues between two characters, using the rules of speech marks. In Humanities, we wrote informative texts comparing the lives of hunter-gatherers with those of early farmers. They were able to articulate how farming changed lives and why it was more beneficial than foraging. We participated in the annual event, the anti-racism campaign - Show Racism the Red Card; that aims to raise awareness and fight racism through education and solidarity. A discussion led to an engaging activity that encouraged the children to reflect on their multifaceted identities, highlighting that each person cannot simply be defined by one role. In Numeracy, we have been applying column addition to solve problems involving 2- and 3-digit numbers. Then using the inverse operation to check addition. In Science and technology, we utilised our knowledge about teeth to create a poster on Adobe Express, whilst learning new skills to enhance our digital poster. To top it all off, our PE sessions have been high-energy! The class participated in a HIIT session, boosting their heart rates, followed by a soothing yoga and whole-body meditation that left everyone relaxed, calm and ready for the weekend. 

Thank you for your support. 

              

19.9.25

What a busy two weeks it’s been! The children have settled in brilliantly, and we’ve dived straight into our Literacy, with the enchanting text Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura. This exciting adventure story, brimming with gentle humour and delightful surprises, has sparked plenty of creativity in our classroom. We've been exploring how different types of punctuation, font sizes, and overall presentation can influence how a reader responds to a text. This week, our discussions turned to diaries—why we use them and their historical significance. We took a fascinating look at the diary of Samuel Pepys and identified the unique language and text features that make his entries stand out. It’s wonderful to see the children making connections! In other news, our first trip to Forest School was a wet one, but it certainly didn’t dampen our spirits! We explored the changing autumn landscape and marvelled, (I love that word) at the fungi popping up all around. In Science, we’ve been learning about different types of teeth and their functions, differentiating between herbivores and carnivores. In DCF, we have looked carefully at micro: bits- identifying some of the main functions; and this week we have experimented with creating some interactive projects. We're also keeping active with some HITT training to get our heart rates up and discussing the importance of exercise. We even enjoyed a session of whole-body meditation to learn how to relax and switch off; and we all need a bit of that! Here’s to more adventures ahead!  

Thank you for your support. 

5.9.25

What a lovely start to a new and exciting term, albeit a little damp. Hopefully, we will get some autumn sunshine before the nights draw in. We hope you have had a lovely break from school routines, and your family has had a chance to recharge their batteries. We have completed some activities to get to know the children better and settle them into Year 4. The children were introduced to Zen doodle art which concentrates on design and repetitive patterns. Zen doodle is very good for concentration, reducing stress and promoting calmness.  Our topic this term is- Memory Box. I am sure you all know Katie Churchill- local historian and archaeologist; and hopefully, we have exciting plans to visit a dig at Buckholt just outside Monmouth. This is nationally, significantly an iron age and Neolithic site with lots of prehistoric stone tools. It is once in a lifetime dig! Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.  

Thank you for your support and we look forward to the year ahead.