Blog

Improper fractions and mixed numbers

Seagulls have been doing some fantastic learning about fractions! We learned..

• an improper fraction as a numerator which is the same or larger than the denominator
• a mixed number is a mixture of whole numbers and fractions

We enjoyed creating mixed numbers out of improper fractions by rearranging paper shapes.

Food chains

We were learning about food chains by playing a food chain game.

We had lots and lots of cards with different pictures of producers, consumers, predators an prey, and we had to sort them onto a game board to show what eats what!

Art - Our Giacometti sculptures

We found out about a Swiss artist called Alberto Giacometti. He lived from 1901 - 1966, and he made very distinctive sculptures of people and animals. He was really interested in the form and movement of bodies. We made our own sculptures! First, we drew our designs and planned what they would look like. Then we built a wire armature to make a basic shape. Finally, we built the sculptures up with clay. They are currently drying out, but we can't wait to see what they look like when they are finished!

Year 4 Violin lessons

We are lucky to be having professional instruction on learning to play the violin. The violin teacher is so proud of this year's class - one of the best she has had - that she is moving them along quicker in their learning than she was expecting! Well done to the fabulous musical Seagulls!

SPRING TERM - Lodge Hill residential trip

The children had the most fantastic two days at Lodge Hill for their residential trip! Every single child was successful, whether it was trying a new activity like zip wire, eating new food, or staying away from home for the very first time. Seagull class demonstrated ALL the Bramber values, most of all resilience. 

As soon as we arrived, we were moving on to our first activity of the day. Children got to try zip wire, low ropes team building and archery throughout the day - no time for sitting still! As well as a mid-morning snack of homemade biscuits, we were fed a hot lunch of jacket potatoes, beans, cheese and salad. We had home-baked apple cake at tea time and a hot dinner of chicken, chips and salad. The staff in the kitchen were amazing, and made sure we all had enough energy for our activities.

In the evening, we had a fun talent show, with all kinds of dancing, magic and other talents to entertain each other. We followed this with a bit of a guitar sing-a-long, and hot chocolate and a story before bed. 

The children loved getting settled into their rooms, making it feel like home! It soon looked like we had been there for a month! EVENTUALLY all the children quietened down and the adults could get a bit of well-deserved sleep. The children were very good during the night, and there were no big problems. 

In the morning we were fed with cereal and endless amounts of hot toast and jam, so we were ready for orienteering in the grounds. The children became surprisingly competative and were soon dashing around the woodlands screaming "Quick, over here!!". Another hot meal of cheesy tomato pasta later, and it was on to our final session - nature art. The children made some lovely artwork in the woods using found natural objects. After a final snack of chocolate brownies, we were soon loading up the coach to go home. 

We arrived back as school tired, grubby and ready for a bath and bed. But also we were full of memories of our super trip.

You can see the photos from the day on the Seagulls main page. 

WEEK 13

Trip to Brighton Museum!

This week we had a wonderful opportunity to get out and about and visit a fascinating building called Brighton Museum. We were met by a historian called Jackie who told us all about Egyptian mummification, and we had the chance to reinact it on life size dolls! We got to handle actual ancient Egyptian artefacts, and toured around the museum before eating our lunch there, then getting the coach home. All the children were engaged in their learning and demonstrated great behaviour and the Bramber Values. Well done, Seagulls!

WEEK 10

Egyptian art and craft

The children have been bringing in their home learning projects based on our topic of Ancient Egypt. We have had everything from Lego pyramids to hand painted coffins and children wrapping themselves in toilet paper to represent mummification!

I'm so proud of Seagull class and all the effort they put into their learning, well done!

WEEK 9

Around the Pharaoh's Tomb!

This week we have used our maths skills of calculating perimeter to solve some problems concerning the building of a pharaoh's tomb. We were able to use addition, multiplication and geometry knowledge in one lesson. We then designed layouts for Pharaoh's tombs and did the calculations for those too - future architechts, perhaps?...

WEEK 8

Experiments in electricity!

This week in science we had a challenge to find out about whether different materials were conductors or insulators. We had a variety of materials to test, but we had to come up with how to do it fairly.

The children worked out that we need to keep everything in our test the same, apart from the actual material tested. So they set up circuits of their own designs in pairs which included a battery and bulb. The children then tested different kinds of materials and made notes about whether the bulb lit up with the new material in the circuit. It was lots of fun, and very memorable - especially trying to see if a leaf would conduct electricity!

WEEK 7

The Art of the Pharaohs

We threw ourselves into an art project to create 'Pharaoh self-portraits', and what results we had!

We used printed profiles of ourselves and embellished them with pastel, paper and other decorative items. Then we made them look like old papyrus by scrunching the paper slightly to give it a worn look.  We look like genuine Pharaohs ruling Ancient Egypt!

WEEK 5

I WANT MY MUMMY!

Our topic this week has led us to a rather gruesome place... the Palace of Purification where dead pharoahs were mummified!

We found out all about the strange process of mummification, and using this knowledge to have a go at creating our own set of instructions about 'How to make a mummy'. We learned lots of new vocabulary, and will be including it in our finished piece of writing - watch this space!

WEEK 4

ELECTION WEEK!

This was an exciting week for Seagulls because we held an election to decide who our school councillor would be.

We discussed democracy, and why voting is important, then anyone who wished to stand for election had time to compose their election speech. 

Everybody then had time to say their speech, and a secret ballot took place. After the vote was counted, we welcomed our newly elected members - well done both of you. I know the Seagulls made a good choice as their good behaviour and helpfulness around school will be great assets to them as councillors!

WEEK 3

ELECTRIC SEAGULLS!

We had a great time on Thursday learning about electric circuits. We had the chance to investigate what happens when you try putting wires, batteries, bulbs, buzzers and switches together. It wasn't always successful; we learned that plastic wasn't a good conductor of electricity, so when the clip was attached the plastic part of the wire, the electricity didn't go around the circuit. 

We will continue next week, so try to think of any ways we can use these things to make something...

WEEK 2

We had a very exciting event organised by the Year 4 children and their families this week. They were feeling particularly moved by the plight of Afghan refugees in the news, and decided rather than just feel sad about it they would do something to help! So they organised a wonderful bake sale after school on Friday. Many cakes, traybakes and biscuits were donated, and a stall set up outside the front of the school was managed by the children themselves with help from their parents. I was so proud of the thoughtfulness of the Seagulls, and I know that this way of thinking will continue with them through life. I can't wait to let you know the total of the money raised as soon as it is counted up. Well done, Year 4!

WEEK 1

Welcome back Year 4 Seagulls!

We have had a lovely week getting to know each other in Seagull class. 

We made a good start getting to know about the things we will be learning and investigating throughout the year and getting routines in place. 

We had our first swimming lesson at Splash Point and it was very successful - even the few children who felt initially nervous to go ended up feeling so much more confident and had a lovely time!