​Today in class, we took our first big step towards creating our very own podcast! The children were incredibly excited as we began planning and writing our podcast scripts, ready to record using Audacity next week.

We talked about what makes a great podcast: clear speaking, interesting ideas, dramatic moments and, of course, keeping the listener hooked. The children certainly didn’t disappoint—some of the ideas shared were absolutely brilliant! A few favourites included K-POP Demon Hunters, podcasts about different sports, and even a Minecraft-themed episode. The creativity in the room was fantastic!

Next week, we’ll move on to the recording stage. Once our voices are recorded, we will learn how to use Audacity to snip out parts we don’t need, tidy up our audio, and make our podcasts sound professional. We’ll also experiment with sound effects and backing music to bring each episode to life.

The children are really looking forward to producing something they can be proud of—and we can’t wait to hear the final results. Stay tuned for updates on our podcasting adventure!

​Year 4 had a fantastic morning at the skipping festival held at Penistone Grammar School today. The children represented our school brilliantly, showing sensible behaviour from start to finish and really demonstrating what great role models they are.

The activities were extremely challenging, but the majority of pupils showed real determination. Even when the skills became difficult, they didn’t give up—they kept trying, encouraged each other, and celebrated every small success. We were incredibly proud of their perseverance and teamwork.

We will now be giving the children more opportunities to practise skipping back in school. Not only will this help them to improve their confidence and technique, but it’s also a great way to keep everyone active and healthy throughout the school week.

A highlight of the trip was definitely the journey there and back—the children absolutely loved singing along to the songs on the bus, which made the day feel even more special.

A huge thank you to Miss Ellis and Miss Shillito for taking the children and supporting them throughout the festival. Their enthusiasm and encouragement helped make the day such a positive experience.

Well done, Year 4—you were brilliant!

Today, we have been continuing our work on teeth. We are currently writing a report which we will share with Year 3 all about teeth - we have stated how to look after them and what happens if you don't. Please ask your children what the three types of teeth are (incisors, canines and molars). 

Last Friday, we performed our poems. We learnt a lot from this, especially how to actually perform. A lot of us were very nervous and sped through our lines and this is something that we will work on for next time! We need to "WANT" to perform. We need to enjoy being up at the front and feel comfortable within ourselves. Well done for all of your attempts and I am really looking forward to our next poetry block after Christmas. 

The Year 4 children were fantastic today and really impressed our visitors with their knowledge about mental health. They spoke eloquently about what they have been learning in One Life and this was great to see. Honestly, the visitors could not believe just how good they were! They spoke about "reacting" and "responding". They also mentioned, "inner cheerleaders" and "inner critics". They said what they like to do to keep calm including a lot of breathing exercises that Miss Cocker taught last year. Well done to everybody involved! 

For the first two weeks of Athletics, we have been looking at javelin and discus. We will always try to get outside for PE on Tuesdays so please bring jogging bottoms, hoodies and jumpers to keep yourself warm. We have had a great start to the half term and we have some potential future Olympians. Well done to everybody! 

This week, we have been looking at the poem Firework Night by Enid Blyton. It is a wonderful poem that we have been able to explore and understand deeply. The children have worked on finding clues to prove that the author is actually a dog and we have also completed a comparison on this and our class novel, "The Firework Maker's Daughter." Today, we have chosen our own groups to perform our poem. We have been practising in the morning and in the afternoon, we will perform them. We are also hoping to record them onto Audacity to help with our Computing unit as well. 

Today, we have finished our independent writing for our character descriptions. We completed a shared version looking at Liala from The Firework Maker's Daughter and now we have completed our own on either Lalchand or Chulak. The children are really enjoying the story so far so that makes the work very engaging. We are going to give these to next year's Year 4 class to look at as they are our audience. One of our classroom monitors has chosen a selection of to show on the blog.