• Summer 1 Newsletter
• Spring 2 Newsletter
• Spring 1 Newsletter
• Thackray Museum Visit Letter
• Autumn 2 Newsletter
• Autumn 1 Newsletter

As part of our Rainforests topic, Year 4 visited Tropical World in Leeds to help support our learning in art, science, geography and literacy. We braved the hot, humid conditions to collect information and to sketch the plants and animals. Other visitors there were impressed with the quality of our work! Later on we enjoyed a picnic and some games in the sunshine in Roundhay Park. We all had a very enjoyable day.

Trinity - My favourite bit was seeing the meerkats and watching them playfight and dig. The worst bit was when we were in the rainforest and it was so humid and I was so sweaty!
Hugh - I really enjoyed seeing the meerkats fight and play. The red ibis was extremely interesting because they ducked their heads underwater for about two seconds then they had some food.
Jessica - Beware in Tropical World it is really humid. My favourite part was the meerkats because they are cute and funny. Also because the desert wasn’t really hot like the others. We sketched some different leaves that we could see.
Jacob - My favourite bit at tropical World was when we saw the scaly and scary morelets crocodiles. I was surprised in the desert when they told us that a meerkat’s tail could grow to around 20cm.
Alex - I really enjoyed our visit to Tropical World. My favourite bit was the huge waterfall in the rainforest because you could stand next to it and it would be a relief in the heat!
Charlotte - I thought humid was just warm but it was like I was in a volcano (my whole body was sizzling hot). I was absolutely boiling.
Amelia - I really enjoyed our visit to Tropical World because I liked seeing all of the animals there and all the plants. It felt like I really was in a rainforest because it was humid.
Ben - In Tropical World we experienced how it would be in a humid tropical rainforest. The authentic re-creation made us all feel like it was a real rainforest. The cute, endearing meerkats made us all want to cuddle them.
Sam - My favourite part of the trip was seeing the cute digging meerkats. I also enjoyed seeing the beautiful butterflies, one landed on my hand!
Matthew - I enjoyed the fish because it was interesting how the gills on the fish moved. I disliked the heat in the rainforest.
Max - I enjoyed strolling into the warm temperature while exploring the exotic creatures. My favourite animal was the cute meerkats and the morelets crocodile that was so still, it looked paralysed!
Lucy - Tropical World was fantastic. I liked seeing all the butterflies gliding past you and if you were lucky one landed on you. I also enjoyed reading the information about the animals.

Year 4 have enjoyed basketball coaching sessions with Mark from Carnegie Basketball in Leeds. It's been fantastic to see the progress the children have made in their skills and confidence, culminating in a very exciting tournament where all the children played matches against each other.

Felix: I learnt how to flick the ball. I enjoyed playing big games and learning skills.
Joe T: I learnt how to shoot, pass and dribble.
Max: The basketball coaching was fun especially doing the skill when you bounce the ball sneakily through someone's legs.
Hugh: I have enjoyed playing the tournaments in basketball.
Daniel J: It was all fun. I have learnt how to shoot a basket.
Jessica: I have learnt that in basketball when you shoot, you have to bend your knees like you're sitting on the toilet.

Year 4's visit to the Bagshaw Museum.

Here are some photos to show you some of our learning during the second half of the Autumn Term, including some filtering in science, some Sleeping Beauty freeze frames following our visit to the pantomime, and our learning at the Thackray Museum.

During the first half of the Autumn Term we have enjoyed learning about solids and liquids in science, and balances in gymnastics. We also went on a fantastic topic walk around Boston Spa.