Welcome to Puffin Class!

This class page will share the fantastic learning we do in class.
Our teacher is Miss McGee

Mrs Cullen will also be teaching in Puffin this year.

We are supported by Mrs Cross, Mrs Ledsham and Mrs Lawson.

Scroll down to see our amazing journey this year!

Notices

September - December 2026

• Our PE Day is on Thursday and will be taught by Mr Franco. 
• Please make sure your child has the correct P:E uniform on this day. 

Outdoor Learning

• Please make sure your child has a raincoat and wellies in school everyday so they can participate in our outdoor learning sessions.
• Since it is still sunny, the children will require a sunhat.

 Homework:

• Maths – 45 games on TTRS weekly in garage mode. This will be set weekly and checked on the following Monday. While paper copies are available for children, it is important that the children access TTRS online to ensure they can access the multiplication check mode and become at ease with it.  It is also important that they use technology as this is how it is administered for the assessment.  If you would like your child to be considered for the homework club, please speak to the class teacher.
• Spellings - Children can use different activities from the spelling menu for the spellings which are uploaded to Dojo termly.
• Reading for Pleasure - Celebrate the love of reading at home by logging your minutes that have been read on Track My Read, any book, any type of text Track My Read.

A Guide to Accelerated Reader, Please click the link: A Parent's Guide to Accelerated Reader (AR). Please note, if they are on the band 4.0 or above, the children have to complete five reads on that point before they move up to 4.1 and so on.

Week Commencing 28th September

The children have continued their learning on teeth in Science.  They looked at real animal teeth (supplied by Mrs Gregorious) to investigate the different teeth animals have and how this linked to their different diets. Our whole class reading text, 'Tooth by Tooth'  also linked nicely to Science and gave them prior knowledge to assist them during the more complex task. We have been finding 1, 10, 100 and 1000 more or less of a given number in Maths. This week in English, the children are using adverbs of addition while writing a balanced argurement as to whether Barnabus should escape Perfect Pets! During outdoor learning, we linked it to Roman numerals scavenger hunt. 

Week Commencing 21st September

Can you believe it is already week three? The children have been brilliant in their lessons and are challenging themselves in their contributions. We have been continuing with place value in Maths, using place value charts to support our understanding of numbers up to four digits. In English, the children had to create an animal like Barnabus, who is half elephant and half mouse, and then describe the animal's uniqueness. We will then move on to incorporating this into a set of instructions.  Once again, Science was exciting and the children tested what toothbrush was the most effective while cleaning a laminated set of teeth. Next week we will be looking at the differences in animals teeth depending on their diet. We hope you liked their Christmas cards. Please make sure that if you would like to purchase any of the printed items, that the order is place online and the document returned by the 2nd October.

Week Commencing 14th September

What a fun-packed week! Not only did we learn the technical  names of adult teeth and their function, but we also made a model set using salt dough! This helped us understand the size of the different types of teeth and why they are all different. In English, the children have started to write a diary entry as Barnabus commenting on what he is thinking about inside his jar. They included what Barnabus is wondering and imagining about the outside world. This book is continuing to spark their imagination and the children are coming up with some very clever ideas. Musically, the children are learning about loops and layers using  the classic Kookaburra loop to establish their understanding.

Week Commencing 7th September

This week in Science, the children have learnt about the digestive system with a hands on demonstration which showed the process and function of the different organs. In English, the children have been introduced to their new book 'The Barnabus Project' and have have written some wonderful setting descriptions using adverbials of manner and adverbials of time. During Maths, we have been revising place value up to four digits and looked at various intervals on a numberline. In History, we investigated what Rome looked like during the Empires rule focusing on the Colosseum. 

Previous Learning 2025 - 2026

Our Learning (Summer): 

• English: We will be using the text ' Holes' to develop and improve our writing.
• Maths: Our focus this term our focus is on decimals.
• Science: Our units will be Classification and Changing Habitats
• History: The children will be learning about Saxons and Vikings
• French: We will be learning about the language for our family and classroom.
• Computing: Year 4 will be developing their technical skills to represent their findings about the weather.
• Art: Children will be able to demonstrate greater skill and control when drawing and painting to depict forms, such as showing an awareness of proportion and being able to create 3D effects.
• Design and Technology: This unit will focus on electricity and we will be understanding how to make a torch using circuits that we made during our unit on electricity in Science.
• Music: We will be learning about rhythm while developing the characteristics of Samba and Carnival Music.
• PSHE: Our units this term will be Relationships and Changing Me.
• Religion and Worldviews: We will be answering the question, 'Does the Language in Scripture Matter?

Our Learning (Spring):

• English -  We will be using the Text 'Varjak Paw' to develop and improve our writing.
• Maths - Our focuses this term will a continuation of multiplication and division and fractions.
• Science - Our units will be States of Matter and Sound.
• History - The children will be learning all the Saxons and Vikings
• French -  We will be learning about the language for seasons and presenting ourselves.
• PE - Our lessons will build on the fundamentals of PE with focuses on Hockey and Gymnastics
• Computing - Year 4 will be continuing to develop their skills using Computational Thinking.
• Art - The children will be using different painting techniques to demonstrate light and dark.
• Design and Technology - The children will be cooking something tasty!
• Music - We will be performing the play.
• PSHE - Our units this term will focus on Dreams and Goals and Healthy Me.
• Religion and Worldviews - We will be answering the question 'Why are some texts sacred?'

Week Commencing 1st June 

I hope you all had a lovely half term break. This week the children have started to take their multiplication check test online. We have two weeks to complete these online during the school day. In the meantime, we will continue to work on our times tables. Our Geography this term will focus on the UK and South America. Initially we will look at human and physical features of Scotland, Wales and the UK. In English, we will be writing a non-chronological report about the yellow- spotted lizards in the book, 'Holes'. In Maths, we are looking at focusing on money. Our spellings for the rest of the term are now on Dojo.

Week Commencing 18th May 2026

This week we have been looking at recognising quarters and halves as a fraction and decimal in Maths. We have been continuing to write our diary entry as Stanley ensuring that we are using the correct tone and including feelings while also incorporating multi clause sentences and clear concise sentences using subordination. The children are creating repeating patterns in art by using a collaging process and then cutting the squares to reorder the sequence of the pattern. In Science, we have researched different consequences of human impact on the world including: coral bleaching, deforestation and plastic pollution. We have also been trying out the platform for the multiplication check so that the children are used to it. After half term, Year 4 children will have P.E on a Thursday but this week we will still have it on Friday.

Week Commencing 11th May

The children are continuing to write their discussion texts in English using the structure: Point, Evidence and Explain while also ensuring that the tone of the discussion is formal. In art, we will be painting our Batik designs and finally revealing them by washing out the glue. We will be continuing to focus on poetry in our whole class reading lessons and this week we will be reading, ' Mr. Mistoffelees'. We have been learning about Viking beliefs in History and have been looking at the different qualities that the Viking Gods have. This week we will be filming our very own weather report for Computing and Mr Thomas has kindly recorded an example to help us with the structure and tone of the piece!

Week Commencing 5th May 2026

This week in Puffin class, we will be writing a discussion text in English about whether Stanley should give the mysterious item he dug up to X-Ray or not. In Maths, we have started to look at place value associated with numbers including decimals. In History, we are continuing to learn all about the Vikings and their beliefs. In Art, we will be starting our Batik designs using PVA glue carefully to outline our design before painting them. Puffin class continues to expand upon their tennis skills in P.E showing excellent progress. During Computing, the children have been designing a system which would warn people of an extreme weather event.

Week Commencing 27th April 

This week in class we have been writing an informal letter linked to our class book - Holes. We became expert bird spotters in Science this week and used an identification tool to look up names of birds and link them to their picture. This helped consolidate their understanding of classification tools. We also started to look at using a branch sorting method to categorise different animals. We continue to develop our designs in art inspired by the rainforest and this week we will learn about batik and use this method to put our design on fabric. In outdoor learning, we continue to garden and ensure that our lovely outdoor area is ready to enjoy for the summer months. 

Week Commencing 13th and 20th April

The term has started brilliantly and we have already done so much! We have started to investigate classification in science and looked at the finer detail of flowering and non flowering plants. We now know that some non flowering plants have spores rather than flowers or seeds. In computing, we have already recorded weather data from around the world and designed a weather recording device using Sketchpad. The children have been fantastic during their tennis lessons showing lots of enthusiasm. Art is always a favourite and the children have used a variety of mediums to focus on a particular part of a plant to look at design and how people develop design through the use of a mood board. In Maths, the children have been looking at recognising tenths as fractions and representing tenths on a place value chart. We have also been looking at how dividing by 10 with a  one and two digit number works. Learning about Anglo Saxons has been fantastic since we can locate place names around St Neots that have links to Anglo Saxon times. As always, the children have worked hard and continue to earn lots of Dojo points!

WC 26.1.26

This week the children have been introduced to the bus stop method for division. We used resources alongside this to help them visualise the learning. We finished out science unit on States of Matter by researching climate change. In art, we used different painting techniques to create a 3D picture of an apple. The children were introduced to formal letter writing this week and wrote a letter in the role of Varjak. We looked at ensuring we did not use abbreviated words and contracted words. During football, we played our first set of mini games and tried scoring from a distance. They were very enthusiastic about this. We have also started learning our songs for the musical so don't be surprised if you hear the children singing a few new songs! We look forward to our auditions on Friday!

WC 19.1.26

In English, we are rewriting a key piece of narrative from Varjak Paw where he starts to climb the wall in order to save his family. We are extending and deepening our descriptions with expressive vocabulary showing not telling the audience what the characters are experiencing. In Maths, we looking at different multiplication strategies building on what we learnt in year 3. First partitioning and then finally moving on to column multiplication. In science we made a model of the water cycle using a glass jar, hot water and ice cubes. The children then drew a diagram using the software 'Sketchpad'.

The children are enjoying building a website using Microsoft Sway and are finishing their book report pages. We have also been doing a multiplication check through TTRS which has demonstrated what progress the children have made. 

WC 12.1.26

During English, we have written a discussion text  about whether it was a good idea for Varjak to go over the wall to try and help his family get about for another group of cats. We used adverbs of addition to strengthen the explanations and to discuss two different opinions. In maths, the children have been continuing to learn about factor pairs and how these can help us solve equivalent calculations. In art, the children produced a picture of a 3D object using tints and shades that we learnt to mix last week. Computing will become more independent as they continue to use Microsoft Sway to design a website. 

Week Commencing 5.1.26

During the week, we have been writing a diary entry in the role of Varjark Paw to detail how frustrated he is because he is unable to go outside to explore like his relative Jalal. In maths, the children have been multiplying 3 numbers and  finding factor pairs. We have finished our first Geography lesson and learnt about what human migration is and what types of migration exist (National and International Migration). In art we used a base colour and mixed white and black to make different tints and shades. The children have been fascinated with our Science and the weather really helped us this week as we were able to use the snow as part of an experiment! 

Week Commencing 8th December

During English, we have been reading our last book of the term called 'Yule Lads'. A lovely festive book which introduces some interesting trolls! We have been exploring reasons why the trolls are good and why they are bad.  We then wrote a discussion text based on what we discover about the trolls and their mischievous ways. In maths, we have been looking at strategies for learning the 9, 7 and 11 times tables. We have also used Numberlink boards to help us retain these facts. To get ready for our delicious Christmas meal, we made some Christmas pudding hats! The children had lots of fun in P.E and we finished our unit on tag rugby. They enjoyed using all the skills in a final match of tag rugby. Science was a fantastic first lesson to study States of Matter with a focus on solids. They looked at whether a solid could be poured, whether it changed shape and if a solid can be compressed. A wonderful week of learning!

Week Commencing 1st December

The children have worked hard all week and we have now finished the book, 'Oliver and the Seawigs'. We finished the English unit off by writing a newspaper article about the character Iris and how she saved the day by stopping the horrible island Thurlstone from winning the best island competition. During maths, the children have learnt strategies for remembering the 3, 6 and 9 times tables. For the 9 times table we looked at how we could times by 10 and then subtract the factor. We finished off our History unit on the Roman's by writing a short essay. The children also enjoyed watching the KS1 Christmas play. As well as this, we have started singing carols ready for our church visit during the last week of term. Thank you for your continued support with the children's times tables homework. There has been a lot of improvement and this has contributed to their succes