Welcome to Redwood 4!
2024 - 2025
Miss Purdy/Mrs Hill - Class Teachers
Miss Smith - Student Teacher
Mrs Williams/Mrs Finch/Mrs Crosby - Teaching Assistants
Summer 2
Living Things and their Habitats
It was certainly a hot one! From sprints to sack races, the energy and enthusiasm were incredible! Your determination, teamwork, and resilience made us so proud. It was fantastic to see everyone supporting each other and having so much fun along the way. Well done Year 4!
Despite the weather, Redwood 4 did not let it dampen their spirits as they enjoyed an ice cream, courtesy of our local ice cream man, Mr G.
Redwood 4 have enjoyed completing their Design Technology topic where they have been investigating lever and linkages and the movement of different mechanisms. They created these amazing interactive posters (complete with a moving mechanism part) and included their informative leaflets about sea pollution (created as part of their English and computing work).
Year 4 have enjoyed making pizzas this week. First we tasted a range of pizzas to find our favourite toppings. Then we designed our own pizza before making our own, using pitta bread as a base for a cheaper and easier option. Finally we evaluated them ...... our conclusion? They were rather tasty
As part of our science learning, we went on a plant hunt around the school grounds in search of different types of plants. We found lots of different types of plants including: deciduous, evergreen, flowering, non-flowering, fruit bearing and mosses.
Redwood 4 were extremely lucky to have Mr Bailey working with them as a reward for winning their ‘Battle of the Bands’ times tables tournament. He showed them how to use micro:bits, along with their knowledge of electrical circuits, to create working ‘electric’ guitars.
Year 4 Rocks Out at Times Tables Rock Stars HQ!
A fortunate group of Year 4 pupils embarked on an unforgettable adventure to Bedford, home of the Times Tables Rock Stars headquarters!
From the moment they crossed the threshold, the excitement was electric. Greeted like rock royalty by the incredible team at Maths Circle, the children were whisked away on an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour. They met the brilliant minds who engineer this dynamic resource and even had the thrilling opportunity to collaborate on designing their very own rock star characters!
It was a phenomenal chance for the pupils to witness first-hand how a digital product they use daily at school is transformed from concept to reality. They met the dedicated individuals who make maths not just fun and engaging, but genuinely cool. Highlights of their day included an interactive character design workshop, exploring the office's epic, inspiring artwork, and gaining insight into how the Times Tables Rock Stars website is continuously developed and refined.
The children's conduct was exemplary; they represented Birchwood with immense pride and, most importantly, had an absolute blast. As one pupil enthusiastically declared: 'That was the best school trip ever!'
Summer 1
Vikings
Redwood 4 had lots of fun participating in a cricket enrichment day. During their session, they were taught a series of bowling, batting and fielding skills before taking part in a mini tournament.
Redwood 4 enjoyed taking part in Birchwood’s annual sponsored walk/run. Everyone showed great resilience and sportsmanship throughout the event.
Well done to Paddy for being our overall Dojo winner this half term. A well deserved win for someone who always works incredibly hard, whilst showing consideration and respect in and out of the classroom. As a reward, he got to choose one of the brilliant books from our Birchwood Vending machine.
Redwood 4 enjoyed finishing their topic on Viking Britain by taking part in another Now Press Play immersive audio experience. During their experience, they heard tales of other Vikings travelling to England to start a new life. Led by the village headman Grim, some of their companions were more intent on pillaging rather than settling alongside their Anglo-Saxon neighbours. When their sister was captured by King Alfred, they were pulled into the fray and had to decide whether war or peace would prevail.
Year 4 enjoyed a visit from Ben Harding, creator of the Winning With Numbers learning platform. He was really impressed as he watched us in action, demonstrating some of our super number fluency.
Spring 2
Anglo-Saxons
To support their understanding of Anglo Saxon and Viking life within our local area, Year 4 visited Tamworth Castle. During their trip, they met an archaeologist and learned about archaeological practices and object handling. They investigated what Saxons left behind for us to find, which helps us to understand how they lived. They even had a chance to try out their skills as a trainee archaeologist by retrieving and cataloguing finds from sample boxes. They also compared the differences and similarities between Saxon and Viking soldiers by learning about the differing tactics used by each side. They even had an opportunity to role play being Saxons or Vikings by practicing their battle cries in the shield wall. During a tour of the castle grounds, they were lucky enough to view some actual pieces discovered from the Staffordshire Hoard.
Redwood have really enjoyed their two forest school sessions this half term. They have learned how to use a bow saw, trim bushes with secateurs and have revisited their fire lighting skills. They have loved using the forest school area, including the mud kitchen, the swing and the reading chair.
To begin their new science topic about ‘Animals Including Humans’, Redwood 4 had some fun learning about their teeth. They looked at the different types of teeth they had, while exploring their functions. They then looked at the causes of tooth decay and how they can look after their teeth effectively before setting up a scientific ‘eggsperiment’ to investigate what can damage our teeth.
We enjoyed taking a visit to Polesworth library, where we explored the many books displayed, took part in some story time and then relaxed with some reading for pleasure.
Redwood 4 really enjoyed taking part in ‘The Biggest Football Event’ where they took part in a variety of football inspired activities and learned lots of new skills. This was a brilliant opportunity for both established footballers and those new to the sport.
To celebrate World Book Day, we dressed up as our favourite book characters. We took part in ‘The Great Big World Book Day Footy and Booky Quiz 2025’, an online event by ‘Football School’ authors Ben Lyttleton and Alex Bellos. We also enjoyed taking part in some ‘Buddy Reading’ with Year 2, where we shared some of our own adventure stories that we had written and recited our poem ‘There was an Old Man with a Beard’ by Edward Lear. Finally, we loved experiencing some DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) which gave us lots of opportunities to read for pleasure.
Spring 1
Misty Mountains, Winding Rivers
After researching facts about the artist Claude Monet’s life and work, we experimented with some of his painting techniques including hatching, cross hatching, stippling, dabbing, dry brushing and sgraffito (scratching), before creating our own version of his famous artwork ‘The Japanese Footbridge’.
Redwood 4 enjoyed their river study trip to Coombe Abbey Park where they took part in some pond dipping, river speed investigating and orienteering around the park site.
To celebrate Number Day, we started off by exploring the numbers on our ‘Dress up for Digits’ clothing to create a variety of ‘human’ equations. We also looked at the money we had collected as our contribution towards the NSPCC and explored different ways of counting, grouping and classifying. Our maths learning was then inspired by the story ‘The Rabbit Problem’ by Emily Gravett. We explored the book’s theme of the Fibonacci sequence and investigated where we could see these special numbers within a range of fruit and vegetables. We also completed some real-life mathematical problems involving:
- Reading scales to find temperatures
- Looking at multiplication patterns to create recipes
- Using estimation and time intervals when taking part in some ‘rabbitercise’ activities.
What a mathstastic day of problem solving and number fun we had!
As part of National Storytelling Week, Redwood 4 took part in a live storytelling workshop with children’s author, Tolo Okogwu, where they helped to create a superhero inspired story.
Redwood 4 enjoyed applying some of their cookery skills to make a delicious French dish of Ratatouille. They used the claw and bridge technique to slice a range of vegetables, blanched tomatoes and carefully peeled the skin, grated and crushed garlic and then heated the vegetables in oil until soft.
We had a really interesting visit from one of our governors Mr Potts. He came to share with us his experience of climbing up Island Peak, a mountain in Nepal, which is close to Mount Everest. At just over 6000m, we heard about the preparation, team work, dangers and safety equipment needed for such an expedition. We had lots of questions to ask too. It really got us thinking, and helped bring our mountain topic to life!
In Geography, Redwood 4 have been using atlases and a (giant) world map to locate some of the tallest mountains and longest rivers in the world.
Autumn 2
Take One Author - Michael Morpurgo
There was lots of excitement this afternoon in Redwood class as they were presented with their Winter Book Gifts. A huge thank you to Team Birchwood who work hard to make this possible through their many fundraising events.
We have really enjoyed completing our science topic about ‘Sound’. We have explored making sounds, investigated how sound travels, experimented with making a soundproofed studio, investigated how sound changes with distance and explored patterns between volume and pitch.
Years 3 and 4 delivered a very festive performance of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
We had lots of fun creating and decorating gingerbread to sell at our school Christmas Fair. We used our weighing, mixing, rolling and cutting skills to create them. Finally, we got to eat them and they were delicious!
We really enjoying combining computing skills with our Design Technology project to create some amazing Micro:bit Christmas decorations. Our decorations were not only designed with a festive theme, but also contained LED systems to create images and messages.
Year 4 took us on an advent adventure as part of their wonderful class assembly based on ‘Christmas in Numbers’. We went on a journey learning about lots of Christmas themed numerical facts while also meeting Aussie Santa, Ebenezer Scrooge, Oliver Cromwell and grumpy Mr Grumble.
Year 4 really enjoyed working with Mr Bailey during his visit to Birchwood. They looked at using Microbits to design and create an LED system which could be used as a piece of wearable technology to support their road safety.
Autumn 1
Roman Britain
To finish their topic on Roman Britain, Redwood 4 took part in a Now Press Play (immersive audio) experience. As the child of a Roman general, their father is taken prisoner by Queen Boudicca’s army. They had to join the Roman army to try and rescue him. But would they succeed?
Redwood 4 showed off their artistic skills by creating these amazing coil design clay pots, inspired by the Romans and ceramic artist Elizabeth Fritsch.
Redwood 4 have really enjoyed their science topic on ‘Electricity’. They constructed a range of simple series circuits, investigated common electrical conductors and insulators and ‘debugged’ circuits to make them work.
Redwood 4 enjoyed putting their cooking skills to the test by creating a fantastic fish pie. They practised their claw and bridge slicing techniques, peeled boiled eggs, grated carrots and lemon zest and mashed potatoes.
Redwood 4, were treated to their first tea party of the year to celebrate meeting their reading target as a whole class. Thank you to Mrs Webb for entertaining us with extracts from the book ‘The World’s Worst Children’ by David Walliams.
Year 4 had a brilliant day working with artist Darrell Wakelam to create another incredible piece of artwork.
As part of this year’s National Poetry Day, we were visited by poet Ash Dickinson again, who shared his love of poetry and supported us with writing some poems too. He shared some of his poetry with us, which we really enjoyed listening to and then he helped us create our own poems. To celebrate the day, we also dressed in clothes that represented us as an individual.
After receiving a letter from Julius Caesar, Redwood 4 set out to prove that they were the bravest, fiercest and most intelligent of warriors in order to earn their place in the proudest and most professional army in the world. They took part in long-distance running, marching distances, spear throwing and chariot racing during our 'Roman Bootcamp' experience. They later became soldiers for the afternoon and practiced getting into different formations ready for battle. Finally, they visited Birchwood’s Roman Museum where they were able to explore a range of real ancient Roman artefacts. These included fragments of various ancient pots, Roman coins, an oil lamp, bronze brooch and an iron stylus.
