Welcome to Maple’s class page! Here you will find out about all the exciting things we get up to.

Autumn 1

This half term, we’ve been fortunate to have our PE sessions delivered by Mr. Elliott from the Newcastle United Foundation. During these sessions, we’ve worked hard to develop our dribbling, aiming, and teamwork skills. In music, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to learn how to play the ukulele with Mr. Langford. We’ve learned how to read music, play various chords, and even create our own piece of music. In RE, we explored the religion of Hinduism, focusing specifically on the festival of Diwali. We discovered that during Diwali, people decorate their homes, shops, and public places with bright and colorful Diva lamps. We were excited to make our own Diva lamps out of salt dough, and we couldn’t wait to take them home!

Autumn 2

This half term, we’ve been fortunate to continue our singing lessons with Miss Parkins. We’ve worked really hard on preparing for our Christmas carol service, which we performed beautifully for our parents just before Christmas. In Science, we focused on how the digestive system works and why it is essential for our bodies. We worked in groups to draw and label the digestive system, discussing the role of each part. We were also lucky to have a trip to Beamish, where we participated in an exciting electricity workshop. We explored how electricity is produced in three different ways and had fun touring the homes, school, and 1950s town. We even had the chance to explore the brand-new cinema!

In Geography and DT lessons, we learned about why food comes from different parts of the world and why some fruits and vegetables are only available in certain seasons. We discussed the benefits of eating seasonal foods and the environmental impact of importing food. As part of our learning, we developed our cutting and peeling skills by practising on various fruits and vegetables, always keeping safety rules in mind.

Spring 1

We kicked off the half term with an exciting Careers Week! We were visited by Norman, a firefighter in the RAF, and Natasha and Lee, who run their own business. The children were fascinated to learn about the differences between an RAF firefighter and a local firefighter, and they especially enjoyed hearing about Norman’s experiences—he even featured on BBC News! Maple Class also explored the world of entrepreneurship, creating their own smoothie shops as part of NatWest’s MoneySense workshop. Budding business owners in the making!

Our PE sessions with Mr. Elliott have continued to be a hit. We’ve been developing our hockey skills, focusing on how to control and dribble the ball with precision. All that hard work paid off—we’ve scored some fantastic goals!

In Science, we’ve been learning all about electricity. The children have identified common appliances that run on electricity and have been busy constructing simple circuits. We’ve investigated how a lamp lights up in a series circuit and explored the importance of having a complete circuit with a battery. Budding scientists have been in their element!

Spring 2

What a busy half term we have had in Year 4. 

In PE, we've been dancing our hearts out with Boogie Bounce! The children thoroughly enjoyed the sessions, which gave them the chance to sing and move along to some of their favourite songs—all while keeping fit and healthy. A highlight was a special visit from an orchestra, where the musicians spoke about the importance of music and introduced us to some unusual instruments we had never seen before. They concluded their visit by performing beautiful pieces, including a crowd-pleasing rendition of the Harry Potter theme tune!

In Geography, we've been exploring our local area and learning how it was influenced and adapted during Roman times. We've compared the similarities and differences between Rome and Newcastle, using our atlases to identify both physical and human features in each city.

In DT, we’ve been putting our creativity and construction skills to the test by designing and building castles. Our aim was to create structures that are strong and sturdy enough to protect our city—just like in the days of old!

We wrapped up our half term with a magical trip to the woods for an Easter egg hunt! The children had a wonderful time exploring the outdoors in search of hidden treats. We toasted hot cross buns over a fire, designed our very own Easter eggs, and to everyone’s delight—we even had a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny!

Summer 1

This half term in Science, we have been exploring sound waves and learning how vibrations travel through our ears to help us hear. We've carried out exciting experiments to investigate pitch and frequency, and we've even observed vibrations in action!

We've continued our singing sessions with Miss Parkins and have been putting all our learning into practice as we work hard towards our end-of-term performance for our parents. It's been a fun and musical half term!

This half term in Computing, we have been using a video editing app to create our very own book trailers! Our focus story has been Jack and the Beanstalk, and we’ve worked hard to bring it to life on screen.

We began by strategically planning all the elements of our trailers, from storyboarding scenes to designing our own scenery and characters. Our goal was to capture the excitement of the story and persuade others to read it—just like a real movie trailer!

We’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy Forest School sessions this half term, and they’ve been a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills in the great outdoors.

Throughout our sessions, we’ve developed our teamwork while building dens, hammocks, and even swings. We’ve also had fun playing outdoor games and creating beautiful pieces of art using natural resources.

To finish off our Forest School experience, we learned how to use flint and steel to safely start our own fire—an exciting highlight! We then roasted marshmallows and enjoyed a warm cup of hot chocolate around the fire.

We had a fantastic trip to The Forge this half term, where we continued our learning about the significant local figure, Coffee Johnny. During our visit, we had the opportunity to see his gravestone and deepen our understanding of his life and legacy.

An expert guide showed us around The Forge and shared lots of fascinating facts about the history of Winlaton. It was a brilliant way to bring our local history topic to life and connect with the past in a meaningful way.