Singing assembly this week reminded me that we are a whisper away from December and all the excitements of Christmas.  It is such a magical time and the Christmas songs really do just add that sparkle.  As history lead, it always fills me with such joy when children are totally immersed and enthralled by history and a new topic.  In Year 4, this was no exception as we began exploring 'Does the past have a voice?' linked to our project and the Ancient Egyptians.  The children were transported to the Valley of the Kings in the year of 1922 and with torches in their hands cautiously crept down the long tunnel to the treasures of Tutankhamun.  As quickly as possible to avoid the possible traps and gases they returned to the heat of the desert to draw and make inferences about the Ancient Egyptian artefacts they had discovered.  The children are always mesmerised by this topic and fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians' beliefs in the afterlife. Linked to history, Prunus class have made their alarm systems, with the other classes to follow soon. In English, the children have continued their writing around the topic of Rosa Parks and the bus boycott.  This week they began their planning of a first person narrative of the events using complex sentences and subordinate clauses.   In maths, the children concluded the addition and subtraction unit with a quiz and begin length and measures at the end of the week.   I was very excited to discover that when looking at the heat maps on Times Table Rockstars that it is possible to compare heat maps from September to this week and WOW! What progress the children are making.   The children were buzzing when they could see the steps they are making to improve their tables knowledge.   Thank you for supporting your children as it really does make a difference.  (Times table homework is sent home on a Friday for completion and handing in the following Friday).  Best wishes Mrs Spence and the Y4 Team.