Shwmae a Croeso i Ddosbarth Cedrwydd, Blwyddyn 4 & 5.

Hello and Welcome to Cedars class, Year 4 & 5.

 

I am Mr Cottle and this year, Dosbarth Cedrwydd is a mixed year 4 & 5 class. 

It’s been a great start to the year already and the PS2/3 pupils have been enjoying the benefits of the New Curriculum for Wales throughout the school.

 

The year began with the topic Pwer I’r bobl/Power to the People, which has given pupils an insight into renewable energy sources and has highlighted the importance of creating sustainable energy for the benefit of future generations. Pupils use a wide range of research skills to enhance their understanding of historical events using sources such as text books and the internet which, in turn, develops their digital skills. The Science and Technology area of learning plays is developed throughout this topic as well as discovering energy sources in different parts of the world through Geographical research. Music of the Sixties as well as artists and fashion of this time influence our creative and expressive arts learning. Religious Education will focus on Holy Books.

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Our Spring topic is Gwlad! Gwlad! which has a great emphasis on how great it is to be Welsh in a very unique country full of beautiful and interesting cultures. Our pupils have a great time during Dydd Miwsig Cymru listening and reviewing many different Welsh music artists. We also celebrate our school Eisteddfod. It is always amazing to watch pupils participating in Welsh traditions such as Dawnsio Gwerin (Welsh folk dancing), and singing our spine-tingling Welsh national anthem, Mae Hên Wlad fy Nhadau. We also have an inspirational local hero who pops in when he can…the legendary former WRU & British & Irish Lions player Gareth (Alfie) Thomas CBE. Pupils learn about his life and how if you keep persisting and working hard on your dreams, you can achieve anything, Gareth is definitely an example of this. This topic also allows children to learn about different folk tales, ancient Welsh traditions as well as finding geographical information.

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We like taking advantage of educational visits such as The Principality Stadium, we continue working alongside the WRU to help produce educational resources. We visit our local library and have swimming lessons annually in Pyle pool. We also love taking advantage of Wales' historical places to visit too and have enjoyed going to St. Fagans and The Big Pit.

 

 

In year 4 and year 5, it’s extremely important to make sure that pupils practise their reading and times tables 'little and often' at home on a daily basis. Times tables will be the foundation of the work in these year groups. Pupils will need to have a solid grasp of times tables in order to help them with their multiplication, division, word problems, perimeter, area and time work, to name but a few. Without a decent knowledge of times tables, some of these maths topic will make things more difficult, when it really shouldn’t be, so please do keep practising!

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As for reading, year 4 and year 5 continually use technology to research our new topics, as well as skimming and scanning books found in our library. We practise a lot of comprehension work, which is all out about making sure we understand what we are reading and trying to use skimming skills to locate answers from a range of texts. As our topics become more complex as the school year progresses, our reading ability needs to keep up with more challenging pieces of reading, therefore daily reading practise at home will support your child with this.

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Hwb plays an important part in Dosbarth Cedrwydd pupils’ learning. There are so many amazing apps and software that is accessible to all, and we use these on a weekly basis. Your child has access to the HWB using their school log-in which they can also access at home. If you need any help in supporting your child accessing their account, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

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There are high expectations of behaviour and being independent in Year 4 and 5. Uniform is very important, as we are immensely proud to be part of the Afon Y Felin family. With that in mind, you are encouraged to wear your uniform daily.

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If you have any questions or need any support to help you with your child’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact the school for my assistance. Here’s to a brilliant year!

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                                                                                                   Mr Cottle