RPS Primary 4 Mr Chmiel by Ross Chmiel

Welcome to P4!

rosschmiel1 — 2026-08-11 14:31:29 UTC

I'm so happy to start off our wonderful new school year together!

Over the next few weeks, and across the year, I will be updating you here on all the fun things we are doing in P4.

The first thing to let you know about is P.E. We will be doing this on Mondays and Tuesdays each week. Could children please come into school in P.E. kit on those days.

I look forward to speaking with you more as the year goes on.

P.E. Days

rosschmiel1 — 2026-08-11 14:32:56 UTC

P.E. will be on a Monday and a Tuesday every week. Could children please come into school in P.E. kit on these days.

Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-11 15:47:06 UTC

This term, we will continue to develop reading fluency, comprehension and confidence through group reading and our class novel. In writing, children will create factual reports linked to our Human Body topic and develop imaginative stories, with a focus on characters, settings, punctuation, spelling, editing and handwriting. We will also build confidence in listening, discussion and presenting to others.

Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-11 15:47:41 UTC

We will be developing understanding of place value to 1,000 and building confidence with addition and subtraction using a range of mental and written strategies. Children will also explore measure, including length, mass and capacity, and develop information-handling skills by collecting, organising and presenting data using tables, graphs and diagrams.

Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-11 15:48:41 UTC

Our main interdisciplinary topic this term is The Human Body. Children will learn about the skeleton, major organs, healthy lifestyles, the five senses, germs and disease. There will be lots of practical investigations, including exploring how our senses work, measuring changes in breathing and heart rate, and learning how we can help prevent the spread of infection.

Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-11 15:49:26 UTC

Our Health and Wellbeing work will focus on recognising and managing emotions, developing positive relationships and creating a safe, inclusive classroom community. In PE, children will develop fitness, movement, throwing, catching, striking and fielding skills through individual, partner and team activities, with an emphasis on cooperation and fair play.

Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-11 15:50:21 UTC

Children will explore the work of different artists and develop their own creative skills through activities including self-portraits and artwork inspired by Edinburgh from a child's point of view. Later in the term, we will also create Christmas artwork and develop confidence in singing and performing for an audience.

Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-11 15:52:13 UTC

Religious and Moral Education
This term, we will explore Christianity through stories and discussion. Children will learn about belonging and community, caring and sharing through Bible stories such as the Good Samaritan, Moses and the Ten Commandments, before exploring the Christmas story and how Christians celebrate Christmas.

French
In French, children will build confidence using simple vocabulary and phrases as part of everyday classroom routines. We will focus particularly on the days of the week, months of the year, simple questions and instructions, using songs, games and short conversations to make learning enjoyable.

Technologies
Children will develop their confidence using digital technology to support learning across the curriculum. They will learn to create and save documents, use iPads to produce artwork and create digital presentations linked to our Human Body topic.

Measure- outdoor learning

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-16 11:12:30 UTC

P4 have been applying their learning about measuring length to some active outdoor learning today. Working in pairs they have been finding things in nature and using different measurements in cm and m to assess their actual length.

Forest Time

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-16 18:09:58 UTC

Together with P3 and P4/3 we enjoyed some time in the forest. Building dens, hammocks, and swings. A great opportunity to get outside and work and play together.

The brain

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-17 13:01:24 UTC

Today P4 have been learning all about the human brain, its main structures, functions, and how to keep it protected.

21.09.26 Spelling Homework

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-21 07:08:59 UTC

Please find attached this week's spelling words. I'll update more information about how we will do homework this year as soon as I can.

Adding multiple numbers

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-22 09:58:26 UTC

P4 did really well today when learning new methods for adding together multiple digits. We discussed breaking it down into different steps, and finding friendly numbers. The best feedback from a child today was “Oh! This is much easier than I thought it was going to be!”

Botanics Palm House

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-23 16:54:29 UTC

We enjoyed a live lesson today from the Royal Botanical Gardens discussing their reopened Palm Houses and their historical roots.

Home Learning - Term 1

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-25 06:50:37 UTC

We are now using one grid per term for Home Learning. Please look over this, some learning will be a little and often task (like reading), some will be weekly (new spelling words), and some can be done over the course of the term or whenever suits you and your child.

This message and grid will be pinned at the top, along with the spelling tasks you may choose to do. Each week's new spelling words will appear under this post on a Monday.

Homework jotters have been handed out and put in school bags today (28th Sept).

Spelling Tasks

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-25 06:54:08 UTC

Choose one of these tasks to help with spelling home learning each week.

28th September Spelling Words

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-25 06:55:28 UTC

Please find attached the spelling words for this week. Your child will know which words they are learning this week.

Subtraction with borrowing

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-29 10:45:30 UTC

This week P4 is looking at increasingly large subtraction sums which involve borrowing.

Painting

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-29 10:47:29 UTC

P4 have been painting for the first time this session. Lots of fun to be had creating autumn trees.

Digestive system

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-29 10:49:29 UTC

P4 have been learning about the human digestive system. We have started off by learning about all the different parts of the body that make it up.

Yoga

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-30 10:26:36 UTC

P4 enjoyed some classroom yoga today. A great way to stretch, work on general fitness, and to relax!

BBC 500 Words

rosschmiel1 — 2026-09-30 13:10:43 UTC

Today we started on our journey to have every child in P4 write a creative story for the BBC 500 Words competition.

French

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-06 18:42:02 UTC

Today P4 created Snap cards to help them learn the names of different parts of the body in French. This was connected to the heads, shoulders, knees, and toes song which they have also been learning.

Measurement conversion

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-06 18:43:53 UTC

Today we learned how to convert from millimetres in centimetres and vice versa.

Planning creative stories

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-06 18:47:24 UTC

We have been studying the story mountain method of planning our creative stories. This has come in very handy for helping build the best stories possible for the BBC 500 Words competition.

Edinburgh Through a Child’s Lens

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-12 14:12:32 UTC

I was very proud to visit the exhibition that our wonderful class contributed to. I loved seeing how passionate P4 got about improving their community and how much they enjoyed having their voices listened to. The exhibition is on all week at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and is free to access. Please come along if you can.

Details of the below exhibit

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-12 14:41:36 UTC

Im sorry, an email was written and was supposed to go out to you all about the event I’ve posted about below. Please see the details here. It’s free to attend the exhibition at Edinburgh Futures Institute at Middle Meadow Walk, Edinburgh. On all week. My apologies for the fact that the email didn’t make it to you. Hope some of you are able to attend and see P4’s fabulous work.

Pencil drawing

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-22 14:10:56 UTC

Over the last two days P4 have been learning how to draw the human eye through careful observation. They explored pencil sketching and shading, using line, shape, and tone to add detail and create light and shadow.

First drafts

rosschmiel1 — 2026-10-22 14:13:53 UTC

P4 have written most of their first drafts of their competition stories and have now written their introduction, build up, and problem/dilemma.