Carr Mill Primary School#teamcarrmillstronger togther

Aspen (Year 3 & Year 4): Blog items

Aspen Spring 2: Week 3, by Miss McCahey

Date: 13th Mar 2026 @ 1:56pm

Another amazing week for Aspen

Well done to everyone in Aspen for their continued hard work!

We have all worked very hard this week on all of our tests, well done!

Aspen class has had their best ever attendance this week, so were treated to a lovely cupcake on Friday as treat.

In history, we have had lots of fun learning about English monarchs, can you remember the song?

Next week, we will be starting our art lessons.

 

Check out our pics below!!

 

 

Aspen: Spring 2 - Week 1, by Miss McCahey

Date: 27th Feb 2026 @ 3:36pm

Another amazing week for Aspen

Well done to everyone in Aspen for their continued hard work!

 

English

This week in English, we have started reading How to Train Your Dragon. We have been exploring the rich descriptive language used by the author, focusing on how characters, settings and dragons are brought to life through exciting word choices. Using this as inspiration, we will be planning and writing our own stories based on the book, thinking carefully about description, atmosphere and adventurous story openings.

 

Maths

In Maths, we have started our new topic on fractions by exploring equivalent fractions. We have been learning how different fractions can represent the same value and using visual models such as fraction walls, diagrams and practical resources to help us see these relationships clearly. This has helped us build a strong foundation and develop confidence as we begin our work with fractions.

 

Science

Continuing with our Forces and Magnets unit, we learned how compasses work and explored the Earth’s magnetic field. We discussed how magnets can attract and repel each other, depending on which poles are facing. This led us to some great scientific questions — including whether all magnets are the same.

To investigate this, we carried out an experiment to test the strength of different magnets by seeing how many paper clips each one could hold. We carefully observed, counted and compared our results, discovering that magnets can vary in strength even if they look similar. This was a fun and exciting way to develop our investigation and observation skills. 🧲✨

 

 

French

In French, we have been learning vocabulary linked to sports and hobbies. We have been practising how to name different activities and talk about the sports and hobbies we enjoy. Through speaking, listening and simple sentence work, we are becoming more confident using our French language skills in a fun and practical way.

 

 

 

Next week...

World book day on Thursday!

 

 

 

Aspen: Spring 1 - Week 6, by Miss McCahey

Date: 22nd Feb 2026 @ 2:37pm

Another amazing week for Aspen

Well done to everyone in Aspen for their continued hard work!

 

English

This week, we have been reading The Manfish and learning all about the incredible life of Jacques Cousteau. We discovered how he became a famous ocean explorer, inventor and filmmaker, and how he co-invented the Aqua-Lung so people could breathe underwater and explore the sea for longer. His documentaries helped people around the world understand and protect marine life. Using this book as inspiration, we have been writing our own biographies about Cousteau, making sure to include key events from his life in chronological order and write in the third person. To help us develop our writing even further, we have also been exploring the life of David Attenborough, comparing how both men dedicated their lives to educating others about the natural world and inspiring people to care for our planet.

Maths

In Maths, we have continued developing our multiplication and division skills and have challenged ourselves by moving from 2-digit numbers to multiplying and dividing 3-digit numbers. We have been using a range of strategies to support our understanding, including partitioning numbers into hundreds, tens and ones, using counters to represent amounts practically, and applying place value charts and part-whole models to help us visualise how numbers can be broken apart and recombined. These methods have helped us build confidence and deepen our understanding of how multiplication and division work with larger numbers.

 

Science

In Science, we have started our exciting new topic of ‘Forces and Magnets’. We began by exploring simple forces such as pushes and pulls, and even had fun pretending to use superpowers to move a ball without touching it! We then investigated friction and learned how different surfaces can affect how objects move. To test this, we carried out an experiment where we rolled a toy car down a ramp and changed the surface each time. We discovered that felt created the most friction, slowing the car down the most, while plastic had the least friction and allowed the car to travel further. Finally, we explored a range of magnets, looking at their different sizes and shapes, and tested a variety of classroom materials to find out which ones were magnetic.

 

Beliefs and Values

In Beliefs and Values, we have continued exploring the religion of Islam and learning about the Five Pillars, which are the key foundations that guide Muslims in their daily lives. We discussed why these pillars are important and how they help to shape faith, actions and community. To finish our topic, we reflected on our own lives and created our own “pillars” — thinking carefully about the values, people and beliefs that support us and help to lift us up every day.

 

Children's Mental Health Week.

We have had an action-packed week celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week! We started with a fantastic assembly from Mrs Alexander, where we explored different ways we can look after our mental health and wellbeing. We also learned about how to keep ourselves safe online and make sensible choices on the internet. As part of the week, we took part in a live BBC lesson, focusing on what it means to belong and how we can help others feel included. We challenged ourselves to complete a random act of kindness by writing and delivering postcards to staff around school who always help and support us. To finish the week, we even had a rare opportunity to break the rules and express ourselves in our own unique ways — it was wonderful to see everyone’s creativity and confidence shining through!

 

Next term...

Maths - Fractions

English- How to Train a Dragon

History- A street through time...

 

 

 

Aspen: Spring 1, Week 3, by Miss McCahey

Date: 26th Jan 2026 @ 6:20pm

Another amazing week for Aspen

Well done to everyone in Aspen for their continued hard work!

 

English

This week, we have been reading a reimagined version of The Spider and the Fly and had lots of fun predicting what might happen to the poor fly as the story unfolds. We explored the different characters in the poem and discussed their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. As part of our learning, we focused on how writers create strong characterisation through speech and how carefully chosen dialogue can help move the story along and build tension. We really enjoyed sharing our ideas and hearing different predictions from the class. We can’t wait for next week, when we will start to perform the poem and bring the characters to life!

 

Maths

In maths, we have been learning about the area and perimeter of rectilinear shapes. We began by using cubes to help us measure the area and understand how shapes can be covered without gaps or overlaps. This helped us to see how area works in a practical way. After that, we drew different rectilinear shapes in our books and practised working out both the area and the perimeter. We talked about our methods, shared our ideas with our classmates, and helped each other when problems were tricky. Using practical resources and drawing the shapes really helped us to build our confidence and enjoy our learning in maths.

 

Geography

In geography, we have continued to learn about Florida, focusing on its climate, how people adapt to living there, and how it compares to London. We looked carefully at different sets of data and discovered that Florida gets more rain than London, even though it is much warmer. We talked about why this might be and how the climate affects the way people live. After this, we worked hard in groups to create a final presentation, where we taught each other everything we had learnt. We enjoyed working as a team and sharing our knowledge with the class.

À la ferme! This week we have started our exciting new topic, “At the Farm”, where the children have been developing their skills in talking about farmyard animals and learning all about the sounds they make. Through stories, songs, role play, and interactive activities, the children have been exploring a range of animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and chickens. They have enjoyed matching animals to their noises, joining in with animal sound games, and using new vocabulary to describe what they can see and hear. This topic has also encouraged lots of discussion, listening, and turn-taking, helping to build confidence in speaking and communication. It has been wonderful to see the children so engaged and enthusiastic as they learn about life on the farm.

 

Next week...

Maths - multiplication and division

English-performing the Spider and the Fly

Developing our coding skills with Code Studio

DT- Let's go fly a kite...

 

 

Aspen Spring 1 - Week 1, by Miss McCahey

Date: 9th Jan 2026 @ 3:40pm

Welcome back Aspen

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a well-earned rest. It has been so lovely to see your smiles and ready for another great half term!

 

English

Come with us to explore the mysterious forest that we have gotten lost in, as we have been reading Anthony Browne's 'Into the Forest'. We've had lots of fun exploring the clues and mystery objects to help us predict the story. We have especially had fun exploring the fasinating illustrations and spotting the different fairytales hidden between the pages. Using the clues, illustrations and fairytales, we have now started to write our own setting descriptions for getting lost in the forest!

 

Maths

Finishing up from last term, we have delved into measuring capacity and volume, developing our understanding of how much liquid different containers can hold. The children have been learning how to convert between litres and millilitres, using activities to help them visualise and compare amounts. We have also practised adding and subtracting measurements, solving a range of problems to build confidence and accuracy. Through hands-on experiments, measuring activities, and word problems, the children have strengthened their mathematical reasoning and enjoyed applying their skills in real-life contexts.

French

À la ferme! This week we have started our exciting new topic, “At the Farm”, where the children have been developing their skills in talking about farmyard animals and learning all about the sounds they make. Through stories, songs, role play, and interactive activities, the children have been exploring a range of animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and chickens. They have enjoyed matching animals to their noises, joining in with animal sound games, and using new vocabulary to describe what they can see and hear. This topic has also encouraged lots of discussion, listening, and turn-taking, helping to build confidence in speaking and communication. It has been wonderful to see the children so engaged and enthusiastic as they learn about life on the farm.

Geography

We have started our exciting new topic, “North America,” with quite a magical twist by exploring Disney World’s Magic Kingdom! The children were immediately captivated as we used maps and keys to plan the best route around the theme park, thinking carefully about where to go first and how to navigate between different attractions – starting with Pirates of the Caribbean, of course! We watched videos of the spectacular fireworks and colourful parades, giving us a real insight into what makes Disney such a popular destination and why it attracts tourists from all over the world.

To develop our geographical skills further, we used survey data to create a choropleth map, illustrating the different countries that visitors travel from. This helped us understand global connections and how people from many parts of the world visit North America. The children have shown great enthusiasm and curiosity throughout, and we can’t wait to continue learning more about North America and the amazing places it has to offer.

 

 
 

Next week...

Maths week - check out the awesome competition on Seesaw

Visiting the French markets for fruits and vegtables...

Developing our coding skills with Code Studio

 

 

Aspen Autumn 2 Week 7, by Miss McCahey

Date: 17th Dec 2025 @ 2:28pm

Well done Aspen on an amazing half term - Hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a well earned rest!

 

Carol Service

Well done to all of the amazing singers for our carol service, I think all of ur rehearsals paid off! A huge thank you to everyone at home who came along and supported our wonderful children. A special well done to our class readers!!

 

Christmas Party

We had a fab time having our class Christmas party - lots of games, dancing and espcially cake!

D.T

We made our final designs which all told a story from the Victorian Era. From bikes and trains, to crowns, dresses and postboxes, the children blew us away with their fab sewing skills! Check out the pictures below.

A special visitor...

We had a very special visitor in Aspen today, we might even see him again on Christmas Eve...

 
 

Thank you for being superstars this half term!

 

 

Aspen Autumn 2 - Week 6, by Miss McCahey

Date: 14th Dec 2025 @ 5:12pm

Another great week for Aspen!

 

Norton Priory

We had a fantastic day out on our history trip to Norton Priory! We travelled back in time to the Victorian era and took part in lots of exciting activities.

In the morning, we enjoyed making Victorian crafts. We created wooden peg dolls, thaumatropes, Christmas cards, and cornucopias. It was great fun using our hands and learning how children might have spent their time in the past.

After all that hard work, we enjoyed a delicious lunchtime together. Then we had some free time to explore the museum, where we discovered many interesting objects and learned more about life long ago.

To finish the day, we met the Victorian Butler, who led us in some traditional Victorian parlour games. We took part in a carousel of activities, including guess the object, helping to set the table for a Christmas Day feast, dressing up in Victorian clothes, and making some lovely chalk art.

We all had a wonderful time and learned so much about Victorian life. It was a trip we will remember for a long time! 😊

 

English:

In our English lessons, we have been reading The Snow Dragon and exploring the characteristics of the Twolegs and the Fire Dragons. We discussed what they look like, how they behave, and what makes them different from one another. This helped us understand the story better and use descriptive language in our own writing.

It wouldn't be Christmas without a John Lewis advert, and so we have also been watching the classic Edgar the Dragon story! We have carefully created our own class example and can't wait to finish it!

Welly Walk!

Another amazing welly walk! It was so wonderful to see everyone’s festive outfits, which really added to Friday’s fun. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed and helped make it such a special day! 🎄👢

D.T

In our DT lessons, we have explored a wide range of textiles, from clothes and curtains to even the Bayeux Tapestry! We discussed how textiles can tell a story, and this inspired us to plan our own story designs all about the Victorian Era. We have begun planning our ideas and have even been practising our amazing sewing skills! 🧵✨

 
 

 

 

Next week in Aspen...

Year 4s have now finished their swimming sessions.

A busy week getting ready for Christmas

 

Aspen Autumn 2: week 4, by Miss McCahey

Date: 28th Nov 2025 @ 3:41pm

Another great week for Aspen!

Thank you so much for all of your lovely chocolate donations! Don't forget that the Christmas Bingo is next Thursday at 4pm.

Maths:

Our class has been learning how to add and subtract three-digit numbers, and everyone is growing more confident with each lesson. We practiced using place value strategies, number lines, and real-life examples to help make these bigger problems fun and easy to solve!

English:

We have continued our journey through Narnia this week, focusing on crafting rich and powerful descriptive language. As a class, we explored a range of fantasy settings and experimented with expanded noun phrases to bring our ideas to life. We also investigated different sentence structures and discussed how they can change the mood and impact of our writing. With all these skills combined, the children have now begun drafting the very first edition of their Star Writes—and the results are already looking magical!

History:

We created our own timelines this week and developed our understanding of chronology by placing familiar events in order and comparing their dates to 2025. We then learned about the incredible James Watt and explored how the invention of the steam engine changed lives forever. As part of our study of the Industrial Revolution, we discovered what life was like for children during this time—and the dangerous, unpleasant jobs many were expected to do. After learning about chimney sweeps, I think it’s safe to say none of us would have wanted that job!

Stop the block!!!

United Utilites treated us to a special assembly all about how we can protect our pipes! We did lots of fun experiments and event had to make a poo pledge!

 

Next week in Aspen...

Year 4s continue with their swimming lessons

Who was Anthony and why do we need to thank him?

What mischief does Edgar get himseld into?

Aspen Autumn Term 2 - Week 3, by Miss McCahey

Date: 19th Nov 2025 @ 8:13am

Another great week for Aspen!

Well done to all of the children for doing so well in our class assembly! You all worked so hard and really shone! Thank you so much to all of our families for helping your child learn their lines, finding costumes, and coming along to support them!!

 

Maths:

Our class has been learning how to add and subtract three-digit numbers, and everyone is growing more confident with each lesson. We practiced using place value strategies, number lines, and real-life examples to help make these bigger problems fun and easy to solve!

English:

This week, we joined the Pensieve children on their journey through the wardrobe to the magical, snowy land of Narnia! We discussed all of the different senses that Lucy would have experienced, and have started to describe Narnia. I wonder where Lucy's adventures will take us next...

History:

In history, we explored the Victorian era and learned how to place key events on a timeline. We compared Victorian life to more recent events and discovered where we fit in history, helping us see just how much the world has changed since Queen Victoria’s time.

Science:

Aspen class explored the amazing way that our ears work and how we are able to hear sounds. We all prepared and delivered our own presentations!

 

 

Next week in Aspen...

Year 4s continue with their swimming lessons

What is the steam engine and how did it change lives?

Creating our own scenery descriptions from the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe.

 

Aspen Autumn Term 2 - Week 2, by Miss McCahey

Date: 14th Nov 2025 @ 3:45pm

Another great week for Aspen

 

Maths:

This week, we streghend our rounding skills by tackling problems and solving them!

English:

We have started to make our very own non-fiction book all about the Victorians! We've explored the life in a Victorian school, the awful jobs poorer children would have had, and the wonderful ways in which Victorian inventions changed our lives.

Science:

In one very noisy lesson, we banged on drums, tambourines and even tested our vocal chords, all to better understand how sound is made by vibrations!

Anti-Bullying week

We had an action-packed week which helped us learn all about this year's theme for Anti-Bullying Week - The power of good. Starting with our odd sock shuffle on Monday, to our very intresting live assembly, we had some lovely insights on how we can all be a power for good. Finally, we made compliment cards to help spread the good around!

 

Next week in Aspen...

Rehearsals continue for our class assembly.

Year 4s continue with their swimming lessons

What was life like 150 years ago?

How many colours can you name in French?

A fun-packed week focusing on anti-bullying and friendship

VIP: Maths!

Aspen Autumn Term 2 - Week1, by Miss McCahey

Date: 7th Nov 2025 @ 8:07pm

Welcome back Aspen!

 I hope you all had a lovely half term and are ready for a great start back to school! We had such a great first term, filled with music, amazing art, learning about the body, and not to forget the Year 4's trip to Low Bank Ground. 

This week for Aspen...

 

Maths:

This week, the children revisited their understanding of place value, rounding numbers up and down, and counting in thousands. They had great fun playing a dice game where they rolled to create their own large numbers. Once their numbers were made, they challenged their partners to round them correctly and explain their reasoning!

English:

Last term, we created non-chronological reports all about the human body. This week, we have started researching Victorian life in preparation for writing our very own non-fiction books about the Victorians. We had lots of fun role-playing a Victorian school and practising using subordinating conjunctions to add more detail to our writing – we can’t wait to learn even more!

Science:

We have started to explore how sounds are created and what makes them different. To help with our learning, we went on a fun walk around school to listen carefully to all the different sounds we could hear. It was exciting to discover how many sounds are around us every day!

VIP

Well done to Olivia and Alyssa for being awarded Writing Champions! It was well deserved.

 

Next week in Aspen...

Rehearsals begin for our class assembly (21st November)

Year 4s continue with their swimming lessons

How does sound travel?

How many colours can you name in French?

A fun-packed week focusing on anti-bullying and friendship

VIP: Kindness and friendship.

#strongertogether

#teamcarrmill

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Kentmere Avenue,
Moss Bank, St Helens,
Merseyside, WA11 7PQ

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01744 678223 [email protected]

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