Hello, I'm Mrs Makinde and I teach in Goldfinch class. My favourite subjects are English and Computing. This is my third year of teaching and my first year teaching here at St John's. 

In my spare time, you'll find me reading and exploring outside with my two daughters.

 

Other staff working in our class are:

Mrs Gavriilidis – Class TA

Mr Hasker - (Fridays)

Key dates for this Term:
Wednesday 18th June - Sports Day

Our weekly timetable:

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Our learning this term: 

Goldfinch class will be swimming this term every Tuesday, in-line with our PE lessons. Please ensure your child brings a full swimming costume, towel, swim hat and goggles into school every Tuesday in a waterproof bag.

Maths 

For our final term in Year 4, we will start by recapping our timetable skills ahead of our Multiplication Check in Week 2. 

We will then be looking at shapes, naming different shapes and recognising different angles. Later in the term, Year 4 will look at statistics and make charts based on data. Before consolidating our learning at the end of the year, we will explore how to translate shapes on a grid. 

 

English 

Set in the mysterious seaside town of Eerie-on-Sea, Malamander follows the adventures of Herbert Lemon, a Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, and a bold girl named Violet Parma. When Violet asks Herbert to help her find her long-lost parents, the two are swept into a thrilling mystery involving a legendary sea creature—the Malamander. With strange characters, secrets, and plenty of suspense, this gripping story encourages imagination, curiosity, and resilience. 
We will be exploring the following genres: Narrative Writing: Creating their own adventure stories with developed characters, settings, and exciting plots. 

Poetry: Exploring rhythm, rhyme, and figurative language to write poems inspired by the sea, mystery, or characters from the book. 
Letters: Writing formal and informal letters, such as letters from one character to another, or from a detective’s point of view. 
Descriptive Writing: Using expanded noun phrases and powerful adjectives to describe scenes, settings, and emotions. 
Persuasive Writing: Arguing a point of view, such as persuading someone to believe in the Malamander or to visit Eerie-on-Sea. 

Curriculum 

This term we are beginning our topic about coastlines; Oh I do Like to be Beside the Seaside! We will be exploring the features of the coastlines, how they are changing and the effects on tourism.  

 

Science 

In Science we will be exploring Sound and how sound moves. We will be doing lots of experiments to see how sound vibrations work, the effect of volume on vibrations and how to change pitch. 

 

RE 

This term RE, we are continuing our big question of "What does it mean to be a Hindu in Britian today?"  We will be exploring the Hindu Dharma teachings about the creation story, and how they meditate.  

 

Learning at home for Goldfinch Class

• Reading expectation for year group
• Spelling shed
• TTRS (Times Tables Rock Stars)
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Be ready for learning! In Goldfinch Class, your child will need to have these items in school:

• Full uniform to be worn everyday, including black shoes
   
• PE kit (to be worn on PE day) 
   
• Water bottle (no squash or juice) 

• Small rucksack (big enough to hold lunchbox and reading books) 

• Wellington boots (to leave in school) 

• Coat (weather appropriate) 

 

Please don’t bring other items into school, as we do not have space to store these, and it can cause upset if things are lost or damaged.

 

 

Highlights of our learning so far this year: