Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Girls inspired by visiting authors
04 May 2018
Earlier this term EHS was delighted to welcome two authors into school as part of our visiting authors programme for girls.
Author - Abi Elphinstone - Years 4, 5 and 7
“Where there is snow there are always secrets” - Just one of the many tips Abi Elphinstone, author of the 'Dreamsnatcher' series and 'Sky Song', imparted on our Year 4, 5 and 7 students.
In a talk ranging from Mongolian eagle hunting tribes, to the local T K Maxx, Abi showed that inspiration really can come from anywhere at all! Free book marks and endless questions made sure the students were fully part of this talk, guessing arctic animals, sharing their dreams and guessing who that weird old man in the tree was. With props galore, including hand-carved catapults, wildcat toys, wolf fangs and crystal balls, this talk opened the girls up to not just the fantasy worlds they can read or write about, but also the unconventional and unexpected ways Abi researches, writes and plans her books.
Rounded off with a clear message that failure is not the end the Year 4, 5 and 7 girls left feeling buoyed up and ready to take on the world, or maybe even create their own!
Author Lauren James - "But I like science..." - Year 9, 10, 11+ Book Club
Can you enjoy science and still write fiction? Yes! A resounding answer from Lauren James, author of ‘The Next Together’ and ‘The Loneliest Girl in the Universe’.
Of course, science fiction has been around forever and science can clearly be explored, predicted and used in fiction but can a love of all things logical, being a fan of technology and being slightly OCD when it comes to the details, mesh with a love of writing? Lauren answered these and many more questions when she joined our Year 9, 10 and 11 students to discuss her passion for STEM subjects, having a Masters in Chemistry and Physics, alongside her love for writing and fiction, having three published novels amongst other shorter fiction.
With a 30, 000 word excel sheet and countless examples of logical thinking applied to fiction, Lauren made it clear that these two seemingly mutually exclusive interests can
not only come together but thrive! It was an inspiring and, at times, challenging talk for students.
