Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Nursery to Year Six Highlights
07 March 2025
This week Prep has been the perfect example of a well-rounded education. From wonderful World Book Day on Thursday to painting, to independent research projects, digital learning and scientific experiments, the girls have made the most of every opportunity this week!
Sing a Song of Sixpence!
Nursery explored the classic rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence! The girls stepped into the roles of different characters from the rhyme, bringing the story to life through imaginative play and engaging activities. A firm favourite was taking on the role of the maid—washing clothes and carefully hanging them out to dry. Not only was this great fun, but it also helped to develop both gross and fine motor skills. Thankfully, there were no blackbirds around to peck off our noses!
The King’s Pants!
In Kindergarten, the girls have been thinking about the letter sound ‘k’. They looked through photographs of King Charles III and talked about his coronation. They also looked at photographs of members of the wider Royal family. The girls very much enjoyed reading a story called ‘The King’s Pants’ and took time to design their own fancy pants! Mastering the formation of the letter k was not easy but the children persevered and are proud of their achievements. Many new crown designs have been created in the outdoor classroom too!
Monet’s Inspiration
Reception girls were inspired by Monet’s paintings this week as they ventured outside for their Topic lesson. Pupils were taken into the gardens surrounding Westbourne armed with paper and a selection of colourful pastel crayons. The sunshine provided the perfect lighting and warmth needed to work outside. Girls were able to describe and draw the different shaped flowers, showing a variety of leaves and stems. They then blended the pastels for the petals. Drawing in the fresh air provided sensory benefits as they could touch and smell the objects in front of them. The outdoor setting brought much excitement and chatter to the occasion. This social interaction developed their communication skills and vocabulary as well as artistic talents. Well done girls, you looked as if you were having so much fun!
Spring has Sprung!
Year One have transformed their classroom windows this week in their Art lessons to match the lovely weather we have been having. 1B had fun painting their windows onto the playground in bright Spring like colours and 1A each made a beautiful Spring flower to brighten up their classroom! Let’s hope this lovely weather lasts to match our wonderful windows.
Using Digimaps
As part of their Geography topic, the Year Two girls have been using their iPads to explore the United Kingdom through ‘Digimaps for Schools’. They have explored the UK’s capital cities, located their own homes and EHS on the map. They enjoyed zooming in on EHS - easily spotting the Octagon and the Prep playground. This week, our focus has been on London. The girls were able to identify key landmarks like the River Thames, the London Eye, Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace using aerial photographs and Ordnance Survey maps. The next step was to use a printed map from Digimaps, to locate and label the landmarks. A super job, girls!
Fair Test Forces
Year Three have been exploring forces in their Science lessons this term. They have investigated the forces found in springs both at school and at home. Working cooperatively in groups, they conducted an experiment to test how the force of a rubber band can make a toy car move. Through their investigation, they learned the importance of conducting a ‘fair test’ to ensure their results were accurate and made sense.
Sunsets
Year Four had a wonderful day, celebrating cultures from all over the world, on our Mother Languages Day last week. They decorated a mini person in flags and cultural dress and wrote their names in Farzi. The girls sang their hearts out in choir, in the Finnish language, which was wonderful to see. During the afternoon, pupils enjoyed dance from Africa and Iran and made pictures of the red, hot sunset in Tanzania and learnt about the artist Edward Saidi Tingatinga. It was lovely to see how incredibly happy the girls were and brimming full with new information that they had learnt.
Gender Stereotypes
In PSHE, Year Five have been exploring gender stereotypes. They thought about what a stereotype is and how they could challenge them. Having explored examples of gender stereotypes, pupils focussed on how these can play a part in toys and how companies and shops can sometimes project a gender stereotype. Year Five wrote comments to share their views and opinions on the subject of ‘Should toys be gender specific?’ in response to a Newsround article. They finished the lesson with a unanimous view that anybody should have the choice to play with whichever toy they choose no matter what their gender. Great work Year Five!
Independent Learning Projects
Throughout the Spring term, alongside rehearsals for their Year Six production, our pupils have been working on their Independent Learning Projects. These self-directed research projects allow the girls to explore a topic of personal interest in depth, with themes ranging from The Nervous System to Horses to Global Warming. This process has helped them develop independent research and composition skills, manage a long-term project, and present their findings in creative ways. We are so impressed with their dedication and effort so far and look forward to seeing the finished projects in a few weeks!
Highlights from History Club
For the past few weeks, members of History Club have been working in groups to research an aspect of Aztec civilisation that is particular interest to them. They used books and the internet to research their chosen area and worked hard to present the information they found in an attractive way. We then invited other pupils and Mrs Hobson to watch the presentations. Our visitors learned more about the Aztec religion, dress, treatment of disease and much more. They were shocked at the difference between our lives and the lives of the Aztecs and are grateful for the advances in modern medicine! Every member of History Club presented with confidence and should be very proud of their achievements.
Brilliant Board Games!
Board Games Club offers students from Year Three and Year Four the chance to experience the highs and lows of board games with their friends. Firm favourites this term have been Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese,Pizza card game, Dobble, Connect 4, Downfall and Guess Who. It has been so much fun!
Year Six Language Leaders Visit West House School
As part of our Mother Language Day celebrations, our Year Six Language Leaders (Ceana and Khulthum) and two specially chosen girls (Eve and Clara S) were invited to our partner school, West House School. They observed and took part in a Mother Language Day assembly. It began with a song in English, Spanish, French and German involving the numbers 1-10. Then, the origins and evolution of some languages were discussed. Finally, the West House Language Leaders each shared an idiom in either their mother tongue or a language they had researched. The boys were very impressive, sharing an interesting Korean idom which translated as ‘those who have the widest smile, have the most friends’. The girls were a credit to EHS Prep in terms of behaviour and maturity.
The beautifully decorated people and decorated globe produced on Mother Language Day by Pre-Prep and Prep EHS girls can also be viewed in Prep Hall. A truly wonderful display
of our rich and diverse linguistic community!
Nursery to Year Six Highlights
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