Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Nursery to Year Six Highlights
18 October 2024
It has been another wonderful week in Nursery, Kindergarten and Prep, packed with creativity, exploration and fun. The teachers have shared some of the exciting activities the girls have enjoyed this week. Don’t forget to take a look at the gallery below for pictures!
Pink Pinecones
This week, our Nursery has been all about the colour, pink! The children have been busy with activities designed to strengthen their fine motor skills, helping to get their fingers ready for writing. One of the highlights was the outdoor adventure, where we hunted for sticks and pinecones. After gathering our treasures, we wrapped them in pink wool - round and round - then proudly displayed them on our interactive pink table back in the Nursery. It was a wonderful opportunity to blend creativity with exploration!
Handprint Hedgehogs!
Kindergarten have been investigating Autumn. They took the opportunity, in between showers, to go on an Autumn walk to the Botanical Gardens! They enjoyed searching for items on their checklist and benefited from the hands-on exploration of natural materials. Back in the classroom, they have been busy exploring the colourful leaves, chestnut cases, pine cones, conkers and acorns that they found. They created hedgehogs using their hand prints, they made faces out of leaves and Autumn trees using leaf prints. Further to this they matched CVC words and pictures and even wrote an account of their Autumn adventure!
Ninon Dans Sa Maison
One of the many things former Reception pupils remember, when they come back to visit, is Tilly the rag doll. She is used to encourage girls to speak out during French oral sessions and this is very effective, even with the less confident pupils, who happily interact with her. Our Reception pupils enjoy learning French and other languages through engaging, playful methods, and this week was no exception. We read the story of ‘Ninon dans sa maison’ about the little rabbit who visited various rooms in a house. One of the words the girls learnt was ‘Ma chambre’ and by the end of the lesson they had all designed their own bedroom on paper. They then talked through what objects and toys were in their rooms. Well done, girls. The pictures were amazing. Très bien!
Builders In The Making!
Year One have furthered their knowledge of materials during their Science lessons. They have been searching for different materials around our school and were challenged to think why materials are used for specific purposes. They looked for different items that were made from bricks, tiles, glass, concrete, wood, plastic and metal. We spent part of the lesson in our Senior Ante Hall where we found other materials, such as marble for the fireplace, clay poppies and leather for some of the cushions on the wooden benches. We finished our lesson looking through the glass wall in the viewing gallery in Senior School. Girls were amazed they could see through this all the way out to the Westbourne Road!
Diwali Elephants
Year Two have been learning about Diwali and were treated to a special presentation from Mrs Jhanjee who shared her experiences of Diwali with the girls, whilst wearing her Lehenga. The girls also created their own Diwali elephants. First, they painted milk bottles grey and then decorated them using jewels, gems and ribbons. The girls did an amazing job and were eager to take them home to share with their families. Happy Diwali!
Hands-on Mathematics
Year Three has had a great time with hands-on activities related to their mathematics mass work. They collaborated to explore various real-life mass problems using balance and kitchen scales. Their investigations included comparing the weights of sand and water, ordering objects from lightest to heaviest, and weighing different food items. They are excited about their upcoming visit to the allotment, where they will estimate the weight of a pumpkin!
Awe and Wonder
‘Wow, it’s so big!’ ‘Wow, look at the windows!’ There was much excitement as Year Four entered St George’s Church in Edgbaston. They were visiting as part of their RE topic on special places. They learnt about the different parts inside the church, such as the pulpit and the chancel, and what their significance is. Asking lots of very sensible questions, the girls explored the church learning keywords and drawing carefully the artefacts that they saw. They were particularly inspired by the stained-glass windows and were fascinated to learn some of the stories behind them. One of the girls’ favourite windows shows St George in his fight for goodness. The girls demonstrated excellent behaviour, were inclusive of others and created some lovely pictures. A memorable experience was had by all.
Space Spheres
To kick off their new topic on Space, Year Five used various spheres to create proportional models of the Sun, Earth and Moon. We discussed how many photographs found in books and videos are not accurate when it comes to size!
Whimsical Work!
Year Six students have been immersed in two very different, but equally engaging, subjects. In Mathematics, the girls tackled the fascinating world of mathematical drawing, exploring pursuit curves and asteroid curves. Through precise drawing, they discovered how a series of straight lines can form the illusion of curves when plotted correctly. It was a challenging exercise, but their enthusiasm and perseverance made it a success.
In English, the girls dived into the whimsical world of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky. They embraced the opportunity to perform this famous poem, examining its unique
structure and playful use of nonsense language. This inspired them to create their own portmanteau words - just like Carroll - and even write their own versions of the poem.
The performances were lively, and the creativity on display was remarkable.
