Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Nursery to Year Six Highlights
28 February 2025
Rested and invigorated after the half term break, the girls have had an extraordinarily diverse week jam-packed with learning and exploration.
Exploring Emotions
This week, Nursery have been exploring emotions. We talked about what makes us feel happy, sad, surprised, or angry and looked at characters in books and videos to discuss their feelings and why they might feel that way. The girls also had fun using handheld mirrors to observe their own expressions as they made different faces!
I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff!
In Kindergarten, we have been thinking about homes and houses as our phonic focus is ‘h’. Girls have explored the properties of straw, sticks and bricks while considering which material would be best to build a house for the Three Little Pigs. It was lovely to hear their language as they retold the story using our magnetic puppets! They have also been busy learning about a more unusual home, a beehive! Using bubble wrap provided an excellent way to create a beehive pattern!
Cultural Exploration
On Tuesday, Reception girls embraced Mother Language Day by dressing up in traditional outfits representing different languages and cultures. It was wonderful to see girls coming to school wearing a wide variety of outfits and accessories to reflect their cultural heritage. Pupils were encouraged to share salutations in different languages and colour in pictures from around the world. Mrs Francis came to visit us and told us all about Jamaica. We even danced and sang to Bob Marley, which was great fun! Thank you for bringing in your wonderful ‘show and tell’ items too girls, it made the day even more memorable.
Fabulous Folk Art
Year One enjoyed Mother Language Day on Tuesday. They were visited by Ms Truchanowicz who talked to the girls about Poland and inspired them to do lots of creative Art work based on the folk patterns that are so popular within the Polish Culture. She taught the girls how to say ‘hello’ in Polish, “Czesc!” Throughout the day the girls created lots of Polish folk art. They dressed a Polish doll up in a Polish styled skirt and head dress, made Polish inspired book marks and tried some special paper cutting called ‘Wycinanki’ where they designed their own flowers. Year One had a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Shadows galore
The pupils in Year Two have been investigating shadows as part of their Colour and Light topics in Science lessons. They worked in pairs and used a torch as their light source. They then changed the distance of an opaque ruler to discover what happened to the ruler’s shadow as it moved nearer to and further away from the light source. The pupils used a wide variety of scientific vocabulary including ‘fair test’, ‘prediction’ and ‘conclusion’ throughout the lesson. The pupils used the Seesaw app on their iPads to record their investigation. They made great use of the iPad camera to record the process and the microphone to explain the method and their conclusion
Sinhala Language
Year Three had a wonderful start to their Mother Language Day celebrations with a special visit from Mrs Watkinson, who shared insights about Sri Lanka and the Sinhala language. They learned how to say "welcome" in Sinhala and discovered that Sri Lanka’s languages are among the oldest in the world. A highlight of the session was enthusiastically joining in a traditional Sri Lankan dance.
During show and tell, the girls proudly shared items from their own cultures, fostering a deeper appreciation for linguistic and cultural diversity. Later, they used Seesaw to explore Sri Lanka and its languages in greater detail, even getting the opportunity to draw the Sri Lankan flag. To further their creative expression, they experimented with batik techniques, using wax and watercolours to create beautiful patterns.
Fireman Friday!
Blue watch from Bourneville made a visit to our Year Four girls. They talked through a programme called ‘Sparks’ all about fire safety in the home and when you are out and about! The girls asked numerous questions and learnt a great deal of information. Due to the pupils being soooooo good the firemen decided to take the girls out to look at all the equipment their new vehicle carried. They even had the chance to get the hoses and spray the playground and surrounding trees. Although all the pupils wanted to do was to get the teachers!!
Wind Speed
Year Five Geographers headed outside! Orienteering and measuring the wind speed using an anemometer was the task of the day. Taking the skills that they have learnt and talked about in the classroom to use practically outside made it a real experience. Sadly, the wind did not blow with any great force, but they were all able to name and identify clouds and see what the temperature was on the playground.
Firsthand Fire Reports
Year Six have been perfecting their journalistic writing skills by imagining a dramatic school fire and crafting their own newspaper reports. Just as they
were finalising their headlines, fate intervened—a real fire engine arrived for a workshop with another year group! Seizing the opportunity, our budding reporters gathered
firsthand insights into fire safety and emergency response. This unexpected visit added authenticity to their writing, making their reports even more compelling. Their
enthusiasm and curiosity shone through.
Nursery to Year Six Highlights
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