A shoal of shimmering, silvery fish swim in formation to make a beautiful display in the Pre Prep hall. Year 1 & 2 were very proud to see their hard work so gloriously shared, just one example of the weekly specialist lessons they enjoy. There is not one member of staff, including myself, who cannot resist getting involved in the art lessons with Mrs Mellini. It is like being part of an artist’s workshop and the skills the children learn are so varied and creative.
Reception pupils were intrepid scientist this week and they investigated the chemical reaction that simulated a volcanic eruption. Using household ingredients, they were fascinated by what they saw. This level of curiosity is the special ingredient that ignites a life long love of learning and fuels what educationists strive for, progress. Running the Daily Mile is well established at Edge Grove, but I have a very difficult time keeping up with the energy levels and enthusiasm shown by Pre-School every morning as they jog around the lawn. This initiative fits well with our healthy body, healthy mind ethos and I just need to get my trainers on and be involved! In our assemblies this week we have focused on the school value Be a Good Communicator and amongst other skills have learned how to be a whole body listener. We now know that listening with our heart is just as important as listening with our ears. Year 1 lead the way in using sign language to enhance the way they communicate, but in Friday’s Sharing Assembly Mr Mitcham taught us all how to sign a weekend greeting that we will now use each week to close the assembly. Communication is at the heart of every relationship, including that between teacher and pupil and is key to effective learning.
Year 3 - It has been an exciting week in Year 3 with a visit from some rainforest animals brought in by Zoolab. The children were very brave and thoroughly enjoyed getting up close and personal with a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates. The session was very informative and the children have become expert zoologists. David Attenborough eat your heart out! Our new book in English is ‘The Great Kapok Tree’ by Lynne Cherry which follows our focus on deforestation and protecting the environment. In maths, the children have been learning a song to teach them about the days in each month. They had lots of fun performing to the class.
Year 4 - The children have continued their work on Varjak Paw. After the exciting reports of missing cats and strange happenings at the Contessa’s house; the children have moved onto looking at how writers build tension in their writing. The use of short sentences, carefully selected vocabulary and character actions ensure a spooked reader. Children will be using this to develop their own tense scene in the form of a playscript next week.
In Maths, we have begun work on telling the time, an area many children find challenging. We have focused on analogue clocks, understanding the different clock hand positions and the importance of using the correct vocabulary. Children will continue to work on different aspects of time into next week.
In Science, we have continued to learn about plants with specific focus, this week, on photosynthesis and how plants carry out this process. Children designed their own posters to show the key ingredients and steps involved in this process. They used the correct terminology and labelled their diagrams well.
Year 5 - There has been lots going on for Year 5 this week as we edge closer to the half term. This week saw some of the children take part in a rush hour concert and what a joy it was! It was wonderful to be able to showcase the fantastic musical talent from across the school.
In English lessons this week the children were looking at the poem ‘The Listeners’. They were discussing the theme of the poem and their ideas behind who the traveller was and who he might be visiting. The children used inspiration from this poem to write their own creative writing pieces. The children were revising topics ready for their tests next week in maths lessons. Some groups had mastered the art of measuring/drawing angles with a protractor, whilst others demonstrated a fantastic understanding of expanding brackets in algebra. We have no doubt that the children are going to perform brilliantly in their tests next week with all of this revision! There were delicious smells coming from the cookery room this week as the children cooked their own pizzas. Sadly the children were not too keen to share their creations with members of staff! In classics this week year 5 were told the story of ‘The Trojan Horse’ and the tale of ‘Achilles’. They spent a lot of class time discussing the themes behind these classic myths and the life lessons that can be learnt from them. Sadly fixtures were once again cancelled due to rain. This did not stop the games department however as the children were able to use the school swimming pool for more practise sessions. The music block was filled with excitement this week as children were exhibiting their musical talents during music lessons. The children were invited to sing and play their musical instruments for the rest of the class. Who knew there were so many wonderful singers in the year group? Year 6 - Year 6 started off this week with an assembly held by Miss McDonald on the power of communication. We witnessed a brilliant example of what happens when our communication to each other is not specific. Year 6 this week are going to focus on being great communicators, both in their listening and speaking. Unfortunately all cricket matches were called off this week due to bad weather but instead the pupils had the opportunity to go swimming in the heated pool and compete in friendly races ready for the inter-house swimming competition taking part later this term. The year group have been spending some of their time in lessons preparing for their end of year exams that are starting next week. I want to take this opportunity to wish the whole of Year 6 good luck!
All the staff in the Upper School would like to extend our congratulations to Ediz Karakas on becoming a King's Scholar when he joins Eton this Autumn. We are extremely proud of this achievement.
Our congratulations also go to Lucas Hao who achieved straight A grades in the prestigious, and incredibly challenging, Westminster Challenge Scholarship papers. Well done Lucas!
Photography - This week during photography module the Upper School children have been stitching into their images to start their final pieces, the work that they are producing is looking great. Photography elective all presented their three weeks assignments to the rest of the class, it was great to see interaction from their peers asking questions about how specific edits had been made. They are now following each other's assignments to come up with their own interpretations of them, I look forward to sharing these with you soon.
Drama - Year 4 have been looking at myths and legends this week and focusing on the legend of Robin Hood. They created their own scenes which depicted Robin Hood robbing from the rich and the Sheriff of Nottingham to give to the poor.
This term Year 5 are looking at Just So stories and this week they have begun to write their own Just So scripts in their groups. They will then have a few weeks to rehearse these and then perform them with props and perhaps costumes.
Year 6 have been studying the book Skellig in English and in their drama lessons we are looking at the play version and using various dramatic techniques to help develop the children's understanding further. This week they have looked at the scene where Michael enters the dirty, crumbling garage for the first time. They have been using Physical Theatre ( where they become the objects in the garage) and narration to bring the scene to life.
Rehearsals for the Upper School show are well underway and the whole play has now been blocked. We now need to focus on comic timing and develop our characterisation. Any help with learning lines at home would be greatly appreciated!
Music - Well done to all students who were involved in last week's Rush Hour Concert. It was a tremendous success and such a fantastic way to start our Wednesday. It was fantastic to see students incorporating the presentation skills they have been exploring in class into their performances at the Rush Hour. The Rush Hour Concert is part of our tier of solo performances and is a fantastic opportunity for students to perform a piece they have been working on in their instrumental lessons, as well as a great practice opportunity for an upcoming exam.
It was very disappointing that all our boys fixtures on Wednesday were affected by the rain and could not take place. The boys and girls have been training so hard and making such pleasing progress, it is just a pity that they are not being able to demonstrate this in matches.
Our 1st XI did manage to play their County Cup match against Westbrook Hay on Friday and this proved to be an excellent match. Westbrook Hay made 135 for 2 in 20 overs with Kavish and Thomas each taking a wicket. In reply, Edge Grove were bowled out for 113 to lose by 22 runs despite an outstanding 80 runs off 60 balls by Kavish.
Girls cricket and table tennis match reports can be found here. Congratulations to Nathan TS in Year 7 who has recently been signed by Watford Football Club on a two year contract. This is an excellent achievement and we wish Nathan all the best of luck for the coming season. And well done to Oliver F in Year 5 who recently took his Taekwondo exam for his green belt. After demonstrating three Taekwondo patterns and answering several Q&A's in Korean, he was awarded his green belt. Well done! We are delighted that Miss Evans' Saracens rugby team have made it to the Allianz Premier 15's semi-final on Sunday 22nd May. If you are interested in going along to support them you can get a 15% discount by booking using the link here.
We have a few tables remaining so please visit the booking website here to secure your place at the event of the year!
We made the decision a few weeks ago to donate surplus funds raised at this special event to the DEC Ukrainian appeal, putting the greater needs of others before our own. As ticket sales barely cover the cost of the evening, we rely on fundraising both on the night and in the lead up to the ball to make money for our designated charity. We would love the children to be involved with this too and more details regarding this will be sent out nearer the event. In the past, parents have been incredibly generous in donating items for our live auction and raffle, and the school has previously offered the chance to bid for your child to be “Head for the day”, a prize that I’m sure they would all love to win and which will be up for grabs again this year. Other items that we have had donated previously have been to watch a training session and meet the team at West Ham, use of a holiday villa in France for a week and a private dining experience for 8. Our school community has many contacts that may be interested in helping to raise as much as possible on the evening so, with this in mind, we are once again reaching out to you all for any help that you can provide with the following: Raffle Items: Any gift is a grateful gift. No matter how big or small the gift, we will gladly accept it to be used in some way. Suggestions of vouchers, wine, pamper products, jewellery, experiences, electronics? Live Auction Lots: Maybe you own season tickets for rugby or football teams that you can donate for one game? Do you own a holiday property that you can donate for a week's stay or have connections to a holiday company that can help? Could you donate Theatre tickets or a restaurant table/experience? Training or lessons on a particular skill? Donate a piece of artwork or photography?
Whether you were kind enough help us at the last ball and can help us again or if you are new and can offer anything you think would be of help to us for the Ball, then please e-mail me (smaughan@edgegrove.com) or call the school to have a direct chat with me. Please bring donations to the main reception. My sincere thanks in advance for your continued support for this event whether by attending, donating prizes, buying raffle tickets or bidding for items. Best wishes, Sue Maughan Development Manager