There were many jobs in the royal palaces that were less than appealing, particularly in medieval times. Year 1 and 2 were undaunted by this and threw themselves wholeheartedly into our Topic Day on Friday and we had a colourful assortment of characters that would have staffed the most enormous of royal homes. From knights and dragons to gardeners, heralds and cooks, our Spinney parade showcased them all. What a fantastic way to bring learning to life! Reception have been sharing information about their families and homes and their self portraits are amazing, showing a real sense of self and attention to detail that delights us all. I am made so welcome at Pre-School by a cacophony of little voices that all want to sweep me into play or show me their skills on the climbing frame or a bike. I must say that I am very happy to oblige when there is so much fun to be had, including potion making and an ice cream shop. Music lessons with Miss Saville put these voices to good use and the lesson on Monday mornings get the week off to a joyous start.
This week in Year 4 the children have shown themselves to be accomplished mathematicians. Learning how to round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. Not only this but they have also begun to explore negative numbers in real-world situations and applications. In English the children have been writing persuasive letters to Miss McDonald and also adverts for the most glamorous hotels. Year 4 have impressed us with their verbal agility and prowess. In science the year group have been expanding their knowledge on forces and are working towards completing their first scientific experiment of the year. Next week we look forward to writing up the plans for the exploration of forces.
It has been wonderful to see Edge Grove back in full swing this week with the Year 5 pupils enjoying fixtures, music lessons and swimming lessons in the new pool. The children have been quick to adapt to their new timetables, receiving praise from various staff for their mature attitudes and resilient nature. This week in English the children were challenged to describe their ‘Perfect Day’. This creative writing piece described all expenses paid trips to Wembley Stadium, exotic beach holidays to the Maldives and even camping adventures with breakfast cooked over an open fire, delicious! In maths lessons the children used their understanding of place value to partition six digit numbers and to order negative numbers on a number line. This week Year 5 have been taught to greet each other at different times of the day in French. Challenge your child to use these different greetings with you over the weekend. Art lessons were a highlight for the children this week as they were asked to take part in a creative drawing assignment. Year 5 were challenged to incorporate a kidney bean into their piece of artwork. The outcomes were particularly imaginative. Year 6 this week took part in an assembly led by Miss Leighton (Senior Deputy Head) in which 6E took a leading role by reading a reverse poem titled ‘Refugees’ by Brian Bilston. This very powerful, incredibly clever poem has a hidden meaning. When read top-to-bottom it shows a prejudicial view of refugees whereas read from bottom-to-top gives a much more favourable view and recounts the plight of those fleeing from conflict and persecution. You can read the poem here. This was used as a starting point in the assembly to discuss what it means to be a refugee. This led to a discussion about recent events in Afghanistan where the children learnt about how Malala Yousafzai took a stand about the Taliban banning girls from education. They reflected on what Malala would have thought when hearing about the recent events in Afghanistan where girls and female teachers are being prevented from attending school. The children had an opportunity to see the many books that Mrs Broadis has relating to refugees and they have been encouraged to borrow them. Well done Year 6.
Emily in Year 6 has made the amazing decision to cut her long hair short and donate her hair to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that makes wigs from real hair for children with cancer. Emily decided that she wanted to start a Just Giving page and raise sponsorship money. Emily asked Mrs Thomas what charity she would like to support and so her sponsorship money is being donated to Watford Peace Hospice Care charity, one Mrs Thomas has connections with and has supported for some time. With the big hair chop happening on 9th October, Emily has already smashed her fundraising target of £300 in just 24 hours of setting up the Just Giving page and is currently at £340. If anyone would like to donate the link can be found here.
8OS got to grips with an unusual challenge in STEM this week: were they able to, in groups of three, design and construct, from recycled materials, a marble run? This would seem straightforward enough, but with one vital element missing their task was somewhat more of a struggle: they were not allowed to speak. Despite the heavy dependence on their non-verbal communication skills, the children managed brilliantly and produced some excellent results!
It has been fabulous to return to normal school life with a host of sports fixtures already having been played and a very busy term ahead of us. You can view all the Match Reports here.
We also had some exciting squash fixtures last week in the U9/11 County Championships at Radlett Squash Club. Congratulations to Tobi O who was U11 runner-up, Rahul J came 5th and Ellie P finished 4th in the U11 Girls competition. In the Radlett Junior Championships six pupils took part and well done to Caitlin O who won both the U12 and U14 trophies and Ellie P was U10 winner.
Edge Grove Activity Squash on Tuesdays - there are a few spaces available in Mr Lloyd's group. Please contact Mr McManus if you'd like your son/daughter to join the activity.
This week in Photography the Module group started to use the colour select tool on the photographs that were taken last week, I look forward to sharing them in the Newsletter next week. The Photography Elective group were finishing off their final colour selective photographs as well as starting to layer photographs together. Great work from James, Ben and Evan this week. In Music, Jazz band kicked off to a great start last week, this week we look forward to the beginning of the Brass band, followed by the Wind band next week!
Year 3 & 4 Choirs are sounding excellent in rehearsals ready for their big Harvest Festival performance. We are pleased that both year groups get the opportunity to perform in a year group choir for events as we know how much all pupils love to sing. We are excited to introduce the score to their Christmas show next week and work collaboratively with the Drama department to make it a spectacular show. Year 5 are working on cyclic rhythm patterns and developing their drumming work. Year 6 have been learning and recognising different musical elements, putting their learning into practise with group singing and percussion compositions.
Year 7/8 have been making a start at looking at the instruments in a typical pop band. We’ve been looking at bass guitar playing, learning to play some key notes and playing along with Mr Leutfeld on the keyboards. Looking forward to keyboard skills and chord playing very soon!
This week in Drama Year 5 have been creating tableaux depicting well known fairy tales. They have been focusing on their body language and facial expression to make their tableaux realistic and for the audience to guess their fairy tales.
Year 6 have been learning the art of dramatic voice overs. They have created their own super heroes and have been experimenting with their voices to introduce their character in the most dramatic way.
Rotation drama have been learning about Greek Theatre and this week have been focusing on the role of the chorus; creating their own performance using a variety of chorus techniques including canons, unison and echoes.
The 7 and 8 elective group have been enjoying their soap opera unit and have begun devising their own dramatic scenes which end in the infamous Eastenders DUF DUF moment.
We are also very excited to introduce the Year 3 and 4 pantomime to the children next week and begin the casting process. We are very much looking forward to performing in front of a live audience in December.
Well done to Louie who recently filmed an exciting TV role which contains an A List cast for the US network "Showtime" which will be aired early next year (sadly we can't say the name) and he also filmed a short French themed film for One Five Five productions which will also be released next year.
Alumni News We are delighted to share the news that Edge Grove Alum Chelsea Becker (EG 2012 -2015) has just been awarded one of the senior winners of the BBC young Composer of the Year award 2021. Her composition was called Iris and was for oboe and electronics. Congratulations Chelsea! Amber who left last summer and Ebunlola (Head Girl 2017) both attend Downe House and met up at the Downe House awards ceremony. It's always to see alumni reconnecting at after leaving Edge Grove!