Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Inspiration on STREAM Day
08 November 2019
We are always keen to promote STREAM subjects in the Prep School, both within and beyond the school curriculum, and these were much in evidence in our off-curriculum day at the end of last half term when the girls were challenged in Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Art and Maths.
In Year 1, floating and sinking was the topic. Having started the day with a story called ‘Who Sank the Boat?’ the girls then took part in a carousel of activities. One activity was raft building. The girls had to build a raft with a sail which would allow a Lego person to float. This culminated in a sailing race for each class. The winners were Fayha in 1A, Ciara in 1B, Arabella in 1C. The second activity was to design and build an aluminium foil boat that would float and carry the maximum number of penny passengers. The most effective boats carried 60 passengers! Finally the girls were given a variety of objects and had to predict if they would float or sink before testing them in their water tank. The ball of plasticine sank very quickly and the girls were then challenged to see if they could make it float. Eight girls succeeded and were very happy!
Year 2 looked at repeated patterns and shapes creating Diwali collages. They also spent time with the Bhangra Man dancing and hearing stories. The girls developed team work skills by working in small groups to estimate and measure a selection of autumn leaves. They discussed the estimates and results and agreed on the length. Next they found pairs of leave that were twice as long and half as long as each other. Finally they cut out leaves to create attractive autumn wreaths.
Year 3 activities were based around the theme of transport. In the morning, the girls learnt about the construction of Roman roads. Their creative skills were challenged when they used a variety of toy vehicle’s wheels to create works of art using paint. Next they experimented with a variety of materials to see how far a toy car would travel. The girls especially enjoyed filming this using the iPads. Maths investigations were also carried out based around the topic of travel.
Year 4 Activities supported their space-themed day. The girls really enjoyed learning about the Solar System with astronaut training and pompom planets and =there was a clear 'buzz' of excitement for the day.
The topic of Flight was selected for their investigations in Year 5. The girls had previously been challenged to make a hot air balloon which had been a huge hit, with everyone walking through the area admiring the very varied designs. They concentrated on Science, Technology and Art during Stream Day. Girls made a glider and experimented to see which flew the furthest, making one modification to see if they could improve the results. Owls were made in Art with feathers and colours layered with fantastic effect. Technology was used to make a word art shape using flight words, descriptions and similes. Flying saucers were designed and decorated too. When asked, the girls stated that they had enjoyed the activities because they were learning new skills, adapting from an example and putting their own ideas into action had been refreshing. A day full of inspiring the girls to work independently, challenge themselves and think about careers in many subjects.
Year 6 enjoyed a day learning all about bridges. They began the morning with a newsflash that Tower Bridge in London had mysteriously vanished overnight (suspected alien activity). Girls then researched the situation and put together a news report on the incident, recording it using iPads and green screen technology. Later Year 6 researched bridges, understanding the importance of triangles in building structures and even had a go at making some structures of their own using spaghetti and marshmallows.
Clearly girls had an enriching day learning new and refining existing skills.
