Friday Headlines

the weekly newsletter from EHS

A Thank you and Good Luck Year 11 From Mrs Macro

Senior School

14 May 2021

Last week we bid an emotional farewell to our Year 13. Whilst many will return to our Sixth Form in September, we also saw our Year 11 reach a significant milestone as they began study leave in preparation for their final assessments before GCSE grading.

If you haven’t read Miss O’Hare’s heartfelt Open Letter to Year 11, I urge you to do so. It perfectly captures the spirit of the EHS community and reflects on the very particular challenges that this group of young people have faced at such an important stage in their lives. 

Each week for the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of hosting the Year 11 Mindfulness Monday. For half an hour, every Monday, we come together to talk, create Zentangles, diamond paint, complete puzzles and generally slow things down and take stock. It has provided a moment of reflection and contemplation when the uncertainty of the past year has, at times, felt overwhelming. We asked the members of Mindfulness Mondays to sum up their experience of the club and here's what they had to say: 

"Mindfulness Monday club is a place where we go to take our minds off any work or stress and focus on the creative and mindful aspect of life. Every Monday, we sit with Mrs Macro and freely draw a range of designs and patterns to create some zentangles. Recently, Mrs Macro has introduced us to some diamond paintings that we are enjoying very much. We all love Mindfulness Monday so much as it is a great way to start our week!"

I will miss those weekly meets and discussions a great deal.

Looking forwards, I am thrilled that as soon as their formal assessments and half term are out of the way, we will be welcoming Year 11 back for our Pre A'level Preparation Programme. This is something we introduced last year and the feedback from our current Year 12 about its value has been unequivocal. As well as a week of GCSE consolidation, the girls will be offered workshops and masterclasses in first-aid, self-defence, leadership, study skills and even film-making. They will also be given careers advice and take part in enrichment and EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) activities. The girls also get their first taste of life in the Sixth Form: wearing their own clothes instead of uniform and basing themselves in the Sixth Form block and common room. 

Transitioning from school life to Sixth Form is always a bitter-sweet mixture of apprehension and excitement but we hope that our dedicated programme will help to make that move as easy and as smooth as possible.  

I’d like to sign off by thanking and congratulating Year 11 for their resilience, maturity and determination. This year, more than any other, has tested their ability to persevere, remain buoyant and stay focussed. It shows enormous strength of character that you have managed all of that and more and we are unbelievably proud of everything that you have achieved. We wish you all the very best of luck in the assessments and can’t wait to see many of you back at EHS after half term. Enjoy the rest when it comes!

 

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