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Dear Parents

It has been quite a weekend for the Edge Grove community. The Warrior Adrenaline Race attracted over 200 pupils, parents and staff all showing fantastic team work, resilience and sheer determination over the 10km course of obstacles and mud. Although I was unable to attend this year, if Alex’s bruises are anything to go by, it was tough going and the weather less kind all adding to the challenge. I have nothing but admiration for those taking part and with such a large Edge Grove contingent, it just further highlights what a great community we have at the school.

On Sunday, after months of training, it was time for Mr Eglinton, Miss Bonnick, me and 42,000 other people to take to the streets of London for our final long run. It was my fourth and final marathon and by far my most enjoyable. There are those that run the race in 2 hours 2 minutes and many others that take over 7 hours – regardless of times, it is a massive personal achievement in which everyone has dug deep, battled with self-confidence and persevered. The atmosphere from start to finish was incredible and the tireless support and the enthusiastic motivation from the thousands of supporters lining the route was something very special. Should you ever lose faith in the basic kindness of humanity, then you need go no further than London on marathon day. From the runners, many of whom are participating in the memory of loved ones as well as to raise money for their special charities, to the spectators who selflessly support and cheer on complete strangers for hours, supplying much needed jelly babies and other essentials. Without them, the task would be made a lot harder! One mustn’t forget the many volunteers who give up their free time to ensure the smooth running of what must surely be one of the largest and best organised events in the world.

I would like to thank everyone for their sustained interest in my progress through the often tough training and the many good wishes on the day. As a result of your incredible generosity, I have been able to raise £4,484.00 (including gift aid) for the Hertfordshire Community Foundation which will go a long way to improving the lives of people in our county. I know I speak for Mr Eglinton and Miss Bonnick too in expressing my immense gratitude – thank you.

Our first full week of the summer term is a busy one including our hosting of the IAPS National Table Tennis Championships on Saturday with 130 pupils competing. Please check the calendar so that you don’t miss anything important!

Best wishes

Ben Evans

EDGE NEWS Monday 29th April 2019

CALENDAR

Tuesday 30th April

Junior Maths Challenge, Years 6 to 8

Year 3 Expedition Week Briefing, Theatre, 4.30pm-5.30pm

Year 4 Expedition Week Briefing, Chapel, 4.30pm-5.30pm

Wednesday 1st May

Boys’ Cricket v Kingshott 1st, 3rd, Colts B, Colts C (H), 2nd, Colts A, Colts D (A)

Girls’ Cricket v Orley Farm U10 (A)

Girls’ Cricket v Belmont U13 (H), 2.15pm

Girls’ Cricket v Westbrook Hay U11 (H)

Thursday 2nd May

Boys Cricket v Kingshott U8, U9 (H)

Girls’ Cricket workshop with Westbrook Hay U8, U9 (H)

Friday 3rd May

Year 2 Topic Workshop, Pre Prep Hall

Year 8 Baccalaureate E-Cube Workshop, Theatre, 8.30am

Rounders v Aldenham U13, U11A (H), 2.45pm

The Northwood 500 at St John’s School, 1.30pm-4.30pm

Tennis v Kingshott (A), 4.00pm

Haileybury Rock and Pop Day, by invitation

Exeat begins at 6.00pm

Saturday 4th May

Exeat

IAPS National Table Tennis Finals at Edge Grove

Sunday 5th May

Exeat

Monday 6th May

Bank Holiday

Exeat

Boarders return from 6.00pm

@EdgeGrove Edge Grove

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Deadline approaching! Don’t miss out!

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Recycling – you can recycle the following with us

The Pet Food Recycling Programme- Recycle all pet food plastic pouches & flexible plastic bags through this programme TerraCycle®, Whiskas® and James Wellbeloved® have partnered to create a free recycling programme for all pet food plastic pouches & flexible plastic bags. With five cats at Edge Grove we should be earning plenty of points for our chosen charity – Guide Dogs for the Blind. Recycling in partnership with KP Snacks® TerraCycle® and KP Snacks® have partnered to create a free recycling programme for popcorn, crisps and pretzels packets. PLEASE DO NOT BRING IN ANY NUT PACKETS! Crisp Packets Please tell friends and family and keep those crisp packets coming. If you have lots please box them up and bring them to the office. For smaller numbers please put them in the marked boxes in the Headmaster’s Courtyard and the Pre Prep foyer. The Colgate® Oral Care Recycling Programme We are also collecting toothpaste tubes, caps, toothbrushes and packaging . It includes non-Colgate products but only oral care (no hand cream, conditioner tubes etc.). The Spontex® Disposable Gloves Recycling Scheme TerraCycle® and Spontex® have partnered to create a free recycling scheme to make your disposable gloves recyclable nationwide.

TerraCycle® and Garnier® are excited to launch this amazing contest for all Primary Schools based in the UK. Win a recycled playground makeover worth £10,000! Participating is easy! The school that sends in the most accepted waste between the 25th March 2019 and the 5th July 2019 will receive a recycled playground makeover worth £10,000, on top of points earned by the shipment weight. Accepted waste includes roll-on deodorants, packs of face wipes, pumps and sprays, plastic pots and flexible plastic – all from beauty products only. To see what waste is and is not accepted visit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/tc-global-prod/download_resources/uk/downloads/961/personal_care_and_beauty_accepted_waste-v4-uk_%281%29.pdf

Please leave donations in the Headmasters’ Courtyard and the Pre Pre foyer in the same box as the Colgate collection.

Photo by Gem & Lauris RK on Unsplash

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Pre Prep News Gill Emmerson

Head of Pre Prep

We have certainly returned to school with a Spring in our step. The Daily Mile has without a doubt improved the children’s stamina and we have decided to set ourselves a challenge as a whole Pre Prep; we are attempting to run the length of the Amazon River before the end of term – let’s see how much of the 3,977 miles we can cover! Speaking of marathons, with Mr Evans, Mr Eglinton and Miss Bonnick in the last stages of their preparation for running the London Marathon 2 Cedar made them a banner to wish them all the very best for the day. We were very interested to hear last week about how the Jewish festival of Passover is celebrated; well done to all of the children who presented in assembly and in their classrooms. In Reception we have been discussing how germs spread and why it is important to use soap when we wash our hands; a science experiment using milk, soap and glitter illustrated this perfectly.

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Lower School News Samantha Robinson

Head of Lower School

Year 3

What a busy start Year 3 have had as they begin the Summer term. In English, the children have been reading “The Hodgeheg” and discovering the origins of this rather unusual and backwards name. In Maths, the pupils have been focusing on multiplication, making sure that a variety of written methods have been consolidated ready to give them a head start in Year 4! In topic, the children have started a new topic learning all about the Maya, who they were and where they came from, and in science we have begun to explore magnetism in even more detail following our fabulous Mr G workshop in the spring term.

Year 4

A great start back to the Summer term this week with lots of interesting and exciting stories shared. English this week focused on stories by David Walliams, particularly Mr Stink and the backstory behind the character. Maths this week looked at consolidating the children’s understanding of addition and subtraction methods. In topic, the new subject of the Battle of Hastings has begun and in science, the children have explored the grounds looking for signs of Spring in green plants.

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Middle School News

Kate McManus

Head of Middle School

In English, Year 5 children have been enjoying feeding back their reading experiences of Varjak Paw. They have enjoyed analysing the different traits and characteristics of this unusual character using the ‘Point Evidence Explain’ technique to present their findings.

In Science, Year 6 have been revising how to read and construct numerical keys using imaginary animals. Year 5 have been looking at solubility and have investigated what makes a solution saturated.

In French, Year 5 have started reviewing all we have done this school year to ensure everyone is fully prepared for exam week. They worked hard to write a short paragraph introducing themselves and have been reviewing how to describe someone in French. The focus for Year 6 this week has been to revise the present tense of regular - er verbs and the present tense of the verb ‘ faire’ which is irregular. The posters the green group made will be really useful!

In Classics this week 5EM have been learning about the Parthenon and using their comprehension skills from English to find and retrieve key facts. Next week I am looking forward to a great debate about whether or not the Elgin Marbles should be returned to the Greek government!

In Art, Year 5 are at the end of their glazing stage for their Tudor tiles. After they have been fired for the second time they will add gold highlights to complete this project. Their next project will be Aboriginal paintings. The first week of each term is an assessment session. After the children finished their tiles they started their colour blending assessment. It is pleasing to see the improvements they made since last year.

Year 6 are finishing their Angie Lewin projects which are almost complete. After this they will undertake a colour blending assessment before moving on to their Futurism projects.

In DT, Year 5 are learning more Shibori skills before they decide which pattern/style they prefer. After this final experiment they will start their final piece on t-shirts which they will be able to take home afterwards. Year 6 are really sewing well! They are blanket stitching their felt edges and those who have finished are preparing the soles of their slippers.

In IT, Year 5 are starting work on creating computer programs. They are learning how to break tasks down into simple steps by creating flowchart diagrams. They will then be learning how to make simple programs using Scratch. Year 6 are starting work on their computer games project; each pupil will need to design a concept for a game, create their own characters and program it using Scratch.

During form time Year 6 have got the chance to talk to their friends about the opportunity of becoming Year 6 leaders. They have shared their ideas with the rest of the class and they have given excellent presentations.

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Take one stage, 128 year 5 and 6 pupils, 3

nights, 3 separate casts each with at least 5

lines per child, and a staff member dressed

as a dinosaur and what do you have? Just

another Edge Grove Middle School

production.

After a term of rehearsals the anticipated

performances arrived and needless to say the

show went down a treat! All of the children

were excellent with their comic timing and the

audience didn’t have a minute to stop

laughing.

It was interesting and wonderful to see that

although the script was the same each class

interpreted it differently and therefore each

night brought something different to the

audience.

There were a number of standout

performances but for me it was wonderful that

every child in the middle school was on stage

singing, dancing and delivering lines- and all

looked like they enjoyed it! Doing it in their

forms with the six classes’ meant that every

child has an opportunity and some who

wouldn’t necessarily get a major part in a

bigger production did in this and shone

through!

It was fantastic that the lighting and stage management were done by three of our year 8 drama scholars

and it gave the middle school another way to think about how they can be involved in drama in the future.

Every child who performed and involved in the play should be extremely proud of themselves, as I am of

them.

Miss Chenovitch

Head of Drama

Schedule of Performances:

Tuesday 2nd April: 6CD & 5CE

Wednesday 3rd

April: 6LM & 5DN

Thursday 4th April: 6CT & 5DE

Middle School Production

ROCK BOTTOM

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Middle School Production

ROCK BOTTOM

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Upper School News

Anna Warren

Head of Upper School

Welcome to the summer term! It is fantastic to

see all the Upper School pupils return refreshed

and ready for an exciting time ahead. For our

Year 8s in particular this is a very action-packed

term: our Common Entrance candidates are

working hard on preparing for their examinations

in June, whilst the Baccalaureate groups

continue working towards their assessments.

Preparations for the conference are underway; in

groups the children have been brainstorming

around this year’s topic ‘My Environment’, and

have started to write the abstract and conference

for their papers.

The Year 7s have enjoyed this year’s final

ECube workshop on the power of positive

thinking: a perfect follow up to last term’s

Baccalaureate unit on life skills. I look forward to

working with them as they start work on their

presentations next week.

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Sunday 28th April 2019

THE VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON 2019

A race day report from Miss Bonnick!...

7 blisters, two broken legs but 26.2 miles covered! Well what an experience yesterday was running my first ever marathon. The hardest but most rewarding achievement I have done. The atmosphere and the crowds really do pull you through and I feel very proud to have run such an amazing marathon. Crossing Tower Bridge was pretty special and one of my highlights (I felt I sprinted at this point) It was so lovely to hear Miss Evans calling for me when I didn’t expect it! See you next year London Marathon 2020 (from the spectators barriers)! Miss Bonnick won’t be running any more marathons! A massive thank you so all of the families who have donated to me. I have raised over £3500!

Miss Bonnick looking happy at mile 14!!

Mr Evans on the start line

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Saturday 27th April 2019

WARRIOR ADRENALINE RACE

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Academic Commendations,

Commendations and Golden Moments

for the 5th-25th April

Sports News

Follow Edge Grove Sport on Twitter

@EdgeGroveSport

MUSIC

Music lesson timetables will be updated on FireFly on Friday afternoons.

No match reports this week as there have

been no fixtures. Check back next week! Click for more details

Click for music lesson timetables

ISFA Football

Well done to Lewis who played an integral part in the Independent Schools Football Association team at The Shrewsbury Festival. The team played 7 matches and won or drew all but one of their games. Lewis played in every match either at Centre Mid or on the wing. He had a wonderful time getting to know the other boys and the coaching staff were very encouraging. He certainly will remember the 3 days with great fondness. Impressive stuff Lewis!

MATHS

The Intermediate Maths Challenge was taken by a few members of Year 7 and 8 last term with two pupils (Ritwik and Chethas) qualifying for the follow-up round in March. Chethas gained a qualification certificate and Ritwik’s exceptional score of 118/135 earned him a Merit certificate as one of the top 25% of scores over 107 in the country. Well done to both!!

KARATE

Well done to Mark and Stephen who took their Black Belt grading last week and passed! They are now black belts, first degree in shotokan karate.

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Summer Term Boarders Activity Evenings We had a great boarding activity evening on Friday 26th April with well over 20 children taking part in our Annual Laser Tag evening. With a wide selection of skills across the 2 teams it was great fun. We hope to see some new faces at our next Friday Night Activity Evening! Here are the next activity evenings coming up...

Friday 17th May: Girls Activity Outing to Lush Brent Cross (Year 4 to 8) (£35) Friday 7th June: Outdoor Activity Evening (£45)

If you would like your child to attend please email our House Parent, Miss Hughes on nhughes@edgegrove.com.

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SCHOOL UNIFORM

With the fast approaching “Back to School” period nearly upon us, here is some important information on how to book an appointment with Stevensons as well as the summer opening hours of the St Albans branch:

St. Albans Branch

Monday 24th June-Sunday 11th August

Monday-Friday: 9.00am-8.00pm (5.30pm-8pm appointments only. Morning appointments are also

available); Saturdays: 9.00am-5.30pm; Sundays: CLOSED

Monday 12th August-Saturday 7th September

Monday-Friday: 9.00am-7.00pm; Saturdays: 9.00am-5.30pm; Sundays CLOSED excluding (25th August & 1st September): 10.00am-4.00pm; Bank Holiday Monday (26th August): 10.00am-4.00pm