ℯNEWS February, 7 2025
Form Four and Five Trip to the British Museum
On Monday, Forms Four and Five headed to the British Museum for a trip to ancient times. They started the day with a jaunt on a 98 London bus, before arriving at the British Museum and heading straight to Gallery 18 for the Parthenon Marbles experience. Both classes enjoyed the challenge of locating and examining aspects of the marbles, discussing in pairs and answering questions on the step-by-step Tablet tour experience. Form Five has been immersed in the controversy of The Marbles, in their research and discussion, for the last few weeks and so seeing the marbles ‘in the flesh’ expanded their knowledge. All the children benefited from examining these magnificent artefacts and using their ‘History detective’ skills to glean knowledge about the distant past.
After a chatty and well-earned lunch, the classes split into Ancient Egypt explorers (Form Four) and Ancient Greece explorers (Form Five) and set off to the respective galleries to examine more magnificent artefacts and open more doors of wonder into the two civilisations. For Form Five, the highlight of those Ancient Greek exhibits were the children’s toys and the musical instrument cases. We were impressed to discover just how sophisticated and inventive the Greek children were, with interests not so different to modern children’s interests. Form Four enjoyed investigating the tomb paintings of Nebamun’s tomb and investigating how the different artefacts give us a window into the daily life of Ancient Egyptians. They were also fascinated to see some of the Mummies. To round off the trip, we had another jolly jaunt on a London bus, arriving back in CHS, a little tired, but with our heads buzzing with scenes of Ancient Egypt and Greece.
Parent Meetings - Tuesday 4 & Wednesday 5 February
Parent meetings are a fantastic opportunity to connect with teachers and gain insight into your child’s progress, strengths, and areas for development. These discussions help ensure children are supported both at school and at home, reinforcing learning and building confidence. We hope this week’s meetings provided a clear picture of your child’s achievements and next steps.
Next week, Mrs Hampton will meet with Form Six parents to discuss the next steps following the 11+ results. This is a key opportunity to explore future school choices and the transition to senior school. A reminder that appointment times have been scheduled, and we look forward to these important discussions. Zoom details will be sent out early next week. Form Four meetings which were postponed will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient time.
Quiz Club
On Tuesday, four pupils from Connaught House represented the school in the annual General Knowledge competition organised by Quiz Club. This national tournament features hundreds of pupils from Form 3 to 6. Ari, Alexander, Atia and Mimi were the four to put their minds to the test against 71 other teams answering thirty challenging questions. During the event, they had to identify where the asteroid belt was located; the largest creature with a vertebra; the name of a rare dinosaur and the flag of Nigeria. When all the points were added up, they performed superbly coming seventh and booking their place in the semi-finals in March.
ISA National Music Competition
On Wednesday, Mimi from Form Six had the honour of taking part in the finals of the national ISA Music competition. She had won through to the prestigious event with incredible performances on the oboe – here is her own report of what happened:
“Today, I went to the ISA music competition finals at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. I was the only oboist among all the finalists. At first, I was quite nervous about the prospect of going onstage to perform my piece, ‘Romance’ by the English composer Madeleine Dring, however, as soon as I started playing, I became so engrossed in the music that I forgot that I was in the competition; it was such a fun and rewarding experience and I received the Judges’ Award! To all future musicians, I have some advice: performing in front of an audience is one of the most memorable experiences you could ever go through in your career. Never be afraid to do so, and enjoy it!”
Colourful Sock Day
The children enjoyed Colourful Sock Day today as part of our Mental Health Week celebrations! Linked to this year’s theme Grow Yourself, Know Yourself, the day was a good opportunity for children to express their individuality and creativity.
With each colour representing an important aspect of mental health, from green for feeling well to orange for managing stress, the children embraced the chance to wear their brightest, most colourful socks or tights. It was lovely to see how they mixed and matched, showing off their unique personalities and celebrating their well-being!
A huge thank you to everyone for making this day such a success!
House Points
Clifton Sussex
4372 4205
Upcoming
Carnival Day - Friday 14th February
We look forward to our annual Carnival day on Friday 14th February, the last day of this half term. The theme is Love and friendship and children are invited to dress in shades of red or pink OR they could choose to come as a character from a well-known fictional couple or group of friends - some suggestions we came up with were Shrek, Princess Fiona or Donkey, Hermione, Harry Potter or Ron, Barbie or Ken, Fred or Wilma Flintstone or Barney Rubble, Romeo or Juliet There are endless possibilities.
The children will be taking part in a number of creative workshops. Please note there are no games or swimming lessons on this day.
Artwork of the Week
Bruno in Form Three, for a brilliant drawing of a butterfly. Excellent focus and resilience when using the grid method. Well done Bruno!
Dates for your diary
February
14th - Carnival Day - in-school event for pupils
17th - 21st - HALF TERM
26th - Poetry Competition - in-school event for pupils
28th - Junior One Pizza Express Trip
March
7th - Poetry Recital - Parent event - NO AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS
21st - Open Morning - Current pupils with family - NO SCHOOL PM
21st - Open Afternoon - prospective pupils
27th - Last day of term
