WHERE GIRLS HAVE EDGE

WAKEFIELD

WHERE GIRLS HAVE EDGE

Living on theEDGE

This year EDGE has continued to evolve, in keeping with our philosophy that EDGE afternoons should always be something exciting and engaging. Every year we retire some activities and ask everyone for new ideas. It's a chance for everyone to have their say about what new skills they would like to learn, or how they most like to relax. This year some of the best ideas were from students, and some girls have volunteered to run activities themselves. Our newly announced Head Girl, Sarah Shah, has singlehandedly created a Horrible Histories course, expressing her love for the subject and inspiring other girls. Our new menu also includes a new philosophy and ethics course, inspired by the TV show The Good Place, run by Aminta Utting Simon. Many of our Y12 students are also using the time to act as mentors for local junior schools, running reading sessions in the community. Such inspiring work and leadership from our students demonstrates what EDGE is all about: developing new skills ready for life.

Of course, since lockdown a lot of our plans for the summer had to be postponed. Trail Running and Orienteering, due to start this year, will now see their first sessions in the next academic year. But just because we are not at school, that doesn't mean EDGE stops altogether. Many girls have completed their EDGE Activity Log, detailing the new activities they have been completing at home, from yoga and cycling to cooking and crafts. We're currently finishing the plans for next year, where we are introducing Stage Combat and Sword Fighting, Rocket Building, and Geocaching. The latter is already proving to be very popular, according to the options that are currently flooding in. Work continues to make sure next year's EDGE is the best yet!

Mr Paget

EDGE - Year 12 Reading Ambassadors

From January of this year, a small group of Year 12 pupils, including myself, have been trialling a new Outreach Reading Ambassadors Programme during EDGE. Our role was to read with young children across all year groups in local junior schools such as St Mary’s Primary School, Greenhill Primary School and St. Michael’s Primary School at Flanshaw, and every Thursday afternoon we would each be dropped off at one of these three schools by Mrs Maher (our Outreach Coordinator). The programme was an extension of our school’s annual SHINE scheme, and was designed to both encourage the childrens’ love of reading and develop their confidence and reading ability. I was fortunate enough to have been one (of three) reading ambassadors from WGHS to St Mary’s Primary School, and here I was able to work with a small group of Year 5 children; some of whom were already known to me from previous work with SHINE. Other year groups worked with, across all three schools, ranged from Reception to Year 6, and we all agreed that, as the weeks progressed, the bonds we made with the children were really special. The Headteachers and classroom staff across all three schools made us feel both welcome and appreciated, and it was always really lovely to be enthusiastically welcomed by the children when we entered the classroom.

The children I worked with at St. Mary’s could already read at an impressive level, and to be able to work with some children who spoke English as a second language was a really unique experience. It was truly a pleasure to see their progress over the months and watch their confidence and speed of reading increase as their familiarity with words improved. One particular memory I have from the programme was arriving on World Book Day, as St. Mary’s had decided to turn this into a Pyjama Day. The children had outfits ranging from animal onesies to brightly coloured, fluffy dressing gowns, and reading with one little girl with giant unicorn slippers was an unforgettable experience! Overall, we all thoroughly enjoyed the programme, and really hope the children enjoyed and gained from the experience as much as we did. We also give many thanks to Mrs Maher for organising this, and hope it can continue running for many years to come.

Tara Jayawardena - Year 12

#makespacefornature

Spending more time at home and in our gardens has made us more aware of what is around us. Many people have been reporting that during lockdown they are taking more time to notice the nature around them and the benefits it brings. While our lives in many ways have ground to a halt, for the natural world spring is in full throttle with new life to be fed and nurtured. This is our chance to make space for nature in our lives, a relationship which will benefit ourselves and the natural world.

As an alternative lockdown EDGE activity WGHS girls were challenged to make some space for nature in their gardens.

Miss Dollive