School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 6/10/2017News - Friday 6th October 2017
It has been another very busy week at St. Helen's College, with Prizegiving, Harvest Festival celebrations, special assemblies and school trips.
Prizegiving
It was a pleasure to welcome back our Year 6 leavers for our annual Prizegiving Ceremony at the Winston Churchill Hall in Ruislip last night, and to celebrate their many and varied achievements during their time at St. Helen's College. We would like to extend our thanks to our Guest of Honour, Kevin Carson, who gave a most inspirational speech (see this week's Head's Blog), and to the Chamber Choir, who performed so beautifully. Huge congratulations to all of our prize winners, not only the Year 6 leavers but also the form prize winners from Years 3 to 5.
Harvest Festival Celebrations
Thank you to our Year 5 pupils, who presented two entertaining and thought-provoking performances at the Upper School Harvest Festival celebrations at All Saints Church this week. The celebrations were attended by all pupils and staff in Upper School and many parents. We were all reminded of the importance of working together and sharing our bounty with those less fortunate. We were grateful for so many generous donations of food, which are being sent to Slough Homeless Our Concern and The Salvation Army.
Our Lower School Harvest Festival Celebrations take place next week. The Nursery will have their Harvest Assembly on Monday 9th October at 8.45 a.m. Coffee will be served in the Methodist Church Hall from 8.15 a.m. on this day.
Reception and Year 1 will perform their Harvest Assemblies on Tuesday 10th October at 8.45 a.m. (Reception), and 9.15 a.m. (Y1). The Infant Choir will perform on this occasion between the Reception and Year 1 assemblies, at approximately 9.10 a.m. Coffee will be served in the Methodist Church Hall from 8.30 on this day.
All Lower School children are asked to bring a donation of food on the day of their Harvest celebration. The most suitable food items are non-perishable items such as canned and packet goods with a long shelf life. Please do not send in fresh fruits or vegetables.
SEWA Assemblies
We were delighted to be visited again this week by Kartig from the organisation SEWA. In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, Sewa means Service – and a unique concept of service: Selfless Efforts for the Welfare of All. SEWA UK is a Hindu faith-based humanitarian non-profit service organisation. Kartik reminded us of the importance of everyone taking some time to be selfless in this busy world. SEWA is a universal concept, which involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward. It is performed selflessly and without ulterior motive. As a concept, SEWA in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths – as the core belief is the same – to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without expectation of anything in return.
Staff Congratulations!
Many, many congratulations to Mr. McLaughlin and Miss Vig, who recently became engaged to be married! Mr. McLaughlin and Miss Vig plan to hold their wedding during 2018.
PA Bollywood Night - Tomorrow!
The PA Bollywood Night will take place from 7 p.m. at Baylis House tomorrow night (Saturday 7th October) and there are still a few tickets left. If you are interested in coming along, you can turn up at the venue and pay on the door. Tickets cost £26 for an adult, £12 for a child and children aged 2 and under go free. Food will be served at 7.30 p.m. (with adult starters and the children’s food coming out first) so make sure you arrive in good time. This promises to be a fantastic night of fun and we look forward to seeing you there!
Sports News
Our Y4-6 cross country team took part in the School Games District cross country competition this week, held on the Vyners School playing fields. The boys raced first over the 2km course, with over 100 boys from across the Uxbridge district taking part. Timi O finished first in 10th place followed by Daniel C in 17th place and Ethan V-B in 41st place. Our Y4 and Y5 boys Adi S, Rishi S-P, Patrick E, Eli V-B and Michael K gave a very good account of themselves in their first cross country event, coming in 51st, 56th, 66th, 65th and 76th places. Overall the boys came 7th in the team competition.
The girls' race followed and our girls showed great strength in running over the 2km distance. Zoe K finished 2nd and gained a silver medal and Abigail Y finish in 4th place, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. Chloe W, Maddy H and Grace R finished a very credible 40th, 41st and 42nd place respectively. In the team competition the girls finished in 4th place.
Well done to everyone who took part and trained hard in Court Park over the first few weeks of term. We are delighted to report that the girls team and Timi have qualified for the Borough cross country finals which will take place on Monday. Good luck to our runners!
Posted on: 29/09/2017News - 29th September 2017
On Monday this week, STEAM Day saw pupils engage in a diverse programme of exciting activities to investigate Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Maths. Visiting companies, staff and parents provided workshops to help children learn through memorable hands-on experiences. From designing a water delivery system with Affinity Water, to designing and testing wind tunnels; from building bridges and rafts to making cheese and honeycomb, pupils (and staff) enjoyed challenging themselves. Wildgoose developed a bespoke app for the school, using gamification for learning; there were Maths challenges including puzzles, codes and rotational symmetry designs; children made lava lamps, marble runs and umbrellas and pupils took part in orienteering sessions. The children at Upper School were visited by representatives from Tesla, who brought along two Tesla cars and demonstrated self-drive technology. The children will, no doubt, never forget seeing the cars in action! You can see the photos from STEAM Day here.
STEAM Day and last week's St. Helen’s Day are two examples of the creative and enriched curriculum we offer the children here at St. Helen's College. The school’s philosophy is that children learn best when they are happy, secure and valued, and when each child is challenged to extend their learning in exciting and varied ways. Listening to the pupils themselves reflecting on their experiences during these two days, it is clear that the last week has enhanced their education in quite special ways. We would like to say an enormous THANK YOU to all of the parents who supported these events by helping your children dress in 1920s dress and, especially, by running or assisting at workshops on STEAM Day. We know how lucky we are to have such a supportive and involved parent community and we hope that you have enjoyed hearing about your children's experiences at home too!â
6M Assembly - National Languages Day
As inspiration for their class assembly this week, 6M looked to National Languages Day. The children presented a performance looking at the importance and benefits of learning different languages, from challenging oneself to being able to understand and appreciate cultural differences in our world. During the assembly, the pupils spoke in an astonishing array of foreign languages, including Dutch, Urdu, Mandarin, Spanish, Norwegian, French, Swahili and many more! They also looked ahead to their Year 6 residential trip to France, during which they will immerse themselves in French language and culture, and recited a multi-lingual poem as well as singing 'Hakuna Matata' with a linguistic twist. Well done indeed, 6M, on an interesting, informative and fun assembly.
Harvest Festivals
All parents are warmly invited to our Harvest Festival celebrations in October. Arrangements are as follows.
The Upper School (Years 2-6) Harvest Festival will take place at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday 3rd October, at All Saints Church.
The Nursery will have their Harvest Assembly on Monday 9th October at 8.45 a.m. Coffee will be served in the Methodist Church Hall from 8.15 a.m. on this day.
Reception and Year 1 will perform their Harvest Assemblies on Tuesday 10th October at 8.45 a.m. (Reception), and 9.15 a.m. (Y1). The Infant Choir will perform on this occasion between the Reception and Year 1 assemblies, at approximately 9.10 a.m. Coffee will be served in the Methodist Church Hall from 8.30 on this day.
All children should bring a donation of food on the day of their Harvest celebration. The most suitable food items are non-perishable items such as canned and packet goods with a long shelf life. Please do not send in fresh fruits or vegetables.
Food donations will be given to the Salvation Army and to local charity SHOC, which supports homeless people in Slough. Slough and the surrounding area is a region badly affected by homelessness and social exclusion. It is an urban area of extremes and great diversity. While the town itself is home to a large number of successful international companies, around 15% of Slough’s residents live in communities that are among the 20% most deprived income areas in the country. SHOC (Slough Homeless Our Concern) is a day centre which provides care for the homeless in Slough and those at risk of becoming so. It is the only centre within a 20-mile radius which offers the homeless both crisis care and long term, transformational help towards independence.
âWe hope that you will join with us to generously support these two charities.
Kai Joins Lion King Cast As Simba!
We are delighted to announce that Kai P-W (6M) has been cast as the young Simba in Disney's Lion King on the West End stage! Kai will join the cast for rehearsals from mid-October and will be performing as the young Simba from November through to May 2018. We will share dates for his performances when exact dates are confirmed, as many pupils, parents and staff will no doubt wish to go and see him perform. Well done and best of luck, Kai!
School Games Gold Mark
Once again, St. Helen's College has been awarded the School Games Gold Mark to recognise the breadth and quality of the sporting provision here at school. This is the fifth year in a row that we have been awarded the Gold Mark, and we are now eligible to apply for the Platinum Mark next year! As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are delighted that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.
Half Term Holiday Club
Bookings for the half term Holiday Club are now open. The booking form has been posted to the School Documents page of the website.
PA Bollywood Night
Just one week to go and there are only 20 tickets left for the PA Bollywood night to be held on Saturday 7th October. So if you want to come, now is the chance to grab the last few tickets! Not every PA event is about fundraising and the price you pay for the ticket is for food only. The rest of the evening's entertainment is courtesy of the PA! The famous dancer, Jay Kumar, will be there to perform and teach everyone some Bollywood moves and a DJ will be on hand to keep the music playing (Bollywood and current) so that we can party the night away! Remember, we only have 20 tickets left. Tickets are £26 per adult, £12 per child and children aged 2 and under go free. So come along to what promises to be a fantastic night of fun. To purchase tickets email pa@sthelenscollege.com. Don't miss out, do it now! Thank you to everyone for your support.
Posted on: 22/09/2017News - 22nd September 2017
What a wonderful trip to the past today has been! The children and staff dressed up in 1920s style outfits and lessons investigating the past were delivered. Pupils had traditional sewing and handwriting lessons, using chalk and slate. They learnt about old money and converted pounds, shillings and pence into today's money, practised times tables by rote learning chants, compared 1920s maps of Hillingdon with today's maps, discovered the art deco movement and its influence on fashion and learnt some traditional folk songs. Typing and dictation skills were practised, and children also learnt about the commercial use of telephone and made their own string telephones. They also investigated life in Britain and Spain in the 1920s. At break times, old fashioned playground games were played. The children at Upper School took part in a PE drill lesson led by Year 6.
Our Lower School pupils were fascinated to discover that the first television was produced in the 1920s, and that votes for women and the discovery of penicillin were two of the big topics of the time. The history of St. Helen's College in the 1920s was brought to life in Upper School assembly. The children discovered how Hillingdon changed in the 1920s, how the school came to be founded by Dorothea and Mary Watson in 1924 and where the original school house was on Long Lane. It was fascinating to learn so much about the school and parents may be interested in seeing the presentation used in the Upper School assembly today which is here. In the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Crehan came to visit. They watched the whole school PE drill and spoke in an afternoon assembly about their memories of St. Helen's. Our Year 2 pupils were awarded their St. Helen's College value cards by our senior pupil team in a short ceremony and the school song was vigorously sung by all.
Thank you to all parents for dressing the children in such wonderful outfits today. It has been a great St. Helen's Day!
Ducklings and Nursery Entry 2018
The admissions procedures for entry to St. Helen's College in September 2018 are now beginning. Last night we held a very successful meeting for parents of children who are eligible to join Ducklings next September, and we will soon be contacting parents of registered children to invite them in for our Ducklings 'Stay and Play' entry meetings in January. Likewise, we will shortly be contacting parents of registered children who are eligible for 3+ Nursery entry next September to invite them in for their entry meetings in January.
If you have a child who was born between 01.09.15 and 31.08.16 and you have not yet registered him or her, but would like Ducklings entry for next September, please do register now.
If you have a child born between 01.09.14 and 31.08.15 and you have not yet registered him or her, but would like 3+ Nursery entry for next September, please do register now.
The registration form can be completed online here.
Parents' Evenings - Nursery, Reception and Year 1
Parents' evenings for all classes from Nursery to Year 1 will take place on Tuesday 3rd October from 4 - 7 p.m. and on Thursday 12th October from 6 - 9 p.m. We use an online booking system which you can access here. Please follow the online instructions to book your appointment. On the evening itself, you should arrive fifteen minutes or so before your appointment to give you time to peruse your child’s work, which will be laid out in the Lower School hall. â
PA Bollywood Night - Saturday 7th October
It’s really not long now until the PA Bollywood night on Saturday 7th October, so do make sure that you reserve your places now as they are going fast. As well as Bollywood dancing, there will be a raffle, photo opportunities and henna tattoos (£5 per person) available on the night. Tickets are £26 for an adult and £12 for a child and the price includes a three course meal and unlimited soft drinks. There is a separate menu for the children and children aged 2 and under go free.
Please contact pa@sthelenscollege.com by Tuesday 26th September to let us know how many adult and child tickets you would like. We will then send you payment instructions and a unique reference number which you will need to quote to make an electronic bank transfer. Don’t miss out on this night to remember!
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