School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 9/02/2018Pride - Head's Blog
I can hardly believe that we are at half term already and it is with a great sense of pride that I reflect on the beginning of 2018: Joyous January and Forte February!
I always feel that it is important to enter the New Year feeling joyous about the year ahead and looking forward to what it will bring. Despite the joy of Christmas being over and in spite of the darkness surrounding us early in the morning and early in the evening we must remain joyful!
February is upon us already - Forte February - forte meaning ‘strength’ or ‘talent’ and a measure of mindset and attitude over ego and a lack of awareness. (I revisit this from last year!) It is in ‘Forte February’ that we should recognise the talents and strengths of everyone we spend time with, children and adults, celebrate abilities and gifts, take time for self-care and promote well-being.
In your children we have had so much to celebrate this half term; it has been an action packed half term with the children giving so much of themselves to their studies but also to the enriched co-curriculum programme of activities we offer here at St. Helen’s College. I am not about to list all the wonderful achievements of our pupils - the weekly newsletter, class blogs and photo galleries are testament to what an amazing community we have!
We encourage the children to promote their own talents and to be able to do this without ‘showing off’ can sometimes be a challenge. They all have that inner strength to celebrate and we are developing this ability in every single pupil. Self-esteem, resilience, strength of character and a positive sense of self is something to promote and be proud of.
So this half term do take time with your family to be PROUD of your children but also to be proud of what every member of your family has achieved. Below are a few synonyms to start the conversations! I am pleased with….I am glad that...I am happy with...I am delighted with...
synonyms:
pleased (with), glad (about/at), happy (about/at/with), delighted (about/at/with), joyful (at), overjoyed (at/over), thrilled (at/about/by/with), well pleased (with), satisfied (with), gratified (at), content (at), appreciative (of)
Have a wonderful half term holiday and thank you to everyone - pupils, parents and staff - for such a great first half term of 2018!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 9/02/2018Weekly News - Friday 9th February 2018
We are delighted that the school was today presented with a special award to recognise our outstanding provision for pupils with Asthma. We are the first school in the London Borough of Hillingdon to be named as an 'Asthma Friendly School'. Many congratulations to Miss Lang, Mrs. Beale and all of the staff who ensure that our provision for children with asthma is first class.
London Schools Concert
Our Chamber Choir participated for the first time this year in the Children's Trust annual London Schools Concert . They performed along with six other independent schools in the beautiful baroque church St. John 's, Smith Square in the heart of Westminster. Our pupils sang with such confidence and harmony in both of their songs but in their second song, 'Can you Hear Me?', they mesmerised the audience of 500 with their singing and sign language.
Thank you to all of the parents who attended the concert and to Mrs. Allery and Mrs. Garnes for preparing the pupils so well. Over £5,000 was raised on the day for this very worthwhile charity and we look forward to being part of this very special day again next year - do put Sunday 3rd February 2019 in your diaries now! The next event for the Chamber Choir will be the Barnardos National Choral Competition on Monday 12th March and tickets can be purchased here:
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/120550-barnardos-national-choral-competition-and-concert-2018
1HC Assembly
In their class assembly this week, 1HC entertained us with dragon dancing, singing and the history of the Chinese New Year with such vibrance and superb presentation skills. Special thank you to Joleen who had been instrumental in sharing so much information about the traditions of this special event in the Chinese culture. Mr. Crehan, who is also learning Mandarin, tested out his language skills with the children back in class with great aplomb!
2H Assembly
2H delighted us today in reminding us of the importance of friendships with words, action and song. In their words, 'To have a good friend, you need to be a good friend'. Congratulations and thank you, 2H.
Speech Competition
Every child in Years 1 to 6 should now have brought home their poem or piece of prose to learn for our Speech Competition, which takes place in the last week of term. Please do help your child to learn their poem or prose by heart and to speak it as expressively as they can. The children will also have a chance to practise in class after half term and there will then be preliminary rounds to select class finalists.
Class finalists will perform at the finals of the Speech Competition, to which parents of finalists will be invited. At the finals, a winner will be chosen from each class and there will also be an overall winner selected for Years 1-3 and for Years 4-6.
Children will be judged on their expression, projection and clarity. They will be expected to show an understanding of, and empathy for, the content of their piece. Use of reasonable facial expression and appropriate hand gestures is encouraged, but please note that no choreography or props are allowed!
Nursery and Reception children will each learn a poem and will recite these to their peers, staff and parents in their own Speech Festival. Again, please help your children to learn their poem by heart and to enjoy performing it.
We hope you will enjoy hearing the children practise at home for this!
Sports News
The Year 6 handball teams took part in the local primary school competition last Saturday at Oak Wood School. This fast moving, action packed Olympic sport is very exciting to watch and our pupils really enjoyed playing competitively. Everyone worked hard to attack and defend and Krish was an outstanding goalie, even managing to save a penalty. Our A team won two matches in their group against Hillingdon and St. Bernadette and the B team also won two matches in their group against Oak Farm and St. Andrew's. However it was the B team who narrowly lost out on progressing to the semi finals by just one goal. Well done to all our players: Ryeesa S, Abigail Y, Jed H, Timi O, Max E, Aeshan N, Zara S-P, Grace R, Natalie F, Amrit R, Arusan U-H, Abhiram R and Krish T.
The West London Eagles handball team runs training for junior boys on Tuesdays and junior girls on Thursdays at Northolt High Sports Centre. If your son or daughter is enjoying handball at school, why not consider joining them? The first session is free and full details are available atwww.westlondoneagles.co.uk.
On Monday, we had a boys' hockey match against St. Benedict's School at Brunel Sports Park. After recent years of success, we found ourselves playing against a much improved team. St. Helen's College put in a lot of determination and tried hard to keep their shape. Unfortunately we lost the match 7-1 but the boys really enjoyed the afternoon. The team members were: Abhiram R, Daniel C, Arusan U-H, Amrit R, Veer B, Nirmit N, Rajdeep B, Jed H and Luke J.
World Book Day
The school will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 1st March. The theme for this year is Roald Dahl, one of the most phizz-whizzing British children's authors of all! Children are asked to dress up on the day; pupils from Years 1 - 6 are encouraged to dress as a Roald Dahl character but all book characters are welcome! Ducklings, Nursery and Reception will of course be joining in with all the fun and they are asked to dress as a book character of their choice. We hope it will be a fun filled day to celebrate all the fantastic reading done throughout the year.
NSPCC Workshops and Fundraiser
The NSPCC’s 'Speak out. Stay safe.' programme will be visiting our school during the second half of term, with their friendly mascot Buddy, to make sure our pupils have the knowledge and understanding they need to stay safe.
To support the NSPCC we will be organising a fundraiser at school in the week beginning 5th March. This year’s fundraiser (the Buddy cycle and scooter workout) will involve children counting how many times they can cycle or scoot around a workout route in 10 minutes. Pupils will be asked to bring their (named) bicycle/scooter and helmet to school on the day of their challenge. The school will have some spare bicycles/scooters available too.
Year 6 will be taking part in the Buddy cycle and scooter workout but have chosen different activities to raise funds. 6M will take part in a Spellathon and 6D will take part in a maths challenge.
Full details and sponsor forms will be sent home in due course. In the meantime, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher.
Instrumental Vacancies
We have an unexpected vacancy for a child (in Year 2 - Year 6) to learn the 'cello at school. Lessons are available from after half term onwards.
We will also have a vacancy for individual trumpet tuition from Easter. Again, this is available to children in Years 2 to 6.
If you are interested in your child learning either of these instruments, please email Mrs. Allery at rallery@sthelenscollege.com as soon as possible. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Posted on: 2/02/2018Reporting To Parents - Head's Blog
Having worked in a range of schools prior to taking up the Headship of St. Helen’s College, I have been privy to a wide range of reporting methods. As a parent myself I always looked forward to my daughter’s Parents’ Evenings and to the report card coming home from school. She herself attended three different schools and they all reported to parents in different ways. As parents, we all want to know that our precious ones are happy at school, developing their interpersonal skills and making good friendships and of course making progress in their subjects. Parents also want to know how we can support our children’s learning and personal development at home.
Parents’ Evenings are one of the ways in which we report to our parents and we are aware that time restriction is a factor at these evenings. Teachers and parents alike could spend hours discussing a child’s learning thus this is why we have an open door policy and our staff are happy to meet with parents if they have a query regarding their child’s progress at any time - not just in the designated Parents’ Evening slot!
Report cards are another way in which we are able to communicate with parents regarding your children’s learning. I am sure that you all expect the report to be informative about how your child is progressing, not only academically but as an individual person in their own right and how you may be able to support your child at home.
At St. Helen’s College, we pride ourselves on our school aims:
Love of Learning
To nurture a love of learning, and to develop fully every child’s academic potential.
Through challenging, stimulating and creative teaching we aim to nurture the ability to think critically, creatively and flexibly, to work both independently and collaboratively, to be self-motivated and to persevere, and thereby to achieve high levels of scholarship while developing a lifelong love of learning.
Outward Development
To encourage all children to discover and develop their own excellence by participating in the widest range of challenging activities.
We aim to encourage exploration, discover talent, nurture interest, and inspire achievement across the full range of creative, aesthetic, sporting and academic domains. We place great emphasis on activities which bring out the best in children.
Inward Development
To instil traditional Christian values and to nurture strength of character, so that the children will be ready to face, with integrity and confidence, the many challenges of adult life.
We aim to instil core Christian values, to teach mindful self-awareness, to inspire virtue, confidence, imagination and versatility, and thereby to nurture confident, compassionate, creative, communicative, self-aware, adaptable citizens and leaders of the future.
It is with this in mind that it is important that your children understand the ‘Habits of Learning’ which they need to develop in order to be a successful learner and flourish as an individual, ready for their journey through life.
We encourage our pupils to develop the following habits in all that they do at school:
To be organised and prepared for the day, for each lesson and for each activity they do
To be able to work independently in their tasks without always seeking adult support or reassurance (including homework)
To be able to collaborate with both their peers and adults in class and out of lessons
To take initiative in their learning, think for themselves without waiting to be prompted, seize opportunities and be resourceful by having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties
To have self-discipline - that ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses
This term, alongside reporting on academic achievement, we will be reporting to parents on your child's 'Habits of Learning'. We hope this will be very insightful and helpful to you and to your children. All teachers who work with your children will be able to comment on these habits and how they are developing in their subject area and the form tutor will then look at the child’s general ‘Habits of Learning’ across all subjects.
I know that if I had been given this type of information about my daughter when she was younger I may have done some things differently with her! Do remember that your children are often very different at school than at home and the profile that the school has of a child can be quite different from what you see at home. This is why it is so important to establish good communication between home and school!
Parent conferences and report cards are such a small part of how we communicate about your children’s journey at St. Helen’s College - so do keep the channels of communication open so that we may all bring out the best for each pupil in our care.
Posted on: 2/02/2018Weekly News - Friday 2nd February 2018
Our Year 6 Sports Captains were inspired to create an assembly this week about the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, after an offer from a parent to bring in one of the torches used in the relay to get the Olympic flame from Greece to PyeongChang.
The Sports Captains delivered a very informative assembly all about this year's host city, the Olympic and Paralympic values, the symbolism of the torch relay and the 2018 torch design. They told us all about the different sports that we will see next week when the Games start. The children were amazed to see the torch and the Sports Captains demonstrating some winter sports! â
There were class assemblies this week too.
Our Robins Nursery children performed a roaringly successful assembly for us on Thursday all about dinosaurs. It was clear, following their recent workshop with the Travelling Natural History Museum, that the children had learnt so much about fossils and the species of dinosaurs - whose names they pronounced with unfaltering good diction! Quite an achievement for 3 and 4 year olds! Well done Robins!
2B presented their assembly all about the Great Fire of London and what a great way this was of learning about this fascinating history topic, with music, dance, drama and singing. Thank you to 2B for telling us the story behind the Great Fire and reminding us of the brave job that our firefighters continue to do for us today. Parents, do enjoy your visit to London this half term!
Don't forget to visit the Galleries page for photographs of assemblies, performances, sports and more.
Borough Basketball
This week our basketball team took part in the Borough School Games Basketball Tournament held at Uxbridge College. The event, attended by 30 school teams from across the borough, was organised by Thames Valley Cavaliers and students from Uxbridge College's Basketball Academy.
Our A team were in a group with Hayes Park A, Dr Tripletts A, Oak Farm A and Guru Nanak. Our B team was in a group with Hayes Park B, Tripletts B, William Byrd B, and Whiteheath C. As the competition progressed our teams became more confident and the shots started to go in more and more. Our A team won 2 and lost 2 matches and our B team won 1 match and lost 3.
The event was great fun and gave all our pupils a positive experience of competitive basketball. Well done to team members Jed H, Aeshan N, Max E, Jai S, Luke J, Roshan J, Tamara A and Sreeja B.
If anyone would like to try basketball, there is a basketball camp running over February half term at Uxbridge College. Details are available here.
Road Safety
Parents are reminded that the school does not permit children to use the pedestrian crossing on Long Lane unaccompanied. Please help us to set a good example and do not allow your children to use the zebra crossing without an adult. Long Lane is a busy road and we consider that it is not safe for children to cross it alone.
Posted on: 26/01/2018Reading - Head's Blog
It was wonderful to see so many parents attending our reading information sessions across the school this week. Parental support is key for children’s learning outcomes and your attendance this week speaks volumes. I am sure that Mr. McLaughlin, Head of English, and Mrs. Hunt, Head of Lower School, have inspired everyone and given you all food for thought.
The conversations I had with parents after the meetings were very honest and I am sure reflect the home lives of many modern families. Sadly, the good intentions that many parents have at the start of the academic year can slip as life becomes busy. It is all too easy to end up hearing your child read in the back of the car or in the kitchen while you are multi-tasking, making dinner, checking emails and so on. However, time does need to be allocated to that wonderful experience of sharing your child’s reading book. This is the most important homework that we give the children. The foundation for successful reading and comprehension lies in the early years when children are unlocking that door to the kingdom of learning. 'Learning to Read’ will progress into ‘Reading to Learn’, and the development of secure comprehension skills, in particular, underpins how a child can access the curriculum in all subjects as he or she moves through their educational journey.
‘Book talk’ is enormously important, so please do spend time with your child asking them questions about the book they are reading; this will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the text. I know that Mr. McLaughlin shared some sample question prompts for parents and many of our reading scheme books have superb information for parents on the inside and back covers - please do take a look.
Just as importantly, we can be the best role models to our children. Let your children see you reading! Seeing adults using reading as a purposeful activity to further learning or for joy and relaxation will underline to children how worthwhile an activity reading really is. This needs to be continued through your children's teenage years, when too often they feel bombarded with course reading for GCSE and A levels! Do remind them of the joy of reading or even pull out their favourite baby book from years gone by. My 18 year old daughter still enjoys snuggling in bed with me as we share her furry bound book we shared when she was a toddler - reciting the book from cover to cover - it still brings a tear to my eye as we chuckle at the simple story line and repetitive pattern of the book. The joy and emotional bond that reading together creates between children and adults lives forever.
When you are out and about, why not have your children read the signs in the supermarket or the road signs? Or you might plan a day out by reading together from the visitor guide at the attraction you are visiting. Many museums, castles and National Trust attractions have their own children’s guides…so do encourage your children to read and plan the day. Not only will they be applying their reading skills but they will be using and developing many other skills such as mapping skills, telling the time or learning about history - there is a whole world of learning to embrace in your family time outside of school. Many of us have been visiting our local parks for years but have never noticed some of the information boards that have been put in place to inform us about our local surroundings. The National Heritage, RSPB and Wildlife Trust have all invested in wonderful notice boards which children can read and learn from.
Our pupils at St. Helen’s College are fortunate in that there is such a buzz around visiting the libraries both in Lower School and Upper School. The pupils know that libraries are special places and are always excited to visit and seek out new reads and recommendations from their peers. Why not visit other libraries or bookshops with your children outside of school too, so that pupils can share with you the excitement of finding a new and interesting book.
Thank you for your support in your children’s learning journey. I hope that our reading evenings have perhaps rekindled your own passion for reading and given you some useful tips on how to support your children in what is the most wonderful (and important) skill to learn and then use!
HAPPY READING!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 26/01/2018Weekly News - Friday 26th January 2018
Thank you to all of the parents who attended our reading meetings this week and showed such energy and enthusiasm. Reading is such a vital area of the children's development and we our delighted to have such strong parental support with home reading. Here are three links to the materials used for the meetings.
Lower School presentation (phonics and alphabetic code)
Reading at Home presentation
Book Talk question slips
If you have any queries about reading at home or school, please contact your child's form teacher in the first instance. You may also contact Mr. McLaughlin, our Head of English, at amclaughlin@sthelenscollege.com
Assemblies This Week
1S reminded us all of the importance of looking after our world in their class assembly this week, with a delightful re-enactment of the the Old Testament story of 'Noah's Ark'. Each pupil played their part with such enthusiasm and passion. Thank you to the children for a heartwarming performance.
Another superb assembly came today from 4A, who highlighted the character trait of 'self-control'. Mrs. Drummond was honoured to attend a preview performance on Thursday, when pupils also reflected on how they were aware that they are becoming more self aware and recognised how they have matured in Year 4 and developed more 'self-control'. Well done everyone!
Do visit the Galleries page to see photographs of the assemblies.
Heartstart Training
Our annual Heartstart training for pupils from Reception to Year 6 was completed last week in a series of workshops. Each year pupils are taught a progressive range of skills so that they know what to do in a medical emergency. Basic first aid skills are taught including how to call 999 and what to do if someone is unconscious, choking, has a serious bleed, stroke, heart attack or cardiac arrest. We hope your children have shared some of the skills they have learnt with you and we encourage parents to ask your children to demonstrate what they would do by acting it out. This is a good way for them to embed their skills and train others at home too.
Burns Supper
Thank you to Soula and her staff for embracing 'Burns Night' with the Middle and Upper School pupils who were all able to sample some Scottish fayre. Well done to those children and adults who stepped out of their comfort zone to taste haggis for the very first time (both meat and vegetarian were on offer). Many children asked if they could purchase this outside of school they enjoyed it so much! We shall not promote any individual supermarket but yes....most supermarkets will stock it in the sausage/bacon isle! Happy haggis hunting!
Staff news
We welcome Miss Davies back to Lower School on Monday after her maternity leave. Miss Davies will be in school for three days each week and we are delighted that Mrs. Meeran will remain with us for the other two days to job share with Miss Davies.
Class Representatives
We would like to remind parents of the role of the class representatives. Their role is twofold: to disseminate information from the School or the PA committee to the class parents, and to pass on any collective feedback from parents to the School or to the PA committee. The School has an ‘open door’ policy and all parents are asked to direct queries, in the first instance, to their class teacher. This will usually be the fastest and most direct way for queries to be answered or concerns addressed. If the class teacher is unable to help, he or she will refer parents to the appropriate member of the SLT or to Mrs. Drummond. The Parents’ Forum convened only once each term, and so did not allow for immediate discussion of any issues; we are finding that the new system has been embraced by parents throughout the school and is working well.
Uniform 2018-19
The uniform list for 2018-19 has now been finalised and published. You can access a copy here. Please note that all children should return to school in September wearing full winter uniform from now on.
There are two changes to items on the uniform list.
Firstly, the girls' winter skirt has been updated. The new green skirt is a one-piece skirt with a flat front and drop-pleated back; it should be easier to wash and dry for parents, as well as holding its shape better and providing a more comfortable fit for all girls. The green skirt will be extended to Nursery children so that parents may continue to use their Nursery skirt into Reception if appropriate. We are sure you will agree that the new style skirt represents an improvement on the old style, fully pleated skirt. The old style skirt is being discontinued and the tunic, which is harder for the girls to get on and off, is also being discontinued. This will streamline the girls’ uniform list and ensure that all girls will have a uniform appearance, as the boys do. Although we are sure that most parents will want to adopt the new skirt as soon as possible, there will be a year’s grace period so that parents may make use of uniform already purchased.
The 3-in-1 green coat (which was already part of the uniform list) is being introduced as a compulsory item, in response to many requests over the years from parents, both via the Parents’ Forum and in informal discussions, for a uniform coat for all. The School has consulted with Pullen’s over the last two years and has looked at many different samples of coats. We know that parents felt strongly that a unisex coat would be the best solution, so that parents could pass the coat down to siblings of either gender. We are mindful of the cost of uniform and the selected 3-in-1 coat is almost half the price of the most economical duffle coat we could source. Its introduction will also allow us to discontinue the PE fleece as a separate item, which will help to minimise costs for parents. We anticipate that parents will separate the fleece from the outer shell of the coat and use the outer shell as a day-to-day school coat, keeping the fleece with the PE/Games kit. Children should be warm enough in full winter uniform (long-sleeved shirt, jumper/cardigan, blazer, coat, hat, scarf and gloves), but of course they may also use the fleece lining as part of the winter coat if needed in extremely inclement weather.
As ever, we thank you for your support as these changes are introduced.
Nursery Hours
Following the launch of our full time Kindergarten, Ducklings, there is now hardly any demand for part time places in the Nursery at 3+, with parents opting to send children for the full school day. We will therefore be discontinuing the part time option for Nursery attendance and will be requiring all children in future intakes to accept places on a full time (Monday to Friday, 8.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.) basis. Please contact Mrs. Smith if you have any queries about admissions.
Sports News: Platinum Award, Borough Gymnastics & Tickets to Women's FA Cup Final
At the Borough Gymnastics competition this week, Miss Walker was presented with the Platinum School Games Award. The award was achieved after five consecutive years of achieving the School Games Gold Award. We had made a video submission from our Sports Captains showcasing how sport, competition and leadership skills are developed at St. Helen's College. Of the 24,000 schools in the UK only 104 schools have been award the Platinum Award, with 24 schools in London receiving the award and only two in Hillingdon! We are delighted that is has been recognised that our curriculum and co-curriculum provision for sport is of the highest quality nationally.
This highly prestigious award has only been achieved because of the whole school community support of sport: parents transporting pupils and cheering teams on, pupils committing to trying their best in sport and staff delivering high quality PE/Games lessons, running clubs and taking teams to competitions. Well done everyone!
This week pupils from Years 3/4 and Years 5/6 took part in the School Games Borough Gymnastics Competition held at Botwell Green Leisure Centre. Over the past month the children have been working hard, learning floor and body management routines and vaults in order to compete. The children were judged by a panel of judges on each apparatus just like at the Olympics. In a very high standard competition it came down to a couple of marks here and there to decide the overall placing. Our teams gave a very good account of themselves, improving through rounds. Both our Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 teams finished in 7th place in the competition with a score of 96.2 and 103.8. Well done to team members Harry J, Daniel G-J, Catherine L, Lily A, Zara S-P, Ionie M, Lincoln B and Ethan V-B. Examples of their efforts can be seen on the Galleries page.
The FA are offering discounted tickets for the Women's FA Cup Final at Wembley on Saturday 5th May for school groups. Standard tickets are available at £15 for adults (with under-16s free) and if parents can organise a group of twelve or more then the adult tickets become just £7.50 each. If groups book before 31st January then you will also have the opportunity to win additional experiences such as free coach travel to the game, a visit from the Women's FA Cup trophy to the school and other experiences. Tickets can be booked at https://ticketing.thefa.com/. We do hope many of you will choose to attend.
Holiday Club
The booking form for the February half term Holiday Club has been posted to the School Documents page of the website. Please note that the deadline for booking places is Friday 2nd February.
Traffic Delays
Most parents are no doubt already aware of the works being carried out along Harlington Road. Diversions are in place via Lees Road, Uxbridge Road and Harlington Road and the London Borough of Hillingdon have indicated that the road closure is likely to continue until at least 16th February. We know that this is affecting many of your journeys to school and will continue to do so.
When pupils arrive late at school, this can disrupt the registration session and the first lesson for all of their class. Please do allow extra time for your journey while the road closure is in place, and/or use alternative routes where possible. Of course we understand that lateness is occasionally unavoidable because of unforeseen heavy traffic, but we hope that, with forewarning and planning, lateness may be avoided during this inconvenient, although essential, road closure.
We thank you for your support.
Posted on: 19/01/2018The Chartered College of Teaching - Head's Blog
In February 2017 I attended the inaugural conference of the ‘The Chartered College of Teaching’. It was an exciting launch for the College which has been set up as a teacher-led organisation to support professional development, promote and share evidence-informed practice, and recognise excellence. The key aims of the College were to develop a chartered teaching programme, to encourage teachers to engage with research-informed pedagog and to provide the best teaching for the best outcomes for pupils.
I have attended several Chartered College events throughout the year and was so proud recently to attend a regional hub event, on a Wednesday evening after school hours, along with ten members of staff from St. Helen’s College. The event organiser was overwhelmed by the numbers of St. Helen’s College staff in attendance!
So often in education teachers feel that the only way to progress their careers is to go into leadership thus we end up losing many excellent teachers from the classroom. This can be very unsettling for school communities if it means there is no continuity and consistency for the school. We are very fortunate at St. Helen’s College that we have a very dedicated and motivated team and a very low turnover of staff. Our staff are so committed to improving pedagogy and practice to be the best practitioners we can be for your children.
This month sees the launch of the pilot programme for teachers to achieve chartered teacher status. I am delighted that Ms Matthews, Head of EYFS, has been selected as one of the 150 participants to embark on this rigorous 14 month programme. She will join teachers from around the UK and two international schools as part of the first cohort. Becoming a chartered teacher will be hard to achieve and the planned programme is demanding, but we know that Ms Matthews will bring her expertise to the programme and as a school we will also gain from the work she will undertake.
I have also been invited to sit on the assessment board for this cohort of the Chartered Teacher programme and, in so doing, I am honoured to represent St. Helen’s College and the independent sector. Feel free to view the video on the link below - Justine Greening’s speech had clearly touched a nerve with me that day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn6e2jmfVwk
Posted on: 19/01/2018Weekly News - Friday 19th January 2018
It has been another incredibly busy week at school! Don't forget that photographs of school events are posted weekly to the Galleries page.
Owls Class Assembly
Owls class performed with outstanding confidence as they presented a very informative assembly on their topic of 'Hot and Cold'. We were taken on a worldwide tour from the arctic to Antarctica, discovering the habitats and animals of those regions. We also stopped off at the Equator and experienced the heat and volcanoes of the tropics. Congratulations Owls - we all learnt so much from you!
5G Class Assembly
5G also presented a super assembly today, all about space exploration. They looked at the natural curiosity of humans and how it prompts us to explore, showed us a timeline of all the space exploration which has happened so far and held a live debate! The assembly finished with a performance of 'Space Oddity'. All who watched 5G will certainly have come away with much more knowledge about why and how we explore space, and how we might continue to do so in the future.
Christian O'Connell Author Visit
On Wednesday we received a special visitor at Upper School: Absolute Radio DJ, stand up comedian and children's author Christian O'Connell. He was here to talk to the Year 4, 5 and 6 children about his second book in the Radio Boy series, subtitled The Revenge of Grandad. He spoke about his journey to becoming a writer with great charisma and humour, but there were a few things he said that really stood out amongst the improvised jokes and hilarious anecdotes.
Christian spoke about his journey to becoming a radio DJ being full of rejection and difficulty. He used these issues as a positive - a means to grow and develop as a person until he got to where he wanted to be. The children nodded, knowingly, because we speak about this all the time. What we learn is that 'FAIL stands for First Attempt In Learning', and what Christian was referring to was growth mindset - the resilience and perseverance needed to succeed.
After sharing tales from Coldplay's private jet and a cautionary word about allowing your pets and children on a trampoline (at the same time), Christian shared his favourite subject at school: English. He went on to explain that reading was a transformative force in his childhood, transporting him to other worlds, elevating his ambitions and developing his sense of empathy.
Our children made such a positive impression on Christian with their questioning, manners and sense of fun. Judging by the look on their faces during the talk, we think the feeling was mutual!
Travelling Natural History Museum Visit
At Lower School this week, the Nursery, Reception and Year 1 children enjoyed a visit from the Travelling Natural History Museum. The children learnt all about dinosaurs, including their names, what they ate and how they digested their food, how big (or small) they were and much more! They also carried out a meteorite experiment to help understand how dinosaurs became extinct, and were able to touch the amazing dinosaur models. The Year 1 children took part in a fossil dig and all children were given a dinosaur gift to help them to remember all that they had learnt.
Year 4 Trip to Amersham Field Study Centre
Our Year 4 children had a fantastic trip this week to the Amersham Field Study Centre, where they learnt about electricity and energy. Every minute of the day was used as an opportunity for learning which educated, inspired and allowed the children to have fun.
The day started by meeting ‘Michael Faraday’ and the pupils learned about electricity, its uses, dangers and how the substation in the vicinity works to provide power to our homes. We took a walk around the perimeter of the substation, understanding why we can touch pylons and not get thousands of volts of electricity through us or why a bird can sit happily on a high voltage wire! We then continued in the classroom and made solar powered circuits.
The afternoon was spent learning about the way animals conserve energy by creating well-insulated homes, such as a nest for a dormouse, and how squirrels try to survive winters by hiding their food. We completed the day with a short walk looking at lichens, fir trees and leaf skeletons along the wide expanse of the wooded areas. Every child made progress in their knowledge of one of our curriculum topics as well as having the chance to enjoy learning in the outdoors.
General Knowledge Quiz Club
Well done to our quiz teams, who took part in the Prep School Challenge Heat this week. They gave a very good account of themselves, displaying some really excellent general knowledge and competing with great interest and enthusiasm. Daniel G-J, Georgia M, Nirmit N and Ben L finished in 3rd place overall, and Anisa W, Zayd K, Amrit R and Catherine L finished in 7th place.
Year 5 Transfer Meetings With Mrs. Drummond
Thank you to all of the Year 5 parents who have already attended individual transfer meetings with Mrs. Drummond to discuss future schools. More meetings will take place tomorrow and please remember that Mrs. Drummond's door is always open if you would like to discuss secondary transfer. Next term there will be a Year 4 transfer meeting and another meeting for all Year 5 parents together.
Lunch Menu
Please note that an updated Lunch Menu for this term has been posted to the School Documents page. Some allergen information has been updated, and Accent are now marking (with a leaf symbol) dishes which are particularly recommended as healthy, balanced choices. Please do refer to this updated menu from now on when making lunch choices with your children.
Print Cartridge Collections
We will be collecting used print cartridges from now on at all sites as part of a PA initiative to recycle these and raise funds. Please send any used print cartridges, toner cartridges etc. into school with your child and, since the used cartridges can be converted into PA funds, please do feel free to collect used cartridges from your places of work to send in too! Many thanks, in advance, for your help.
Reminder - Snacks/Birthday Treats
Parents are reminded that all children should bring a small, named snack to school each morning for morning break. Suitable snacks are fruits, vegetables, plain biscuits or a small sandwich. Chocolate, crisps, sweets and other high sugar snacks are not permitted.
If your child would like to bring in treats for friends on their birthday, these should be individually wrapped and given out at the end of the day.
We are a nut-free school; please do not send any items into school which contain nuts. Please take care with sandwich fillings and do not use peanut butter, Nutella or other spreads containing nuts.
Posted on: 12/01/2018Ready, Respectful, Safe - Head's Blog
We are at the end of our first week back and I hope that your children may have already enlightened you as to our new mantra. Perhaps you have heard your child using the phrase ‘Ready, Respectful, Safe’ or repeating part of the phrase.
Last Friday, all members of our St. Helen’s College staff community participated in a superb morning of training which was delivered by a company called Pivotal Education. The company is run by a husband and wife team, Paul and Ellie, and they are supported by their team of trainers who all hold the same values and vision to inspire and motivate school staff and to create measurable change in behaviour, relationships and learning.
I have heard both Paul and Ellie speak at various conferences and Teachmeet events and am delighted that every adult who comes into contact with your children at school has now benefited from the Pivotal principles. We are now embracing some basic routines to continue to help our pupils to benefit from all that we offer at St. Helen’s College and to help them develop as responsible individuals.
Over the course of the year we will be further reviewing our behaviour policy and the structures and routines that we currently have at school, but our starting point is to develop the pupils understanding of what it is to be:
‘Ready’
Ready for learning, ready to listen, ready to go to lunch etc.
‘Respectful’
Showing respect to their peers, to adults, to their environment, to themselves.
‘Safe’
Safe in their learning environment, safe with the people around them and safe in the activities in which they are taking part.
I am sure that the phrase may also be helpful at home and you might already be considering the occasions when it may be very useful to use!
When there are so many people interacting with children, it is important that we all have the same expectations and that we are consistent in our approach. I know that we all like routine, from the number of conversations that I have had this week with parents and staff about how we all enjoy holidays, but how that lack of structure and routine during the holiday period can be quite taxing and detrimental for children and adults alike!
So, as we embark on our 2018 journey with Joyous January I hope that you will also embrace our mantra of Ready, Respectful, Safe.
For those of you who like reading, Paul Dix has just published his superb book which is not only entertaining by incredibly useful for not only teachers but also parents!
‘When the Adults Change, Everything Changes’
https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Adults-Change-Everything-Changes/dp/1781352739
Mrs. Drummond
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