School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 4/03/2022Weekly News - Friday 4th March 2022
World Book Day Fun!
We had so much fun at all three sites yesterday celebrating World Book Day.
At Ducklings the children came dressed in a variety of outfits from Peter Rabbit to The Hungry Caterpillar, while the staff dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland. The children created their own bookmark to take home and enjoyed group discussions about their characters and lots of story telling throughout the day.
At Lower School, Year 1's theme of Roald Dahl was thoroughly embraced and even included Miss Trunchbull and the Chokey! The Reception and Nursery theme was Julia Donaldson and everyone looked amazing in their costumes. Kingfishers delighted us with a superb assembly reminding us all of the wonder of books - you can read more about this below.
At Upper School, we had a Roald Dahl theme and the children and staff all dressed as Roald Dahl characters. The pupils took part in exciting Roald Dahl themed workshops including potion making, designing a new sweet treat in The Inventing Room, guessing Who Is Coming To Dinner, re-writing Revolting Rhymes, making honeycomb and re-enacting scenes from Roald Dahl's books. You can read some of the Year 5 children's imaginative alternative endings to Roald Dahl's version of The Three Little Pigs here and you can see lots of photographs of children across the school enjoying World Book Day on our Galleries page.
Reading is, of course, one of the most important building blocks of an excellent education. Thank you all for supporting our World Book Day celebrations and please do keep encouraging your children to read - and keep reading yourselves!
Mathematics Success
For the first time at the school, a number of children took part in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Intermediate Mathematical Challenge. This challenge is open to children up to Year 11 (GCSE). Our expectation was that the children would simply enjoy participating. However, two of the children achieved a gold certificate, one a silver and four bronze. Those who achieved gold or silver have been invited to participate in the next round on 17th March.
Well done to everyone who participated and particularly to:
Zachariah F Gold
Zakariya M Gold
Shruthi T Silver
Luka K Bronze
Eshan N Bronze
David W Bronze
Aryan B Bronze
5A Class Assembly
Today the children of 5A presented their class assembly in which they told us the story of Pandora's Box. Their performance was confident, extremely well delivered and very poignant. In a time of difficulty, the message that there is hope in the world was a welcome one and the children's understanding of this concept was heartwarming. The class sang beautifully and shared some of their work from their Positive Psychology sessions with us too. Congratulations, 5A, you have sent us into the weekend with pride in our hearts and an important message to consider.
Owls Class Assembly
Our Owls class performed a super assembly on the theme of 'Hot and Cold' this week.
The children sang, danced and recited rhymes with enthusiasm and confidence. They also managed to inspire us all to remember the 3Rs - reuse, reduce, recycle. Well done Owls, you did a great job!
Kingfishers Class Assembly
The children of Kingfishers presented their assembly themed around World Book Day on Thursday. They explained the importance - and joy - of reading together, and exhorted us all to turn off our television sets and install bookcases instead! They sang some uplifting songs and recited a lovely poem as a class, which you can read below. Very well done, Kingfishers, on a confident and very enjoyable performance.
Open a book and you will find
People and places of every kind
Open a book and you can be
Anything you want to be
Open a book and you can share
Wondrous words you find in there
Open a book and I will too
You read to me and I’ll read to you!
British Science Week
Tomorrow marks the beginning of a ten day celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Parents may wish to look at the British Science Week website or even take a visit to the Science Museum or the local Heath Robinson Museum based in Pinner.
Sports News
Last Saturday, our A and B teams played at the Ryefield netball tournament.
The girls all played very well. Unfortunately the B team did not progress past the group stages. However, the A team got to the finals where they were beaten by Hermitage who won 4-3.
Natalia C was our A team captain and she collected the trophy for St. Helen's College winning the league.
The U11 girls' football team took part in the Borough Girls' Football Tournament on Wednesday in the pouring rain. The girls really enjoyed competing although unfortunately they did not progress to the next round. Thank you to all of the parents who came and supported the team in such awful conditions.
Music News
We were delighted to hear from our cello teacher, Mrs. MacLean, that there were some St. Helen's College families amongst the audience at the concert she played last weekend with the Elgar Symphonia of London. This event took place in the beautiful St. Andrew's Church in Holborn, which was designed by Christopher Wren. Grace O'H (Year 4) was even offered the opportunity to conduct the orchestra (which had almost 80 members!) in front of the large audience.
National Online Safety Whatsapp Guide
National Online Safety have this week shared an excellent guide for parents/carers about Whatsapp. It includes useful advice about how to ensure that your child's Whatsapp use is safe. You can access this here.
PA Forum Meeting
Thank you to the parents who attended the PA Forum meeting on Wednesday evening with Mrs. Drummond, Mrs. Hunt, Mr. McLaughlin and Mrs. Smith. As always, it was an enjoyable and productive meeting in which parents and staff shared ideas for ways in which to enhance the children's education, personal development and daily life. Minutes have been circulated by email to all parents and staff.
Ukraine Appeal
Thank you so much to all of the families who have made donations of colouring pencils, books, toys and games for refugee families fleeing from the Ukraine war. We have today shipped four large boxes of items to Mr. Harrington's brother who is currently assisting at a hotel in Poland to support refugee families, so these will go straight to the point of need and will really make a difference to children whose lives have been turned upside down.
Thames Cavaliers - Free Tickets & Pizza for Last Home Games
Once again, Thames Cavaliers Basketball Club are offering FREE tickets and pizza to St. Helen's College children in Years 3-6 for this weekend's matches on Saturday and Sunday. These will be their last regular season home matches and it is also 'selfie weekend' so pupils will have the chance to take photos with their favourite players after the match as well! Further details about both the Saturday and Sunday games are here and free tickets/pizza vouchers are here.
Free Sound Therapy Sessions for Parents
Karen Miles, who facilitates NCT classes at St. Helen's College, is training to become a Sound Therapist through the British Academy of Sound Therapy and will be offering free sound therapy classes in The Evans Hall at St. Helen's College as part of her training. She will be using Himalayan singing bowls, crystal bowls and therapeutic percussion. There are many benefits to Sound Therapy: it can provide deep relaxation and relief from stress and anxiety, and relieve muscle tension and pain. You can find full details here. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis so please contact Karen promptly if you are interested in taking part in these free sessions while she is training.
Bikeability (Year 6)
If you have a child in Year 6 and they would like to take part in the Bikeability training sessions, please remember that Monday (7th March) is the deadline for signing up for these. An email was sent directly to Year 6 parents earlier this week - please check this for instructions of how to sign up.
Perform Drama School Easter Holiday Camp
Perform Drama School, who often run excellent workshops at school for St. Helen's College children, will be running an Easter holiday camp in Eastcote themed around The Secret Garden. If you are interested in signing your son or daughter up for this, you can find full details here.
Posted on: 25/02/2022Weekly News - Friday 25th February 2022
1R Assembly
Class 1R presented their class assembly on Thursday morning to staff and parents at the Lower School. They focussed on the St. Helen's College values, particularly friendship, patience, perseverance and kindness. They spoke with clarity and projection, sang with great gusto and even treated us to some wonderful dance moves! Their message was clear: if we are kind to one another, if we are good friends, if we work hard and keep going when things are difficult, then we will find joy in being our best selves. Well done, 1R, this was a thoroughly enjoyable performance.
Friday Music Recital
We enjoyed another super Friday Music Recital today in the Evans Hall at Upper School, with several children playing instruments in a friendly and informal setting. Thank you to all of the families who attended to support the children, and well done to all of our performers!
Konnie Huq Author Visit
On Thursday afternoon, children in Years 3 to 5 were treated to a visit from ex-Blue Peter presenter, and popular children's author, Konnie Huq.
Konnie gave an excellent interactive presentation, bringing to life her funny and informative book series 'Cookie'. The books have been inspired by her childhood, her family and her Bangladeshi heritage. The activities included: illustrating characters, a secret code, a live science experiment, learning about the environment and looking at some big words (troglodyte, defenestration and tautology to name a few!). We finished with a Q&A session, with the children asking a range of excellent questions about Konnie's writing process and other avenues of her career in TV and radio, including her time as a presenter on Blue Peter, and a book signing in the Upper School library.
It was fantastic to have an author visit in person after more than two years of online visits, and the children were certainly left inspired to read more and maybe even write their own stories.
It is not too late to order signed copies (while stocks last) of the following books, as Konnie kindly signed a few extra while she was here. Just click on the link below and follow the instructions under 'How to Order'. The deadline for ordering these is 5 p.m. on Sunday, 27th February.
£6.99 EACH
https://chilternbookshops.co.uk/product-category/konnie-huq-schools-event/
HOW TO ORDER:
Click the link above
Click the book or bundle required
Select the name of your child’s school from the drop-down menu
Add to basket
View basket
Click collect free from the Chorleywood Bookshop OR Gerrards Cross Bookshop (this will ensure FREE delivery to the school)
Proceed to Checkout
PLEASE SPECIFY YOUR CHILD’S NAME AND CLASS/FORM IN THE BOX MARKED ‘DETAILS REQUIRED FOR SCHOOL EVENTS’
Orders will be delivered free to St. Helen's College next week and given out to the children.
Year 2 Trip to Heath Robinson Museum
Also on Thursday, our Year 2 classes went on an outing to the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner, where they took part in an art activity called ‘wet felting’. Year 2 have been studying the topic materials in science. They looked at the colour wheel and used coloured wool to make felt. They produced some beautiful and imaginative pieces of work.
Thames Cavaliers v Reading Rockets - Free Entry and Pizza for St. Helen's College children
On Sunday at 3 p.m., the Thames Cavaliers will be taking on the Reading Rockets and, once again, they are offering free tickets and a slice of pizza to children in Years 3-6 at St. Helen's College. Details are here and free entry/pizza vouchers can be downloaded here.
World Book Day Reminder
Next Thursday, 3rd March, is World Book Day. Throughout the school, children should come to school dressed as a favourite book character and they will be taking part in a range of fun activities centred around reading. This year's themes are:
Ducklings - free choice of book character or author.
Nursery and Reception - A Julia Donaldson character.
Years 1 to 6 - A Roald Dahl character.
PA Forum Meeting - Wednesday 2nd March
The next PA Forum meeting will take place on Wednesday 2nd March. If any parents would like to put forward points for discussion, please send these to your PA class rep over the weekend. Class representatives should collate points and send them to Mrs. Smith by Tuesday 1st March at the latest please.
Catering Next Week
We will be celebrating Pancake Day at school on Tuesday 1st March and there will be a slight change to the menu so that the children can have pancakes for dessert that day. The new menu is here.
We also have a special Roald-Dahl themed menu for World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March. The World Book Day menu is here.
Comic Relief
St. Helen's College will be supporting the charity Comic Relief on Friday 18th March.
The children should come to school on that day dressed in red and/or comic relief t-shirts. They are also welcome to wear a red nose on this day if they have purchased one from one of the many retailers.
We will be doing several different events on the day including:
Upper School - a raffle, sporting quiz and a sporting event.
Lower School - a raffle, danceathon and an obstacle course to different landmarks.
Ducklings - a raffle, danceathon and stick the 'red nose' on the face.
To participate in these events and the tog day we would like to suggest a donation of £5 which your child can either bring with them on the day or you can donate via our JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/st-helen-s-college3
In addition we will be selling Comic Relief wristbands for £1 from Monday 14th March on all three sites. Please note the wristbands will be sold on a first come first serve basis until we have sold out.
We are sure that you are aware of Tom Daley's 'Hell of Homecoming' Comic Relief challenge that he did recently. With this in mind we would like to set the children a fun sporting challenge which they could get sponsorship for. We would like the children to run, walk, scoot or cycle to a variety of different landmarks and be sponsored to reach them. Please take photos of the different landmarks you visit and upload them for us here before Friday 18th March. Simply click on your child's year group to upload their photographs.
You can download a sponsorship form here for the children to print at home and use for this challenge.
Ukraine
Some of the children may be asking you questions at home about the situation in Ukraine, as many of them may have been hearing snippets of the news. If you are looking for a child-friendly video to share with your children then please do take a look at the BBC Newsround video below which gives a factual account including some history which you may find useful. It is key that the children are able to share any worries that they may have with adults and that we listen to and support them as appropriate.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/news/watch_newsround
The British Red Cross, a humanitarian charity, have launched an emergency appeal to support those affected by the action in the Ukraine. If you would like to make a donation to support the Red Cross in providing food, medicines, shelter and water for refugees and casualties of the war, you can do so via the Red Cross website link here.
Our thoughts go out to all families who may know of people who are being affected by what is going on in the Ukraine.
Posted on: 4/02/2022Weekly News - Friday 4th February 2022
Chinese New Year Celebrations
Well done to all of the pupils who contributed this week to our Chinese New Year celebrations! In Monday's assembly, Ruby L presented a wonderful video she had made which explained the traditions behind Chinese New Year celebrations. Aman B shared a lovely video of himself and his neighbour performing a piece of Chinese guitar music and 3MB performed a 'Song of the Dragon' for us all too.
4T Class Assembly
4T presented a very meaningful class assembly today all about friendship and friendliness. They told a story about friendliness and did sign language along with a beautiful performance of the song 'You've Got A Friend In Me'. The children all spoke their lines confidently and it was clear to see that they were invested in the meaning of what they were presenting. Very well done, 4T.
Travelling Natural History Museum Visits Nursery
The Nursery children had the most wonderful dinosaur experience last Friday when they enjoyed a visit from the Travelling Natural History Museum!
Dinoman told them all about the different dinosaurs. He shared information about their size and what they ate, explaining the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. The children were able to touch a real dinosaur claw and a T-Rex tooth as well as touching the dinosaur models and the baby dinosaur.
The boys and girls all enjoyed taking part in a dinosaur dig to find fossils and using dinosaur feet to stomp around! They also learnt about how the dinosaurs became extinct with a meteorite explosion but the crocodiles survived.
This was a truly memorable experience which they will be talking about with joy for a very long time. You can see lots more photographs of their day on our Galleries page.
Science Quiz Club
Luka K, Aryan B, Advik S and Jacob N took part in the semi final of the Science Quiz Club competition today. They were up against strong competition and it was super to see them work so well as a team and enjoy the experience so much.
Year 5 and Year 6 Basketball
The children in Year 5 and Year 6 were very fortunate today to take part in basketball training sessions with Coach Pete and Coach Juan from the Thames Valley Cavaliers.
Thames Cavaliers Basketball
It was super that so many families attended the basketball match last Saturday to support the Thames Cavaliers. The team have offered free tickets and pizza again this weekend for St. Helen's College pupils in Years 3 - 6. The match is on Sunday afternoon this week, with doors opening at 3 p.m. You can find details and pizza vouchers here and here. St. Helen's College children from Year 5 and 6 who are attending the match on Sunday will be taking part in a half time shoot out against another school.
Sports Results
It was a good week for the St. Helen's College football team this week as they won their mid-week game against Laurel Lane 6-0. Well done to all those who played.
Cookery Club
The Year 4 children in Cookery Club have had a stupendous time cooking and baking this half term. Their enthusiasm, appreciation and appetite for delicious food were evident! They have made sausage rolls and pizzas, and baked apple crumble cake and brownies. Ms Gilham has enjoyed sharing their love of food.
Online Safety
National Online Safety have shared these two excellent guides about Respect on the Internet, one for parents and one for children. We will be discussing these in school with the children after half term, and would like to encourage parents to read them and discuss them at home too.
Respect Online - Guide for Parents
Respect Online - Guide for Children
Mother/Baby Mindfulness Classes
Our next set of Mother/Baby Mindfulness classes will begin on Wednesday 23rd February, the week after half term.
These are completely free to parents. They take place on Wednesday mornings at 9.00 a.m. in the Evans Hall at our Upper School site on Long Lane, opposite Lower School. Classes run in half termly blocks. Each class lasts for 45 minutes and is followed by optional tea/coffee/chat.
The classes are led by Mrs. McLaughlin, one of our Year 3 teachers, who qualified as a PAUSE Baby Mindfulness practitioner after having her first baby a couple of years ago. They provide a safe space for mums and babies to bond and relax, taking part in Mindfulness exercises and some very gentle yoga, and have proved very popular so far.
If you would like to join the set of six classes starting in February, please email susmith@sthelenscollege.com with your baby's name and date of birth and your telephone number. Please do also feel free to share the information about the classes with any other friends or family who might have a baby (birth to crawling - no crawlers allowed!). They don't have to have children at St. Helen's College (or intend to send children here) to come along - the classes are free to anyone.
IAPS iArt Competition
After the success of iArt 2021, in which Arya A at St. Helen's College was a winner, IAPS will be running the competition again in 2022 and hopes to receive more submissions than ever. Shortlisted entrants will receive prizes of vouchers for local independent bookshops.
This year, the competition will have a theme and all submissions must in some way relate to this theme. The theme is my role model.
This theme has been chosen because IAPS is interested to see who inspires pupils, who motivates them, who they admire and who they would like to be like when they grow up. The role models can be anyone:
someone personal e.g. a family member, friend, teacher, coach, librarian, a member of the local community;
someone “in general” e.g. nurses, doctors, train drivers, farmers;
someone public e.g. a famous person, such as a sportsperson, environmentalist, singer
While IAPS encourages pupils to attempt a portrait of their role model, pupils – and particularly, younger pupils – should feel free to just paint / draw / create something which reminds them of their role model instead. For example, if a pupil’s role model is David Attenborough, they might choose to paint trees and animals, or if their role model is a parent, they might choose to draw a picture of their house.
Each pupil must write a maximum of 100 words in a sentence or two to accompany their piece of work, saying 'My role model is...because...'.
Entries will be judged on a) interpretation of the theme; b) creativity around the theme; c) overall design; d) and that ‘certain something’ that just draws you to the artwork! There is no set format for entries and artwork can be submitted in any medium. Submissions can be paintings, drawings, or models, any size, and use any art supplies.
There are five categories for the iArt competition: Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6, Years 7 & 8 and Years 9 & 10. Each school may enter one piece of art for each category. For example, one piece of artwork representing the Years 5 & 6 category, not one artwork from Year 5 and one from Year 6.
The competition opens for entries on Thursday, 6 January. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday, 4 May and the shortlist will be announced later that month. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony which will take place towards the end of June.
Pupils who would like to enter this competition should submit their pieces of art and accompanying sentences directly to Mrs. Pruce or via their class teacher. Mrs. Drummond and Mrs. Pruce will judge which entries to put forward from St. Helen's College.
This might be a lovely half term activity for the children. Good luck everyone and happy creating!
Dining Room Etiquette
We are encouraging parents to support us in helping pupils with their dining room etiquette at lunch times. We have in the past run 'Cutlery Club' but are hoping that you may be able to share your 'eating etiquette' with your children and this video here may be helpful for you. We will be assisting the pupils in the dining room and will discuss knife and fork skills and table etiquette in assemblies over the next few weeks.
Posted on: 28/01/2022Weekly News - Friday 28th January 2022
1C Class Assembly
What a super assembly the children of 1C performed for us on Thursday, all about Queen Elizabeth II. They relayed all sorts of information about the Queen and her reign, performed the Changing of the Guard to a super song and sang the National Anthem with pride! It was clear how much they have learnt about our sovereign and how enthusiastic they all are about this topic - they are very much looking forward to their trip to Windsor Castle next month!
Every child spoke their lines with confidence and projection. There was a lot of humour and the smiles on the children's (and adults') faces showed how very much we all enjoyed the performance. Well done 1C!
6R Class Assembly
The pupils of 6R planned and created their own assembly which they performed to us today, entitled Our St. Helen's College Journey.
They used their assembly to look back and reflect on their journey through St. Helen's College over the years. They shared a brilliant piece of collaborative art, performed some wonderful poems that they had written themselves all about their experiences at St. Helen's College, and sang 'A Million Dreams' beautifully. There was hardly a dry eye in the house!
The children also guided us through a brief Mindfulness session.
Well done, 6R, on a first class assembly.
Month End Music Recital
Well done to the performers who entertained us at today's Month End Music Recital in the Evans Hall. We heard a variety of instruments and, as ever, it was lovely to see our young musicians take the opportunity to perform in an informal environment. It was clear to see that the pupils enjoyed it as much as the parents and staff did! Thank you to the families who attended to support our young performers.
Fairness
The children at school have been discussing our value of Fairness this week and thinking about ways to be fair to themselves, to each other and to the world. Mrs. Hunt has written a guest Head's Blog this week which links to the value too - you can read it here.
Burns Night
On Tuesday we thought about Burns Night and the children at school had the opportunity to try some Scottish food. They really enjoyed sampling the haggis, neeps and tatties, orange cranachan and orange and lemon caraway shortbread. Thank you so much to our lovely chef Soula for preparing these extras on the day!
Pupil Welfare
We are delighted to share the news that St. Helen's College has once again been named an 'Asthma Friendly School' by the North West London Health and Care Partnership.
This recognises all that the school does to support children with asthma. This includes our regularly reviewed Asthma Policy, frequent training for the entire staff body, monthly asthma audits and, of course, the first class care that is given to children in school every day. Mrs. Wilcock and Mrs. Beale, our Welfare staff, communicate regularly with parents before children join us and throughout their time at the school to ensure that asthma and other medical issues are managed effectively and sensitively.
Please also see the winter edition of our Welfare Newsletter here. This contains important information about Covid-19, sleep and healthy snacks as well as some fun facts. Thank you for your continued support in keeping children healthy and well so that they are best able to make the most of all the opportunities at school.
Football News
This week, the boys' football team won 5-0 against Whitehall School in a super display of teamwork and skill. The team now progress to the quarter finals of the cup and we wish them well in the next stage of the competition!
Thames Cavaliers - Free Basketball Tickets and Pizza for SHC Pupils
The Thames Valley Cavaliers have a home fixture this Saturday and they would like to invite St. Helen's College pupils (Y3-6) to watch the match for free. They also have free pizza for any St Helen's College students who go to the game! There will be music, entertainment, half-time competitions with prizes and also a chance to meet the team afterwards for some autographs.
Please see this flyer with all the details. There are also free pizza vouchers for your children.
They hope to see lots of you coming to the game to support the Cavaliers! It should be a great night of fun and entertainment.
Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Centre Swim Offer
As parents will know, St. Helen's College has a long-standing relationship with Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Centre, where we take Upper School pupils for swimming lessons as part of our PE/Games curriculum.
The centre are running a special promotion for children of partner schools, which will give parents a £10 discount for a course of Better Swim lessons for your child. Swimming is a vital life skill so we hope that many of you will take up this opportunity to receive a discount on further swimming lessons/practice for your child. You can find full details here.
Heath Robinson Museum 150th Anniversary Art Competition
The Heath Robinson Museum are running a competition for young artists to mark their 150th anniversary this year. Children are asked to produce a piece of art on the theme of 'What would Heath Robinson make of the world today?'. The deadline for submissions is 15th May and there are various age categories. You can find out more, and enter the competition, here. Shortlisted entries will be exhibited at the museum over the summer and there are prizes to be won too. We hope that you will encourage your children to enter - do let us know how you get on!
Jungle Rumble
Perform's family musical Jungle Rumble is being performed at the Fortune Theatre over the February half term. You can see full details and purchase tickets here. St. Helen's College have worked with Perform in the past and we hope that parents will want to support them and that you will enjoy taking your children to see Jungle Rumble!
Lacrosse Easter Camp
Chiswick Lacrosse Club are running an Easter Camp which will be open to girls in Years 5 to 9. This would be a great opportunity for girls currently in Year 5 or Year 6 to have a go at lacrosse before moving on to senior school. If you are interested in finding out more, details are here.
Posted on: 21/01/2022Weekly News - Friday 21st January 2022
Year 4 Trip To Amersham Field Centre
Year 4 enjoyed a wonderful field trip this week, exploring electricity and energy conservation. They toured around a national grid substation, learning all about how electricity gets to our homes. They generated electricity using wind power and water power and went on to power motors using solar panels. The children discussed renewable energy and energy conservation. They put their experimentation skills to the test, making predictions and drawing conclusions. Their final challenge was to build a suitable nest for a small mammal which would keep it warm. They measured the temperature of their dormice after some time in their nests and compared these to a control mouse out in the open. Their nests proved successful at conserving heat within a small mammal!
Value of the Week - Cleanliness
Pupils at the Upper School were introduced to the concept of cleanliness as the value of the week. We discussed the moral aspect of cleanliness of spirit as well as personal hygiene and looking after our environment. It has been wonderful to see the children being extra vigilant around the school looking after the school grounds and taking responsibility for their personal belongings. We hope that this continues at home for you!
We are proud that the pupils of St. Helen's College display cleanliness of morals in their day to day lives too. Their spiritual awareness, willingness to help others and sense of collegiality shine through every day.
Month End Music Recital
Next Friday (28th January) we will have our first Month End Music Recital of 2022. Please join us in the Evans Hall from 3.45 p.m. where many of our young musicians will perform in an informal and friendly setting.
Individual Music Tuition
There are spaces currently available for trumpet, flute and singing lessons. If you wish to begin learning one of these instruments please complete this form to register.
The form can also be used to register your interest to be added to the waiting list for other instruments taught in school (including Violin, Cello, Piano, Guitar and Singing).
Please note that we only currently offer lessons on Violin and Cello to students in the Lower School. All of the instruments mentioned are available from Year 2 upwards.
We would also like to remind parents that a half term's notice is required if you would like to cease individual instrumental or singing tuition. You should give notice by emailing our Director of Music, Mrs. Fawbert, at cfawbert@sthelenscollege.com.
Blaze Netball Club
If you have a son or daughter in Years 2 -5 and they would like to develop their netball skills, you might be interested in Blaze Netball Club which runs at Douay Martyrs School on Saturday mornings. Full details are available here.
Posted on: 7/01/2022Weekly News - Friday 7th January 2022
ISI Inspection Report
We hope that all parents have now had an opportunity to read the report from the ISI Educational Quality inspection which took place towards the end of last term. We are sure that, in doing so, you share our pride in the pupils, staff and parents who make St. Helen's College such an amazing community. We were delighted that the inspectors found so much evidence of the superb work and excellent pupil progress at St. Helen's College, and were equally delighted that they were able to include so many examples in the final inspection report. The report is available on the website here and has also been featured by IAPS, ISC and Attain magazine.
We will be producing a printed booklet containing the inspection results and will send one home to each family when this is ready. If you have a local business or anywhere else to share more booklets with the community and would like some more copies, please just let us know by contacting the school office and we will be pleased to provide more.
Internet Safety Day Information
Next Tuesday, 11th January, will be an Internet Safety Day here at St. Helen's College. We will be joined at school once again by Paul Hay from PCLS Training. All classes from Reception to Year 6 will have specific lessons/workshops on Internet Safety, staff will receive a twilight training session and there will be an evening Zoom session for parents too. Information about this has been emailed directly to parents and is copied below.
Keeping your Child Safe Online
Tuesday 11th January 2022 7.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Our children live in the Internet Age. They love to use technology and play the latest games. However, it is not always easy for parents and carers to understand what they are doing and how we can help to do the right things to keep them out of danger.
It is important that parents are also involved so they are able to help their children when they are at home. We would like to invite you to an online talk, which will be delivered by Paul Hay, a specialist in internet safety. Paul will be spending the school day with the children and staff and will then present to parents in the evening.
He will tell you :
How young people use the Internet.
Show how children use programs such as Moshi Monsters, Minecraft, Roblox, Instagram, SnapChat and Tik Tok.
Describe how information young people post can be misused by people who are not their friends.
Explain what you, as parents, can do to help keep them safe.
Above all it will give you as parents and carers the confidence to help your child get the most benefit and enjoyment from the internet while keeping safe.
Topics will be discussed in language we as parents understand. No technical or computer knowledge is required or expected.
To attend this session, please join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85069890558?pwd=WUc1d0p5a1NOQi9KUGk5SGk1Tm15dz09
Meeting ID: 850 6989 0558 Passcode: 813801
We look forward to you joining us. You may join on the night but it would be useful if you could complete this short form if you intend to attend.
Ducklings/Nursery/Reception Parents' Evenings
Parents' evenings will take place for Ducklings, Nursery and Reception on:
Thursday 27th January 2022 (5.00 - 8.00 p.m.) - remote.
Tuesday 1st February 2022 (4.00 - 7.00 p.m.) - in school.
To book your appointment(s), please use the following link: https://sthelens.schoolcloud.co.uk/
Bookings will go live from 6.30 p.m. on Friday 14th January 2022.
For parents who chose to have a remote meeting last time, it would be lovely to see you face-to-face in school this time if you can make it.
Full class names should be used to access the system: Ducklings Kindergarten, Robins Nursery, Wrens Nursery, Owls, Kingfishers.
Year 5 Transfer Meetings
Mrs. Drummond will be holding individual meetings with Year 5 parents next week to discuss senior school transfer. If you have a child in Year 5 and have not yet booked an appointment with Mrs. Drummond, you can do so by following the link on the email sent out this week via SchoolsBuddy.
Co-Curricular Activities - Spring Term
Co-curricular activity sessions for spring term clubs will begin from Monday 10th January, apart from any clubs which take place outdoors at the end of the school day. These will begin from Monday 17th January (which will allow for more daylight as the days get longer).
RSPB Bird Watch Week 2022
We continue to encourage families to enjoy the outdoors and sign up for the annual Big Garden Bird Watch which will be running from 28th - 30th January 2022. Please see the link here on how to sign up.
Happier January Calendar and Happiness Jars
As per the Head's Blog this week please see the link here to download your Happier January Calendar. We look forward to hearing about the 'happiness jars' that your children are creating at home. You may wish to join them in this lovely gratitude/happiness activity.
Class Assemblies
We will not be having our usual annual Exhibition Day this year but instead parents will be invited to to view pupils' work back in the classroom following your child's class assembly. You may therefore wish to schedule in a little more time to spend at school on the morning when you attend your child's class assembly.
Covid-19 PCR Tests
Confirmatory PCR tests following a positive lateral flow device (LFD) test result are to be temporarily suspended from Tuesday 11th January. This will mean that anyone who receives a positive LFD test result will be required to self-isolate immediately and will not be required to take a confirmatory PCR test.
Posted on: 10/12/2021Weekly News - Friday 10th December 2021
Nursery Nativity Assemblies
Very well done indeed to the children of our Robins and Wrens Nursery classes, who presented wonderful musical Christmas assemblies to their parents in the Methodist Church Hall this week. Their confidence in getting up to perform, on 'stage', at the age of just 3 or 4 was astonishing, especially considering how much their social development could have been affected by the Covid pandemic. It is a real testament to the St. Helen's College community of staff, parents and fellow pupils that they each felt comfortable and confident enough to sing so beautifully for their audience. Thank you, Nursery, for presenting the Christmas story with such charm. We are very proud of you all.
Carol Service
Children at Upper School attended a virtual carol service this morning which was pre-recorded and included readings, choir performances and the Christmas story told by Reverend Sarah Smith. Parents may watch the recording here.
Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Lunch
We would like to extend a big thank you to the wonderful Accent catering team who provided such a super Christmas lunch yesterday. The dining halls were filled with music and laughter as everyone tucked in to traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings or a delicious vegetable wellington.
Crackers were pulled, hats were worn and jokes were told! Throughout the school, children and staff wore Christmas jumpers and the festive spirit was very much with us all!
Ducklings and Lower School Christmas Celebrations
The children at Ducklings and Lower School were thrilled to receive a surprise visit from Father Christmas on Thursday! They also really enjoyed their Christmas party celebrations.
Parents might like to see our Lower School choir singing Christmas songs here.
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
Thank you to all of the children who worked so hard to contribute imaginative and colourful home-made decorations for our school Christmas trees. It was difficult to judge the competition this year!
Well done to our Upper School winners: Shayna C, Avleen P, Inaaya S, Karter P, Verity S, Tiya T, Annabelle S, Joleen Z and Layla O.
Congratulations too to the Lower School winners: Sara B, Aidan S, Kyan K, Kiran S, Tansy M and Leonard S.
Awards
Congratulations to Eshan N, who was today named the Music Personality of the Autumn Term. Eshan has shown outstanding commitment, effort and achievement in music over many years. He is a valued member of both the Senior Choir and Chamber Choir and he plays the violin, drums and ukulele. Eshan is currently working towards his Grade 4 violin and learning his first concerto too.
Well done also to Jessica B, who has been named Sports Personality of the Autumn Term. Jessica consistently displays the school sporting values of respect, inspiration, determination and leadership. Her netball and football contributions are super and she has worked extremely hard this term to improve her cross country running times too.
Riyan T has been awarded a special 'green' Blue Peter badge to recognise his commitment to the environment. Riyan produced a wonderful poster all about polar bears and how we can improve their environment to help their chances of survival as they are an endangered species.
The House Cup was this term won by Cambria. Our House Captains announced the results and gave speeches to congratulate the winners and to encourage the members of Windsor to keep pushing on next term in the hope of winning the cup back!
Science Fun at Upper School
Our Year 4 children really enjoyed making circuits to light up Rudolf's nose and other Christmas pictures on cards on Wednesday.
5G had great fun exploring butterfly chromatography in their science lessons this week too.
Cookery Club
Last week, Cookery Club children made quesadillas and they were particularly engaged when making their Christmas cookies this week!
Staff Farewell
Today we said goodbye to Mrs. O'Mahoney, who is leaving us to go and work for the NHS. She will greatly missed by our Nursery children and her colleagues. We wish her all the very best for the future.
Alumni News
In Summer 2023, more than
40,000 Scouts from all over the world will gather in South Korea for the 25th World Scout Jamboree. The World Scout Jamboree happens every four years, each time hosted by a different country. Thousands of UK young people aged 14 to 17 and their leaders will travel to South Korea as the UK Contingent.
Having successfully gone through the selection process, former St. Helen's College pupil (and Head Girl) Ruby Cargill has been selected to attend as part of the team from Greater London. Ruby is absolutely thrilled to have been chosen for this once in a lifetime experience.
NextGen Enterprise Christmas Courses
For those interested in taking part in Christmas courses with NextGen, here are the details, dates and booking links:
Christmas course – 12.30 - 2.30 p.m. over 5 days – 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th December. This is the first part where children are taken through entrepeuneral fundamentals including personal finance and business finance.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19BPSE-Bg8dRAkfST1RgOSQq37kxRcNdOLU3cSmX3eVY/viewform?edit_requested=true
Entrepreneurial pathway – 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. 13-16th and 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.17th Dec (This would be the Bronze course)
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. 20-24th Dec & 29th-30th Dec (This would be the Bronze course).
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sZSt9PgkmqXyYJElnL9x6PC4ZeIDpPyMZYOtPCUt1qg/viewform?edit_requested=true
Perform Drama - Free Session and £40 Discount
Perform is a popular children's drama and dance school. They are offering a free trial session and a special introductory discount of £40 for members of St. Helen's College who sign up by Wednesday 26th January. Parents should quote SHLE260122 when booking their free session by going to perform.org.uk/try or calling 020 7255 9120.
You can find out more about the classes at perform.org.uk/try. Alternatively, pdf flyers can be downloaded from here.
The nearest classes to St. Helen's College are these (please click for a map and further details):
Perform Ickenham (Drama for 4-7s)
(1.3 miles)
Fridays at 4pm
Ickenham Village Hall
33 Swakeleys Road,
UB10 8DG
Perform Ickenham (Drama for 7-12s)
(1.3 miles)
Fridays at 5.05pm
Ickenham Village Hall
33 Swakeleys Road,
UB10 8DG
Perform Iver (Drama for 4-7s)
(2.9 miles)
Tuesdays at 4pm
St Peter's Centre
1 Thorney Lane North,
SL0 9JU
Perform Iver (Drama for 7-12s)
(2.9 miles)
Tuesdays at 5.05pm
St Peter's Centre
1 Thorney Lane North,
SL0 9JU
Perform Eastcote (Drama for 4-7s)
(3.5 miles)
Thursdays at 4pm
Eastcote Methodist Church
Pamela Gardens,
HA5 2QU
There are others too. Click to find all the nearest here or view a list of all areas.
Perform's family musical Jungle Rumble is being performed at the Fortune Theatre over the February half term. You can see full details and purchase tickets here.
RocketLearn Christmas Camp
We have arranged for all children in Years 3-6 to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Well-being all aimed at children aged 7-13. If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code STHELENS on checkout to reserve a free place. You can find additional information also on the pdf which has been sent out by email to Year 3-6 parents today. We hope your children will enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp.
Spring Term 2022
Planned events for the spring term have been added to the school calendar so do take a look here and make a note of dates relevant to your child's year group/class.
The spring term lunch menu is now available on the School Documents page of the website here.
Co-curricular clubs will begin in the first full week of term, the week beginning Monday 10th January. If you have any queries about the co-curriculum programme or specific clubs, please contact Mr. Harrington, our Director of Co-Curriculum, at lharrington@sthelenscollege.com.
Wraparound care bookings for the spring term (Breakfast Club and Funtasia After School Club) can now be made via your SchoolsBuddy account. From next term, Breakfast Club will run in the Evans Hall for both Lower School and Upper School pupils. Please make your bookings by 12 p.m. on the preceding day. We do appreciate parents booking in advance wherever possible as this really helps with staffing, catering and other logistics.
Over the Christmas holidays, please take the opportunity to check the condition of required uniform and equipment to ensure that it is smart and in good working order, replenishing as necessary. The uniform/equipment list can be found here. Please also make sure that haircuts adhere to school guidelines (girls' hair should be neatly tied back if long, using black or green bands/clips and boys' hair should be cut neatly above the collar with no shaving, gelling etc). The felt winter caps and girls' hats should be worn as part of school uniform. The school woolly hats are ONLY for use at playtimes and outdoor lessons in bitter weather conditions, not for wearing to and from school.
Upon our return to school, please ensure that you follow the school parking regulations (available here) and that any snacks you send into school with your children follow our policy: no nuts, no chocolate/high sugar items etc. Suitable snacks are fruit or vegetables or plain biscuits and your child should have a named, refillable water bottle with them every day.
Please also ensure that your child arrives at school in good time before the bell goes at 8.30 a.m. so that they are ready to line up with their class for registration. We encourage parents to drop children by 8.25 a.m. at the latest.
We would also like to remind parents that the cost of peripatetic music lessons is increasing next term to £22.50 per half hour.
Posted on: 3/12/2021Weekly News - Friday 3rd December 2021
Reception and Year 1 Christmas Assemblies
Our Reception and Year 1 children presented beautiful, heartwarming and very confident Christmas assemblies to their parents this week.
The children of 1C and 1R told us the story of Christmas and the history of many of our modern day Christmas traditions, performed some beautiful (and fun) songs, told us a Christmas poem and led us in prayer.
The children of Owls and Kingfishers performed traditional Nativity plays for their assemblies yesterday and today, delighting their parents and school staff with their portrayal of the familiar characters from the Christmas story, and with their wonderful costumes. They each spoke and sang with great joy and confidence.
We are very proud of the Reception and Year 1 children. It was lovely to see so many parents in attendance at these events and we are sure that you enjoyed seeing your children perform too.
2B Assembly
Well done also to the children of 2B, who performed a moving assembly for us all today. They looked at the gifts they were each hoping to receive for Christmas and then considered what other gifts we could all give to others which might not cost a penny, but might make the world a better place: hugs, smiles, love, care for the environment and more. They recounted and acted out a story of a kind-hearted, animal-loving child who accidentally sent a shopping list to Santa by mistake, and ended up with everything she really wanted for Christmas when she was given the items she needed to feed and care for the cold, hungry animals about whom she was so worried.
2B's confident, tuneful and very beautiful rendition of 'We Are The World' will stay with us all for a long time, as will the important message they shared with us today. Bravo, 2B!
Year 3 Roman Day
On Wednesday Year 3 had a Roman Day at school. It was great fun and everyone looked amazing!
They found out what it was like to be a gladiator in Ancient Rome, made clocks with Roman numerals and enjoyed Roman drumming.
They also had a Roman feast and made Roman shields.
Thank you to all of the parents for providing such fabulous costumes and to all of the children who were so enthusiastic and really made the most of the chance to enrich their learning about the Romans.
You can see more images of the day on our Galleries page here.
Science Quiz
On Tuesday 30th November two teams of children from Years 5 and 6 took part in a national science quiz. Out of 89 teams we finished 48th (team 2) and 23rd (team 1) with team 1 qualifying for the semi finals in February. Congratulations to both teams for participating.
Team 1 Aryan B, Luka K, Jacob N, Advik S (made it through to the semi finals).
Team 2 Reiss D, Diyan C, Minaya W, Arshvir S
Salvation Army Christmas Appeal
Here you can see Avar D and Arup D with the pile of presents that the school has amassed for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal. These were collected by The Salvation Army today and will be distributed to children in the local community. We are sure that their faces will light up when they receive their surprise gifts. Thank you to the Dhillon family for suggesting this initiative and we would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to every family who has donated gifts for this appeal.
Christmas Card Deliveries
Children may bring Christmas cards into school and post them in our school postboxes for delivery to other children or staff on their school site.
Christmas Decoration Competition
Just a reminder that children's home made Christmas decorations must be brought into school by Wednesday 8th December. Prizes will be awarded on Friday 10th December.
Pantomime
The Theatre Royal in Windsor has offered St. Helen's College families the chance to buy tickets for 'Jack and the Beanstalk' at the discounted school price of £15 for the following performances.
Friday 3rd December - 4.30 p.m. (pupils will be given permission to leave school early if you attend this performance)
Wednesday 15th December - 7 p.m.
Thursday 16th December - 7 p.m.
Thursday 6th January - 7 p.m.
If you would like to attend as a family, please use the following link to book your tickets: https://sthelens.schoolcloud.co.uk/clubsevents/admin/events/111158 and a charge will be added to your SchoolsBuddy account.
This offer is open to the whole school. Tickets must be booked by Thursday 9th December.
RocketLearn Christmas Camp
We have arranged for all children in Years 3-6 to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Well-being all aimed at children aged 7-13. If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code STHELENS on checkout to reserve a free place. You can find additional information also on the pdf which has been sent out by email to Year 3-6 parents today. We hope your children will enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp.
NextGen Enterprise Taster Session
On Monday NextGen Enterprise held an online taster session with over 20 attendees from Years 5 and 6. The children learnt a lot and had so much fun doing it. If you are interested in signing up please visit https://nextgenenterprise.co.uk/. Just a reminder that there is an exclusive offer of 25% off for St. Helen’s College students which will be valid until the 10th December.
You can see the NextGen prospectus here.
You can see the NextGen presentation from Monday here.
Carols Around The Tree
It was super to welcome so many parents and children to Upper School today for our annual Carols Around The Tree event. Thank you to all those who came along to get into the festive spirit with us!
End of Term
Next Friday, 10th December, is the last day of term and is a half day. Children should be collected at the following times unless they are booked into Funtasia:
11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & Nursery)
12.00 p.m. (Reception)
12.10 p.m. (Years 1, 2)
12.20 p.m. (Years 3, 4)
12.30 p.m. (Years 5, 6)
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