School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 7/09/2018Weekly News - Friday 7th September 2018
A very warm welcome to all our pupils, parents and staff and a special welcome to all new members of our St. Helen's College community. I trust you have all had a wonderful summer and that the children are all excited for Monday morning! We have had a busy summer here at school with the very well attended Holiday Club and Summer Schools - it was so lovely to see so many of the children throughout the summer having fun in what has been the most glorious weather.
Lower School Building Project
As you are aware, the Lower School project was underway at the very beginning of the holiday! Our contractors, along with Mr. Smith and Mr. Rizzo, have been exceptionally busy over the summer and our new state of the art Nursery and Reception buildings will be ready to welcome the children on Monday. I am sure that you will all be impressed with our new EYFS facilities and the children will benefit hugely from their brand new, first class environment. The staff have been working hard in order to prepare the learning environments and it has been like Christmas Day unpacking all the beautiful new furniture and resources.
As with many building projects we have a few minor snagging points which we will be resolving, thus we do not intend to have our 'Grand Opening' on Friday 14th September. We will publish a new date in due course when we are ready to showcase our pièce de résistance to the whole community.
Staff News
Our new staff are very excited to meet the children next week: we welcome Miss Joiner (1J), Mr. Campos (Spanish), Miss Ward (Lower School PE) and Miss Heath (US Teaching and Learning Assistant). Miss Hill will be joining Ducklings and Mrs. Coyle returns to Lower School to assist in Reception.
Mrs. Stone, our Breakfast Club assistant, underwent hip surgery over the summer and is making a good recovery but alas she has decided that she will not continue in her role; Miss Beagley will be working with Mrs. Blackstone this term in Breakfast Club.
Mrs. Dennington has been with us in the Finance Office for almost 17 years and having spent time with her retired friends this summer has decided that she too would like to reap the benefits of having more time with her husband, family and friends. Thus we will be bidding farewell to Mrs. Dennington on Friday 14th September. We wish Mrs. Dennington well and thank her for her dedication and commitment to the school.
Miss Shepherd, one of our Lower School SMSAs, who has been on maternity leave since last October, will also not be returning to her post.
Cancer Research Relay for Life - Tog Day on Friday 14th September
I am most grateful to Mrs. Vatsa and Vandan for our Guest Blog this week and for joining us at the CRUK Relay for Life last Saturday. It was a truly wonderful day; CRUK plays such a vital role for so many families. Special thanks to Mrs. Stark and Miss Dear who spearheaded the St. Helen's College Team and to all the staff, families and friends who attended on the day or who have donated so generously to the charity. You can see some photos on our Galleries page.
Next Friday, 14th September, will be a tog day in aid of Cancer Research. Children may come to school dressed in their own clothes, and if they can find something to wear in bright pink or bright blue (the CRUK colours) that would be particularly appropriate. There is a suggested minimum donation of £2 per child; all monies raised will go directly to Cancer Research UK and we thank you in advance for your generosity.
Birthday Cake/Treats - Reminder
Parents are often very generous when it is their child’s birthday, but treats should not be sent to school for distribution to friends. The exception is birthday cake, which should be sliced and individually wrapped at home. Teachers will then distribute it at school to be taken home at the end of the day. Teachers will not distribute any treat apart from cake as described above.
Posted on: 11/07/2018End of Term News - 11th July 2018
It was enormously impressive for parents, staff and pupils to visit the Year 6 project exhibition this week. Our Year 6 pupils have been working very hard on their independent projects, which covered subjects as diverse and interesting as World War 2 (and, for one project, an investigation into how our lives might be if the Allies had not been successful), fashion through the ages, space rockets, wildlife, oceanography, neuroscience, planes and much, much more. The children had developed websites, produced books, made models and created artwork and the standard of their work was very high indeed. There was even a live volcanic eruption to enjoy! To prepare their projects, the Year 6 pupils were mentored by staff with expertise in their subject area and it was clear that their imaginations and independent research skills have really been kick-started by this process. Well done to all involved. The projects will all be available to view on the Learning Portal shortly.
Pupil Leadership Team
A huge thank you to this year's excellent Pupil Leadership Team, who have done an outstanding job as role models for the younger pupils. Special thanks to our Head Girl Sophie, Head Boy Krish, Deputy Head Girl Amishi and Deputy Head Boy Max.
We are now delighted to announce our new Pupil Leadership Team for the academic year 2018-19.
Head Girl will be Ionie M
Head Boy will be Jayan C
Deputy Head Girl will be Anisa W
Deputy Head Boy will be Thomas W
Other senior positions of responsibility will be announced in September.
Musician of the Term - Summer Term 2018
The Music Trophy is awarded each term to a pupil who has shown outstanding effort, commitment, dedication and achievement within the music department.
The winner this term is Wenru D. Wenru is an excellent role model in the music department. She has always worked conscientiously and demonstrated enormous enthusiasm over several years, in all aspects of music at St. Helen’s College. She has excellent music skills and applies and shares creative ideas successfully in class work. She plays the recorder fluently in class and at recorder club, has been learning the violin for several years, and enjoys playing in the school orchestra. Wenru began singing in the Lower School choir and has continued in the Upper School. She has performed successfully, in both solo and group categories, in the Singing Competitions and at the Singers’ Concerts. Two years ago, Wenru was selected to join the Chamber Choir and has since performed at two prestigious venues in London.
Wenru has exceptional musical talent and has recently been awarded a distinction for her Grade 8 piano examination.
Well done, Wenru!
Music Vacancy
We have one space available for an Upper School pupil to learn the piano on a Saturday morning at 11 a.m. If you are interested in your child taking this space, please email Mrs. Allery at rallery@sthelenscollege.com. The place will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Chess Tournament
On Monday, the St. Helen's College chess teams attended a tournament at local rivals St. Bernadette's. All the players played at least one game, including reserves. The A team reached the semi-final of the championship and the B team reached the semi-final of the shield. Although the teams were unable to progress to the final, this meant that each of the team players (including reserves) received a bronze medal.
There was also a set of chess puzzles. These increased in difficulty as they progressed and required considerable concentration and determination from the pupils. We are delighted to report that, in this contest, Nirmit N came first and Luke J came second. Each boy received a badge. Well done, chess players!
School Sport 2017-2018
It has been a superb year of sport at St. Helen's College. The school was awarded the Platinum School Games Award, being one of only a handful of schools nationwide to be recognised in this way.
Our teams became Borough Champions in tri-golf and table tennis, and we were double Borough Champions in tennis and represented Hillingdon at the London School Games. There were individual medals in swimming and cross country at district level, and in netball we were runners up in the District Girls League and runners up at the Year 6 Reddiford Netball Tournament.
In a fantastic year for English football, St. Helen's College football team were to WIN the football league and were runners up in the Packham Cup tournament.
In athletics, there were several bronze, silver and gold medals at district level and several pupils achieved their English Schools Athletics bronze, silver or gold awards.
Tennis Tournament
Congratulations are due to all of the children who took part in the school tennis tournament this term, organised by Mr. Dyson.
Results were as follows:
Y3 Boys - Winner: Samir H; Runner up – Zayd K
Y3 Girls - Winner: Fredericka T; Runner up – Amar C
Y4 Boys - Winner: Eli V-B; Runner up – Harry J
Y4 Girls - Winner: Rhea A-V; Runner up – Shaina A
Y5 Boys - Winner: Rishi S-P; Runner up - Adi S
Y5 Girls - Winner: Aaria K; Runner up - Zoe K
Y6 Boys - Winner: Timi O; Runner up - Amrit R
Y6 Girls - Winner: Ryeesa S; Runner up - Zara S-P
Highly Commended for Sport
Two certificates were presented today, to Lincoln B and Hebe E, for their outstanding contributions to the school athletics team this term.
Sports Personality of the Term
The Sports Personality of the Summer Term was awarded to Ryeesa S. Ryeesa has represented the school in many sports and has always shown a determination to perform to the best of her ability.
She became a triple Borough Champion this term as part of the table tennis team, tri-golf team and tennis team, and she represented Hillingdon at the London Youth Games tennis finals, losing only one match all day on her way to finishing in 4th place.
Ryeesa also won a silver medal at District Sports; she is a school tennis champion and she is the current school record holder for Year 5 Turbo Javelin.
However, football is Ryeesa's real passion; she is a part of the Arsenal youth team and we are sure it won’t be long before she gets her first England cap!
Very well done, Ryeesa. Your contribution to sport at St. Helen's College has been wonderful.
Holiday Club
There are some exciting themes planned for this summer's Holiday Club, run by Miss Carmichael and the Holiday Club team, including:
SUMMER IS HERE!
WACKY TRANSPORT – AROUND THE WORLD IN 10 DAYS
OUTDOOR MINI OLYMPICS
HOLIDAY CLUB’S GOT TALENT
CARNIVAL
If your child/ren will be attending Holiday Club, please take note of these important reminders:
Please apply sun cream to your child before coming to school.
âBring a sunhat to wear.
Bring spare clothes for your child - we could be getting wet!
Make sure your child is wearing suitable footwear.
We will be using the main school entrance in Parkway, with the exception of Breakfast Club. Holiday Club numbers will be displayed on each door should you need to contact us.
We look forward to seeing you!
Summer School - Years 2-6 at HOAC
For those taking part in the Year 2 - 6 Summer School at Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre (HOAC) in August, the kit list and programme have been sent home with your children. These have also been posted to the School Documents page of the website, so you can refer to them there in case they are misplaced between now and August.
Cancer Research Relay for Life 2018
Our team fundraising is well underway for this year's Relay for Life, which takes place at Harrow School on 1st September 2018. It is not too late to join our team or to make a donation to sponsor us as we attend on the day to walk the track in a team relay for 24 hours and staff the Candle of Hope stall.
You can join the team or make a donation here. If you would like to dedicate a Candle of Hope to a loved one who has fought, or is currently fighting, cancer, please email Mrs. Stark at tstark@sthelenscollege.com by the end of August. The suggested minimum donation for a Candle of Hope dedication is £5; this may be sent into Mrs. Stark at Upper School when we return to school in September.
Preparing for September
Parents should check the School Documents page for the uniform and equipment list for 2018-19. Please ensure that your children return to school in September with full, correct school uniform and PE/Games kit in good repair and a freshly stocked pencil case where relevant.
Please note the change this year that, due to the hot Septembers we have experienced in recent years, pupils may return to school in either full summer or full winter uniform, depending on the weather. You may decide daily which uniform is more appropriate for that day. The only exception is the day of your child's school photograph, when they must wear full winter uniform. Reminders will be sent about this nearer the time. From the October half term, all pupils must wear full winter uniform.
The Autumn term lunch menu can also be found on the School Documents page. You might like to read through this with your children over the holidays and help them to make healthy choices for their lunches next term.
The Parents' Handbook has also been updated and re-published to the School Documents page. Please ensure that you are familiar with its contents.
The school calendar has been populated with important dates for the Autumn term. We strongly suggest that you check this over the holidays and make a note in your own diaries of all dates relevant to your children.
The Autumn term co-curricular programme will be published when we return to school in September so please do not worry - you have not missed it! We are planning to use a new, online booking system similar to our parents' evening booking system, which should be much easier for parents and will allow for online payments too. We will be working on setting this up over the summer and full details will be sent out at the start of next term.
STEAM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts and Mathematics) will take place on Friday 21st September this year. In the past, parents have been very generous in giving time to run workshops or activity sessions on this day, or to support teachers in doing so. Recent examples include The History of the British Telephone Box, Making an Ideal Parachute, Testing Aerodynamics, Music Workshops, Arts and Crafts, Drama...the opportunities are endless and it is hoped that the day will be as wide-ranging as possible! Please contact Mr. Tovell if you would like to offer a workshop or your time: dtovell@sthelenscollege.com. A big part of what makes St. Helen’s College such a fantastic school for your children to attend is the wonderful level of parental support, so please do sign up and make this our best STEAM Day to date!
You can see a video of our first ever STEAM Day here to give you an idea of the sorts of activities we have had in the past.
Summer Greetings
Many thanks to all pupils, parents and extended family for their continued support throughout this academic year. It truly has been an incredibly successful and exciting year for everyone. To those who are leaving us to move onto new schools, we wish you all the best and please do keep in touch! We wish you all a safe, happy and fun-filled summer.
Posted on: 6/07/2018Weekly News - Friday 6th July 2018
Today we bid farewell and wish a happy summer holiday to our Lower School children. You have all worked very, very hard this year and had an enormous amount of fun at school with your friends. Please enjoy the summer holiday with family and friends and return to school in September relaxed, refreshed and ready for another exciting year!
The long-planned Lower School refurbishment project commences tomorrow. We are all looking forward very much to showing the new facilities to you all when you return in September!
End of term arrangements for Upper School children for next week are published below.
PA Summer Fete
A huge thank you to the PA committee and to all of the parents, staff, pupils, Old Helenians and other members of the community who came together to make last Saturday's Summer Fete the success that it was! The sun was shining and it was one of the busiest fetes we can remember. Well done to the pupils who performed to make it a musical event too.
The Wizard of Oz
On Thursday evening, our Year 6 leavers put on their first performance of The Wizard of Oz at The Compass Theatre in Ickenham. The performances are the culmination of much hard work to bring acting, dancing, singing, props, make-up, costume, lighting, direction and so much more together for these amazingly high standard shows. As usual, the quality of acting, singing, dancing and stagecraft was extremely high and there were some standout individual performances. Most importantly, though, these children will feel so proud of what they have achieved together, as a TEAM, bringing to life this wonderful story with such a strong message of self-belief, which I am sure the children will not fully appreciate until later in life.
âThe children will stage a matinee this afternoon and their final performance this evening and they will then enjoy a well-deserved end of show party!
Photos of the dress rehearsal have now been published to the Galleries page.
We are pleased to announce that St. Helen's College will, for the next five years, be sponsoring a seat at The Compass Theatre. Our association with the theatre is long-lasting, with our Year 6 production taking place there each year, and we are proud to be able to support the dramatic arts in our local community. So, if you are going to see a show there over the summer or subsequently, do look out for our sponsored seat in the middle of Row C!
Empire of the Sikhs Exhibition
Suhavi's dad, Amandeep, co-founder and chair of UK Punjab Heritage Association, was honoured by the Queen with an OBE for services to Punjab and Sikh heritage and culture in the recent birthday honours. This is an immensely proud moment for the charity, friends and family and a true recognition of twenty years of research, writing books, advising on Sikh cultural issues, giving lectures and hosting exhibitions on Sikh history and culture.
This summer sees the launch of an exciting exhibition hosted at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS, entitled Empire of the Sikhs. The exhibition will include artefacts from the Royal Collection and is open from 12th July to 23rd September. Entry is free and there are guided tours and activities for children.
We do hope that many of you will visit the exhibition with your children and extended families over the holidays. Here are the details and accompanying press release.
Digital Dummies
Over the past couple of weeks I have shared information with parents regarding our concerns over social media, apps, games, and screen time and we have also discussed this at our new parents' welcome evenings this week. I am attaching a new publication from the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools which has been produced for parents as a useful guide 'Tech a break; Avoiding 'digital dummies' in the summer.' I do hope that you will find time to read this carefully.
St. Helen's College Voice
The latest issue of St. Helen's College Voice is being sent home with your children. A digital copy is also available here.
News from the Library
All library books should be returned to the library by Monday.
We are very pleased with the large number of pupils who use the library and while many pupils are finishing off their books and returning them, there are currently 196 books still out on loan, with 97 of these being overdue for return, having been out for more than two weeks.
We are also pleased to report that the often quoted statement that "boys don't read" is certainly not true at St. Helen's College. Our pupils all read enthusiastically. Pupils have enjoyed the varied reading challenges set and many pupils have received certificates for completing their chosen challenge. Next term we will be looking at more ways to enthuse our pupils in their reading. In the meantime, please encourage your children to keep on reading with the Hillingdon Libraries summer reading challenge. This year's theme is Mischief Makers and the challenge starts on 7th July. More information is available at https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/summerreading
District Sports
On Monday this week, 32 of our aspiring young athletes from Years 3 - 6 took part in the Small Schools District Sports athletics competition at the Uxbridge track. Competing against nine other local schools, our pupils competed in a range of track and field events. Individual success came in field events with Harry J gaining a bronze medal in the Year 4 boys' standing long jump and Sulaiman M (Y3) and Eli V-B (Y4) both winning bronze medals in their tennis ball throw event. On the track, there was individual success for Fredericka T gaining a bronze medal in the Year 3 girls' 50m, Timi O (Y6) winning a silver medal in the boys' 800m and Zoe K and Hebe E winning gold medals in the girls' 800m and Y5 girls' 70m events respectfully. Our Year 6 relay team finished off the evening in style by gaining team silver medals in a race in which they exhibited some silky smooth changeovers.
Photos have been published to the Galleries page.
School Games Regional Finals
It was the turn of our Year 3 and 4 tennis team to represent Hillingdon at the School Games regional finals held at Crystal Palace this week. Eli, Daniel and Catherine from Year 4 and Amar from Year 3 took part in the event, in which all 33 London boroughs were represented. During the day the team played seven matches against borough teams from Kingston, Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing, Newham, Camden, Sutton and Barnet. The team played some exciting matches and showed great resilience and team spirit to win 1 match, draw 4 matches and lose 2 matches. The team finished 4th in their group and 13th overall out of 33 boroughs. Very well done to all our tennis players!
Tennis For Kids
Well done to our Year 1 children, who have all now completed the Tennis for Kids six week national programme and have received their certificates. They all graduated with flying colours and, with Wimbledon happening now too, we are sure they have all been inspired to enjoy tennis!
Old Helenian Sports News
Huge congratulations are due to Old Helenian Issy Sibley who, having discovered football at St. Helen's College, went on to play football at club and international level. Issy has most recently been playing for the Chelsea Ladies U20 team and the England ladies U19 team, and we are now delighted to announce that she has secured a four year soccer scholarship at the University of West Virginia! Issy sent a lovely card to Miss Walker to thank the school for starting her off on her footballing journey, which is taking her so far. Well done, Issy. We are always thrilled to hear from Old Helenians who are continuing to develop their talents and pursue their dreams!
Cancer Research Relay for Life Fundraising
Lots of different events have been taking place at school, organised by the various year groups, to raise money for CRUK Relay for Life. Many thanks to all parents for allowing your children to bring in some money and enjoy all the wonderful activities including cake sales, guess the beans in the jar, sponsored walks, 'Soak the Teacher' and 'Beat the Goalie'. So far we are delighted to announce that we have raised a total of £1324.94.
Co-Curricular Clubs
Please note that ALL co-curricular clubs have now finished for this term. Many thanks to all those who ran clubs and participated in them with such enthusiasm.
Upper School End of Term Arrangements
Next Wednesday, 11th July, is a half day. Provided the weather is fine, all children in Years 2 to 6 will join together for a Final Assembly in the Windsor garden at 11:00 a.m. and parents will be very welcome if they wish to attend.
Please park well away from the school in order to prevent congestion. There should be no parking in Parkway as this causes congestion and inconvenience to our long-suffering neighbours. The car park will be full. Please park and walk.
Parents who attend the Final Assembly may take their children home immediately afterwards. For others, term will end at 12:15 for Years 2 and 3, and 12:30 for Years 4, 5 & 6. Older children will be released at the same times as their younger siblings.
Posted on: 29/06/2018Weekly News - Friday 29th June 2018
Wow! What a wonderful week of performances it has been, with the superb Year 1 and 2 summer productions and a lovely 3V assembly today.
Year 1 Production - Hansel and Gretel
With stellar solo performances and energetic ensemble numbers, the Year 1 performance would not have been out of place in the West End of London! Watching the children, it really was hard to believe that they are just 5 and 6 years old. The skills they showed in remembering all of their words (no prompts required!), in singing with enthusiasm and tunefulness, in moving about the stage and in engaging the audience really were verging on the professional. There were moments of comedy and of joy and the performance was enjoyed immensely by all who attended. Well done Year 1!
Year 2 Production - The Emerald Crown
Our Year 2 children entertained and educated us with a beautiful performance of The Emerald Crown, a play all about the rainforest canopy and the importance of protecting it. The stage was a riot of colour with, among others, brightly feathered birds, green creepers, bats, toucans, monkeys, an anaconda and even a jaguar! The message of the play - for us all to think about and mitigate the effects humans are having on our world's environment and eco-systems - was conveyed with grace, empathy and enthusiasm. There were some stunning solo and group singing performances and every child recited their lines and moved about the stage with confidence and clear enjoyment. Bravo, Year 2!
3V Assembly - St. Helen's Got Talent!
This morning's assembly was great fun at Upper School as 3V presented their own talent show, complete with judges Miss Wallis and Mr. Lewis! The children showed some mature and well-practised performance skills, whether acting as presenters or judges, playing instruments, doing gymnastics, singing or performing magic tricks. Who knew that the children of 3V had so many talents! Well done to all involved.
The Wizard of Oz
'The Wizard of Oz' will be performed by our Year 6 children at The Compass Theatre, Ickenham on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th July. Children at Upper School have had a preview performance in assembly this week to give them a taste of the show, and we know that many are eager to see the full production. Parents are permitted to take children out of school on Friday 6th July for the matinee performance and we would encourage you to do so if you can, so that the younger children can enjoy the performance and see the standard to which they will aspire by the time they reach Year 6! Please let us know if you plan to take your child(ren) out of school for the matinee performance.
Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis so please do not delay - the Year 6 play is always of exceptionally high quality and it is lovely for pupils in the younger years to go and see it with their parents.
There are three performances:
Thursday 5th July 7.30 p.m.
Friday 6th July 2.00 p.m. matinee
Friday 6th July 7.30 p.m.
You may order tickets by following the link below.
http://www.hillingdontheatres.uk/index.php/events/wizard-of-oz/
Please note that, for copyright reasons, parents will not be allowed to take photographs or use video recording devices during the performances.
You can see some 'sneak preview' photographs of the cast in their costumes on our Galleries page.
2018 Leavers
We are very proud of all of our Year 6 leavers this year, who have all achieved so much during their time at St. Helen's College. We are delighted that, between the 38 children, they were offered 10 scholarships or exhibitions to leading Independent Schools.
As usual, the leavers are heading to a wide variety of schools, with 22 different destination schools this year from our 38 pupils.
14 children will be going to grammar schools
17 children will go to independent schools
7 children will be joining other schools
It is with a great sense of pride that we will bid them farewell at the end of this term, confident in the knowledge that they are exceptionally well prepared for their next steps at senior school.
Messages from the PA
PA Summer Fete
The summer fete has arrived and will be taking place in the Upper School playground from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday 30th June). Although there is no entrance fee, there will be donation buckets at the Parkway gate entrance, with any money raised being donated to Cancer Research UK. In addition, a group of Year 4 entrepreneurial children will be selling origami products from their stall with all proceeds being donated to Cancer Research UK. Please do visit their stall (Dream Team) and give them some support.
If you have any old uniform to donate, please do bring it along to the Fete and hand it to the PA uniform stall. Any uniform not sold after the fete is shipped to India, where less privileged school children are able to wear it. You can see photographs of pupils wearing SHC uniform on the Galleries page.
The fete is a wonderful event so feel free to bring along your friends and family. There will be a range of world food stalls where you can buy anything from Indian to mouth-watering hotdogs and burgers from our BBQ. We will also have lots of games for you to have a go at so, if you can, make sure you bring lots of change with you.
Any money raised on the stalls is reinvested into the school and this year the PA will be working with the school to bring improvements to the Lower School playground, which will complement the new setting.
Finally, one last plea for helpers. If anyone is available to help with set up on the day (from 8 a.m. or as soon as possible thereafter) or to help on any of the stalls, please do contact us at pa@sthelenscollege.com or fill your name in on the Google Sheet here. Thank you to everyone who has offered their support - this event would not be possible without your help and we really do appreciate it!
Sports Days
The PA would like to thank all of those parents who donated items for the Sports Day refreshments stall - the donations were truly amazing and we are very grateful! Thank you also to those parents who came and bought items from the stall. We hope that you all enjoyed the events as much as the children did!
Staff Farewells and Welcomes
Miss Wallis (5W) has now started her maternity leave and awaits the arrival of her bundle of joy. 5W will be under the care of Miss Beckett until the end of term. We wish Miss Wallis all the best and hope that she enjoys some rest before the big event.
Miss Toombs and Miss Martinez will also be leaving us at the end of this term.
Miss Toombs has a very exciting opportunity. Having been with us in the role of TALA for the past 3 years, she will be starting her teacher training in September. It is such a testament to the school that our staff go on to further their careers and although we are very sad to lose Miss Toombs, it is wonderful that she will be taking her career to the next level.
Miss Martinez has been with us for one year and in this short time she has inspired the children with her Spanish throughout the school and run our Funtasia After School care. Alas, Miss Martinez has made a decision from the heart and will moving to California to join her partner and return to further study in the USA.
We wish Miss Toombs and Miss Martinez all the best in their exciting new ventures.
Mrs. Lawrence (Wrens) will be taking over the running of Funtasia After School Club, ably assisted as ever by Mrs. Beagley at Upper School and Miss Williams at Lower School.
Following rigorous selection and interview processes, we are absolutely delighted to be welcoming some new members of staff to the school in September and we know that you will wish to join with us in welcoming them into the St. Helen's College community.
Miss Samantha Joiner will be a wonderful addition to the Lower School team as a Year 1 teacher. Miss Joiner has most recently been teaching a Reception class at Belmore Primary Academy, and is looking forward very much to joining St. Helen's College and to returning to teach Key Stage 1, having worked as a Key Stage 1 teacher for seven years previously.
Mr. Celso Aguiar will be joining us to teach Spanish throughout the school. A native Spanish speaker, Mr. Aguiar has lived in London for sixteen years and has a wealth of experience teaching children from Nursery age through to A Level. Mr. Aguiar will also be running our Spanish clubs next year.
Miss Sarah Ward will be joining us to teach PE/Games at Lower School. Miss Ward is a highly qualified and experienced PE/Games specialist who has most recently worked at Bushey Meads School, teaching PE across the school and acting as a Head of House and Form Tutor.
Miss Claire Heath will be joining the team as an Upper School Teaching and Learning Assistant. Miss Heath has lots of experience in the world of business and is no stranger to working with children - some of the girls may know her already from local Brownies groups, where she has been a leader for some years! She is currently spending some time at the school to get to know the children and routines ahead of a full time start in September.
We are currently recruiting for an Early Years Teaching Assistant. Full details can be found on the Join The Team page of the website.
Staff v Pupil Rounders
You may have thought the big match this week was England vs Belgium at the World Cup! You would be wrong - the big match was in fact the annual staff v pupils rounders match held at St. Helen's College on Thursday afternoon. Our Sports Captains organised the Year 5 and 6 pupils into two teams the take on a team of staff in two matches. The event was good fun and the pupils were skilled players scoring many rounders; they also fielded well to get many of the staff out. Match scores were:
A team vs staff - staff won 10.5 to 5.5
B team vs staff - staff won 12 to 9.5
Special thanks to Max, Ryeesa, Timi and Amrit for umpiring the matches so well and to Mrs. Kaura and Mrs. Field for supplying refreshments for everyone at the end of the match.
Sports Days Results
We were entertained last week with four amazing Sports Days in the space of four days, which showcased the children's talent for sport and competition.
Ducklings started the sporting festivities off on Tuesday with their Sports Day. Our youngest Helenians took part in a range of fun activities and races and were cheered on by their enthusiastic parents, who also took the opportunity to throw an 'after party' in the Ducklings garden!
Prep Sports Day on Wednesday opened with a fantastic opening ceremony in which our Head Boy and Girl teams welcomed everyone and we were then treated to a brilliant dance display by our Year 4 girls, who demonstrated some outstanding hula hooping skills. If anyone has a video of the dance we would love to have a copy for the school gallery - please get in contact if you do.
New Prep Sports Day records set this year include:
Year 5 girls' long jump - a 20 year old school record was broken by Hebe with a jump of 3.40m. Hebe also broke two more school records, in the Year 5 girls' 400m with a time of 1 minute 14 seconds and in the 70m sprint with a time of 10.31 seconds.
Year 6 Shot Put - new records in both boys' and girls' events. Abigail Y set a new record of 12.50m and Jed H set a new record of 14.90m.
Fredericka T in Year 3 set a new 50m sprint record with a time of 8.44 seconds and new records were also established in the new format hurdles events this year. In Year 3 Riya and Adi, in Year 4 Raunaq and Taha, in Year 5 Jada and Feranmi and in Year 6 Ryeesa and Kai established the records for this new event format.
Our Year 3 parents shone in the parents' races, with Mr. Sawant (Aditiya's dad) and Ms Haq (Zayd's mum) crossing the line first in two exciting parents' races over 50m.
On Friday morning in our Pre-Prep Sports Day our Year 1 and 2 pupils showed what a talented bunch they are with some super skills on the skills stations and excellent running on the track. This year our Year 2s demonstrated their hurdling skills too. In the afternoon it was Nursery and Reception classes who took to the field where, supported by staff and our Year 5 sports leaders, they were encouraged to try all the events with great enthusiasm. Both Sports Days ended with the traditional 'tug o' war' parents' event where parents pull for their child's house. This fun event is always well supported with over thirty parents on each side pulling for the house team. This year honours were even with Windsor parents winning in the morning and Cambria parents winning in the afternoon.
Sports Day overall results
Foundation Stage Sports Day - Windsor Champions
Pre-Prep Sports Day - Cambria Champions
Prep Sports Day - Windsor Champions
Year 3 - 6 Inter-house sports cup (awarded to the winning team for inter-house matches played throughout the year) - Windsor Champions
A real sense of community was evident at all our Sports Days, with Year 5 pupils and Old Helenians participating as sports leaders to run events, parents helping as judges, our staff supporting the pupils and the PA keeping everyone refreshed! Thank you to everyone involved.
Summer School
Due to the overwhelming demand for summer school places this year, additional places are now available as follows:
Lower School Summer school (Nursery - Y1) - 2 places available
Upper School Summer School (Y2) - 2 places available
Upper School Summer School (Y3 - 6) - 7 places available
Booking forms must be completed and returned as soon as possible. The booking form is available here.
Lower School Development
As you are all aware we have our very exciting Lower School project commencing on Saturday 7th July, with our current Nursery and Reception buildings being replaced. Please note that the Lower School will be completely closed after Friday 6th July thus if you have any queries please do contact Upper School. Holiday Club and Summer School for Lower School pupils will be located in the Upper School throughout the summer. Please note that on Friday 6th July, Funtasia After School Club will be held at Upper School for ALL pupils, including Nursery, Reception and Year 1.
Posted on: 22/06/2018Weekly News - Friday 22nd June 2018
We have enjoyed superb Sports Days this week at all three sites. On Tuesday, our Ducklings had a wonderful afternoon of races, on their grassed area, followed by a lovely 'after party' organised by the parents.
On Wednesday, the Prep School Sports Day at Hillingdon Stadium saw children in Years 3 to 6 compete in a full range of track and field events and today children from Nursery to Year 2 have competed in their events on the track and field at Court Park.
As ever, the Sports Days have been the culmination of the year's sporting activities and it was really marvellous to see the Olympic and Paralympic values on display once again from the youngest to the oldest children. The children showed maturity, determination, perseverance, sportsmanship and real excellence throughout the events and there were some superb results, which we will report in full next week.
We would like to extend thanks to all of the parents who attended the Sports Days and most especially to the PA who provided refreshments at the Pre-Prep and Prep Sports Days.
Charity Assembly
Today the children in Years 3 to 6 heard from Meena Patel, the lady who co-ordinates the shipping of old St. Helen's College uniform to underprivileged children in India. Having visited India and identified the issues affecting these children, Meena was able to convey to our pupils just how lucky they are not to suffer from the same hardships. She was also able to show our pupils some photographs of Indian children wearing old St. Helen's College uniform, and a short clip of the children thanking our pupils.
Year 1/2 Summer Plays - Key Information For All Year Groups
The children in the Year 1 and Year 2 classes will be performing their Summer Concert plays at the Winston Churchill Hall in Pinn Way, Ruislip, on Thursday 28th June, at 1.30 p.m. (Y1) and 2.30 p.m. (Y2). Year 1 will be performing 'Hansel and Gretel' and Year 2 will be performing 'The Emerald Crown'.
The key arrangements are as follows.
The Dress Rehearsal will be on Wednesday 27th June. All children from Nursery to Year 4 will attend so that they can watch the Concerts. Please deliver your child(ren) to the Winston Churchill Hall on this date by 8.40 a.m. The children will return to school by coach. Please note that Year 5 will remain at school for normal lessons, as they are busy preparing for important exams later this year. However, if you have a child in Year 1 or 2 who has a sibling in Year 5, then please drop your Year 5 child at the Winston Churchill Hall by 8.40 a.m. too so that they may watch their sibling perform. The Year 5 siblings will also return to school by coach.
On the day of the concert, Thursday 28th June, Year 1 and 2 children will have lunch at school as usual and will be taken by coach to the Winston Churchill Hall in time for their performances.
Tickets are now available and are priced at £8 each. Parents should book tickets by following this link:
âhttps://sthelens.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/
If parents have children in both Year 1 and Year 2, you should buy tickets just for one of the shows and you will be able to watch both.
PA Summer Fete
Thank you to all parents who have been bringing in donations and volunteering time to help on stalls at the Summer Fete on Saturday 30th June. If you have not yet volunteered, please do return your slip to let your class teacher know when you will be able to help. Donations will continue to be most gratefully received throughout the week this week too. The Summer Fete is always a super event and we are looking forward to seeing you all there!
The Wizard of Oz
'The Wizard of Oz' will be performed by our Year 6 children at The Compass Theatre, Ickenham on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th July. Parents are permitted to take children out of school on Friday for the matinee performance and we would encourage you to do so if you can, so that the younger children can enjoy the performance and see the standard to which they will aspire by the time they reach Year 6! Please let us know if you plan to take your child(ren) out of school for the matinee performance.
Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis so please do not delay - the Year 6 play is always of exceptionally high quality and it is lovely for pupils in the younger years to go and see it with their parents.
There are three performances:
Thursday 5th July 7.30 p.m.
Friday 6th July 2.00 p.m. matinee
Friday 6th July 7.30 p.m.
You may order tickets by following the link below.
http://www.hillingdontheatres.uk/index.php/events/wizard-of-oz/
Please note that, for copyright reasons, parents will not be allowed to take photographs or use video recording devices during the performances.
Cancer Research Relay for Life
The school will once again be supporting the Cancer Research Relay for Life this year and a letter has been sent home separately with the details of the fundraising activities being run by various year groups. The first, the Year 5 cake sale, will take place on Monday 25th. Amishi K (Year 6) is also going to be running an individual fundraiser: 'Guess The Number Of JellyBeans In The Jar'. There will be jars full of beans at Upper School and Lower School. Entries will be £1 each so please do allow your child to bring in £1 (or more) and have a guess!
School Bus
We would like to remind parents that, in September, we will be launching a school bus service which will run daily during term time.
The bus will be available to children in Years 2 to 6 and will run, initially, on a route from Ruislip through Ickenham and Hillingdon to school. You can see the exact route and timings, along with the booking form, here and these have also been published to the School Documents page of the website.
There will be limited places on the bus and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We would therefore encourage parents to complete and return the booking form as soon as possible if you know that you will require a regular place on a certain day, or certain days, of the week. Subject to availability, it will also be possible to book places on an ad hoc basis from September, by telephoning the school office by 4 p.m. on the preceding day.
We have had several enquiries from parents about a school bus service, and we hope that the service will prove popular. If it does, then we may consider expanding the service to other areas/routes...so watch this space!
Posted on: 15/06/2018Weekly News - Friday 15th June 2018
Six of our keen Year 3 mathematicians visited Edge Grove Prep School this week to take part in an invitation maths challenge workshop. Throughout the morning the children took part in three team challenges, developing their mathematical skills and confidence. They explored topics such as fractions and probability, 3D shapes using nets and cubes and mental arithmetic. Our pupils demonstrated resilience and great team work to be successful in each of the challenges. Well done to all those who took part: Sulaiman M, Jena J, Arjan D, Zayd K, Ben L and Vidhit N.
Assemblies This Week
On Thursday, the children of Owls class presented a very touching assembly all about Fathers' Day. Every child had painted the most wonderful portrait of their daddy and we all admired the gallery! The children praised their dads with such warmth and love that there was not a dry eye in the hall. Happy Fathers' Day to all dads for this weekend.
On Friday, 4T encouraged us all to reflect on the core values of Christianity and of St. Helen's College with a thoughtful assembly in which they re-enacted four of the Christian parables. With some excellent performance skills, they reminded us that Jesus taught forgiveness and respect and that these are two of the core values of our school today. They re-visited the school's mantra of 'Ready, Respectful, Safe' and linked this to the qualities taught through Christianity. There was some beautiful singing as the year groups joined together to sing 'Cross Over The Road, My Friend' and 'The Water Of Life'. We were left feeling nourished and inspired to carry such important values forward in our everyday lives.
Sports News - Tennis, Rounders and Upcoming Sports Days
Terrific Tennis
After being crowned Borough tennis champions last week, our Year 5 and 6 tennis team travelled to Redbridge Sports Centre on Thursday to represent Hillingdon at the London School Games finals, part of the London Youth Games. All thirty two London boroughs were represented at the event and initially our team had to play 4 singles rubbers each time against schools from Barnet, Merton, Bexley, Richmond, Hackney and Islington. All the team played very well, winning 4 matches and drawing 2 matches to win the group and progress to the semi finals.
The semi final match, against a school from Westminster, was extremely close. Our boys narrowly lost their singles matches but our girls battled for every point to win their matches. As the teams were drawn 2 - 2, the number of points won were used to decide the winner and St. Helen's College missed out on going through to the final by just 1 point! The team then had to refocus to play off for the bronze medal position. Despite some great rallies, we were defeated by a strong team from Newham. The school should be incredibly proud of our tennis players; to finish in 4th place at the regional London finals is a terrific result. Many congratulations to Timi O, Rishi S-P, Ryeesa S and Zara S-P.
Rounders Round Up
Our A and B teams took on Oak Farm this week in a friendly rounders fixture. We played several matches which gave every child a chance to enjoy themselves and develop their skills. Honours were fairly even between the schools and it was lovely to see the sportsmanship on display. This was the final warm up match for our pupils before they take on the staff team in our annual staff v pupils match later this month.
Sports Days
Our Sports Days are fast approaching and letters with full details (published last week) are available on the links below. Please ensure that you read these carefully. Ducklings parents will receive information separately about the Ducklings Sports Day.
There are two letters for Pre-Prep Sports Day (N/R/Y1/Y2) - click here and here.
There are two letters for Prep Sports Day (Y3/Y4/Y5/Y6) - click here and here.
We still need sports leaders (ex pupils) and parent helpers. Please email Miss Walker at swalker@sthelenscollege.com if you are available to help.
Younger siblings will be allowed to leave school early on Wednesday (20th June) to go with parents to the stadium to watch Prep Sports Day. Each year group will have a specific pick-up time for younger siblings, as they will be released immediately after they have eaten lunch; these will be noted on class weekly guides. Please contact your class teacher to request permission to take your younger child out on Wednesday afternoon if you would like to do this. Please note that, once collected from school, your younger child will remain your responsibility throughout the afternoon.
Year 1/2 Summer Plays - Key Information For All Year Groups
The children in the Year 1 and Year 2 classes will be performing their Summer Concert plays at the Winston Churchill Hall in Pinn Way, Ruislip, on Thursday 28th June, at 1.30 p.m. (Y1) and 2.30 p.m. (Y2). Year 1 will be performing 'Hansel and Gretel' and Year 2 will be performing 'The Emerald Crown'.
The key arrangements are as follows.
The Dress Rehearsal will be on Wednesday 27th June. All children from Nursery to Year 4 will attend so that they can watch the Concerts. Please deliver your child(ren) to the Winston Churchill Hall on this date by 8.40 a.m. The children will return to school by coach. Please note that Year 5 will remain at school for normal lessons, as they are busy preparing for important exams later this year. However, if you have a child in Year 1 or 2 who has a sibling in Year 5, then please drop your Year 5 child at the Winston Churchill Hall by 8.40 a.m. too so that they may watch their sibling perform. The Year 5 siblings will also return to school by coach.
On the day of the concert, Thursday 28th June, Year 1 and 2 children will have lunch at school as usual and will be taken by coach to the Winston Churchill Hall in time for their performances.
Tickets are now available and are priced at £8 each. Parents should book tickets by following this link:
âhttps://sthelens.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/
If parents have children in both Year 1 and Year 2, you should buy tickets just for one of the shows and you will be able to watch both.
Posted on: 8/06/2018Weekly News - Friday 8th June 2018
We are delighted to announce that, in September, we will be launching a school bus service which will run daily during term time.
The bus will be available to children in Years 2 to 6 and will run, initially, on a route from Ruislip through Ickenham and Hillingdon to school. You can see the exact route and timings, along with the booking form, here and these have also been published to the School Documents page of the website.
There will be limited places on the bus and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We would therefore encourage parents to complete and return the booking form as soon as possible if you know that you will require a regular place on a certain day, or certain days, of the week. Subject to availability, it will also be possible to book places on an ad hoc basis from September, by telephoning the school office by 4 p.m. on the preceding day.
We have had several enquiries from parents about a school bus service, and we hope that the service will prove popular. If it does, then we may consider expanding the service to other areas/routes...so watch this space!
Singing Competitions
We were treated to two quite fantastic competitions at school this afternoon. The standard of singing at both the Middle School and Upper School Singing Competitions was really wonderful and our visiting judge was most impressed! We would like to extend congratulations to every child who entered the competitions and especially to those who delighted us with their singing today.
4A Assembly - Flatford Mill
Well done to 4A, who confidently presented a fun and interesting assembly today about their recent residential trip to Flatford Mill. We were all interested to see the beautiful surroundings and buildings in which they stayed, and to hear about the many exciting and educational activities they undertook. The children spoke with passion and great expression and no doubt the Year 3s cannot wait to follow in their footsteps next year!
Mrs. Drummond - A Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching
We are delighted and proud to inform you that Mrs. Drummond has been appointed a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.
The Chartered College of Teaching has been established to improve the quality of education for children and young people by supporting teachers, championing great teaching and raising the status of the profession, with a professional role comparable to the Law Society, General Medical Council and Royal Institute of British Architects. To be appointed a Founding Fellow is a great honour for Mrs. Drummond (and for the school!) and we know that she will be a leading light in the development of the CCT into the pre-eminent professional body for the promotion of excellence in British education.
In Mrs. Drummond’s appointment letter, the appointments committee wrote, ‘Fellowship is an honour and a mark of your achievements and commitment to the teaching profession. We were impressed by the strength of all applications and in particular your experiences and what you would bring to the Fellowship as a Founder.’
Many congratulations to Mrs. Drummond, for whom this honour is so well-deserved.
World Environmental Day
The children have been very environmentally aware this week as we have undertaken several activities linked to World Environmental Day. There was an assembly to introduce the day and all children have been busy decorating their handprints and writing their pledges to beat plastic pollution. In addition, our Eco Reps have been out litter picking in Court Park.
Tennis Borough Champions
Many congratulations to our Y5 and Y6 tennis teams, who took part in the Borough Tennis Tournament this week and were crowned Champions! They were able to match the achievement of Year 3 and 4 who were also crowned Borough Champions last month.
The event, held at Tripletts Community Tennis Centre, was attended by 12 teams from schools across the borough. Each team was made up of two boys and two girls and St. Helen's were able to field three teams as tennis is such a popular sport at school, with many pupils playing to a good standard. Each player in the team played a singles rubber in each match. In a fantastic display of tennis, all three of our teams came through the group stages to reach the quarter finals. Our A team progressed to the semi finals after beating Hayes Park school and in their quarter final, our C team beat our B team to reach the semi final to play our A team! Everyone played very well but the A team prevailed to reach the final to play Dr. Tripletts school. Our A team played consistently and confidently in the final to win 3 - 1. The team will now go forward to the London School Games Regional finals to represent Hilingdon against other London boroughs.
Thank you to all the parents who supported the team from the side lines and well done to all our players: Timi, Rishi, Ryeesa, Zara, Max, Aditya, Amishi, Hebe, William, Amrit, Grace, Zoe. You can see some photos from the event in the gallery.
Rounders
This week our rounders team played St. Andrew's School in a friendly match. Our team took some great catches and struck the ball well when batting to win the first innings 4.5 to 3.5 and the second innings 5 to 4. Team members were: Abigail, Ionie, Amishi, Zara, Ryeesa, Amrit, Rishi, Timi, Jed and Lincoln.
Sports Days
Our Sports Days are fast approaching and letters with full details are available on the links below. Please ensure that you read these carefully.
Ducklings parents will receive information separately about the Ducklings Sports Day.
There are two letters for Pre-Prep Sports Day (N/R/Y1/Y2) - click here and here.
There are two letters for Prep Sports Day (Y3/Y4/Y5/Y6) - click here and here.
We need parent helpers for both Sports Days. Please email Miss Walker at swalker@sthelenscollege.com if you are available to help, letting her know on which day(s) you are available.
The Wizard of Oz
'The Wizard of Oz' will be performed by our Year 6 children at The Compass Theatre, Ickenham on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th July. Parents are permitted to take children out of school on Friday for the matinee performance and we would encourage you to do so if you can, so that the younger children can enjoy the performance and see the standard to which they will aspire by the time they reach Year 6! Please let us know if you plan to take your child(ren) out of school for the matinee performance.
Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis so please do not delay - the Year 6 play is always of exceptionally high quality and it is lovely for pupils in the younger years to go and see it with their parents.
There are three performances:
Thursday 5th July 7.30 p.m.
Friday 6th July 2.00 p.m. matinee
Friday 6th July 7.30 p.m.
You may order tickets by following the link below.
http://www.hillingdontheatres.uk/index.php/events/wizard-of-oz/
Please note that, for copyright reasons, parents will not be allowed to take photographs or use video recording devices during the performances. â
Year 1/2 Summer Plays - Key Information For All Year Groups
The children in the Year 1 and Year 2 classes will be performing their Summer Concert plays at the Winston Churchill Hall in Pinn Way, Ruislip, on Thursday 28th June, at 1.30 p.m. (Y1) and 2.30 p.m. (Y2). Year 1 will be performing 'Hansel and Gretel' and Year 2 will be performing 'The Emerald Crown'.
The key arrangements are as follows.
The Dress Rehearsal will be on Wednesday 27th June. All children from Nursery to Year 4 will attend so that they can watch the Concerts. Please deliver your child(ren) to the Winston Churchill Hall on this date by 8.40 a.m. The children will return to school by coach.
On the day of the concert, Thursday 28th June, Year 1 and 2 children will have lunch at school as usual and will be taken by coach to the Winston Churchill Hall in time for their performances.
Tickets are now available and are priced at £8 each. Parents should book tickets by following this link:
âhttps://sthelens.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/
If parents have children in both Year 1 and Year 2, you should buy tickets just for one of the shows and you will be able to watch both.
Summer Holiday Club Bookings Now Open
The booking form for Holiday Club is now available on the School Documents page of the website. Forms should be completed and returned to school by Friday 22nd June please.
Class Arrangements for 2018-19
We are pleased to announce the classes and staffing arrangements for the academic year 2018-19, as follows:
Robins class will become Kingfishers with Ms Matthews
Wrens class will become Owls with Miss Malik
Kingfishers class will become 1HC with Mrs. Hunt and Miss Cooper
Owls will become 1J with Miss Joiner
1HC will become 2B with Mr. Bustard
1S will become 2H with Mrs. Hussein
2B will become 3M with Mrs. McLaughlin
2H will become 3B with Mrs. Belvoir
3V will become 4KT with Mrs. Thompson
3T will become 4T with Mr. Tovell
4T will become 5A with Mrs. Allery
4A will become 5G with Mrs. Gilham
5W will become 6D with Miss Dear
5G will become 6M with Mr. McLaughlin
Later this term, pupils from Nursery to Year 4 will have an opportunity to visit their new classrooms and meet their new teachers. Year 5 children will visit the Nursery on that day since the Year 6 teachers will be at the Compass Theatre with the current Year 6; however, the Year 5 children do already know Mr. McLaughlin and Miss Dear and will have an opportunity to speak to them during the second half of term.
We also run a programme of 'Meet the Teacher' evenings for parents, at which we introduce the routines and expectations for the new year and at which you can meet your child's new teacher. These evenings will take place as follows.
New Ducklings, Nursery and Reception evenings are on Tuesday 3rd July.
New Year 1 and Year 2 evenings are on Thursday 28th June.
New Year 3 and Year 6 evenings will be on Thursday 13th September.
New Year 4 and Year 5 evenings will be on Thursday 20th September.
Please do make a note of these dates. Timings for meetings are available on the calendar.
We have already published the uniform and equipment list for next year to the School Documents page of the website. Second hand uniform is usually available to buy at the PA Summer Fete so you might wish to make a note of anything you will need before then.
Posted on: 25/05/2018Weekly News - Friday 25th May 2018
The week has seen two very successful and much-enjoyed residential trips, with pupils returning today from Chateau de la Baudonniere in France and from Flatford Mill in Suffolk. There has also, of course, been much going on here at school...
Wrens Assembly - Minibeasts!
Wrens performed a heartwarming 'minibeasts' assembly on Thursday. They expertly wove the St. Helen's College values into their singing and acting and showed not only that they know a lot about minibeasts but also that they understand the qualities you need to be a good friend.
3T Assembly - Shortenills Residential Trip
3T gave a splendid assembly this week all about their adventures on their first residential trip to Shortenills Environmental Centre this term. It was wonderful to see them reliving and sharing their favourite moments from their time away - including a new school record for putting on a duvet cover! They are already looking forward to next year's residential trip!
5G Assembly - Henry VIII
5G were able to educate their audience this week with an assembly all about the life and marriages of Henry VIII. A traditional town crier announced the news of Henry's marriages and we saw Henry as young Henry, middle aged Henry and old Henry! The Tudor costumes worn by the children helped bring to life Henry's court and we saw just what an impact his reign had on British history.
She Rallies Family Fun
On Wednesday the girls in Year 2 and 3 were invited to bring their mothers or grandmothers to take part in a She Rallies tennis event at Upper School. Our pupils put the grown ups through their paces in fun skills challenges and simple racket games, which culminated in an exciting 'Queen of the Court' game to see which family would be crowned the day's queens! Everyone had lots of fun, got some exercise and learnt some new skills.
FREE Tennis Fun Day
Tripletts Community Tennis Centre is holding a Great British Tennis Weekend fun day on Saturday 2nd June from 2 - 5 p.m. with activities for all the family. Click here to find out what's on offer and to book your place.
World Environmental Day - Tuesday 5th June 2018
As a school we are keen to get involved with World Environmental Day which falls this year on Tuesday 5th June, just after half term. The focus this year is #BeatPlasticPollution - if you can't reuse it, refuse it!
The children will be involved in many activities on this day (and throughout the week) to raise their awareness of the problems plastic can cause and what we can do to help. The children will also be involved in one 'plastic free' lesson, from outdoor activities to those that persuade people to use less plastic. Along with these activities your child will be given a paper handprint to take home which we will be asking them to decorate and write at least one (up to three) pledges of what they are going to do to reduce their use of plastic.
For further information please look at the World Environmental Day website. Many thanks, in advance, for your support.
Library News
The new Library Reading Challenges are proving very popular with children. If your child is in Year 2 or above and is not already taking part, please do encourage him or her to join in.
It would also be helpful if parents and pupils would make use of half term to find any overlooked library books, ready to return these to school after the break. The library will soon be launching a new award for the most organised class, which will be given to the class that looks after its books well and has least overdue books.
Uniform/Equipment
Some very organised parents have already asked the school about purchasing uniform or equipment for the next academic year. The uniform list has been updated and the latest version is now live on the website and available here. Please refer to this when buying new uniform or equipment.
PA Summer Fete
It’s that time of year when the PA are busy with “all hands on deck” preparations for our flagship event, the PA Summer Fete. We would like to ask you to save the date:
Date: Saturday 30th June 2018
Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Upper School playground
One of the aims of the PA is to encourage community, friendship and fun for our children, parents and guardians and the wider St. Helen's family. Over the years, the Summer Fete has been a great event where the school community has come together by bringing their ideas, giving their time and providing much enthusiasm.
The fete is organised by the PA committee which, at present, comprises ten full-time working mums. There is still room for more and we would welcome new interest!
We rely on your help for the fete, so please let us know if you can lend a hand. Even half an hour cover on a stall would be greatly appreciated. We would love to have you on board. We are looking for all sorts of help and we will be putting out requests for help in the next few weeks. However, there’s no time like the present so we are looking for immediate responses for the following:
We need you
At least 10 helpers from each year group to commit to helping on the day of the fete - we will start at 8 a.m. and finish clearing up at about 6 p.m. but you don’t need to do the whole stretch. If you can pledge help for all or part of the day, please do let us know. We need help on many levels such as running stalls, serving food, making tea and coffee, face painting, henna art, glitter tattoos, moving chairs and tables, putting marquees up, clearing litter, PA audio technicians and barbecuing. If you feel worried about taking on tasks yourself, why not get a team from your class together? Each class has a class rep, who will also be communicating with you.
We need donations
We would be really grateful for donations of the following (NO BOOKS PLEASE):
Nearly new, good condition soft toys - for the toy tombola
Good condition used / new school uniform – for the uniform stall
Brand new toys - for the raffle and toy tombola stalls
New items or unwanted gifts - for the raffle
If you work for a company who might like to donate anything to the fete please let us know.
Fete collection bins will be put out at the entrances and exits on all three school premises after half term (Ducklings, Lower School and Upper School) for you to bring your donations, so please have a good sort out over half term. We will empty the collection bins on a daily basis.
Tuck shop
We run a tuck shop where we sell drinks, sweets, ice creams and crisps. If you own a shop or can get reduced/discounted rates, we’d love to hear from you!
Food Stalls
As in previous years, we will be having a range of stalls at the fete to cater for a variety of tastes. To help us make this happen, we are looking for volunteers to provide the cuisine - this could be anything from African to Mexican, Italian to Thai. We will also be looking for volunteers to man these stalls. If you are able to provide food for a stall or would like to volunteer to serve on a food stall (even if it’s only for an hour), please do get in touch.
If you have any ideas or suggestion for the fete, we’d love to hear from you and embrace these. We can only put this event on with your help so please do get in touch. It's an event that’s really enjoyed by the children and the whole St. Helen's College community. Contact us: pa@sthelenscollege.com
Thank you in advance for all of your help and support to make this year's fete a really special event for everyone!
GDPR
Like many other organisations, St. Helen's College processes personal data and as such we are subject to the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which come into force today. We have always taken great care to protect personal information. The new regulations require that all data must be protected to even higher standards than those required by previous legislation, so we have taken this opportunity to review the data flow in the school and our systems for keeping data secure. We have also taken advice from an external consultant to ensure that these systems are robust and GDPR-compliant. To see how we use and protect your personal data, please see our Privacy Notices which are published on the website here. To speak to someone about the Privacy Notices or to update the information we hold about you, please contact Mrs. Cargill, our Privacy Officer, at scargill@sthelenscollege.com.
Posted on: 18/05/2018Weekly News - Friday 18th May 2018
Pupils throughout the school had a fabulous day yesterday taking part in lessons outside of the classroom as part of Outdoor Classroom Day. There was excitement and enjoyment as the children tried new ways of learning ideas, concepts, topics and subjects. There are photographs of this and many of the other exciting events of this week on our Galleries page.
Black Park Nursery Visit
Our Nursery children enjoyed a super outing to Black Park this week, where they made their own 'bug hotels' as well as helping to stock up the huge one already in use. This was great fun as the children went on a scavenger hunt to try and find things to put in the tunnels. They also went on a mini beast hunt to try and find real mini beasts in their natural environment. Lifting logs and digging in the undergrowth was lots of fun and a great way to explore nature. This was a really exciting way to spend Outdoor Classroom Day.
The children also got to use the adventure playground, and discovered that climbing, swinging and sliding is so much fun and a brilliant way to do exercise. The children behaved beautifully during their outing and the teachers were very proud of them, particularly as there was a lot of walking to do!
5W Assembly
The pupils of 5W delighted us this morning with their account of their recent trip to the Isle of Wight. From the 3G swing, the 'leap of faith' and the visit to The Needles, our audience were captivated as the children performed with such confidence. It was clearly a truly memorable residential trip for the children - well done 5W.
A Royal Occasion
The school sites were an array of red, white and blue today as the pupils and staff prepared for the big day tomorrow with the forthcoming marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan. Street party style lunches were enjoyed and the children's crowns dazzled in the summer sunshine!
5* Award to Accent Team
Amidst the preparations for our street parties across the school today, Soula and her catering team had a spot inspection from a representative from the Food Standards Agency. The inspector was so impressed by everything and we are delighted to announce that we have once again achieved the highest star rating and maintained our 5 stars! Thank you to the Accent team for all their hard work, not only in giving the children such a superb street party royal lunch today but for their dedication and commitment all year round.
Upper School Parents' Evenings
It was lovely to see so many parents over our two Upper School parents' evenings this week. The new timings seemed to work really well and we hope that you all found it useful to talk with the teachers about your children and their work.
Borough Tennis Champions!
Many congratulations to our Year 3 and 4 tennis teams, who took part in the Borough tournament held at Tripletts Community Tennis Centre this week. Tennis is such a popular sport at St. Helen's College that we were able to field three teams and all of our players performed well in some very competitive matches. Our C team and A team won all their matches in the group stages to proceed to the quarter final stages. The C team played very well but were defeated by Hillingdon School, but our A team defeated St. Andrew's to meet Dr. Tripletts in the semi-final - a match they won to reach the final to face Hillingdon. Eli played first and narrowly lost 10 - 9, Daniel then won 10 - 2, Catherine won 10 - 4 and Amar won 10 - 6 for the team be crowded Borough Champions! The team will now go forward to represent the London Borough of Hillingdon at the Crystal Palace School Games on 5th July. Miss Walker, who also organised the event for over 20 teams from across the Borough, said, 'I'm delighted with the way all our teams played; they showed great determination but also good sportsmanship and they were a credit to the school'. Well done to all of the players who took part: Aditya 3V, Samir 3T, Shaina 4T, Fredericka 3V, Patrick 4A, Harry 4T, Grace 4A, Lily 4T, Eli 4T, Daniel 4A, Catherine 4T and Amar 3T.
Mother and Daughter 'She Rallies' Tennis Taster Session
Next Wednesday after school we will be opening our doors to our Year 2 and 3 girls and their mums to come and try some tennis together. The fun taster session will take place in the Upper School playground on our mini tennis courts from 4 - 5 p.m. and will include lots of fun games and challenges for mothers and daughters to try. 'She Rallies' is a programme championed by Judy Murray to create opportunities for women and girls of all ages and experiences to be involved in tennis. Last year Miss Walker was invited by Judy Murray to become a 'She Rallies' ambassador. All our Year 2 and 3 mothers and their daughters are invited to come along. There is no need to book or to bring any equipment - just turn up wearing some trainers and something comfortable to move around in!
Tag Rugby Tournament
Our Year 5 mixed tag rugby team took part in the local district tournament this week held at Whitehall School. We played matches against Hillingdon, Oak Farm and St. Bernadette's, winning against Oak Farm. Thank you to all of the parents who came to support the team.
North Hillingdon Methodist Church Spring Fair
The North Hillingdon Methodist Church will be holding their Spring Fair this weekend. Parents may wish to take children along; there will be a variety of stalls and you can watch the royal wedding on the big screen too! Their flyer is here.
Mini Monets Art Classes
It may seem early to be thinking about the long summer holiday, but if your son or daughter is a budding artist and you are looking for something to keep them occupied, you might be interested in the summer art camps run in Beaconsfield by Mini Monets. Full details are available here.
Parking
Please would Upper School parents refrain from parking along Parkway. This causes unnecessary annoyance to our neighbours and we will be unable to continue running the 'drop and go' system if cars continue to park along the road on the opposite side to the school. Please pull up in the designated 'drop and go' zones only, or use the Court Park car park.
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