School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 19/05/2023Weekly News - Friday 19th May 2023
What a week of music, talent, learning, discovery and enrichment we have had here at St. Helen's College. Here is a snapshot of what has gone on at school over the last five days.
Musicians' Concert
Our Musicians' Concert on Tuesday evening was very well attended and really delivered what it had promised: an evening of super musicality! It was clear to see how hard our instrumentalists have been practising and what high standards they are reaching. There were many solo performances and we were also treated to music from our guitar ensemble, our string ensemble and, of course, our school orchestra. Well done to all of those pupils who performed and many thanks to all of the parents, staff and siblings who came along to support our musicians.
Singing Competition
On Friday our Middle and Upper School finalists took part in the final of our annual Singing Competition. There were solo and group performances and as ever the standard was quite astonishing for such young children. The confidence and musical talent of St. Helen's College pupils really is inspiring and our guest judge, Gracie Peters, found it hard to pick the winners. In the end, those chosen as winners were:
Year 2 solo - runner up: Eleanor G, winner: Anoushka B.
Year 3 solo - runner up: Shayna C, winner: Gurdaya J.
Middle School group - runner up: Mahi B & Caitlin P, winner: Alana F & Shayla R.
Overall Middle School winner: Gurdaya J.
Year 4 solo - runner up: Inaaya S, winner: Diya B.
Year 5 solo - runner up: Samara P, winner: Senna G.
Year 6 solo - runner up: Eshanvi A, winner: Oliver K.
Upper School group - runner up: Xavier B & Aman B, winner: Zarifa D, Hana H & Grace O'H.
Overall Upper School winner: Diya B.
House Talent Show Results
On Monday morning staff and pupils at Upper School came together to watch the final of our House Talent Show, in which pupils from Middle School (Years 2/3) and Upper School (Years 4/5/6) performed their talents to us all. We were treated to piano playing, gymnastics, stand-up comedy, ventriloquism and singing and the standard was very high. Ms Drummond (the only member of staff not assigned to one of our four Houses) found her job as judge very difficult indeed, but the worthy winners were:
Middle School: Parisa S (Ventriloquism)
Upper School: Poppy H (Gymnastics)
This means that it was a clean sweep for Cambria House!
Very well done to everyone who took part and especially to our finalists. We hope to make this an annual event so do encourage your children to think about any talents they may have or may wish to develop, however unusual.
Robins Coffee Morning/Class Assembly
The Robins Nursery class performed their summer class assembly to their families on Wednesday morning at Lower School, after their families had gathered together for coffee and croissants of course! The assembly told us all about mini-beasts and there was some super singing with actions - especially about the lifecycle of a caterpillar! Well done Robins.
Reception Discovery Days
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, parents of our Reception classes (Owls and Kingfishers) came into school for Discovery Days, when they were able to experience a day in the life of a Reception child. All agreed that the children are extremely busy and that they are clearly having a lot of fun in their learning!
Year 6 Road Safety
Also on Wednesday our Year 6 classes took part in a workshop called 'The Incident at Station Road' which was a re-enactment of a road traffic accident, led by a theatre group called The Riot Act. There was an accident scene in which a 12 year old boy had been hit by a car while crossing the road. We heard from the police, the driver of the car and a cyclist who had swerved to avoid the child and whose bike had gone under a lorry. Luckily, he had been saved by his helmet. It was an informative and engaging performance. The Year 6 pupils were detectives and had to try to work out what had happened and who was at fault. It made everyone think about keeping safe and ensuring we focus when crossing the road and are not distracted by chat, screens or anything else as this can be so dangerous.
Nursery Trip to Hobbledown Heath
Thursday saw our Nursery classes take a trip to Hobbledown Heath, where they had the opportunity to meet many of the animals including Muffin the alpaca, Willis the rabbit and Spice the guinea pig. The meerkats were having so much fun running between their enclosures and the reindeers were sleeping (saving their energy for their next adventures perhaps!). The children also explored the climbing equipment, water pillows (a firm favourite with both pupils and staff) and the sand areas. This was a wonderful trip and the staff were so proud of how well behaved the children all were throughout the day too.
Author Visit
On Thursday 15th June, author Nazneen Ahmed Pathak will be visiting us to speak to the children in Years 3-6 about her book City of Stolen Magic and to answer their questions about being an author and the writing process. We are sure this will be very inspiring for our children.
There will also be an opportunity for the children to buy a signed copy of City of Stolen Magic. If you would like to pre-order a copy of the book ready to be signed and dedicated at school on the day, please click the link below and place your order through Chiltern Bookshops by 5 p.m. on Wednesday 14th June. Please note that only books purchased through this link will be signed and dedicated on the day. All orders will be delivered free to St. Helen's College.
https://schools.chilternbookshops.co.uk/events/nazneen-ahmed-pathak-15th-june/
Staff Updates
We will soon be saying goodbye to some members of staff who are leaving St. Helen's College to take the next steps on their journeys.
Ros Allery (5A class teacher) will be retiring at the end of this academic year. Mrs. Allery has been at St. Helen's College for twenty four years and has had a huge impact on so many children both as a class teacher and, for a long time, as our Head of Music. Mrs. Allery joined St. Helen's College as a part time teacher, then becoming full time and eventually taking on the Director of Music post. She has supported the school throughout her career and been instrumental in the children's academic and music successes. She is looking forward to a well-deserved rest, playing more tennis and spending more time with her family. We are sure you will join us in wishing her well and celebrating her career at St. Helen's College during her last half term.
Natalie Wilcock (Welfare/Attendance Officer) will be leaving us in mid-June after three years to take up a new position with the London Borough of Hillingdon as their Attendance Support Officer. As part of the Multi Agency Support Hub, Mrs. Wilcock will be helping to ensure that all children in the borough, including those with medical and other special needs, get as much education as possible. We will miss her and wish her well in her new role.
Parents will be delighted to know that Miss Gilbey, who is the Funtasia Supervisor and TALA at Upper School, will be extending her working hours to become the Upper School Welfare/Attendance Officer from September while continuing in her Funtasia role. Miss Gilbey knows the children and school systems well and is looking forward to working more closely with all of the children and families.
Sarah Flemming (Holiday Club Manager and Robins TALA) is leaving us at the end of the summer term to go travelling again. Miss Flemming has always had the travel bug and we wish her well on her adventures to South America. We thank her for her commitment to St. Helen's College.
Holly Hawkes (Peripatetic Vocal Coach and Choir Leader) will also be leaving at the end of term as she and her lovely young family are relocating to Cornwall. Holly was a pupil at St. Helen's College and has worked in Funtasia and Holiday Club before joining us as part of the music department. She was also a student at The Royal Masonic School in Rickmansworth, where Ms Drummond watched her musicality develop as a pupil.
Helen Collier (Peripatetic Violin Teacher) will also be leaving us in the summer to take up a more permanent post at another school. We thank her for her contributions to the musicality of our string musicians and wish her all the best for the future.
We will be welcoming Peter Graddon, our new Premises Manager, to St. Helen's College on Monday 5th June. Mr. Graddon is joining us from South Africa and brings a wealth of experience to the school. We are sure that the St. Helen's College community will enjoy getting to know Mr. Graddon, who will be joining Mr. Smith and Mr. Fitzgerald on the Premises team.
Next Week
Here is a reminder of events/activities next week.
All week - Year 6 residential trip to Chateau de la Baudonniere, Normandy, France.
Wednesday 24th to Friday 26th May - Year 4 residential trip to Flatford Mill, Suffolk.
Thursday 25th May - Wrens Nursery coffee morning and class assembly from 8.15 a.m. at Lower School.
Parents Invited To Write More Blogs
Parents have indicated that it would be lovely to have some more guest blogs from St. Helen's College parents as well as staff and we agree! If you feel moved to write about an aspect of school life/education or being a parent at St. Helen's College, please send your ideas/suggestions to susmith@sthelenscollege.com and we will be glad to work with you on content and arrange a date for your blog to be published on the school website.
Hillingdon Leisure Complex Fun Weeks
Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Centre will be hosting 'fun week' camps during May half term and over the summer holidays which might be of interest to children in Years 1 - 6. Details are here.
Posted on: 12/05/2023Weekly News - Friday 12th May 2023
Wellbeing Day
At St. Helen's College we make pupil and staff wellbeing our top priority. Wednesday was the school's annual Wellbeing Day and children on all three sites took part in activities and workshops to enhance physical and mental health and encourage them to think about how to care for ourselves and each other. There was a harmonious buzz as staff and children moved across the school sites having fun and engaging fully in the programme on offer. This included a disco, mini-beast hunt, sports, meditation, clay play, music immersion, mindful movement, nature poetry, Bollywood dancing, a dentist visit, HIIT classes, spiritual prayer activities and much more.
We hope your child came home and spoke to you about their day and all the wonderful experiences they had. We would like to extend our gratitude to all of the parent helpers and staff for making Wellbeing Day a memorable event for the children. We have put together some useful information, tips and web links for parents to help you in supporting your children's - and your own - wellbeing. You can access this here.
Nursery Discovery Days
On Thursday and Friday our Nursery was open to parents for 'Discovery Days', during which parents could come into school and partake in a normal Nursery day to gain further understanding of how the children spend their time, their routines, wellbeing and learning.
Owls Coffee Morning/Class Assembly
The parents of our Owls Reception class were delighted to come into school on Thursday morning for coffee and a chat followed by their children's class assembly. The assembly was themed around traditional tales and included the children performing a mini-musical of Little Red Riding Hood. There was some super drama with Granny being locked in the wardrobe by the big bad wolf before Little Red Riding Hood and a woodcutter managed to free her, and some really wonderful singing with hip-swinging dancing too! The children performed confidently and showed some great talent in public speaking, singing, dancing and acting. The St. Helen's College values of courage and kindness were also clearly on display as one or two children were a little less confident on the day and were kindly and sensitively supported by their friends and by St. Helen's College staff. To see four and five year olds perform so well, enjoy themselves so much and show such respect for each other was truly remarkable. Well done Owls!
4L Coffee Morning/Class Assembly
At Upper School, class 4L presented an assembly on Friday morning in which they taught us all about sound. They demonstrated how sound travels through vibrations in the air and how it can be stopped by hard surfaces as well as explaining how echoes come about. They also enacted the story of King Midas who was cursed with donkey's ears after choosing whose of the Gods' music he preferred. According to legend, his barber whispered the secret about his ears to the rushes and the rushes continue to whisper it to this day. The children also showed us how different musical instruments can be made to make different sounds by altering their pitch and explained how important rhythm is in music. We were also treated to two musical performances on the violin and piano. Well done 4L on an informative, fun, energetic assembly and your confident, accomplished performances.
Orchestra Day at John Lyon School
On Tuesday members of the St. Helen's College Orchestra visited John Lyon School for a day of musicality. They joined together with children from other prep schools to rehearse and perform a piece to an excited audience of parents and staff. What a super experience to enjoy being part of a massed orchestra with some superb direction!
A Royal Pair!
On the weekend before the coronation, Eva J and Senna G (Year 5) decided to spend the afternoon making posters for the coronation.
Luckily, Eva’s grandparents had been invited to the King's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace the following week and her Grandad took the pictures with him and handed their creations to Queen Camilla herself! These pictures were then passed onto to the King and both girls have received official thank you letters from Buckingham Palace!
Chess Success
Leonard S (Year 2) also recently entered the Delancey UK Chess Megafinals and has qualified for the Gigafinals. Well done Leonard and good luck as you continue your chess journey!
Parents' Evening (Years 1 - 6)
We held the second of this term's parents' evenings for families of children in Years 1 to 6 on Thursday evening. Thank you to all of the parents who attended; we hope that you found the conversations useful.
Parents' Association News
The PA will be holding a virtual meeting on Wednesday next week to run through outstanding actions for the Fete and Sports Days and to appoint a new secretary. All parents are most welcome to attend. Don't forget you can contact the PA at pa@sthelenscollege.com.
The PA Summer Fete will take place on Saturday 24th June from 1 - 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to set up and run stalls so please contact your class rep about this. The flyer is here.
Next Week
It will be another busy week next week. Here is a reminder of some key dates/events.
Monday 15th May - Middle/Upper School House Talent Show Final in assembly.
Tuesday 16th/Wednesday 17th May - Reception Discovery Days
Tuesday 16th May - 7 p.m. Musicians' Concert at All Saints Church (with rehearsal during the school day). Pupils taking part in the concert must bring their instrument and music into school on Tuesday morning for the rehearsal at 9.00 a.m. For the evening concert, children must wear full summer uniform and arrive at All Saints Church promptly at 6.40 p.m.
Wednesday 17th May - 8.15 a.m. Robins Nursery Coffee Morning/Class Assembly
Thursday 18th May - Nursery trip to Hobble Down Heath
Friday 19th May - Middle and Upper School Singing Competition Finals during afternoon lessons
Half Term Holiday Club
Bookings for our Half Term Holiday Club will open on Monday 15th May at 12 p.m. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your places.
Communications Survey
Thank you to the many parents who have already responded to our request for feedback about how well the school is communicating with parents. We will be reviewing parental feedback so that we may consolidate and build upon what is working well and identify any areas for improvement. If you have not yet completed the survey and would like to give feedback, you can do so here: Parent Communications Survey.
Football Development Programme
Parents of children in Reception to Year 4 might be interested in a new football development programme on Monday evenings which will be run by Primary Sporting Development. The programme will begin on 15th May and run until 17th July at Hillingdon Leisure Centre. Sessions are high quality and fun and are delivered by FA and UEFA accredited coaches. You can find full information and booking details here:https://academy.thepsdgroup.org.uk/list
Posted on: 5/05/2023Weekly News - Friday 5th May 2023
We have all enjoyed celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III today at school.
Pupils and staff wore red, white and blue and the pupils took part in parades to showcase the beautiful crowns they had made.
There was a picnic-style celebration lunch and a super class assembly too.
Upper School children came together to sing a special Coronation song. You can see the video of this here.
The Hillingdon Music Service is organising a day of music and dance in Uxbridge on Sunday 7 May to celebrate the King’s Coronation. You can find details here.
4T Class Assembly
The children of 4T presented a confident, informative and very enjoyable assembly at Upper School this morning, themed around the coronation of King Charles III. They gave us the history of some other kings and queens and then proceeded to act out a coronation, giving us a foretaste of what we will all see on Saturday. We all sang The National Anthem and the children also performed a King Charles Poem which they had written as a class. Well done 4T.
Year 3 Residential Trip - PACCAR Scout Camp
Our Year 3 pupils return happy and tired today after their first school residential to PACCAR Scout Camp. The children were a credit to their families and to St. Helen's College throughout the trip and have certainly gained in independence, enjoying many challenging and interesting activities while there.
Year 2 Visit Iver Nature Study Centre
On Tuesday the Year 2 classes took a trip to the Iver Nature Study Centre, where they enriched their science learning about animal habitats. The children enjoyed taking part in several activities including pond dipping, a mini-beast hunt and making bug hotels, which they were able to take home with them. They thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the centre and this was reflected in their very detailed recounts of the day.
More Chess Success!
Further to the report last week, we are delighted to announce that Jacob N also took part in the Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge Megafinal competition and has qualified for the Gigafinal. Well done Jacob!
Year 5 Reading Club Proves Popular
A new club for Year 5 children who love reading is proving popular. The club is voluntary and there are two groups, meeting alternate Thursdays from 8.00 - 8.30 a.m. The group pictured here are reading The Wolf Wilder, a challenging adventure story set in Russia. The children read the book in between the meetings and then, facilitated by Mrs. Briggs, discuss the text and share ideas and predictions.
General Knowledge Quiz Club Semi-Final
Our General Knowledge Quiz Club took part in their semi-final on Thursday morning, competing against teams from prep schools across the UK. Two St. Helen's College teams had qualified for the semi-final; the team members were:
Parisa S, Armaan V, Eva J, Yousra M
Aadhya M, Rohan F, Roha K, Arshvir S.
There were a lot of tricky questions on the day and the teams certainly learnt some new facts along they way! The teams finished 40th and 48th overall. Well done to the children who took part.
Maths Quiz Club Heat
On Wednesday two St. Helen's College teams took part in the annual Maths Quiz Club competition. The children really enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot about working together as a team.
Parents' Evenings (Years 1 - 6)
Thank you to all of the parents who attended the first parents' evening on Tuesday this week. It was lovely to see you all and we hope that you found the conversations useful. The next parents' evening for Years 1 to 6 will take place on Thursday 11th May from 5.00 to 8.00 p.m.
School At Work Open Morning
On Thursday morning we held a School At Work Open Morning for prospective parents. As usual, we were fully booked and the families who attended were very impressed by their tours. Our Year 6 pupils were eager guides and were highly commended by our visitors for their enthusiasm, knowledge and confidence.
Singing Competition Reminder
Today is the deadline for submitting video entries for this year's Singing Competition. The final will take place on 19th May; full details and a form to register your child's entry are here.
Next Week
Tuesday 9th May will see our orchestra visiting John Lyon School to take part in a special day of music.
On Wednesday 10th May we will enjoy our annual Wellbeing Day.
On Thursday 11th May and Friday 12th May we will be holding Nursery Discovery Days.
There is an Owls Class coffee morning/class assembly on Thursday 11th May and a 4L coffee morning/class assembly on Friday 12th May.
Details of these events have been sent directly to parents.
Summer School
Thank you to those parents who have booked places at our Summer School at PACCAR in August. There is now just one place left for Year 5 and a few spaces still available for Year 3 children. All other places have been filled.
Posted on: 28/04/2023Weekly News - Friday 28th April 2023
TCS London Mini Marathon
What a wonderful occasion it was last Saturday when over ninety St. Helen's College children, parents and staff came together to run the TCS London Mini Marathon.
Very well done indeed to all of those who took part. We hope that you have all been inspired to keep running!
Huge congratulations are due to Mrs. Rumney from the Upper School office who completed the London Marathon on Sunday with a time of just under five hours. What an achievement! We are sure that pupils will be inspired by her efforts too.
Year 5 Residential Trip: Isle of Wight
It has been a fun-packed, educational and enriching week for our Year 5 children, who have spent Monday to Friday on their residential trip on the Isle of Wight. They have taken part in all sorts of thrilling activities and taken the opportunity to enhance their geography and history studies too. They return today tired and happy and, no doubt, with increased independence and pride in themselves for all they have achieved and experienced during the week.
Satips Art Exhibition
Thank you to all of the parents and children who attended the Satips Art Exhibition at The Royal Masonic School in Rickmansworth last Saturday. It was super to see the work of forty St. Helen's College children displayed alongside artwork from other prep schools. The work produced was of a wonderfully high standard and we are sure that you all took great pride in seeing your children's work exhibited in this way.
Chess Success!
Well done to Rohaym U (Year 4) who took part in the Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge competition on Sunday and has successfully qualified for the Gigafinal! We wish him luck!
London Young Musician Award
Minaya W has won a silver prize at London Young Musician for her viola performance. London Young Musician (LYM) is an international online classical music performance competition for musicians under the age of 28 from all countries. The competition looks for talented musicians who have excellent musical skills, a strong personality and fantastic creativity. Very well done, Minaya!
Month End Music Recital
Congratulations to all of the children who performed at our Month End Music Recital this afternoon. We were very proud of you all for sharing your talents and hard work!
Year 2 Swimming
Our Year 2 classes have had a great time swimming at Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Complex this week and have certainly developed their water skills!
Now that all classes have completed their intensive swimming programmes for this year, we would like to urge parents to keep taking your children swimming regularly. Development of skills takes frequent practice and swimming is fantastic exercise and great fun, so please continue to take them to the pool often!
Coronation Celebration Day - Friday 5th May
On Friday 5th May we will celebrate the upcoming coronation of King Charles III here at St. Helen's College. Children should wear red, white and blue clothes to school and we will enjoy a special coronation-themed picnic lunch. 4T will present their class assembly on the theme and children are invited to take part in our crown competition.
Next Week
Following Monday's bank holiday, we are looking forward to another busy week. On Tuesday, our Year 2 children will visit Iver Nature Study Centre and the first of this term's parents' evenings will take place for Years 1 - 6 (from 4.00 - 7.00 p.m.).
On Wednesday, our Maths Quiz team will take part in their Quiz Club heat online and on Thursday our General Knowledge Quiz Team will compete in their semi-final, pitting their wits against teams from other schools from across the country.
Also on Thursday, our Year 3 children will set off for their first St. Helen's College residential trip to PACCAR scout camp and we will be holding our 'School at Work' Open Morning here at school. There will also be the information evening for the Year 6 residential trip to France at 6.30 p.m. in the Evans Hall.
On Friday we will celebrate the coronation with a themed day of activities and learning across the school (details above).
Summer School
We will be running Summer School this year at PACCAR Scout Camp for children in Years 3-6. Information has been sent out to parents today and bookings open at 12.00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday 29th April). Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your place(s).
Posted on: 24/03/2023End of Term News - Friday 24th March 2023
Our Easter service at All Saints Church this morning was a fitting and meaningful way to end what has been a busy and mindful spring term. Thank you to all of the parents who came, to the choirs who performed so beautifully and to our Year 6 readers who read the lessons to us all with mature understanding and great clarity.
Happy Easter to you all.
Speech Recitations and Competitions
On Monday our Nursery and Reception children recited the poems they had learnt to a willing audience of their parents. It is always quite astonishing to see children so young prepared to stand up individually (or in some cases with a friend) to speak in public. The pupils did well and we are very proud of them all.
Thursday saw the grand finals of our annual Speech Competition at Upper School. In the morning, the finalists for Years 1 to 3 performed for parents and their peers and in the afternoon it was the turn of the finalists in Years 4 to 6. Our visiting judge, actress Genevieve Allenbury, was extremely impressed at the standard of the competition and chose the following children as winners:
1C: Phoebe A-C, 1R: Sikhya R
Year 1 Winner: Sikhya R
2H: Eleanor G, 2R: Ivaan M
Year 2 Winner: Eleanor G
3B: Armaan V, 3M: Gurdaya J
Year 3 Winner: Gurdaya J
Overall Junior Speech Competition Champion: Eleanor G
4L: Avar D, 4T: Aarav C
Year 4 Winner: Aarav C
5A: Verity S, 5G Sienna D
Year 5 Winner: Sienna D
6B: Lavanya B, 6R: Ayla A
Year 6 Winner: Lavanya B
Overall Senior Speech Competition Champion: Aarav C
Many, many congratulations to our finalists and our winners. This is the culmination of a competition in which every child from Year 1 to Year 6 has taken part and, as ever, it has been a most valuable experience for all. Thank you to the parents who came to watch the finals and a big thank you to Genevieve Allenbury for visiting us to take on the extremely tricky job of judging the competition.
Singing Competition
The final of our annual Singing Competition will take place on 19th May. You can find full details and a form to register your child's entry here.
Reception Planetarium Visit
The children in Reception were treated to a visit from a travelling Planetarium on Thursday to enhance their learning for their Space topic. They were able to enter a world of planets and fully immerse themselves in what it would be like to travel through space!
Year 5 Bletchley Park Trip
Year 5 visited Bletchley Park this week, where they learnt about the development of electronic computers and the importance of code breaking in bringing World War 2 to an end. They learnt that the work carried out was kept secret for many years after the war and saw where now famous people such as Alan Turing worked, helped by still unknown code breakers. The children saw Enigma machines from the war and were able to engage with simulations of them and the Bombe code breaking machine. This was a valuable, enriching educational experience for the pupils and much enjoyed by all.
Sports News
Our cross country team took part in the UDPSSA inter schools cross country event on Monday. The children performed excellently in the wet and windy conditions. Thank you to all of the parents who came to support the teams and a particular well done to Anna K who came 4th out of the girls, just missing out on the bronze medal.
On Tuesday the Year 5/6 netball team played Laurel Lane School in their last league netball match of the season. The team had a bit of a slow start scoring goals but finished up with a 10-1 win. The girls demonstrated all of the skills they have been working on during training: marking their players, changing direction, accurate passing and some fantastic shooting!
A significant number of children from St. Helen’s College attended the UK Shito Ryu karate tournament with KML Karate Club over the weekend and did exceptionally well. These competitions provide an excellent platform for the children to get selected for the national team and ultimately represent GB at the future Olympics.
The following children competed and placed.
Myla K - Gold kickmaster
Inaya S- Bronze
Poppy H - Bronze Kata
Myla K, Inaya S, Nya O-A - Gold team fighting
Aleya S, Freya K - Gold team fighting
Freya K - Gold Kickmaster
Aleya S - Silver fighting
Naiya L - Bronze fighting
Nya O-A - Gold fighting
Several others attended and did exceptionally well. Overall the club won 20 titles and came 4th out of 25 teams overall. Myla, Inaya, Freya and Aleya are also attending the British national karate championships next week in Glasgow. We wish them well!
PA Easter Egg Raffles
Thank you to the Parents' Association for the donation of eggs and 'Duckling' which were excitedly raffled in assemblies today. We hope the winners enjoy their prizes!
Comic Relief Fundraising
We would like to thank all of the parents, pupils and staff who pulled together to support Comic Relief both inside and outside of school. St. Helen's College raised £676.00 in total for Comic Relief this year.
Residential Trip Meetings
As we look ahead to a busy summer term, we have held information evenings this week for our Year 3 and Year 5 parents ahead of the residential trips to PACCAR Scout Camp (Year 3) and The Isle of Wight (Year 5). Information evenings for the Year 4 and Year 6 residential trips will take place early in the summer term.
Summer Term Reminders
Please check the school calendar to make note of dates relevant to your child for next term. There are plays, assemblies, Sports Days and more!
The menu for the summer term is now available on the website here.
Children should return to school for the summer term in their summer uniform: girls should wear their summer dress with white socks (never with tights). Please take the opportunity over the holidays to check that your child has all the correct uniform and equipment and that it is all in good condition and named. The PA will be holding a second hand uniform sale outside the school entrance on Parkway on 31st March.
Co-curricular allocations for the summer term were sent to parents this week. If you have not already done so, please make any payments due promptly.
Free Basketball Tickets
The Thames Valley Cavaliers basketball team will play host to Loughborough Riders this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Uxbridge College and then Reading Rockets next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Once again, St. Helen's College pupils are invited to attend these games for free. You can find information about both games here.
Posted on: 17/03/2023Weekly News - Friday 17th March 2023
Exhibition Day
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you all to our Exhibition Day tomorrow, from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. Children should all attend in full, smart school uniform and will be proud to show you around the school and let you see their work. Please take the opportunity to visit (or re-visit) other parts of the school to see the excellent work going on throughout! Your children will love to look forward to what to expect as they move up through the school, and will also enjoy reminiscing by visiting their previous year groups.
Parking can be tricky for whole school events and so we encourage parents to walk from home or to park away from the school and walk the last part of your journey if possible. Please be sure to follow the school parking regulations and, in particular, do not park in the church car parks outside Ducklings or Lower School and do not park across neighbours' driveways.
When walking between the school sites on Exhibition Day with your children, please set the right example by using the designated pedestrian crossings on Long Lane.
At Upper School, there will be an 'eco trail', as part of which our Junior Travel Ambassadors will be promoting the Parent Parking Pledge. Please be sure to visit them and sign up. The Maxwell Garden will also be open for you to visit. There is a pond in the Maxwell Garden and children must not enter this area without an adult supervising them closely.
We look forward to gathering the whole community together for this special day.
Online Safety Workshops (Pupils and Parents)
On Monday we welcomed ECP (Education Child Protection) into St. Helen's College to run workshops with all children from Reception to Year 6. They covered a wide range of important topics around the 4 Cs of online risk: content, contact, conduct and commerce. The children learnt about how to stay safe online at an age-appropriate level and where to go if they have any problems. This followed on from a staff training session in January and was followed by an online evening session for our parents to run through the parental responsibilities to be aware of in our connected world.
House Talent Show
Congratulations to all of the children who performed in our House Talent Show this week in Thursday morning's house assemblies. The final of the show will take place next term so the chosen finalists should keep practising those talents!
Chess Club Tournament
This week we reached the conclusion of our school Chess Club tournament. As usual, it was a fun and exciting process and it has resulted in a new champion: Zakariya Mi (Year 5). Zakariya won all his games but one and is now the proud holder of our Chess Trophy!
Congratulations to Zakariya and to all of the Year 5/6 Chess Club pupils who participated.
Year 6 Junior Citizenship Visit
Monday saw our Year 6 pupils visit Brunel University for the annual Hillingdon Junior Citizens event. They participated in short, informative workshops from the RNLI, Bikeabilility, TfL, the NHS, the London Fire Brigade, the Metropolitan Police and more. All of the sessions were aimed at helping to make the transition to senior schools as smooth as possible and equipping the children with extra knowledge to be confident in how to keep safe as they embrace greater independence.
General Knowledge
On Tuesday, four teams of children took part in the Quiz Club Online General Knowledge Quiz.
The teams enjoyed themselves and did very well, competing against 75 other teams from all across the UK. The St. Helen's College teams finished at places 14, 18, 31 and 39 and this means that two of our teams will be competing in the semi-finals.
Well done to the children who took part:
Aadhya M, Aakash B, Armaan V, Shayna C, Mona C, Parisa S (Year 3)
Aaryav K, Ayush A, Rohan F (Year 4)
Anika C, Eva J, Roha K, Tiya T (Year 5)
Yousra M, Annabelle S, Arshvir S (Year 6)
Congratulations are also due to Jacob N (Year 6) who ranked 34th in the SATIPS national general knowledge competition.
Comic Relief Day
Today we all wore red to school and spent the morning supporting Comic Relief. Children in classes from Reception to Year 6 took part in a quiz designed by our charity representatives and many jokes were also shared throughout the school! Thank you so much to parents, pupils and staff for embracing the day and for the many generous donations to Comic Relief. It is not too late to donate via our JustGiving page:
St. Helen's College Comic Relief JustGiving Page.
Sports News
Our Year 5/6 netball team took part in a tournament at Reddiford School on Thursday afternoon. The girls had a super time and finished second overall after winning two of their matches and losing two. Well done to those who played.
The football team drew 0-0 on Wednesday in a tricky game against Laurel Lane.
Charity Work
Well done to Amara B (3M), who took the brave step of having her long hair cut off this week in order to donate it to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides wigs made from real hair to children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or other illnesses. Amara has also raised a significant amount of money for the cause by asking friends and family to donate to support the charity's work. Every penny raised will go towards providing wigs for children and young people helping to boost their self-confidence and make a positive difference in their lives.
It is always super to see members of the St. Helen's College community putting school values into action in the wider world. We are very proud of you Amara!
Big Spring Clean
Today is the launch of the Big Spring Clean 2023. India and Shriya have written this piece to explain:
Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean
Pledge to pick up a bag of litter - or more - from Friday 17th March till Friday 2nd April.
It's been eight years since the first Great British Spring Clean! And this year it is taking place from the 17th of March to the 2nd of April.This is the nation's biggest mass-action environmental campaign. They took a survey of people who took part last year, and the results are: 85% felt more pride in their local area and 74% said it improved their mood too.
If you want to protect our environment our school is letting all of the students of St. Helen's College help to keep our school clean.
Equipment:
Litter Picker
Gloves
Bin Bag
Hand Sanitiser (optional)
REPORTING YOUR RESULTS:
When you join the Great British Spring Clean, you become one of hundreds of thousands of #LitterHeroes on a collective mission to improve the environment. We need everyone who takes part to tell us how much they collected, what kind of litter is out there, and how it felt to take part. This will help us tell the story of the scale of the challenge and advocate for change.
Become a #LitterHero today!
Poetry Recital - Nursery and Reception
The Nursery and Reception children will be reciting their poems for parents on Monday morning (20th March). You are warmly invited to hear your child(ren) perform. Coffee will be served in the Lower School Hall from 8.15 a.m. and parents will then be escorted to classrooms to hear the recitals.
Speech Competition - Years 1 to 6
Parents of finalists have been invited to attend our Speech Competition on Thursday 23rd March. The Year 1 - 3 final will take place at 9.00 a.m. and the Year 4 - 6 final at 2.00 p.m.
End of Term and Easter Service
All parents of children in Year 2 to Year 6 are invited to join us for our Easter Service on Friday 24th March at All Saints Church at 11.00 a.m.
Please note the dismissal times on the last day of term:
Ducklings and Nursery 11.50 a.m.
Reception 12.00 p.m.
Year 1 and Year 2 12.10 p.m.
Year 3 and Year 4 12.20 p.m.
Year 5 and Year 6 12.30 p.m.
Funtasia will be running on the last day of term and can be booked through SchoolsBuddy as usual if required.
Co-Curriculum: Summer Term
Allocations of co-curriculum clubs will be sent to parents during the final week of term. Please make any payments due promptly to confirm your child's place.
Easter Holiday Club
Our Easter Holiday Club will run from Monday 27th March until Friday 14th April, excluding Good Friday (7th April) and Easter Monday (10th April). Bookings are now open. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to make your bookings.
PA Quiz Night
The PA hosted a quiz night at The White Bear in Ruislip on Tuesday evening which was well attended and great fun! Congratulations to the winning team.
Second Hand Uniform Sale
The PA will be selling second hand school uniform on Friday 31st March outside the school entrance on Parkway. Please donate any items you no longer need which are still in good condition - donation bins will be placed outside the Upper and Lower School entrances for the last two weeks of term. Thank you for your support.
Posted on: 10/03/2023Weekly News - Friday 10th March 2023
Year 3 Visit Kew Gardens
The Year 3 children went to Kew Gardens on Monday as part of their science topic 'Plants'. They had the opportunity to take part in a workshop which involved looking at plants under a microscope, sketching different types of leaves, sorting seeds according to the way they are dispersed and matching seeds to their plants. The pupils then took their learning outdoors and were able to identify and collect different parts of a flower.
The children thoroughly enjoyed these activities before having a well earned lunch break and play in the Children's Garden. They then took a trip to the Beehive where they were able to hear what it would be like to be a bee busy at work, followed by a walk around the Palm Glasshouse where they saw many plants from around the world including the 'Smelly Foot Plant'. All of the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were able to bring their learning back to school on Tuesday for the Year 3 Science Day. Thank you to the parent helpers who supported us on the day.
Speech Competition Semi-Finals Complete
All of the finalists have now been chosen for this year's Speech Competitions which are to take place on Thursday 23rd March at the following times:
9.00 a.m. Years 1-3
2.00 p.m. Years 4-6
Parents of the selected finalists will be contacted directly to be invited to attend the finals. Our guest judge for this year's competition is the actress Genevieve Allenbury.
Parents of children in Nursery and Reception will also be invited to watch our Early Years children perform their poems at their Speech Recitation on the morning of Monday 20th March. Further details will be sent by class teachers.
House Talent Show
The first round of our House Talent Show took place on Monday, with children from Caledonia, Cambria, Hibernia and Windsor performing their talents to the other children in their house. We enjoyed gymastic displays, singing, artwork, magic tricks and more!
The next round will take place on 16th March and the final is on 20th March, so do encourage your children to keep practising their talents!
1R Class Assembly
We were so proud of the children of 1R on Thursday morning when they presented their class assembly all about the St. Helen's College values. They talked to us about friendliness, patience, perseverance and kindness and explained how we can all show these qualities in our everyday lives. They also told us all about Walt Disney and how he had to persevere in order to get his animated films to the screen and make such a difference to so many lives. Every child spoke clearly, with understanding, great projection and expression and the three upbeat songs were meaningful and fun and beautifully performed by all. This was a super assembly which left the audience smiling and warm inside despite the cold, rainy weather outdoors! Well done, 1R.
5G Class Assembly
5G presented an informative and lively assembly today in which they told us all about the history of dance. They performed several dances for us and there was even a 'Strictly Come Dancing' style dance off. We were all encouraged to think about how dance can be good for our well-being.
Ballet Opportunity
Mrs. Nash, our peripatetic violin teacher, will be playing in the orchestra for Cinderella at The Royal Albert Hall. This is wonderful opportunity for families to enjoy dance. Tickets are available on the link below
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2023/cinderella/
Comic Relief Day and Exhibition Day
On Friday 17th March the school will be taking part in Comic Relief Day.
The children should come to school on Friday 17th wearing something red. They may wear a red nose if they have one (although please note that these are NOT being sold at school). Pupils can either bring in a suggested £2 donation or contribute through the St. Helen's College Comic Relief JustGiving Page.
During the day there will be a general knowledge quiz for children in Reception to Year 6, designed by pupil Charity Reps, and children will be invited to share funny jokes with their class.
Friday 17th March is a half day to allow the school to prepare for Exhibition Day which takes place on Saturday 18th March. On Friday 17th, there is no Funtasia and children should be collected at the following times:
Ducklings and Nursery 11.50 a.m.
Reception 12.00 p.m.
Year 1 and Year 2 12.10 p.m.
Year 3 and Year 4 12.20 p.m.
Year 5 and Year 6 12.30 p.m.
Children (in full, smart school uniform) and parents should attend Exhibition Day between 10.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m. on Saturday 18th March. Additional family members are welcome to join us to see the school and the children's work.
Sports News
Last Friday the Year 5 girls took part in a netball fixture v Highgate at home. All of the pupils displayed excellent character skills from start to finish and it was great to see them play some excellent netball and display a fantastic sporting attitude towards the opposing team. Most importantly it was lovely to see the smiles on their faces and witness them making significant progress.
Sadly the fixtures on Wednesday and Thursday this week were cancelled due to the inclement weather.
Today St. Helen's College took part in a seven-a-side football tournament at John Lyon School in Harrow. This was a very enjoyable event which gave our pupils the chance to test themselves against some very good opposition and enhance their skills and team play.
Co-Curricular Bookings Reminder
The co-curricular programme for the summer term was published last week and the deadline for submitting your child's selections is midnight on Sunday 12th March. If you have not already done so, please discuss the programme with your child and then login to your SchoolsBuddy account to state their preferences. Please only select clubs in which your child has a genuine interest.
PA Quiz Night
The Parents' Association are hosting a quiz night on Tuesday 14th March at The White Bear in Ruislip. Doors will open at 7 p.m. with the quizzing starting at 7.45 p.m.
There will be a prize for each person in the winning team. Raffle tickets will also be available to buy on the night so even if you don't win the quiz, you might still be able to win a prize.
Parents, school staff, friends and relatives are all welcome to put a team together (as long as they're over 18).
End of Term Arrangements
All parents of children in Year 2 to Year 6 are invited to join us for our Easter Service on Friday 24th March at All Saints Church at 11.00 a.m.
Please note the dismissal times on the last day of term:
Ducklings and Nursery 11.50 a.m.
Reception 12.00 p.m.
Year 1 and Year 2 12.10 p.m.
Year 3 and Year 4 12.20 p.m.
Year 5 and Year 6 12.30 p.m.
Funtasia will be running on the last day of term and can be booked through SchoolsBuddy as usual if required.
Easter Holiday Club
Our Easter Holiday Club will run from Monday 27th March until Friday 14th April, excluding Good Friday (7th April) and Easter Monday (10th April). Bookings are now open. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to make your bookings.
Thames Valley Cavaliers - Free Tickets
Once again, Thames Valley Cavaliers are offering free tickets to St. Helen's College pupils for their double header game this weekend at Uxbridge College. You can find full details here.
TVC are also offering a basketball holiday camp at Uxbridge College over the Easter holidays, from 3rd to 6th April. Details are here.
Rainbow Recipe Cards - March
For those parents who enjoy cooking with your children, you can find our red-themed 'Eat The Rainbow' recipe cards for March here.
Easter Holiday Swimming Courses
Hillingdon Leisure Complex are running swimming courses over the Easter holidays. If you are interested in these for your child you can find details here.
Posted on: 3/03/2023Weekly News - Friday 3rd March 2023
Year 3 Play - Oh What A Knight!
The children of Year 3 really demonstrated how to put on a show this week with their performance of Oh What A Knight! at The Compass Theatre in Ickenham.
This was an accomplished production, filled with humour and music and some wonderful acting. There were impressive solo and small group songs as well as large ensemble numbers and the children's stagecraft was quite something with choreographed dancing, magic tricks and even some sword fighting.
The Year 1 and Year 2 children enjoyed watching the dress rehearsal on Thursday morning and the play was performed for parents on Thursday evening. Both audiences were thoroughly entertained and very impressed! It was clear to see how very much the Year 3 children enjoyed performing the show and it was obvious how much their acting, singing and public speaking skills have been enhanced by working towards this performance.
Very, very well done Year 3. What a night it was!
World Book Day
Today we celebrated World Book Day throughout the school with a 'bedtime stories' theme. Pupils and staff dressed in bedtime clothing and we enjoyed sharing our favourite stories with each other. There was a special World of Books theme to the lunch service and classes enjoyed a 'bedtime story' at the end of the day.
6R presented a World Book Day assembly all about the joys and benefits associated with reading. They included a song themed for World Book Day and their confidence and musicality was wonderful to behold!
Activities ran in the library to encourage children to visit and discover or re-discover the wonders of this special place. There was a special cosy reading corner and a scavenger hunt themed around reading at bedtime.
Our Key Stage 2 children also visited Ducklings and Lower School to share stories with the younger children, which was a very special and enjoyable experience for all involved.
There are some World Book Day photographs on our Galleries page.
Happy reading!
Kingfishers Class Assembly
What a super assembly the children of our Kingfishers Reception class treated us to on Wednesday morning! They marked St. David's Day by reminding us of St. David's plea that we should all 'do the little things in life.'
The children presented and explained the St. Helen's College values, building a literal wall of 'the little things' as they did so by placing a brick each. They also helped us all to consider the importance of 'reducing, reusing, recycling' in order to look after our world. Their singing and speaking was confident and well-delivered.
The Head's Blog this week takes 'Do The Little Things In Life' as its theme. You can read it here.
Language Competition Success!
The UK Primary Language Competition finished on Wednesday and St. Helen's College children have put in a huge effort, competing in Spanish and/or French activities online against pupils from other schools across the United Kingdom.
Pupils are ranked based on the number of points they score. This competition is such an exciting and fun way for pupils to improve their language skills and win prizes.
Overall 143,000 students from 1,684 schools have taken part, with 105 entrants from St. Helen's College. Verity S finished as our top performing pupil, ranking 24th out of 143,000! Avneet D and Joleen Z also finished on the final leader board and all three girls will be rewarded with Amazon vouchers and certificates. A huge well done to everyone who has taken part.
Staff Leaver
We are very sad to say farewell to Mr. Rizzo, who had his final day at St. Helen's College today before he returns to his homeland in Italy to spend time with his family. Mr. Rizzo has been at the school for the past nine years and has assisted in instilling a passion for horticulture around the school. He has maintained our grounds beautifully over the years. Pupils and staff have all benefited from his passion and expertise and he will be very much missed from the premises team. The photo shows Mr. Rizzo saying farewell to the children of Gardening and Growth Club today.
We wish Mr. Rizzo well. We know that he will always be a member of our community and we look forward to him visiting in the future.
Co-Curricular Bookings Open Today
The co-curricular programme for the summer term will be published at 5 p.m. today. Please make your selections by midnight on Sunday 12th March.
It is very important that you discuss the programme with your child and only select clubs in which your child has a genuine interest.
Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to choose your preferences.
Parents' Association Vacancy
The St. Helen's College Parents' Association will have a vacancy for a Treasurer from September. Please send expressions of interest to pa@sthelenscollege.com as soon as possible, so that interested candidates may become involved over the next term or so to find out more about the role before the election is held.
PA Quiz Night - Tuesday 14th March, 7 p.m.
The PA has arranged a quiz night on Tuesday 14th March 2023 at The White Bear in Ruislip. Doors will open at 7 p.m. with the quizzing starting at 7.45 p.m. Teams should comprise 4-6 adults and places are limited so get your booking and payment made as soon as you can to avoid disappointment (one team member will need to make the booking and one single payment for their whole team).
There will be a prize for each person in the winning team. Raffle tickets will also be available to buy on the night so even if you don't win the quiz, you might still be able to win a prize.
Parents, school staff, friends and relatives are all welcome to put a team together (as long as they're over 18). Booking details have been sent out via class reps.
Exhibition Day
Our annual Exhibition Day will take place on Saturday 18th March. All parents are warmly invited to join us on this day between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. to view your children's work and to visit every part of the school to reminisce or look forward!
Summer Term Events
The school calendar has now been populated with the events for the summer term. Please do check it and make a note of the various trips, music concerts, plays, Sports Days and so on. It promises to be another very busy term and we hope that parents will be able to join us for the major events as usual.
Turkey/Syria Earthquake Appeal
We are so proud to report that the St. Helen's College community has together raised £2,105 for the Turkey/Syria Earthquake appeal so far. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated.
Sick Child/Life Support Sessions
Thank you to those parents who attended the recent Sick Child and/or Life Support training sessions runs by Dr. Dharsi. We hope that you found these useful and we are delighted to say that St. Helen's College parents made donations totalling £345 to the Brompton Fountain charity.
Sports News
Under 9 Football Festival
Boys from Year 4 and Year 3 very much enjoyed taking part in an U9 football festival at HABS last Saturday morning. On a bright, chilly day, the ten teams in attendance were divided into two groups to play four group games. The first St. Helen's College game was against HABS and our team began the event seemingly a little overexcited by the occasion! They were obviously very happy to be playing together and their beaming smiles were quite something to behold, even though the team went 3-0 down inside one minute! The team rallied well, though, and kept the score in their first game down to 6-0.
The team re-grouped for the second game against Radlett Prep and were unfortunate to lose 1-0. After a rest period, St. Helen's College took on St. John's and achieved a 1-0 win through a goal from Maicen M. In the fourth group game against Highgate Reds, the team seemed a little tired and unfortunately lost 2-0.
After coming fourth in the group, St. Helen's College played against the fourth place team from the other group, Highgate B, and two goals from Mikail O (one a coolly taken penalty followed by The Macarena!) saw the team end up seventh overall. It was a wonderful morning of football and the boys clearly enjoyed it immensely. Mr. Dyson had to award 'player of the tournament' to one of the St. Helen's College boys. It was very close but Jack K's performance in goal was outstanding. Many thanks to the parents for transporting and supporting the team!
Year 4/5/6 Football
Our Year 4/5/6 football team took on Cowley St. Lawrence away on Wednesday on a very difficult and bumpy pitch. With the ball bouncing all over the place, the standard of play was somewhat compromised. Maicen M opened the scoring with a well-taken goal before a penalty decision against St. Helen's College made it 1-1. The SHC team persisted in trying to play their best football and were probably the better team on the day but there were no further goals so the match ended in a draw.
Netball Tournament
Also in the wind and cold of last Saturday morning the U11 netball team played in the UDPSSA borough netball tournament at Ryefield School. The first game was tough and the girls lost 6-1, but they quickly regrouped and went on to win the next two games. In the final game of the group stages they were winning 1-0 and were very close to going through to the quarter finals. Unfortunately, though, two late goals knocked us out. All of the girls were a testament to the school and deservedly received their runner up league medals. Many thanks to the parents who came to support on such a blustery day.
Thames Valley Cavaliers - Free Tickets
Thames Valley Cavaliers are once again offering free tickets for St. Helen's College pupils for their matches this weekend at Uxbridge College Sports Hall. There are games on Saturday and Sunday. Full details are here.
Blaze Netball Club
Blaze Netball Club has a new 'minis' section which is growing weekly. If you have a child in Years 1-6 who is interested in developing their netball skills and matchplay further outside of school, you can find details of their Saturday morning sessions here.
Ickenham Library
Given the huge importance of reading for primary aged children, we are very sad to hear the news that the council is proposing to close Ickenham Library on one day each week. If you would like to have a say please complete the consultation at the link below and enter your comments under 27. If you have any comments about the tiered approach, please include these. If every adult in each household fills in the consultation it will have a bigger impact.
https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/article/10688/Library-strategy-consultation
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