School News and Head's Blog
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: 5/05/2023Music Education
This week I attended a ‘Breakfast Chat’ which I attend monthly with fellow educators to discuss topical educational issues surrounding partnerships with other schools and external providers. This ‘Breakfast Chat’ network has been invaluable in hearing about what other schools around the UK are doing to enhance educational opportunities for children in both independent and maintained schools.
On this occasion we had over fifty participants online all from a musical background to discuss ‘Music education and how partnerships are essential to develop music.’ The first question which was raised was how we define music education. I am delighted that we have such a strong focus on music education here at St. Helen’s College, both in the curriculum and in our co-curricular provision, and that we recognise that music education is part of pupil wellbeing. It was quite pertinent that we used music as the key driver behind our ‘One World Day’ last term.
Your children are exposed to music on a daily basis whether that is in their curriculum lessons, in peripatetic lessons, or through our various choirs, musical groups, assemblies and performances in school. We are lucky to have an incredibly talented group of music teachers. However, it is every teacher’s responsibility to ensure that we are appreciating music as part of pupil wellbeing throughout the day and this is also most definitely the case at St. Helen’s College.
Partnerships with other schools and external agencies are also important and we would love to continue building these relationships. This month our orchestra is joining together with several other schools for a day of musicality at John Lyon School. Our pupils visit local care homes to entertain them with their musicality and this is mutually beneficial for wellbeing. Our peripatetic teachers share information about what else they are involved in and many of us have booked our tickets to see Cinderella at the Royal Albert Hall where Mrs. Nash (one of our peripatetic teachers and a parent of three Old Helenians) is playing as a violinist in the orchestra.
I was presenting ABRSM certificates to our students earlier this week and many of them had just passed their ‘cello exams. I introduced the children to the music of Sheku Kanneh-Mason. We listened to him play and I read the children an extract from this book ‘Rise Up - Ordinary Kids with Extraordinary Stories.’ I was delighted that many of our pupils knew of him already. Through his hard work and dedication as a young school boy from Northampton he is now a world class musician.
One of my ex students from Japan, Eva Kestner, has just shared the news with me that Harper Collins UK is publishing a book about her and her music and they are developing an online platform where children and parents can download her music and educational videos. Eva is a professional taiko drummer and she was delighted when I showed her photographs of our pupils at Upper School taking part in the taiko drumming workshops during One World Day. I hope that we can welcome Eva to St. Helen’s College if she has the opportunity to visit London in the near future.
Our own pupils are incredibly inspiring and I am very much looking forward to our Singing Competition later this month which will be closely followed by the Singers’ Concert in All Saints and our Musicians’ Concert, which are always two of my school calendar highlights.
Keep enjoying music at home too - we are so fortunate to have such a diverse community and that our pupils are exposed to so many genres and styles of music and song.
I will leave you with these words from Plato:
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
Ms Drummond
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: 21/04/2023Artificial Intelligence - What Is It And Will It Replace Teachers?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a disruptive technology with the potential to revolutionize education. It has the ability to process vast amounts of data, learn from patterns and make predictions, and perform tasks that would require significant human effort. While there are several benefits to integrating AI in education, there are also concerns about the negative impact it may have on students and teachers. This report will explore both the positive and negative aspects of AI and its impact on education.
Positive Aspects of AI in Education
1. Personalized Learning
AI has the ability to personalize learning for each student based on their individual needs and learning styles. It can analyze data on students' progress, strengths, and weaknesses to create a customized learning plan that suits their individual needs. This can help students learn more effectively and efficiently, leading to improved academic performance.
2. Enhanced Teaching and Learning Experience
AI can provide a more interactive and engaging teaching and learning experience for students. It can be used to create virtual simulations, educational games, and chatbots that can answer students' questions and provide instant feedback. This can make learning more fun and engaging, leading to better retention of knowledge.
3. Improved Accessibility
AI can help make education more accessible to students with disabilities. It can be used to create assistive technologies that can help students with visual or hearing impairments, or those with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. This can help ensure that every student has access to quality education.
4. Time-Saving
AI can automate administrative tasks such as grading, lesson planning, and student record keeping. This can save teachers a significant amount of time, allowing them to focus more on teaching and providing individualized attention to students.
Negative Aspects of AI in Education
1. Overreliance on Technology
One of the main concerns about AI in education is the potential for overreliance on technology. Students may become too dependent on technology to learn and may lose important social and critical thinking skills.
2. Ethical Concerns
AI may raise ethical concerns in education, such as privacy issues related to student data collection. There is also a risk that AI algorithms may perpetuate biases and discrimination, which could negatively impact students from marginalized communities.
3. Cost
Implementing AI technology in education can be expensive, and some schools and students may not have access to these resources. This could create a digital divide between students who have access to AI and those who do not, which could further exacerbate existing inequalities in education.
4. Job Displacement
There is a risk that AI may displace teachers and other education professionals, leading to job losses in the education sector. This could have a negative impact on the quality of education and the development of soft skills that can only be learned through human interaction.
Impact of AI on Education
Overall, AI has the potential to have a significant impact on education, both positive and negative. While there are concerns about overreliance on technology and ethical issues related to data privacy and biases, the benefits of personalized learning, enhanced teaching and learning experiences, improved accessibility, and time-saving outweigh the negative aspects. It is important to carefully consider the potential impacts of AI in education and to develop policies and strategies to ensure that its implementation benefits all students and does not exacerbate existing inequalities.
While AI technology has advanced significantly in recent years, it is unlikely that AI will completely replace human teachers in the foreseeable future. AI can assist teachers in various ways, such as automating administrative tasks, providing personalized learning experiences, and grading multiple-choice exams.
However, teaching is a complex and multi-faceted profession that requires empathy, creativity, and critical thinking, which are currently beyond the capabilities of AI. Human teachers are also adept at adapting to individual student needs and providing emotional support, which are crucial aspects of the learning process that AI is currently unable to replicate.
Furthermore, education is not just about transmitting information but also involves helping students develop social skills, collaboration, and creativity. These skills are best learned in a social environment with other students and human teachers.
In conclusion, AI can enhance and support the work of teachers, but it is unlikely to completely replace them. The human touch remains an essential aspect of education, and AI can serve as a tool to assist teachers in delivering personalized and effective learning experiences.
I trust that many of you found this blog informative and interesting. I wish that I could take credit for the content of it. However, the above report/blog was all produced by the ‘ChatGPT’ from a prompt which I gave it. I wonder if you noticed the American spellings and a different ‘tone’ from my other blogs?
Over the holidays I have experimented with the ChatGPT and I am eager to learn more about the use of AI in education. Your children are growing up in a new age where technology is moving at such a rapid pace. Many of us use AI in our daily lives without perhaps being aware of it. My working day commences with my use of facial recognition then Waze as I navigate my way to work the most efficient way using the apps on my mobile phone. Children are much more receptive to change and adapt to new ways of learning thus it is important that we as adults explore and investigate this new world of AI in education then share it appropriately with our pupils.
I would be most interested to hear your thoughts and experiences of AI in your workplace.
Ms Drummond
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: 17/03/2023Talent Versus Skill
Talent is God gifted ability, whereas skill is an ability in which you put your time and efforts to develop.
It is with this interesting definition of ‘talent’ that I reflect on this week at St. Helen’s College. Many of you with pupils in the Upper School will be aware that the children have been participating in the inaugural House Talent Competition. We have been thoroughly impressed and entertained by all of the pupils who have entered an act to represent their Houses: Caledonia, Cambria, Hibernia or Windsor.
The entries were very varied and as I moved between each house assembly I was fortunate enough to enjoy many superb performances. From Grade 6 pianists to our Grade 1 violinists, singers galore, magic acts, ventriloquism, gymnasts, a church bell ringer, comedy acts, poetry, naming world flags,pieces of artwork…I could continue! What is apparent is that there is such a passion for the children to share their interests, hobbies, skills and talents.
This leads me on to tomorrow when we will host the school’s first Exhibition Day since pre-covid days. We are very excited to showcase our pupils’ work tomorrow and look forward to you all touring the school with your children, reflecting on their accomplishments and looking forward to what lies ahead as you visit the other classrooms and school sites.
Your children have worked so hard all year to develop their skills and talents, not only across the curriculum but in the enriched co-curriculum which we offer. We pride ourselves in both nurturing talent and supporting the development of skill.
The debate surrounding talent versus skill and which might be most important will undoubtedly continue and much has already been written on this topic. However, I believe that there are some key differences between talent and skill:
The term talent refers to an inborn, special ability of a person to do something. A skill is an expertise which is acquired by the person by learning.
Talent is God gifted ability, whereas skill is an ability in which you put your time and efforts to develop.
Talent is often possessed by a limited number of people. On the other hand, any person can learn a particular skill, if (s)he has the capacity, capability, and willingness.
Talent can be hidden which is why it needs recognition. As opposed to Skill, it requires development, which can only be possible through practice.
Coaching may prove helpful in getting the best out of someone i.e. talent. Conversely, training is necessary for acquiring a skill, to put your best into something useful.
You may have your own views and opinions on this and I am linking to an article for those of you who wish to read more on the talent v. skill debate:
Talent Vs Skill:Which Matters More in the Pursuit of Mastery?
You have invested for your child to attend St. Helen’s College and I do hope that one day when they have left school they will look back and remember their school days as the happiest and most memorable days of their lives. The children will not remember ‘how’ they made progress but it is with such a sense of pride and privilege that we are able to support your children to nurture and strengthen their ‘talents’ and assist them in developing their ‘skills’ to enable them to thrive and flourish. Let us celebrate their journey and support them with the high and lows!
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow to celebrate our wonderful community!
Ms Drummond
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