School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 10/12/2021Weekly News - Friday 10th December 2021
Nursery Nativity Assemblies
Very well done indeed to the children of our Robins and Wrens Nursery classes, who presented wonderful musical Christmas assemblies to their parents in the Methodist Church Hall this week. Their confidence in getting up to perform, on 'stage', at the age of just 3 or 4 was astonishing, especially considering how much their social development could have been affected by the Covid pandemic. It is a real testament to the St. Helen's College community of staff, parents and fellow pupils that they each felt comfortable and confident enough to sing so beautifully for their audience. Thank you, Nursery, for presenting the Christmas story with such charm. We are very proud of you all.
Carol Service
Children at Upper School attended a virtual carol service this morning which was pre-recorded and included readings, choir performances and the Christmas story told by Reverend Sarah Smith. Parents may watch the recording here.
Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Lunch
We would like to extend a big thank you to the wonderful Accent catering team who provided such a super Christmas lunch yesterday. The dining halls were filled with music and laughter as everyone tucked in to traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings or a delicious vegetable wellington.
Crackers were pulled, hats were worn and jokes were told! Throughout the school, children and staff wore Christmas jumpers and the festive spirit was very much with us all!
Ducklings and Lower School Christmas Celebrations
The children at Ducklings and Lower School were thrilled to receive a surprise visit from Father Christmas on Thursday! They also really enjoyed their Christmas party celebrations.
Parents might like to see our Lower School choir singing Christmas songs here.
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
Thank you to all of the children who worked so hard to contribute imaginative and colourful home-made decorations for our school Christmas trees. It was difficult to judge the competition this year!
Well done to our Upper School winners: Shayna C, Avleen P, Inaaya S, Karter P, Verity S, Tiya T, Annabelle S, Joleen Z and Layla O.
Congratulations too to the Lower School winners: Sara B, Aidan S, Kyan K, Kiran S, Tansy M and Leonard S.
Awards
Congratulations to Eshan N, who was today named the Music Personality of the Autumn Term. Eshan has shown outstanding commitment, effort and achievement in music over many years. He is a valued member of both the Senior Choir and Chamber Choir and he plays the violin, drums and ukulele. Eshan is currently working towards his Grade 4 violin and learning his first concerto too.
Well done also to Jessica B, who has been named Sports Personality of the Autumn Term. Jessica consistently displays the school sporting values of respect, inspiration, determination and leadership. Her netball and football contributions are super and she has worked extremely hard this term to improve her cross country running times too.
Riyan T has been awarded a special 'green' Blue Peter badge to recognise his commitment to the environment. Riyan produced a wonderful poster all about polar bears and how we can improve their environment to help their chances of survival as they are an endangered species.
The House Cup was this term won by Cambria. Our House Captains announced the results and gave speeches to congratulate the winners and to encourage the members of Windsor to keep pushing on next term in the hope of winning the cup back!
Science Fun at Upper School
Our Year 4 children really enjoyed making circuits to light up Rudolf's nose and other Christmas pictures on cards on Wednesday.
5G had great fun exploring butterfly chromatography in their science lessons this week too.
Cookery Club
Last week, Cookery Club children made quesadillas and they were particularly engaged when making their Christmas cookies this week!
Staff Farewell
Today we said goodbye to Mrs. O'Mahoney, who is leaving us to go and work for the NHS. She will greatly missed by our Nursery children and her colleagues. We wish her all the very best for the future.
Alumni News
In Summer 2023, more than
40,000 Scouts from all over the world will gather in South Korea for the 25th World Scout Jamboree. The World Scout Jamboree happens every four years, each time hosted by a different country. Thousands of UK young people aged 14 to 17 and their leaders will travel to South Korea as the UK Contingent.
Having successfully gone through the selection process, former St. Helen's College pupil (and Head Girl) Ruby Cargill has been selected to attend as part of the team from Greater London. Ruby is absolutely thrilled to have been chosen for this once in a lifetime experience.
NextGen Enterprise Christmas Courses
For those interested in taking part in Christmas courses with NextGen, here are the details, dates and booking links:
Christmas course – 12.30 - 2.30 p.m. over 5 days – 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th December. This is the first part where children are taken through entrepeuneral fundamentals including personal finance and business finance.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19BPSE-Bg8dRAkfST1RgOSQq37kxRcNdOLU3cSmX3eVY/viewform?edit_requested=true
Entrepreneurial pathway – 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. 13-16th and 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.17th Dec (This would be the Bronze course)
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. 20-24th Dec & 29th-30th Dec (This would be the Bronze course).
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sZSt9PgkmqXyYJElnL9x6PC4ZeIDpPyMZYOtPCUt1qg/viewform?edit_requested=true
Perform Drama - Free Session and £40 Discount
Perform is a popular children's drama and dance school. They are offering a free trial session and a special introductory discount of £40 for members of St. Helen's College who sign up by Wednesday 26th January. Parents should quote SHLE260122 when booking their free session by going to perform.org.uk/try or calling 020 7255 9120.
You can find out more about the classes at perform.org.uk/try. Alternatively, pdf flyers can be downloaded from here.
The nearest classes to St. Helen's College are these (please click for a map and further details):
Perform Ickenham (Drama for 4-7s)
(1.3 miles)
Fridays at 4pm
Ickenham Village Hall
33 Swakeleys Road,
UB10 8DG
Perform Ickenham (Drama for 7-12s)
(1.3 miles)
Fridays at 5.05pm
Ickenham Village Hall
33 Swakeleys Road,
UB10 8DG
Perform Iver (Drama for 4-7s)
(2.9 miles)
Tuesdays at 4pm
St Peter's Centre
1 Thorney Lane North,
SL0 9JU
Perform Iver (Drama for 7-12s)
(2.9 miles)
Tuesdays at 5.05pm
St Peter's Centre
1 Thorney Lane North,
SL0 9JU
Perform Eastcote (Drama for 4-7s)
(3.5 miles)
Thursdays at 4pm
Eastcote Methodist Church
Pamela Gardens,
HA5 2QU
There are others too. Click to find all the nearest here or view a list of all areas.
Perform's family musical Jungle Rumble is being performed at the Fortune Theatre over the February half term. You can see full details and purchase tickets here.
RocketLearn Christmas Camp
We have arranged for all children in Years 3-6 to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Well-being all aimed at children aged 7-13. If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code STHELENS on checkout to reserve a free place. You can find additional information also on the pdf which has been sent out by email to Year 3-6 parents today. We hope your children will enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp.
Spring Term 2022
Planned events for the spring term have been added to the school calendar so do take a look here and make a note of dates relevant to your child's year group/class.
The spring term lunch menu is now available on the School Documents page of the website here.
Co-curricular clubs will begin in the first full week of term, the week beginning Monday 10th January. If you have any queries about the co-curriculum programme or specific clubs, please contact Mr. Harrington, our Director of Co-Curriculum, at lharrington@sthelenscollege.com.
Wraparound care bookings for the spring term (Breakfast Club and Funtasia After School Club) can now be made via your SchoolsBuddy account. From next term, Breakfast Club will run in the Evans Hall for both Lower School and Upper School pupils. Please make your bookings by 12 p.m. on the preceding day. We do appreciate parents booking in advance wherever possible as this really helps with staffing, catering and other logistics.
Over the Christmas holidays, please take the opportunity to check the condition of required uniform and equipment to ensure that it is smart and in good working order, replenishing as necessary. The uniform/equipment list can be found here. Please also make sure that haircuts adhere to school guidelines (girls' hair should be neatly tied back if long, using black or green bands/clips and boys' hair should be cut neatly above the collar with no shaving, gelling etc). The felt winter caps and girls' hats should be worn as part of school uniform. The school woolly hats are ONLY for use at playtimes and outdoor lessons in bitter weather conditions, not for wearing to and from school.
Upon our return to school, please ensure that you follow the school parking regulations (available here) and that any snacks you send into school with your children follow our policy: no nuts, no chocolate/high sugar items etc. Suitable snacks are fruit or vegetables or plain biscuits and your child should have a named, refillable water bottle with them every day.
Please also ensure that your child arrives at school in good time before the bell goes at 8.30 a.m. so that they are ready to line up with their class for registration. We encourage parents to drop children by 8.25 a.m. at the latest.
We would also like to remind parents that the cost of peripatetic music lessons is increasing next term to £22.50 per half hour.
Posted on: 10/12/2021Self-Care
We live in a world of myriad opportunities, one in which the temptation is strong for adults and children alike to over-schedule ourselves as we attempt to take advantage of the wealth of activities on offer. This can be a very good thing in many ways: one of the pillars of mental health is to keep learning, to keep growing, to discover new things and forge new relationships. But there is a danger, too, that we might over-commit ourselves or our children to a timetable of class after class, activity after activity, in an effort to ‘make the most’ of ourselves and our time.
There is another way to ‘make the most’ of ourselves, though, and that is through self-care. St. Helen’s College is, as all parents, children and staff will know, an extremely busy place. Every day, pupils engage in a different series of academic lessons and enrichment activities, physical play and education, team sports, art, music and drama opportunities, performance rehearsals, technological discovery, clubs and social gatherings. We are proud of the diverse and challenging nature of the education we offer, but we are also particularly proud of the ways in which we are able to teach children about the importance of self-care and to offer opportunities for self-care here at school too.
Through teaching Mindfulness and offering moments of stillness and Mindfulness practice in assemblies, we equip children with the tools to calm their minds, recognise unhealthy thoughts and regroup mentally and emotionally. In Philosophy for Children sessions, too, pupils are encouraged to listen without judgement and to take time to examine, formulate and accept thoughts and feelings that may be alien or worrying at first. Our Wellbeing Focus Days give the opportunity for staff and children to step outside of the ‘daily grind’ (fun as it so often is) and consider how we can support ourselves and others to stay healthy and well, both mentally and physically. Through these days, children are introduced to simple practices like journal keeping or art therapy that can really help to underpin positive and ongoing mental health.
Class teachers run regular tutorials and circle time sessions with their classes, both individually and as a group, which give children the opportunity to talk about their experiences and make sense of them as well as to consider both their own targets and how they may best support one another. We are enormously fortunate, too, to have Mrs. Brooker, our qualified school counsellor, who is able to offer children ‘time to talk’ in a non-judgemental space. When we experience the power of someone else being able to hold our feelings, quietly and strongly, with unconditional positive regard for us, we learn that we can do this for ourselves, too. What an amazing thing to learn at a young age.
For those who work in schools, finding time for self-care in term time can be a tricky business, and never more so than over the last two years since the onset of the Covid pandemic. This term, several staff members have suffered from Covid and other winter bugs; many are, at this stage of term, quietly enduring mounting tiredness and the onset of burnout: the mornings are early and cold, the late nights and evening meetings take their toll. The emotional strain of trying to be and give of your best self, all day every day, in order to enrich children’s experiences and give them the correct support and challenge can be exhausting. Add in an inspection week for good measure and it has undeniably been a tiring term. It is a testament to our amazing staff and their genuine love for your children that they do not complain and that they continue to give of their best selves every single day. My hope for each one of them is that they find time for plenty of self-care over the Christmas break.
It is, as you will all know, extremely tough to be a parent, too. Sleep-deprived nights, early mornings, emotional children, hormones, juggling those work/home schedules, attempting to make sense of homework, trying to find time to be a good partner, a good mother, a good father, a good daughter, a good son, a good friend, being everyone’s taxi driver...it can be overwhelming at times. So it is crucial that you take time for self-care too, whether that is an hour at the gym, curling up with a cup of tea and a good book, social time with friends and family or just a few minutes of quiet time to focus on your own breathing. Taking time for yourself is not a luxury, but a necessity. It can and will support you in being ‘good’ or ‘useful’ to others. I recommend, in particular, trying a simple Mindfulness practice each day or as often in the week as you are able.
The St. Helen’s College community has always been wonderful at taking care of each other. Now, ahead of the busy festive period, I encourage us all not to feel guilty about taking time to care for ourselves.
Happy Christmas to you all.
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 3/12/2021Weekly News - Friday 3rd December 2021
Reception and Year 1 Christmas Assemblies
Our Reception and Year 1 children presented beautiful, heartwarming and very confident Christmas assemblies to their parents this week.
The children of 1C and 1R told us the story of Christmas and the history of many of our modern day Christmas traditions, performed some beautiful (and fun) songs, told us a Christmas poem and led us in prayer.
The children of Owls and Kingfishers performed traditional Nativity plays for their assemblies yesterday and today, delighting their parents and school staff with their portrayal of the familiar characters from the Christmas story, and with their wonderful costumes. They each spoke and sang with great joy and confidence.
We are very proud of the Reception and Year 1 children. It was lovely to see so many parents in attendance at these events and we are sure that you enjoyed seeing your children perform too.
2B Assembly
Well done also to the children of 2B, who performed a moving assembly for us all today. They looked at the gifts they were each hoping to receive for Christmas and then considered what other gifts we could all give to others which might not cost a penny, but might make the world a better place: hugs, smiles, love, care for the environment and more. They recounted and acted out a story of a kind-hearted, animal-loving child who accidentally sent a shopping list to Santa by mistake, and ended up with everything she really wanted for Christmas when she was given the items she needed to feed and care for the cold, hungry animals about whom she was so worried.
2B's confident, tuneful and very beautiful rendition of 'We Are The World' will stay with us all for a long time, as will the important message they shared with us today. Bravo, 2B!
Year 3 Roman Day
On Wednesday Year 3 had a Roman Day at school. It was great fun and everyone looked amazing!
They found out what it was like to be a gladiator in Ancient Rome, made clocks with Roman numerals and enjoyed Roman drumming.
They also had a Roman feast and made Roman shields.
Thank you to all of the parents for providing such fabulous costumes and to all of the children who were so enthusiastic and really made the most of the chance to enrich their learning about the Romans.
You can see more images of the day on our Galleries page here.
Science Quiz
On Tuesday 30th November two teams of children from Years 5 and 6 took part in a national science quiz. Out of 89 teams we finished 48th (team 2) and 23rd (team 1) with team 1 qualifying for the semi finals in February. Congratulations to both teams for participating.
Team 1 Aryan B, Luka K, Jacob N, Advik S (made it through to the semi finals).
Team 2 Reiss D, Diyan C, Minaya W, Arshvir S
Salvation Army Christmas Appeal
Here you can see Avar D and Arup D with the pile of presents that the school has amassed for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal. These were collected by The Salvation Army today and will be distributed to children in the local community. We are sure that their faces will light up when they receive their surprise gifts. Thank you to the Dhillon family for suggesting this initiative and we would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to every family who has donated gifts for this appeal.
Christmas Card Deliveries
Children may bring Christmas cards into school and post them in our school postboxes for delivery to other children or staff on their school site.
Christmas Decoration Competition
Just a reminder that children's home made Christmas decorations must be brought into school by Wednesday 8th December. Prizes will be awarded on Friday 10th December.
Pantomime
The Theatre Royal in Windsor has offered St. Helen's College families the chance to buy tickets for 'Jack and the Beanstalk' at the discounted school price of £15 for the following performances.
Friday 3rd December - 4.30 p.m. (pupils will be given permission to leave school early if you attend this performance)
Wednesday 15th December - 7 p.m.
Thursday 16th December - 7 p.m.
Thursday 6th January - 7 p.m.
If you would like to attend as a family, please use the following link to book your tickets: https://sthelens.schoolcloud.co.uk/clubsevents/admin/events/111158 and a charge will be added to your SchoolsBuddy account.
This offer is open to the whole school. Tickets must be booked by Thursday 9th December.
RocketLearn Christmas Camp
We have arranged for all children in Years 3-6 to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Well-being all aimed at children aged 7-13. If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code STHELENS on checkout to reserve a free place. You can find additional information also on the pdf which has been sent out by email to Year 3-6 parents today. We hope your children will enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp.
NextGen Enterprise Taster Session
On Monday NextGen Enterprise held an online taster session with over 20 attendees from Years 5 and 6. The children learnt a lot and had so much fun doing it. If you are interested in signing up please visit https://nextgenenterprise.co.uk/. Just a reminder that there is an exclusive offer of 25% off for St. Helen’s College students which will be valid until the 10th December.
You can see the NextGen prospectus here.
You can see the NextGen presentation from Monday here.
Carols Around The Tree
It was super to welcome so many parents and children to Upper School today for our annual Carols Around The Tree event. Thank you to all those who came along to get into the festive spirit with us!
End of Term
Next Friday, 10th December, is the last day of term and is a half day. Children should be collected at the following times unless they are booked into Funtasia:
11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & Nursery)
12.00 p.m. (Reception)
12.10 p.m. (Years 1, 2)
12.20 p.m. (Years 3, 4)
12.30 p.m. (Years 5, 6)
Posted on: 26/11/2021Weekly News - Friday 26th November 2021
COP26 Talk
Children in Years 1-6 were very lucky this week to be joined live from New York by one of the organisers of the recent COP26 summit, who spoke to them about why and how the summit was organised and its aims.
You can read more about this in this week's Head's Blog here.
3MB Class Assembly
The children of 3MB presented a class assembly this morning all about babies! They looked at the best years of their lives so far and how they have changed since they were babies. They thought about getting older and had some interesting interviews with their grandparents. They also thought about what they might be like as adults and wrote some letters to their older selves. They cleverly linked their theme with our school value of kindness and considered how we should be kind to everyone, including ourselves. The children were clearly so happy to share their assembly with so many parents, pupils and staff. Well done, 3MB, on a thoroughly enjoyable performance.
Month End Music Recital
As always, it was a real treat to end the month with an informal music recital in the Evans Hall at Upper School. We heard a wide variety of pieces and instruments, including piano and cello performances from five of our Year 2 pupils and over twelve performers from Years 4, 5 and 6 delighted us with guitar, piano, flute, violin and singing.
Well done to all of those who performed.
Lower School Gardening Club
At Lower School, children have been making flower arrangements in Gardening Club this week, using foliage from teachers' gardens and fresh flowers. The children really enjoyed designing their own arrangements!
We hope that all of the children across the school who have taken part in co-curricular activities this term have enjoyed the chance to have a go at something new, and maybe have discovered an interest or talent they did not know they had.
Co-Curricular Allocations
Club allocations for the spring term were sent out to parents yesterday (Thursday 25th November) and parents have until midnight on Monday 29th November to pay. Any places allocated for which payment has not been received by this deadline will be allocated to children on the waiting lists.
NextGen Enterprise - Monday 29th November
We have secured an exclusive one-hour virtual taster session with NextGen Enterprise on Monday 29th November from 6.30 - 7.30 p.m. for pupils in Year 5 and Year 6. NextGen Enterprise provide entrepreneurial courses to ages 10-15 and aim to introduce the next generation of entrepreneurs to a world of innovation, collaboration, and creativity. Many of our alumni have been on the NextGen Enterprise courses and we have received fantastic feedback. Parents have already been emailed the link to the event (https://zoom.us/j/95271795428?pwd=alpZbHRxdkN5UCs1K0g5ejVUWGJ2QT09) and we hope that many of our pupils will participate in this super opportunity.
Christmas Events
Next week sees the beginning of Christmas festivities here at St. Helen's College and there are many exciting events coming up.
The PA Christmas Party is this weekend on Sunday 28th November and we are sure that everyone who is attending will enjoy the festive fun.
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
Pupils across the school are invited to make a homemade decoration for one of the school Christmas trees and these can be brought into school from Monday 29th November. Please make sure that the child's name and class are attached in some way to the decoration and that they are not too heavy for us to hang on the tree. There will be prizes for each year group. The closing date is Wednesday 8th December.
Lower School
Tuesday 30th November - 1C Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
Wednesday 1st December - 1R Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
Thursday 2nd December - Owls Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
Friday 3rd December - Kingfishers Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
For each of these Lower School assemblies, coffee will be served in the Lower School Hall at 8.15 a.m. and parents will then be directed to the church in time for the start of the assembly at 8.45 a.m. There will be a collection at the end of each assembly for the St. Helen's College Trust.
Our Nursery classes will perform their Christmas assemblies the following week.
Thursday 9th December - Wear a Christmas jumper day. Lower School children will enjoy a visiting pantomime production in the afternoon. Details will be sent to parents separately.
Upper School
Friday 3rd December - 2B Coffee Morning/Class Assembly (Coffee from 8.15 a.m. in the Evans Hall, assembly from 8.40 a.m. in the Upper School Hall)
Friday 3rd December - Carols Around The Tree at Upper School (Lower School families, Y2 and Y3 from 3.20 to 3.40 p.m. and Year 4, 5 and 6 from 3.40 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
Wednesday 8th December - Year 2-6 Pantomime trip to 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Full details will be sent separately to parents.
Thursday 9th December - Wear a Christmas jumper day.
Friday 10th December - Carol Service. Our Year 6 parents are invited to attend All Saints Church at 11 a.m. on Friday 10th for our Christmas Service which will be hosted by our Year 6 pupils, the school orchestra and choirs. As per our Harvest service we are limiting the audience in the church due to the Covid protocols which are still in place. We will be recording a similar Carol Service for the pupils who are back in school to participate in and this will be shared in due course with our parent body.
Christmas Lunch
Christmas lunch will be served for all children from Nursery to Year 6 on Thursday 9th December. The menu is available here. Orders will be taken from the children in school next week, so please discuss the menu with your child so that they know what they would like to order.
Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal
You may recall that last year we successfully ran the Christmas Present Appeal for the Hillingdon Salvation Army. Encouraged by the same St. Helen’s College family, we would like to encourage the pupils to participate again. This is such a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our school’s core values by helping those local families less fortunate than ourselves.
Therefore we are inviting your child to choose a brand new toy/game for ages 3-11 with a value of approximately £12. The Salvation Army has also suggested gift vouchers. The item should not be gift wrapped and should fit inside a shopping plastic bag.
Please allow your child to bring in their donation by Friday 3rd December. We will have systems in place so that gifts can be put into a class collection bag and subsequently quarantined until The Salvation Army collects them.
We will launch the appeal in our assemblies and really hope it is something you feel able to support. Thank you so much in advance for your kindness and generosity.
Charity Fundraising
We would like to extend heartfelt thanks to parents, pupils and staff for all of the recent generous charity donations received. We are delighted to say that the St. Helen's College community has raised:
Poppy Appeal - £382.35
Children In Need - £1,984.92
Uniform Reminder
Please may we remind parents that pupils should be wearing their winter felt caps and hats to and from school and that the woollen beanie hat is only for use in the school playground.
Posted on: 19/11/2021Weekly News - Friday 19th November 2021
Children In Need
We have had a lot of fun today at school fundraising for Children in Need and have thought seriously, too, about why we are raising money and about the issues that affect children less fortunate than our own.
Children and staff throughout the school dressed in spots, yellow, Children in Need merchandise or just their own clothes. Many bought wristbands and entered the Design a Pudsey Bear competition. The raffles were, as usual, one of the highlights of the day!
The raffle winners were:
Ducklings: Gobind B (Blush), Noah G-W (Pudsey)
Lower School: Eleanor G (Blush), Anika S (Pudsey)
Middle School: Veer K (Blush), Daya R (Pudsey)
Upper School: Jacob N (Blush), Antony F (Pudsey)
The winner(s) of the Design a Pudsey Bear competition will be chosen by our Charity Reps next week.
We would like to thank parents sincerely for your generous support of this very worthy charity and for helping your children to understand why it is so important to help those in need. It is not too late to donate via the St. Helen's College Children in Need JustGiving page here.
You can see more photographs of the children enjoying Children in Need Day on our Galleries page here.
2H Class Assembly - Buckets
Wow! Well done to the children of 2H who presented a very charming and thought provoking assembly this morning about buckets!
They explained that we each have a bucket that can be filled with good feelings and kindness and that, if we are kind and inclusive or do good deeds, we are filling other people's buckets but also filling our own.
They sang a beautiful song to remind us that we can all count on each other, explained how we can help others less fortunate through Children in Need, and led us in prayer.
Every child spoke their lines with confidence and projection and we are very proud of them all.
While 2H presented their assembly live to their parents this morning, the other children at Upper School watched a pre-recorded version. You might like to watch it too - it is available here.
Chamber Choir - St. John's Smith Square
We were very proud of our Chamber Choir who performed magnificently last Sunday at the Children's Trust London Schools Concert. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support such a worthwhile charitable cause. We have received some lovely feedback from one of the concert organisers, who wrote:
"Your school was absolutely amazing – I really enjoyed your performances. Power in Me was particularly one of my favourites on the day. We cannot thank you enough for all your fantastic hard work and for kindly supporting us on the day. Your support allowed us to raise over £8,000 for children with brain injury."
You can watch the videos of the performances here:
Power In Me
All Things Bright And Beautiful
Gurupurab
Today is a very special day as members of the Sikh community celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak. Thank you to parents Mrs. Raikmo and Mrs. Daheley for their input into assemblies over the last couple of weeks. Mrs. Raikmo celebrated with Lower School children yesterday.
Inspection
It has been a pleasure to welcome a team of ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) inspectors into St. Helen's College this week for both a compliance and an educational quality inspection. We have enjoyed showcasing our school, pupils and staff and demonstrating all that we do to ensure that the pupils have the best possible educational experience.
The inspection report should be available within five weeks and we will of course share this with parents when we receive it.
Many thanks to all of the parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire so quickly and so positively.
IAPS iArt Competition
After the success of iArt 2021, in which Arya A at St. Helen's College was a winner, IAPS will be running the competition again in 2022 and hopes to receive more submissions than ever. Shortlisted entrants will receive prizes of vouchers for local independent bookshops.
This year, the competition will have a theme and all submissions must in some way relate to this theme. The theme is my role model.
This theme has been chosen because IAPS is interested to see who inspires pupils, who motivates them, who they admire and who they would like to be like when they grow up. The role models can be anyone:
someone personal e.g. a family member, friend, teacher, coach, librarian, a member of the local community;
someone “in general” e.g. nurses, doctors, train drivers, farmers;
someone public e.g. a famous person, such as a sportsperson, environmentalist, singer
While IAPS encourages pupils to attempt a portrait of their role model, pupils – and particularly, younger pupils – should feel free to just paint / draw / create something which reminds them of their role model instead. For example, if a pupil’s role model is David Attenborough, they might choose to paint trees and animals, or if their role model is a parent, they might choose to draw a picture of their house.
Each pupil must write a maximum of 100 words in a sentence or two to accompany their piece of work, saying 'My role model is...because...'.
Entries will be judged on a) interpretation of the theme; b) creativity around the theme; c) overall design; d) and that ‘certain something’ that just draws you to the artwork! There is no set format for entries and artwork can be submitted in any medium. Submissions can be paintings, drawings, or models, any size, and use any art supplies.
There are five categories for the iArt competition: Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6, Years 7 & 8 and Years 9 & 10. Each school may enter one piece of art for each category. For example, one piece of artwork representing the Years 5 & 6 category, not one artwork from Year 5 and one from Year 6.
The competition opens for entries on Thursday, 6 January. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday, 4 May and the shortlist will be announced later that month. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony which will take place towards the end of June.
Pupils who would like to enter this competition should submit their pieces of art and accompanying sentences directly to Mrs. Pruce or via their class teacher. Mrs. Drummond and Mrs. Pruce will judge which entries to put forward from St. Helen's College.
This might be a lovely Christmas holiday activity for the children. Good luck everyone and happy creating!
Alumni News
Don't Unleash The Beast is being shown on CITV starting on Monday (November 22nd) at 5.30 p.m. It is also available on the ITV hub afterwards. Two Old Helenians will be appearing in the show. Samir H is in the Firecracker team and his show is on Tuesday November 23rd. Vidhit N's show is appearing later - possibly Tuesday November 30th. We hope that you will watch the shows and support our Old Helenians and their teams!
Co-Curricular Activities - Spring Term
Bookings for co-curricular activities for the Spring term will open at 4.00 p.m. today. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to make your selections by the deadline of midnight on Monday 22nd November. Co-curricular club allocations will be confirmed to parents in due course and we ask that you make any payments due promptly at that point in order to confirm your child's place.
Christmas Holiday Club
Bookings open at 4.00 p.m. today for the Christmas Holiday Club, which will run from Monday 13th December to Tuesday 21st December. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your child's place.
Author Event
On Saturday 11th December from 1.00 - 3.00 p.m., bestselling children's author Lauren Child will be signing copies of her latest books, Clarice Bean: Think Like An Elf and Pippi Longstocking, at Chorleywood Bookshop. We hope that many of you will take your children along to meet the author and perhaps buy a copy of one or both of these lovely books to support them in reading for pure enjoyment! You can find full details and book tickets for the event here.
Next Week
Next Friday 3MB will be performing their class assembly. 3MB parents are welcome to join us for coffee from 8.15 a.m. and the assembly will begin at 8.40 a.m.
Also next Friday we have our November Month End Music Recital in the Evans Hall from 3.45 p.m. We hope that many parents will join us!
Accent Catering Survey
Yesterday we circulated a survey to parents of children in Nursery to Year 6, asking for your feedback about the catering service here at school. Many thanks to all of those parents who have already completed the short questionnaire. If you have not already done so, please do check your SchoolsBuddy account and complete the survey to give us your feedback. Your responses will be used to inform how we may improve the catering service even further. Pupils in Years 3 - 6 will also be asked to complete a short survey in school next week so that their views may be taken into account too.
Parents are reminded that the school menu is always available in the School Documents section of the school website here.
PA Raffle Donations
The PA will be running a raffle at the PA children's Christmas parties and would love donations from parents. If you have anything to donate, you can bring items to either Upper or Lower School where there will be collection points outside school each morning. Many thanks in advance for any prizes you are able to donate.
Posted on: 12/11/2021Weekly News - Friday 12th November 2021
Year 1 Trip - Roald Dahl Gallery
To enrich their literacy studies, Year 1 enjoyed an action packed day on Tuesday at the Roald Dahl Gallery in Aylesbury. They explored the museum and gardens looking for inspiration for their dream bottles and then became very engrossed illustrating their ideas and creating their very own dream bottle!
They also had fun investigating all the hands on exhibits within the gallery. They went inside a giant peach and used a microscope to identify numerous mini-beasts. They also had fun in Fantastic Mr. Fox's tunnel and loved pretending to fly up the shoot in Willy Wonka's Factory! The children did, however, keep away from The Chokey as none of them wanted to be put in there by Mrs. Trunchbull!
It was an amazing day and the children all agreed that they would love to go back again! We would encourage parents to take children to this wonderful place whenever the opportunity arises.
You can see lots of photographs of the trip on our Galleries page.
Year 3 Music
This term in music lessons, Year 3 are learning about Music from Western Africa. This week they enjoyed playing Djembe drums to improvise their own rhythms over an ostinato pattern.
Year 3 Maths
In Maths this week, Year 3 have been learning about perimeter. They enjoyed taking their learning outside where they measured the perimeter of different things in the playground.
Chamber Choir Performance at St. John's Smith Square
We wish the Chamber Choir well for Sunday, when they will be joining with other prep schools from across London to perform in the Children's Trust Concert at the beautiful St. John's Smith Square. Thank you to everyone who will be attending to support the choir - you are in for a treat! This is the first of many opportunities for our Chamber Choir to perform this year.
Sports News
On Wednesday our U11 netball team played against St. Mary's School and continued their winning streak, with the match ending 8-0. Both teams showed great skill and determination in some pretty awful weather as the match progressed, as well as excellent sporting attitudes. Well done, girls!
Congratulations are also due to our U11 football team who won the Reddiford Challenge Cup tournament this week and brought their trophy back to school with pride! They won three matches and drew two during the competition, which secured them the top spot from amongst six local prep schools. We are very proud of their performance.
Switch Off Fortnight
We have had a very successful start to our Switch Off Fortnight. All of the children have been very active in ensuring the lights are being turned off in their classrooms and other empty rooms, powering down their Chromebooks when not in use and making sure that teachers are turning off the overhead projectors and computers at the end of lessons. We will continue our energy saving campaign next week, when we will also be announcing which class had the most amount of switch offs and will be awarded the title of Eco Class of the week. We hope that you are all remembering to switch off at home wherever possible too.
Road Safety Week - Next Week
Next week is Road Safety Week and we ask that the children wear bright socks next Friday as part of the 'Be Bright, Be Seen' initiative. Our new Junior Travel Ambassadors (JTAs) presented an assembly on 'Road Safety Heroes' and Be Bright, Be Seen' today to inspire the children to take part in this important initiative. There is further information for parents here.
World Kindness Day
Saturday 13th November is World Kindness Day. At school we have been looking at random acts of kindness, and parents might like to do something similar at home with your children over the weekend. You can find out more information here:
https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/world-kindness-day
Mrs. Drummond's Head's Blog this week also addresses themes of kindness and happiness.
Charity
Well done to Tiya T, one of our charity representatives, who showed great initiative in writing to Lord Dolar Popat, the Prime Minister's Trade Evnvoy to Rwanda, Uganda and DRC, to let him know about the work we are currently doing at school to support Children in Need and the Royal British Legion. Tiya shared with him a poster that she had made to promote our charity efforts.
Lord Dolar Popat replied to Tiya's email to congratulate the school on its efforts and to pledge a donation to our fundraising.
Remembrance Day
Thank you to everyone who has donated to our Poppy Appeal this week. We thought that you might like to see this beautiful display, which is currently on show in the Upper School Hall.
We marked Remembrance Day yesterday with a silence at school and spoke about why we remember this day and the many men and women who gave their lives in fighting for the freedoms we enjoy today.
It is not too late for parents to donate online to the Poppy Appeal via the St. Helen's College JustGiving website if you would like to do so. The fundraising page can be accessed here.
Children in Need
Next Friday, 19th November, is Children in Need and as usual we will be supporting this very worthy charity. Children may come into school wearing Children in Need items or their own clothes, which could use the Children in Need themes of yellow or spots. You can purchase Pudsey or Blush ears and other Children in Need items at the online Children in Need shop here. We ask that parents make a donation to Children in Need so that children may wear their own clothes on Friday 19th November. You can do this via our JustGiving page here.
We will also have wristbands available for sale at school, priced at £1 each and there will also, as usual, be a raffle at all three sites with tickets on sale for £1 each. Prizes will be Blush and Pudsey bears. Please allow your child to bring some money into school next week if they would like to buy wristbands and/or raffle tickets. Our charity reps have also promoted a Pudsey competition for pupils in Years 2-6, challenging children to create a Pudsey bear using whatever medium they would like and being as creative as possible. These imagined Pudseys do not have to be yellow! Winners will be announced next week and the competition also costs £1 to enter, which will be donated to Children in Need. We hope you will support your children with their creative ideas for their Pudsey.
We thank you, as always, for your generous support.
PA Forum Meeting
The next PA Forum meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday 16th November. Thank you to parents who have sent in suggestions for discussion points. Minutes will be circulated to all parents following the meeting.
Posted on: 12/11/2021Being Happy and Kind
If you have already read this week’s newsletter you will know that this Saturday is World Kindness Day.
Much has been written about ‘happiness and kindness’ and it goes without saying that if we all showed each other more kindness we would have a much happier world.
Every day here at St. Helen’s College we see kindness demonstrated in so many ways. Staff show genuine care and kindness towards the pupils, modelling how to treat others with compassion and goodwill. We see that kindness being replicated in the children’s behaviour to each other and in acts of kindness towards the local and global community too. Children are frequently observed or overheard asking each other how they are feeling, with real care, and taking action if a child is not feeling at their happiest. Our Friendship Benches are used at playtimes: if a child finds themself with no-one to play with, they sit on one of these benches and it is only moments before another child approaches them to ensure that they are included. Our Playground Pals take specific responsibility for showing kindness to their peers in the playground and for encouraging kind and inclusive play.
Children also spot and acknowledge each other’s kindness and other values through our Value Spotters system, writing golden notes about each other’s helpfulness and other qualities. We then celebrate these acts of kindness and compassion in our assemblies to reinforce how important and meaningful they are.
Staff, parents and children show great kindness, too, through support for charitable initiatives. Earlier in the term, parents and staff made many generous donations for Harvest, which were distributed amongst those in need of food in our local community. Kindness has again been demonstrated at school this week through our fundraising for the Royal Legion’s Poppy Appeal. We have ensured that the children understand the significance of Remembrance Day, discussing the bravery and - yes - kindness of those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We have looked, too, at the kindness of those who run and support the Royal British Legion, helping veterans and their families and keeping these important memories alive so that we may all continue to feel thankful for our current freedoms. Next week, we will be supporting Children in Need and will be discussing further the importance of showing kindness to those less fortunate than ourselves: not simply through raising money, but through our own selfless acts of kindness. We can all offer to help neighbours and friends or, in other ways, bring joy to those who may not experience it often enough. For example, over the years, St. Helen’s College children have made many visits to local care/nursing homes to bring joy to the elderly with their singing or by talking to them or sending them cards or letters. During the Covid pandemic, which pushed us all to think even more about kindness to others, St. Helen’s College children created artwork to decorate a ‘rainbow room’ at a local hospital to cheer up NHS staff as they battled through what were surely the hardest weeks and months of their careers.
It is crucial that we show each other kindness as adults too, of course. As an avid supporter of the organisation ‘Action for Happiness’ I share their monthly calendars with staff. This month’s calendar is named ‘New Ways November’ and it encourages us to give thought to doing different things or doing the same things but in a different way. While I am well aware that St. Helen’s College parents are some of the kindest people around, I encourage you to take a look. Perhaps by embracing some of these tips you may find a new level of happiness and find yourself being kinder to yourselves and to others as a by-product!
The relationship between kindness and happiness is indisputable. By being kind to others, we can produce happiness for them and ourselves. Some of the greatest figures in history have acknowledged this and used it as a basis for carrying out meaningful humanitarian work. I will leave you with this quote from Mother Theresa - a wonderful maxim which we may all strive to fulfil:
‘Spread love everywhere you go. Let no-one ever come to you without leaving happier.’
Have a kind, happy weekend!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 5/11/2021Weekly News - Friday 5th November 2021
Diwali
There was great excitement around the school yesterday as the children shared their love of Diwali and how they would be celebrating with their families. It was wonderful to see the sky lit up around the Hillingdon area. Today, Mrs. Raikmo and Mrs. Daheley visited us to present to the Upper School children in assembly, along with Aanya P, Riya B and Diya B. They shared this short video with us, which you might like to watch at home. We all enjoyed listening to their presentations and learning more about Diwali.
If you are visiting a fireworks display this weekend, please keep safety in mind and enjoy the celebrations for Diwali and Bonfire Night!
Niji's Dream
Children in Years 2-6 enjoyed hearing from Mr. Roche, our Head of English, in assembly on Monday about how he came to write his beautiful children's book, Niji's Dream, which has recently been published. This hardback book is filled with gorgeous illustrations and a special message about how we can bring colour to our world. Signed copies are available for children to buy - if you would like to order one, please send in £7.99 cash in an envelope clearly marked with your child's name and class, or make an online payment to the following account, using your child's name and class as your payment reference:
Sort code: 110367
Account number: 11587268
Account name: Mr Steve Davis
Thank you for your support and happy reading!
Ed Sheeran Reads For CBeebies
Tonight at 6.50 p.m., singer Ed Sheeran will be reading a story for CBeebies which will focus on stuttering and how he overcame this as a child. Full details are here and the programme will be available on BBC iplayer too. We do hope you will be able to watch this!
PA Welcome Event
The Parents' Association are hosting a Welcome Event for families who are new to the school this Saturday, 6th November, from 12 - 2 p.m. in the Evans Hall. If you are a family who joined the school in September, please do come along to meet the PA representatives and other new families.
PA Forum Meeting - November 16th
The next PA Forum meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday 16th November. If you would like to raise any points for discussion, please send these to your PA class rep by Tuesday 9th November. Class representatives should collate the issues they receive and send these by email to Mrs. Smith (susmith@sthelenscollege.com) by Friday 12th November. Minutes will be circulated to all parents following the meeting.
Time To Talk With Mrs. Brooker
We are very lucky at St. Helen's College to have Mrs. Brooker on our staff. Mrs. Brooker is a qualified counsellor and an accredited member of the British Association of Counsellors & Psychotherapists (BACP). Mrs. Brooker provides a service called 'Time to Talk' at Upper School, when children can spend time with her to play, talk and share their thoughts and feelings. Sessions are held at the Upper School in a safe and confidential space. These are available to all St. Helen's College children and can be accessed via the class teacher or requested by parents. Children may also self-refer by catching Mrs. Brooker at school or by putting a note into the Time to Talk red letterbox in the school hall.
It might be a good idea for your child to consider some counselling support if one or more of the following applies:
they need a private and confidential space to share thoughts and feelings with a professional counsellor who is trained to understand young people;
they are overwhelmed with worries, anxieties or depressive thoughts and feelings;
they find it difficult to manage anger or other big emotions, and it is affecting their capacity to think clearly and learn;
they are struggling with any issues relating to school, friends or family;
they are troubled by self-doubt;
they have experienced loss;
they are not being very kind to themself.
If you would like to find out more about the counselling services offered at St. Helen's College, please speak with your child's class teacher or email Mrs. Brooker directly at jbrooker@sthelenscollege.com.
Free Asthma Workshop
The Hillingdon Asthma Team will soon be running another free workshop for parents to educate about Asthma and all we can be doing to support children who suffer. The workshop will take place via Zoom on December 6th from 4-5 p.m. You need to register in advance if you would like to attend. Full details are available here.
Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal
Next week, our pupil Charity Reps will be selling poppies in the gazebo at Upper School in the morning before school and at break times to support the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal. Parents may also purchase poppies when dropping off at the gate at either Upper or Lower School, or you can send money into school with your child so that they may purchase one here in school. You may also make cashless donations online to support the appeal at our JustGiving page here.
Children in Need
Children in Need is on Friday 19th November this year and as usual we will be supporting this very worthy charity. Children may come into school wearing Children in Need items or their own clothes, which could use the Children in Need themes of yellow or spots. You can purchase Pudsey or Blush ears and other Children in Need items at the online Children in Need shop here. We ask that parents make a donation to Children in Need so that children may wear their own clothes on Friday 19th November. You can do this via our JustGiving page here.
Diyan C, one of our Charity Reps, has written this to explain more about Children in Need:
Children In Need is a charity that helps children all over the United Kingdom to make sure all children have a safe, happy and healthy childhood. The first official Children In Need was originally created as a 5 minute radio broadcast on Christmas day in 1927. The first televised broadcast of Children In Need was on the BBC in 1980. Since Children In Need was created, they have raised £600,000,000 to help children in the UK.
Fun Fact: Did you know that the well-known yellow Children in Need mascot, Pudsey, was originally brown!
Switch Off Fortnight
Next week will see St. Helen's College, led by the Eco Team, take part in Switch Off Fortnight. Switch Off Fortnight is a campaign that will encourage everyone at school to become interested in saving energy and cutting their carbon footprint. This year, our hugely popular energy-saving crusade will coincide with COP26 – the UN convention on climate change – which is taking place in the UK for the first time. Not only will we make savings at school but we would like to encourage everyone to take the switch off challenge home, where we hope to inspire our families to take part in saving energy too. The more people involved, the greater the energy savings will be, which in turn will help our environment. The Eco Team will kick start Switch Off Fortnight during Monday's assembly and it will last from Monday 8th November until Friday 20th November. Throughout the fortnight the Eco Team will carry out several audits to see how many lights and appliances have been left on in their classrooms. The class who saves the most energy will be awarded Eco Class of the week. One small click can make a big difference, so happy energy saving everyone!
Recycle to Read
The Eco Team would like to send a big thank you to everyone who donated old toys and electrical items for the 'Recycle to Read' campaign last half term. The items have been boxed and collected and we will shortly know how much we will receive in order to purchase books from Collins Publishers. We will keep you updated with our exciting new books.
Staff Ultra Marathon!
At the beginning of half term, Miss Rackham and Mrs. Rooney took part in a 50km Ultra marathon.
It started at Moors Valley Country Park and finished at Hengistbury Head, Dorset. The route was amazing, following a disused railway line into Poole, then through the town and along the promenade. Miss Rackham and Mrs. Rooney were very lucky to have a super day of weather for the event and they both thoroughly enjoyed it! Congratulations to both runners.
Magic of Illustration at Heath Robinson Museum
At the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner, there is currently an excellent exhibition of the original illustrations of Winnie and Wilbur and other much loved characters, which includes a unique insight into the inner workings of their illustrator Korky Paul, a very popular children's book illustrator. We encourage you to take your children along to see this super exhibition if you get a chance.
PA Christmas Parties
The PA Christmas parties will take place on Sunday 28th November at the Yiewsley and West Drayton Community Centre. Please save the date! Further details can be seen here.
The PA will be running a raffle at the Christmas parties and would love donations from parents. If you have anything to donate, you can bring items to either Upper or Lower School where there will be collection points outside school each morning. Many thanks in advance for any prizes you are able to donate.
Christmas Gift Ideas
If you are looking for ideas for a Christmas gift for your child, you might like to think of a magazine subscription for them to encourage reading and widen their general knowledge. Magazine.co.uk have a wide range of fun and educational magazines to keep children entertained and engaged, including Eco Kids Planet, Science and Nature, National Geographic Kids, The Week Jr and First News.
Regular reading will help to improve your child's literacy, reduce their screen time, develop a love of reading for pleasure and help them to discover the wider world.
This Christmas, Magazine.co.uk are offering an extra £2.50 off magazine subscriptions: simply use the code XMASBZT at checkout.
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