School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 10/09/2021Weekly News - Friday 10th September 2021
Year 2 Coffee Morning
The Evans Hall was buzzing yesterday as we welcomed our Year 2 parents to Upper School for a coffee morning. We are delighted that your children are all settling well at the Upper School and that they have all enjoyed the first full week of life in Year 2!
Meet the Teacher Evenings
It was wonderful to see so many Year 3 and Year 6 parents at our Meet the Teachers Evenings and we look forward to seeing the Year 4 and Year 5 parents next week.
At all the meetings we have shared information on pupil wellbeing and how we can all work together to support the children. Mrs. Brooker, our school counsellor, is available to all our Upper School pupils and parents can request for their children to have time with her via their form teacher. Pupils in Upper School can also self refer and pop a 'Time to Talk' note into Mrs. Brooker's mail box in the school hall.
We also have very good associations with external agencies and we shared details of The Parent Practice and Parental EQ.
More information on the Positive Parenting Coaching and E-Courses from the Parent Practice can be found at www.theparentpractice.com.
The ParentalEQ app can also be downloaded from your mobile device: https://parentaleq.com/get-the-app/ or by accessing their website: https://parentaleq.com/
If you do subscribe to ParentalEQ, please ensure that you choose St. Helen's College on the drop down menu as we are an affiliated school.
The St. Helen's College Trust
The St. Helen’s College Trust is a newly established charitable fund which exists to promote the advancement of education in the Hillingdon/Uxbridge local community.
Its aims are to:
provide, enrich and extend educational opportunities for children from birth to age 11, and
provide support, advice and guidance for their parents.
There are many ways in which St. Helen’s College parents can support the Trust.
You can donate unwanted textiles to our textile bank outside 227 Long Lane, which will be recycled and for which we receive a small payment.
You can make donations when invited to at school events e.g. performances.
You might like to donate part or all of your deposit to the Trust when your child leaves the school.
You can sign up to EasyFundraising and raise money for the Trust at absolutely no cost to yourself when you shop online with over 4000 retailers.
EasyFundraising donations really mount up and make a BIG difference, so we’d really appreciate it if you would sign up and support us. It’s completely FREE and only takes a moment. You can download the EasyFundraising app and use that – it’s so easy.
You can find our EasyFundraising page at:
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/sthelencoldevfund/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_content=gs-e1
If you need any help at all in getting set up with EasyFundraising, please contact Mrs. Smith at susmith@sthelenscollege.com. Friends and family are most welcome to sign up too!
STEAM Day 2021!
We will be holding our next STEAM Day for pupils from Ducklings to Year 6 on Wednesday 29th September 2021.
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) days are becoming increasingly popular and have been hugely successful at St. Helen's College in the past. Sessions held have included building air powered cars, constructing a bridge to take an adult's weight, solving complex maths problems and making music from found materials.
We would be delighted to hear from any parents in the Upper School who are able to offer a workshop activity. Please can you contact Mr. Harrington at lharrington@sthelenscollege.com outlining what you would be able to offer, what age group it may be suitable for and if you would be available for the full day or part of the day. If you are interested please can you respond by Monday 13th September. If you have any questions about the day please feel free to contact Mr. Harrington.
At Lower School, workshops will be delivered by familiar staff as the children are so recently settled or re-settled into their new environment.
Library
At Upper School, our new Year 2 and Year 3 pupils really enjoyed their first visit to the library! The librarians commented on how engaged and enthusiastic the children were. We hope that they will make full use of the library throughout their time at Upper School - readers are the best learners, after all.
PA Donation - Reading Chairs
There was great excitement at Lower School and Upper School this week when the children received some beautiful reading chairs and benches which will enrich the children's outdoor learning spaces. Thank you to the St. Helen's College Parents' Association for the generous donations which are very much being enjoyed.
Alumni News
We are delighted to share the news that Sahar M, an Old Helenian, has achieved 3 A* grades in her A levels and will shortly be taking up a place at Cambridge to read Human and Social Politics. Sahar was Head Girl at St. Helen's College and will always be fondly remembered by pupils and staff here, not least for her excellent rendition of 'Albert and the Lion', which won her the Speech Competition during her time at Upper School! We wish her all the best in her new adventure at university.
If any of our current parents are alumni or you know of alumni, please do encourage them to join our alumni community by emailing oldhelenians@sthelenscollege.com.
Ducklings and Nursery Entry - September 2022
If you have a son or daughter who is eligible by age for entry into Ducklings or Nursery next September, and you have not yet registered them with the school, please do so as soon as possible. The entry process for these classes will begin shortly. You can register online here.
Teddy Talks
On Monday, we filmed our next set of six Teddy Talks. These talks, aimed at parents of very young (pre-school) children, offer support and guidance on topics of interest. We are delighted that Soula, our chef, has spoken about pre-school feeding/eating, Mr. Harrington has spoken about how to manage the arrival of a sibling, Mrs. Fawbert has recorded a talk on pre-school music, Mrs. Brooker has spoken about helping very young children to regulate their emotions, Mrs. Drummond has offered advice on managing the use of digital devices with pre-schoolers, and Mr. Roche has spoken about the importance of how to make time for ourselves as parents. These new talks will soon become available via our website and on Youtube. In the meantime, if you have not already watched the previous set of six talks, we thoroughly recommend watching them. You can find them here.
If there are any other topics on which you feel advice would be useful for parents, please do let us know by emailing Mrs. Smith at susmith@sthelenscollege.com. We are keen to continue adding to this bank of talks as we know from feedback how useful parents are finding them.
Mother/Baby Mindfulness Classes
Mrs. McLaughlin's Mother/Baby Mindfulness Classes have now begun! These are taking place in the Evans Hall on Wednesday mornings at 9.00 a.m., in six weekly blocks. Our first mothers and babies clearly enjoyed their first class this week. The classes are suitable for mothers of babies aged from six weeks to crawling. They include a mix of mindfulness practice and yoga for mums, and are aimed at supporting mums to support their babies. If you have a baby of the right age for our next set of classes, which will begin after the October half term, or have any friends or family with babies of the right age, please contact Mrs. Smith to sign up at susmith@sthelenscollege.com. The classes are completely free of charge and are open to anyone, whether their child is registered at St. Helen's College or not.
We are planning to expand our programme of pre-school classes for babies and toddlers so watch this space for more information!
PA Welcome Event, Ducklings Uniform Sale and Class Representatives
The Parents' Association will be holding a Welcome Event for families who are new to the school on Saturday 25th September from 12 - 2 p.m. in the Evans Hall at Upper School. We hope that many new families will be able to join them for a warm welcome to the St. Helen's College community!
The PA will be holding a second hand uniform stall for Duckings children on Thursday 16th September from 2.45 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. in the Ducklings Garden. Come and grab a bargain - we look forward to seeing you there!
The PA have vacancies for class representatives for Duckings, 5G and 6R. If you are a parent of a child in one of these classes, and would like to find out more or put your name forward, please contact the PA at pa@sthelenscollege.com.
Co-Curricular Activities
Confirmations of co-curricular activity allocations have now been sent to parents. Please make prompt payment of any fees due via your SchoolsBuddy account. Any queries concerning co-curricular activities or the programme should be addressed to Mr. Harrington, our new Director of Co-Curriculum, at lharrington@sthelenscollege.com.
'School at Work' Open Morning - Wednesday 13th October
We are thrilled that we will once again be able to welcome prospective parents into school for an Open Morning on Wednesday 13th October. Visits on this day will be by appointment only to manage the flow of visitors around the school and we know that our Year 6 children are eagerly looking forward to hosting their first tours of the school! If you have any friends or family with children who would be eligible to join Ducklings or Nursery in September 2022 or thereafter, please do encourage them to book in for a tour on this day. It really is a lovely experience to enjoy a tour conducted by our pupils! They can book in by telephoning the school office on 01895 234371 or by emailing Mrs. Smith at susmith@sthelenscollege.com.
Parking, Drop Off and Pick Up Regulations
We would like to remind all parents that it is crucial that you adhere to the school's parking, drop off and pick up regulations. In particular, please do not block neighbours' driveways on Long Lane, Parkway or in any surrounding streets. We work very hard to establish and maintain good relationships with our neighbours and the local community, and expect parents to support us in this. On Parkway, if you are using drop and go or pick up and go, please do not queue if there are more than three cars in front of you; if so, please drive to the car park and park so that you do not cause congestion along the street.
We thank parents, as always, for your support.
Snacks
We would also like to remind parents that snacks must not contain nuts. We ask that you follow the school's Healthy Eating Policy when choosing snacks. Suitable snacks are fruit or vegetables, or plain biscuits.
Posted on: 10/09/2021Why Art? By Mrs. Pruce
“Every child is an artist”, said Pablo Picasso, and I know he’s right.
My second year at St. Helen's College is now underway and what a first year it was! Yet, throughout the turmoil of Covid, our art work has held the classes together, united us in our new joy for the subject and had us chuckling during online lessons (especially when dressed as royalty in crowns and tiaras with Year 2).
Art is all around us, not just in galleries but on TV, packaging, book covers, graphic design, the restaurant industry and stage and film to name a few. The career options are numerous and it is a subject to be taken seriously.
The subject of art dates back thousands of years, all around the world, and allows us to know what we now know about history. From cave paintings to Henry Moore’s chalk work on the shelters during the war and Banksy’s political graffiti. Without these we can only guess at what has really happened.
In itself, art can be a way of communication to express ourselves, healing our souls when troubled or telling a story. Art can be an experience to share our thoughts and feelings or just to while away time.
For me personally, art has been something that I have only had the courage to embrace in the last 15 years or so. I say courage as I was the child at school who was too tall, stuck out like a sore thumb and went easily red faced when the art teacher told me that it wasn’t my best subject; it crushed all creativity I had for many years.
I promised myself that no child in my class would ever be made to feel this way about their own talents. The introduction of new skills at St. Helen's College has proven that Picasso was right. The child that can draw superbly may not be the best painter; the painter may not be the best sculptor, who in turn may not be the best print maker; but they are all good at something and seeing that realisation dawn on their faces is what drives me on.
As teachers we have a role to play in encouraging our students, focussing on the good and inspiring in them the confidence to try. FAIL is the First Attempt In Learning and even as adults we are - and should be - still always learning.
As adults we have a lot to learn from our children, in school and at home. The artistic response to the pandemic blew my mind. The explanations given as to why the children drew what they drew were clear, simplistic and openly honest. Arya A with her “Rainbow Tree” and Riya C with “Breakout” were stunning examples that gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. Have you ever been reduced to tears by art in any form - perhaps poetry, music or a piece of writing? Seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time from far away actually made me cry, not an emotion I expected to feel at all over a building.
The use of sketchpads at St. Helen's College has been changing, and is changing further this school year. The desire to scribble out something not liked is natural but also pointless, since we need to see our failures to perfect our abilities. In the book 'The Dot', Peter H Reynolds shows us the power of one single adult's actions to change a child's life. “The book shows the importance of teacher-student relationships, and our connections as human beings. It shows how creative thinking on the part of a teacher can unlock a child's own creativity, confidence, and growth.”
So, however old you are, don’t forget that the child you were has now grown up. I encourage you all to go and enjoy whatever art form you would love to explore the most, and remember… in art you are never wrong.
Mrs. Pruce
Posted on: 3/09/2021Psychological Safety
It has been wonderful to welcome so many new children to St. Helen’s College this week and I have been in awe of how well our new Ducklings and Nursery children are settling into their new environment. Our other new pupils across the school have started forging new friendships and across all three school sites there has been such genuine care and love shared by all.
It never ceases to move me at the beginning of a school year when I observe the staff with their new classes, the children with each other and every member of our community coming together to make sure that everyone is happy, settled and ready for the new year ahead.
There has been a lot written about, and much research conducted on ‘psychological safety’ and the relationship between psychological safety at school and pupil well-being. When the psychological safety of teachers is high, so too is students’ well-being - they demonstrate increased levels of self-confidence, which in turn leads to enhanced pupil development.
I am proud to be part of such a caring community where everyone (pupils and staff) feel safe, respected and comfortable to be themselves, they are not afraid to take risks, are not afraid of failure and are accepting of feedback.
Amy Edmonson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, is well known for her work on teams and in one of her Ted Talks here she discusses 3 things we can do to build a psychologically safe workplace:
1. frame the work as a learning problem, not an execution problem
2. acknowledge your own fallibility
3. model curiosity
I would hope that every member of the staff at St. Helen’s College feels that they are ‘championed’ in the workplace for what they do. Mr. and Mrs. Crehan as our School Principals and myself as Headteacher are incredibly fortunate to have such a committed team who continuously give their best for the good of your children.
As a learning community the children learn best from their role models and these role models are the adults they are surrounded by both at home and at school.
Our staff are also continuous learners, taking risks, learning new skills and embracing the challenges which new learning brings. Our ongoing continuous professional learning at St. Helen’s College is quite outstanding. A snapshot of this is the commitment from staff such as Mrs. Reid, as she embarks upon her PGCE teacher training year, Mrs. Smith (Director of Communications/Admissions) as she commences an MFA in Creative Writing, our Reverend Smith who is training to be a School Chaplain, Mrs. Ross who has just been awarded her BA in Early Years Education and Mrs. Gilbey who has recently been awarded her L3 in Supporting Teaching and Learning. Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Smith have just trained as our Wellbeing Champions to support staff Mental Health and I myself am embarking upon my second year of an MA in Educational Leadership and Management. Why we all do this additional learning is because we do feel psychologically safe in our workplaces, we want to be the best role models we can and continue to strive to be the best we can.
However, it is not only in taking certified courses that we as adults continue our learning journey. The staff embrace learning on a daily, weekly, termly basis - as they continue to hone their skills, taking on board new educational research and pedagogy, introducing new software to enhance pupil learning and of course learning from each other and your children.
It is evident that the ‘psychological safety’ of our staff is high and this in turn has a significant impact on the relationships which your children form at school and the love that they have for learning.
This week we have seen the youngest members of our community take their first steps in becoming members of St. Helen’s College - our new Ducklings and Nursery children - as they left their first settling in session. I was warmed by the feedback from parents as they collected their happy, curious and excited children.
To all our families, new and current, to all our staff, new and current, thank you for making our community such a caring and safe environment where we can all flourish and grow!
Here’s to a superb new academic year!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 9/07/2021Weekly News - Friday 9th July 2021
Prizegiving
We enjoyed a marvellous Prizegiving Ceremony with our Year 6 leavers and parents at school yesterday evening. While this was not our usual September Prizegiving format, the evening was a huge success and it was very special to be able to celebrate the many, varied and frankly astonishing achievements of this wonderful cohort of pupils. Miss Linda Beckett, St. Helen's College Governor and Chair of our Education Committee, attended as our Guest of Honour and gave an inspiring speech which will stay with us all for years to come. Our Head Boy and Girl gave a heartfelt vote of thanks to round off their time in their positions of responsibility and we would like to thank Jena and Zail, along with their deputies Maya and Samir, for being an excellent Pupil Leadership Team this year. We were also able to pay tribute to one of our parents, Ms Jamani, who leaves the school this week after very, very many years as a St. Helen's College parent and several years as Chair of the Parents' Association. Thank you to all those involved in organising and running this event, and to all the Year 6 parents who attended to celebrate the children's successes and personal qualities.
New Pupil Leadership Team
We are delighted to announce our new pupil leadership team for the academic year 2021-2022.
Our Head Girl will be Shruthi T
Our Head Boy will be Eshan N
Our Deputy Head Girl will be Layla O
Our Deputy Head Boy will be Sahib N
Other Year 6 positions of responsibility, including House Captains and Sports Captains, will be decided upon and announced at the start of the new academic year.
St. Helen's College Voice 2020-2021
This year's school magazine, St. Helen's College Voice, has been published digitally today and is available here. We hope that you will enjoy looking through this with your children, celebrating their work and perhaps looking forward to the sorts of things they will be doing when they join their new year group from September.
We also hope that the Year 6 parents are enjoying the beautiful Leavers' Yearbooks which the school has produced and gifted to the Year 6 children as an everlasting memory of their journey with us.
Farewell Miss Walker
Today, Miss Walker leaves St. Helen's College after an amazing 27 years of dedicated service. On Monday, the London Borough of Hillingdon STARS Team made a surprise visit to our online assembly to thank Miss Walker for all that she has done over the years to promote sustainable travel and road safety for our pupils, staff and parents, and for the wider community. They spoke with passion about her dedication to these causes, and noted the many changes that she has driven through during her time at St. Helen's College, including Walk on Wednesday, the parent parking pledge, the walking loyalty scheme, increased bike/scooter storage, The Big Pedal and many more. Miss Walker introduced Junior Road Safety Officers here at St. Helen's College and, as she said to the pupils on Monday, she is hopeful that the school's excellent work in this area will continue, with the pupils at the heart of it.
Goodbye, Miss Walker, and good luck in your new role. You have been a wonderful teacher and ambassador of St. Helen's College and you will be greatly missed. We know that you will remain in the family and look forward to seeing you at many future St. Helen's College events.
Please read Miss Walker's Farewell Blog here.
Year 6 Projects
Our Year 6 children have been working independently this term on their final projects and the rest of the Upper School children had a chance to view these on Wednesday. Parents are able to view them too - simply ask your child to log on to the school system and show you the projects!
Year 6 Heart and Lung Dissection
Year 6 children have been studying ‘healthy bodies’ in science. They have learned what it means to have a healthy and balanced diet, the deficiency of vitamins that may lead to diseases like scurvy, the effect of exercise on the heart and circulation, and the effect of legal drugs in the form of alcohol, medicines and tobacco.
A crucial part of their learning is the understanding of how nutrients and oxygen get transported around the body, enabling energy to be used for life processes. The heart is the central part of this system, so in order to gain a deeper understanding and have a ‘hands-on’ experience, they undertook a dissection activity using lamb heart and lungs. They had a close observation on the structure and texture of lungs, and they cut through the windpipe that led to bronchioles and air sacs where the exchange of gases takes place. They were most fascinated by the heart with its chambers and connecting blood vessels. They identified the right and left ventricles and atria, and could explain which part had oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. They enjoyed making connections as to how the section of the heart they were cutting formed part of the pathway of the whole circulatory system that they had previously studied.
The activity left most of them curious, satisfied, knowledgeable, happy and buzzing learners. Hands on science is the best type of all!
ABRSM Music Examinations
Congratulations to all of our musicians who have been busy preparing for and taking music examinations this term. The following pupils were entered and results are shown where they are known - some children are still awaiting news of their result.
Y1
Aria M
Violin
Initial
Merit
2B
Simar
Violin
Grade 1
Pass
3B
Viren
Piano
Grade 3
Pass
Emily
Violin
Grade 2
Pass
4L
Minaya
Piano
Grade 5
Merit
Arshia
Piano
Grade 2
Merit
5A
Rivan
Guitar
Grade 2
Merit
Zach
Piano
Grade 8
Distinction
Zach
Violin
Grade 5
Merit
Chamber Choir
Well done to everyone who submitted video auditions for Chamber Choir. The standard of auditions was very high again this year! There are limited spaces available and the following seven pupils have been chosen to join in September 2021:
Natalia C
Aanya B
Amber P
Samara P
Hana H
Ruby L
Grace O'H
The Chamber Choir will be performing at the St. John's Smith Square Children's Trust charity concert on Sunday 14th November - please add the date to your diary now as this is always a very special occasion!
Year 4-6 Talent Assembly
On Monday we were treated to a marvellous special assembly during which children from Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 sang, delivered some improvisation comedy, danced, played a variety of instruments and more! The children really are so talented and it was amazing to be able to share their interests with them. Well done to all those involved.
Tennis Finals
Many congratulations to the winners of our annual tennis finals! As always, the competition was tough and every child had to play to their very best. We all really enjoyed watching them play. The year group winners were:
Year 3 boys - Sean R
Year 3 girls - Hana H
Year 4 boys - Xavier B
Year 4 girls - Arshia S
Year 5 boys - Luka K
Year 5 girls - Anjika G
Year 6 boys - Samir H
Year 6 girls - Amar C
Music Personality of the Term
Congratulations to Jessica L, who has been named the Music Personality of the Term. Jessica has always worked conscientiously and demonstrated enormous enthusiasm, over several years, in all aspects of music at St. Helen’s College. She has excellent music skills and applies and shares creative ideas successfully in class work. She is a member of the Senior Choir and Chamber Choir, and is an excellent role model within the music department as a music prefect.
Jessica regularly performs at assemblies, recitals and outside of school. As well as playing the ukulele, she also plays the piano and the clarinet and sings! She has exceptional musical talent, and is working on Grade 3 exams on the piano, the clarinet, and singing. Her melodious singing voice also helped her to gain the part of Nala in the Year 6 production of The Lion King this year, and her performance was first class.
Very well done, Jessica!
Sports Personality of the Term
Amar C has been named the Sports Personality of the Term for the summer term. Speaking about her, the Sports Captains noted that Amar has been an amazing role model to everyone and always tries her best, showing sportsmanship, kindness and perseverance in every sport. Amar always strives for excellence and always achieve it.
Amar has taken part in all the tennis tournaments from Year 3. She was in the District Sports team and also in the netball team in Year 5. When times get tough for other people or they think they’re doing poorly, Amar will support them and make them persevere to achieve their personal best.
Amar got 5 rosettes and won the Year 6 tennis tournament for girls. She also did really well during the staff v. pupils rounders game.
Congratulations, Amar!
Staff v. Pupil Rounders!
Wednesday afternoon saw our Year 6 children take on the staff in the annual Staff v. Pupils rounders matches. There were three teams of children and we are delighted to report that the staff team won all three matches. The Year 5 children might want to get practising over the summer so that they can take their revenge on the staff next summer!
Teacher for the Day
The Year 6 children had great fun on Thursday as they stepped into the teachers' shoes for the day and did our work for us! You can see photographs of them enjoying their time as staff on the Galleries page.
Reverend Sarah Smith
Many congratulations to Mrs. Smith (Year 3) who was ordained last weekend in Oxford. We are so proud of her and feel so lucky now to have a Reverend on our staff!
Mrs. Smith gave a short sermon at our Year 2-6 Final Assembly today and we know she will continue to inspire the children here with her faith as time goes on.
Cancer Research UK Fundraising
Many thanks to all those parents who have already generously made donations in support of Cancer Research UK. The link is still open so if you have not already donated and would like to do so, you can still donate by clicking here.
News from the PA
Second Hand Uniform Stall
The PA will be holding a second hand uniform stall in the school car park on Parkway towards the end of the summer break. If you are picking up from Holiday Club or just want to pop along to see what bargains you can pick up, the stall will be open from 12 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday 17 August 2021 and Friday 20 August 2021. This will still give you plenty of time to get along to Pullens if you aren't able to get all of the bits that you need from the stall.
Charity Cake Stall
On Tuesday 17 August 2021, alongside the uniform stall, Grace O (3M/4L) will be selling a range of delectable homemade treats, including cakes and biscuits. All items will be individually packaged and all money raised will go to Cancer Research UK. If you can, please do show your support and get yourself a little treat at the same time.
PA Class Representatives 2021-2022
We still need volunteers for class reps for: Robins Nursery, 1R, 5G and 6R. Please contact pa@sthelenscollege.com if you would like to find out more about being a class rep or to volunteer.
Year 6 Leavers
The PA were delighted to gift leavers' hoodies and individually wrapped St. Helen's College cupcakes to all of our Year 6 leavers. We wish them all well as they embark upon the next stage of their adventures!
Summer Reading Challenge
Hillingdon Libraries will be launching the Summer Reading Challenge this Saturday 10th July through to the start of September 2021. The theme this year is Wild World Heroes, focussing on nature, conservation, and the environment.
Hillingdon library staff have helped to create an engaging and exciting video to help promote this year's challenge. Here is the link to Hillingdon Libraries Youtube channel for the video- https://youtu.be/_3ZXkfSKYKA
We hope that many children will take part - don't forget that reading is the foundation for success in primary education and beyond, so it is important to keep it up over the summer!
English Writing Skills - Holiday Workshops
For those parents wishing to enhance their children’s English writing skills over the summer, please see the links below:
https://www.chelseayoungwriters.co.uk/creative-writing/holiday-programmes/courses-and-workshops/my-first-story-workshops
https://www.storyroom.co.uk/holiday-workshops/
There are very few workshops available this summer, but there are plenty of writing opportunities that can be undertaken at home. Keeping a diary is a great way to ensure regular writing and reflection, and the world around us can stimulate ideas for poetry and story writing. Creative writing is a wonderful method of self expression, so a pen, pad and imagination is a great place to start.
Summer Tennis Camps
Miss Walker and Mr. Stidder are, as usual, running tennis camps over the summer. You can find the details here and here. This is a great way to stay active and keep busy so we hope many of you will sign up!
Virtual Open Morning - September
Our next online Open Morning will take place on Friday 24th September at 10.00 a.m. If you, or any family and friends, have a son or daughter eligible for entry to Ducklings, Nursery or Reception in September 2022, September 2023 or September 2024, please do register/encourage them to register to attend. The registration link is here.
Next Academic Year
Calendar
The school calendar has been updated with dates for the autumn term. Please do check it and make a note of significant dates. STEAM Day will be taking place on Wednesday 29th September and parents may be invited to offer workshops as usual - look out for an email about this!
Uniform & Equipment
If you have not already done so, please check the Uniform & Equipment list on the School Documents page of the website so that you can ensure that your child has all that they will need for their next year group.
Funtasia/Breakfast Club Bookings
Bookings for wraparound care for the Autumn term will open on the first day of term, 2nd September, very early in the morning. Breakfast Club and After School Club will be available as usual and, as ever, we ask that you book as far in advance as you can, wherever possible, as this is so helpful for us when planning staffing, catering and other logistics.
Co-Curricular Arrangements and Bookings
We are currently finalising the co-curricular programme for the Autumn term. Bookings will open soon after the start of the term and we will send a reminder at that time to ask you to make your choices. Clubs are being planned to start from the week beginning Monday 13th September.
Autumn Term Menu
The menu for the autumn term has been published to the School Documents page. Please do take a look at it with your child ahead of the new academic year to help them to make sensible choices.
Snacks
When sending in snacks for break times, please follow the school rules and send fruit, vegetables or plain biscuits in a named snack box. In exceptional circumstances, if your child is getting very hungry or needs a second snack for after school before a club, you may send a plain sandwich (cheese, ham or similar). No high fat, high sugar or high salt foods are permitted and please do not send anything messy!
Individual Instrumental and Vocal Tuition
Please note that, from January 2022, fees for individual instrumental and vocal tuition will increase as follows:
30 minute lesson (Upper School): £22.50
20 minute lesson (Lower School): £14.50
Parents are reminded that a term's notice is required if you would like your child to stop receiving individual instrumental or vocal tuition. Notice should be emailed to Mrs. Fawbert at cfawbert@sthelenscollege.com.
FREE Pause Mother and Baby Mindfulness Classes
Starting from Wednesday 8th September, we will be running FREE Mother and Baby Mindfulness Classes at St. Helen's College for babies aged from 3 months to crawling (no crawlers allowed). If you, or any of your friends and family, have a baby who will be the right age, and you would like to attend, simply email susmith@sthelenscollege.com with your full name, baby's name and date of birth to book your place.
The classes, led by Mrs. McLaughlin, will run at 9 a.m. on Wednesday mornings, in the Evans Hall at Upper School, and there are six classes in each course. These classes will give an opportunity for mothers and babies to bond and enjoy mindful time together, and will include techniques such as mindful breathing, yoga and massage.
Posted on: 9/07/2021Farewell to St. Helen's College by Miss Walker
I had been putting off writing my farewell blog; I knew it would be very difficult to write as I am truly sad to be leaving a place that has meant so very much to me and my family over the past 27 years. But as I settled myself down, with a glass of wine in hand, to go down memory lane, I received the devastating news that I would have to self isolate in the final week of term. It has been completely heartbreaking not to be able to be with my school family in my final week and to say the goodbyes and thank yous I wanted to say in person to so many colleagues, parents and pupils. However, working from home this last week has given me more time to reflect on my time at St. Helen’s College and to focus on the happy memories which will fill my heart forever.
My St. Helen’s College journey began in 1994 when I joined the school as a fresh faced graduate and new mum with a nine month old daughter to teach PE part time. Things were certainly different back then: I was the only female staff member permitted to wear trousers, in the form of a very fetching brightly coloured 1990’s shell tracksuit, and the only sports pupils played were football and cricket for boys and rounders and netball for girls. The Upper School playground was the size of one third of the existing netball court and a scaled down netball court was marked out and the rest of the outside area behind Cambria was a grassed old orchard. It took my best persuasive powers to convince Mr. and Mrs. Crehan to make the playground bigger in 2004 so that pupils could benefit from more play space and better sports facilities. When I started at the school, PE was led by Mrs. Bryant and Miss Cooper (1C teacher) and her older sister Sarah were in the Y5 and 6 netball team, so it seems fitting that I will be handing on the baton to Miss Cooper to run the Y5 and 6 netball team next year.
I became Head of PE in 1996 and working afternoons gave me the opportunity to balance family life whilst developing my teaching career and growing a tennis coaching business alongside Mr. Stidder. In fact, Mr. Stidder has been associated with St. Helen’s College for longer than me, providing tennis coaching at the school since 1992! I continued to work part time as my family grew with the arrival of my son in 1998. Subsequently both my children joined the school in Nursery, then called Rainbows and Sunshines, and they both went through the school, taught by Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. Allery, Mrs. Belvoir and Mrs. Stark amongst others. In recent years, since graduating, my daughter has come back to work at the school from time to time too. So I hope this gives you a sense of how my family has been so closely linked to the St. Helen’s College family over the years.
Throughout the early 2000s I ran a successful Ofsted registered morning pre-school in The Pavillion in Court Park and many children from here progressed to join St. Helen’s College where I continued to teach them. Perhaps this was the inspiration for our very own Ducklings Kindergarten? By 2008 I was teaching full time at the school and became subject leader for geography and took on a shared form tutor role with Ms Turner. In 2010 I was invited to join the Senior Leadership Team as Director of Co-curriculum, a role I have thoroughly enjoyed.
The school has changed immeasurably over the past 27 years, expanding to two form entry, relocating Lower School from All Saints Church to its present site, and adding a science block, art studio and refectory. The PE shed, which used to be my office too, has been moved three times! I am immensely proud of the many developments I have been responsible for introducing during my time at the school. These have included expanding the day and residential visit programme, the introduction of an overnight sleepover visit for Y3 and extending the Y5 visit from a weekend trip to a week. I have also led and encouraged outdoor learning to take place to spark pupils’ curiosity, deepen their understanding, and improve their sense of well-being. I introduced swimming to the curriculum and established more opportunities for pupils to compete with local state schools and independent schools. I am proud of developing a modern, future facing geography curriculum which encourages an awareness of the issues of climate change and develops tangible skills for pupils to build upon in the future, and of introducing an extensive co-curriculum clubs programme across a range of creative, aesthetic, sporting and academic fields. Yet it is the positive impact the progressive Heartstart first aid training programme for pupils and the School Travel Plan to make school travel safer and more active has had for pupils and their families of which I am particularly proud. Through it all, my passion and commitment has always been to make a difference and to provide the very best learning experiences and opportunities for personal development for St. Helen’s College pupils. It has given me great personal and professional satisfaction to see so many pupils grow and develop into confident young people, ready to face new challenges with integrity. It is lovely that so many of our alumni keep in touch and just last week in Court Park I bumped into no fewer than four St. Helen’s College old boys and girls and their families! Hearing about their achievements and sharing their memories about their time at St. Helen’s College makes my heart swell with a great sense of pride to know I have been part of their journey in life.
This place has been such a wonderful and inspiring place for pupils to learn and for me to work. It has been my enormous pleasure to lead a variety of initiatives which highlighted and communicated what a unique and special place it was and raised the profile of the school locally and nationally. Achieving the Gold TfL STARs Award, the School Games Platinum Award and reaching the finals of the 2020 TES Independent Schools Awards in not just one but two categories: ‘Student Initiative of the Year’ and ‘Sport, Health and Wellbeing’ were notable moments. Yet I think being runner up in 2013 for the Pearson Teacher of the Year Award stands out as something special. The initial nomination was made by the then Head Girl, Emily Hannis, and the subsequent kind and heartfelt supporting statements submitted for the award by many pupils, parents, alumni and principals is something that I will always cherish.
I have taught thousands of St. Helen’s College pupils, including three Crehan children, my own and other staff members' children and many families - brothers, sisters and cousins, over the years and I have befriended pupils and parents alike. I am grateful for the support and kindness parents have shown me and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to serve this wonderful community as a teacher and member of the Senior Leadership Team. I have met the most fantastic people here and I am forever changed by my inspiring and compassionate colleagues, with whom I have enjoyed close working relationships and friendships over the years. Thank you too to the incredible pupils I have had the pleasure of teaching. I hope I have made a difference in many of their lives, just as they have irrevocably changed mine.
I have been blessed to be part of a strong school community at St. Helen’s College and I look forward to becoming a member of, and contributing to, another school community in this way. I look forward to the opportunities that await me both professionally and personally at High March School. It is not a coincidence this is a school with a similar history and heritage to St. Helen’s College, with a family ethos and with the values of friendship and kindness at its core. I will truly miss the amazing colleagues, pupils and parents I have been fortunate to know. I am honoured to have received the opportunity to grow personally and develop my career amid such talent and brilliance.
So as the sun goes down on my time here and I say farewell, I hope in some small way I will be leaving my footprints at St. Helen’s College. I will always remember my life at St. Helen’s College fondly and, just as the school song says, this school is ‘my second family’ and it is ‘my heart’. I will be forever connected to this community for that reason.
Miss Walker
Posted on: 1/07/2021Weekly News - Friday 2nd July 2021
The Lion King!
Wow, wow, wow! We have had wonderful performances from our Year 6 children this week as they have presented their grand musical, The Lion King, to children, staff and parents on our special stage in the Evans Garden. The quality of singing, acting and choreography was extraordinarily high and the costumes and set were amazing! It is always very emotional watching the children perform at school for the final time before they leave us, and we know that the Year 6 parents found tears in their eyes too. Very, very well done Year 6. You are an amazing set of performers and your confidence will stand you in very good stead for success at senior school and beyond. We have posted lots of photographs of The Lion King on the Galleries page for you to enjoy.
Wellbeing Day
On Monday, we celebrated Wellbeing Day, with a focus on activities to boost mental health and wellbeing throughout the school.
Here is a booklet for parents with helpful tips and advice on how to support your children's mental health.
Here is a recipe booklet for healthy smoothies to make with your children.
As the week moved on, the children were given the opportunity to showcase their talents and interests in special assemblies, and it was a real treat to hear them sing, play instruments, show off artwork and more. Very well done to all of the children who shared their talents and interests with us all.
Year 2 Trip to Iver Environment Centre
On Thursday, our Year 2 children enjoyed a super day trip to Iver Environment Centre, where they enjoyed some fantastic outdoor learning. They went pond dipping, caught bugs and went to the rainforest!
Sports Results
We had a very special assembly on Tuesday morning at which our Windsor and Cambria Sports Captains, led by Miss Walker, announced the results of both the Year 3-6 Inter-House Sports Cup and the Year 3-6 Sports Day Trophy. There was much excitement as the results were gradually announced and the children waited to hear who the overall winners were!
In the Inter-House competition, for which matches are played in Games sessions throughout the year, Cambria achieved 38 points and Windsor achieved 46 points, so Windsor were the overall winners. Vidhit N, the Sports Captain of Cambria, gave a motivational speech to the children of Cambria, encouraging them to continue striving in the future and thanking them for all of their hard work and sportsmanship. Reece G, the Windsor Sports Captain, congratulated the children of Cambria for being such worthy opponents and reminded us all that we are all winners if we compete with determination and grace, and are proud of ourselves and others.
The Sports Day results were very exciting indeed and there was much anticipation in the assembled audience as Miss Walker told us all each year group's results:
Year 3: Windsor 94 points, Cambria 160 points
Year 4: Windsor 103 points, Cambria 150 points
Year 5: Windsor 130 points, Cambria 99 points
Year 6: Windsor 131 points, Cambria 88 points
These results meant that Cambria were the overall Sports Day winners, with a total of 497 points.
Amar C, as Windsor Sports Captain, was graceful in defeat, congratulating Cambria sincerely. She reminded the children of Windsor of how hard they had all tried and how proud they should feel of themselves. Cambria Sports Captain Fredericka T then praised Windsor for being such challenging rivals and for all of their individual performances in the track and field events, while congratulating the children of Cambria for their super achievement.
All four Sports Captains gave rousing and heartfelt speeches, thanking staff and pupils alike for making the competitions so meaningful and close, and for all of the organisation that goes into all of the many sports events that take place at St. Helen's College. Well done everyone!
General Knowledge Quiz Team
Our Year 5 and 6 General Knowledge Quiz Teams took part in the national final of the Prep School General Knowledge Quiz last Thursday. The event took place online and was hotly contested, as schools from all over the country competed to answer tricky questions on all aspects of general knowledge.
Our Year 5 team finished 10th overall and got a total of 20 questions right out of a possible 30. Very well done to the team members: Anjika G, Shruthi T, Zachariah F and Aaryan B.
The Year 6 team came 9th in their competition and got a total of 22 questions right out of a possible 30. Congratulations to the team: Ben L, Zail T, Arjan D and Vandan V.
Year 3 Flower Photography Competition Winners
Well done to the six Year 3 children who were chosen as winners of the Year 3 photography competition. All of the children in Year 3 were challenged to take a photograph of a flower over the half term break. The photographs were all stunning and it was really hard to pick the winners! Very well done to Verity S, Arjun S, Samara P, Ali B, Sean R and Zakariya Mi.
Next Week - Charity Week
Our final week of term will be our charity week, with a focus on supporting Cancer Research UK.
Monday is a non-uniform day. Children may wear their own clothes and the theme is the CRUK colours of pink and/or blue. We ask that each child makes a donation in order to wear their own clothes (suggested minimum £2 and more gratefully received!).
All children will also be participating in a theme within their classes to raise money for CRUK - details are being sent to you directly from your class teachers.
All donations should be made via the St. Helen's College CRUK Relay for Life fundraising page here, please. We ask that parents make one donation to cover the non-uniform day and the class activity.
https://relay.cancerresearchuk.org/site/Donation2?idb=1841235663&df_id=1700&1700.donation=form1&FR_ID=1966&mfc_pref=T&PROXY_ID=14612&PROXY_TYPE=22
Many thanks, in advance, for your generous support of this cause.
End of Term - Friday 9th July
Term will end on Friday 9th July, which is a half day. Children should be collected at the following times, or booked into Funtasia for the afternoon:
11.50 (Ducklings & Nursery)
12.00 (Reception)
12.10 (Years 1, 2)
12.20 (Years 3, 4)
12.30 (Years 5, 6)
The Upper School final assembly will be live streamed for parents of children in Years 2 - 6. This will begin at 10.30 a.m. on Friday 9th and we hope many of you will be able to join us online. Details of how to join the event will be sent to parents next week.
Library Investment
The library has been enjoying investing in a wealth of wonderful new titles for next year, with fiction refreshed at all reading levels and a fresh injection of non-fiction, from current affairs and biography to nature and sport. We look forward to sharing these with the children in September!
In the meantime may we remind children - and parents - that all books should be returned on or before Monday please. Books which are lost on loan or damaged may need to be replaced and a charge may be made. Please address any queries to library@sthelenscollege.com.
News From The PA
The PA currently have vacancies for class reps for the next academic year in Ducklings, 1R, 5G and 6R. If you would like to become a class rep for one of these classes, please contact the PA at pa@sthelenscollege.com.
There will be a pop up second hand uniform stall, run by the PA, in the school car park on Parkway from 12 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. on both Tuesday 17 August and Friday 20 August. Parents will have the opportunity buy bits ready for the return to school at the start of September whilst also having time to get any additional bits from Pullen's after this date if the PA don't have what you are looking for. Please add these dates to your diary and support the PA by popping along to buy some second hand uniform.
2021-2022 Academic Year
As ever, we are pressing ahead with plans for a normal return to school in the hope that the world will have returned to normal by then! If there are Covid restrictions in place at the end of August, any changes to normal arrangements will be communicated to all parents before the start of term.
Uniform & Equipment
If you have not already done so, please check the Uniform & Equipment list on the School Documents page of the website so that you can ensure that your child has all that they will need for their next year group.
Funtasia/Breakfast Club Bookings
Bookings for wraparound care for the Autumn term will open on the first day of term, 2nd September, very early in the morning. Breakfast Club and After School Club will be available as usual and, as ever, we ask that you book as far in advance as you can, wherever possible, as this is so helpful for us when planning staffing, catering and other logistics.
Co-Curricular Arrangements and Bookings
We are currently finalising the co-curricular programme for the Autumn term. Bookings will open soon after the start of the term and we will send a reminder at that time to ask you to make your choices. Clubs are being planned to start from the week beginning Monday 14th September.
Autumn Term Menu
The menu for the autumn term will be published to the school website over the summer holidays once it is finalised. Please do take a look at it with your child ahead of the new academic year to help them to make sensible choices.
Snacks - A Reminder
When sending in snacks for break times, please follow the school rules and send fruit, vegetables or plain biscuits in a named snack box. In exceptional circumstances, if your child is getting very hungry or needs a second snack for after school before a club, you may send a plain sandwich (cheese, ham or similar). No high fat, high sugar or high salt foods are permitted and please do not send anything messy!
Walking Zone Maps
As we continue to promote sustainable travel and road safety, we have now taken delivery of the display boards containing our school walking zone maps. These will be put up at school over the summer holidays and we hope that you will all continue to walk/scoot/cycle with your children for all or part of your journeys to school, as much as you are able.
Covid-19
Please see below the guidance from the NHS regarding Covid-19 symptoms and actions to be taken. As there are signs of an increase in positive cases in our local areas, it is very important that we follow this guidance strictly as a community.
The main symptoms of COVID-19 are:
a high temperature
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – this means they cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
What to do if your child has symptoms
If your child has any of the main symptoms of COVID-19, even if they're mild:
Get a PCR test (test that is sent to a lab) to check if they have COVID-19 as soon as possible.
You, your child and anyone else you live with should stay at home and not have visitors until you get the test result – only leave your home to have the test.
Anyone in your childcare or support bubble should also stay at home if your child has been in close contact with them since their symptoms started or during the 48 hours before they started.
Posted on: 25/06/2021Staying Connected
At St. Helen’s College we strive to stay connected with our alumni and encourage ex-pupils to become part of our alumni database so that we can keep them connected with the school, invite them to events and celebrate their achievements. It is also a great testament to the school that we currently have four ex-pupils on our staff: Mrs. McGee, the Ducklings Manager, Mrs. Rumney in the Upper School Office, Miss Cooper, one of our Year 1 teachers and Miss Stidder, one of our lunchtime supervisors. I love to hear them recount memories of their days as a pupil and share their photos from their past school days!
A few weeks ago I took time out to visit a local resident who lives on Sweetcroft Lane. She is 90 years old this summer and is one of our alumni - I was saddened that she has been so lonely throughout lockdown with no family around but reminded her that she is part of a very special big family - our St. Helen’s College community. Mr. Smith and Mr. Rizzo have since visited her to assist with some minor chores and her connection with the school remains strong.
We have also benefited from our alumni giving back to us to inspire the children with their successes and experiences. This week, we welcomed Kai Plummer-Walrond back to school to run a very special day of acting masterclasses with our Year 6 pupils who are in rehearsal for their end of year production ‘The Lion King’. Kai is currently studying at Arts Ed Drama School in Chiswick and spent almost two years playing the part of Young Simba in the West End whilst he was a pupil at St. Helen’s College. Kai inspired the Year 6 pupils throughout the day, leading them in warm up exercises which were used by cast members in The Lion King and refining many scenes with our cast members under the watchful eye of Mr. McLaughlin. I observed a 15 minute scene and was amazed at how Kai brought out more energy and dynamics in young Nala and Simba! The Year 6 pupils had an opportunity to have a Q & A session with Kai and were tickled when they found out that yes, he had been paid to be in The Lion King and that, in a recent McDonald’s advert he had appeared in, part of his payment was a year's free supply of chicken nuggets!! We are in for a treat next week when we finally get to see our Year 6 performance and Kai will be attending one of the evenings to encourage his fellow students.
Earlier this year yet another alumni, Miles Barrow, judged our remote Speech Competition. Miles is another successful actor who left St. Helen’s College to go on to perform in the West End in Aladdin and more recently in last year’s Christmas movie ‘Jingle Jangle’. It was wonderful to be able to have him give feedback to our Speech Competition finalists and encourage all of the children to continue performing in public and develop their poetry.
We also have members of our Governing Body who are alumni of the school who give back to us in so many ways - giving not only their professional but also their personal expertise, having known the school for so long. They also happen to be part of the Crehan family, so the family bond remains strong.
We always say to our leaving families, once a Helenian, always a Helenian! So if you know of any alumni, our ‘Old Helenians’, please do encourage them to contact us on oldhelenians@sthelenscollege.com and if you are one of this year’s leavers make sure you also drop us an email to let us know how you are getting on. You will automatically be added to our alumni database and we will keep in touch with you all.
We are already starting to make plans for our grand centenary in 2024 - only a few years away and it would be wonderful to have many generations of Helenians present at some of our centennial events in what I am sure will be a momentous year for us all!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 25/06/2021Weekly News - Friday 25th June 2021
Sports Days
We have enjoyed truly wonderful Sports Days this week for every year group from Nursery to Year 6. While many of these were forced into a different format from usual due to Covid restrictions, the enjoyment and determination on the children's faces was as evident as ever. There is no doubt that healthy competition builds character and that striving to improve one's own performance is a super skill to embed in our children. Very well done to all of the children who took part and thank you to all of the staff involved, too. You can see some photographs of the Pre-Prep Sports Days on our Galleries page here and photographs from today's Prep Sports Days will be uploaded soon.
We thank all parents for respecting the request to stay away so that we were able to run these events so smoothly for the children.
We are very much looking forward to the Ducklings Sports Day next Friday too!
Musicians' Concert
Once again, Covid restrictions unfortunately thwarted our plans for our annual Musicians' Concert which is usually such a wonderful event at All Saints Church. However, our musicians have performed in school and we have put together an online 'concert' for parents to enjoy. You can watch this here.
Ark Farm Visit Ducklings!
Our Ducklings children had a wonderful time yesterday when they were visited by Ark Farm. They spent time learning about and petting animals including a donkey, pig, goat, sheep, dog and duck. We were so impressed by how attentively they listened and how gently they handled the animals. You can see some photographs of their day on our Galleries page here.
Prospective Head Boy/Girl Speeches
Very well done to the Year 5 candidates who have put themselves forwards as potential Head Boys and Head Girls for the 2021-2022 academic year. On Monday and Tuesday, they gave speeches to the rest of the school about why they would be a good choice for these positions of responsibility. We were so impressed by how well they articulated their personalities and ideas. Pupil voting has been taking place at school this week; staff input will also be considered and the new Pupil Leadership Team will be announced at our final assembly on the last day of term, which will be live streamed for parents.
Online Chamber Choir Auditions 2021-2022
We invite students from Year 2 to Year 5 to audition for Chamber Choir by submitting a video entry. The following YouTube video may be used to learn the audition song "Give Me Oil in my Lamp" which is from 7 minutes and 10 seconds until 8 minutes and 3 seconds on the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr0wAJHYCfU
Lyrics are below:
Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray
Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning
Keep me burning ‘til the break of day
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna. sing hosanna to the king of kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna. sing hosanna to the king.
Children should sing looking directly at the camera at a distance of 1 metre away approximately. There is a piano accompaniment available which you can download here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12NeTmWIQweMfp1deJT19YeM4Fw_-t49o/view?usp=sharing
Please submit your child's video entry using the piano accompaniment and not the YouTube video by no later than Friday 2nd July 2021. We request that the subject of the email is clear, e.g "Chamber Choir Auditions: name of child and form group".
Please submit to both of the following:
cfawbert@sthelenscollege.com and
mgarnes@sthelenscollege.com
Members will be selected and announced before the end of term. Best of luck!
PA Forum and PA Class Representatives
We had an enjoyable and successful PA Forum meeting on Wednesday evening, at which Mrs. Drummond, Mrs. Hunt, Mr. McLaughlin and Mrs. Smith met with the PA class representatives to discuss/feedback on issues raised by parents throughout the school. Minutes have been sent to all parents.
The PA will have vacancies for class representatives in the following classes for the 2021-2022 academic year:
Ducklings
Robins
6R
If you would like to put yourself forward as a class rep for any of these classes, please contact pa@sthelenscollege.com.
There will be collection bins outside both Upper School and Lower School for the last two weeks of term and the PA will be very grateful for any donations of uniform that you no longer need. They are hoping to run a second hand uniform shop outside of the school over the summer holidays, and more information will follow about this in due course.
Summer Holiday Club
Holiday Club bookings for the summer holiday open today for children in Nursery to Year 6. The Holiday Club will run at Upper School for all children and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We urge parents to make bookings as early as you can, so that you secure the dates you would like and so that we are able to plan our staffing and logistics with certainty. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to make your bookings.
Royal Institution Events
You might be interested in the events which are being planned by the Royal Institution for July. You can find out more details by following the link below.
https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2021/july/family-sounds-and-vibrations
St. Helen's College Trust
If any parents have not yet signed up with EasyFundraising and would like to do so, now is a good time as there is an extra promotion which means an extra £5 incentive for both you and the school. Don't forget, if you support our cause on EasyFundraising, you will raise money for the St. Helen's College Trust at no cost to yourself every time you use the app to shop online with over 5000 participating retailers. If you would like to sign up, please use the link below. If you need any support with signing up, please contact Mrs. Smith at susmith@sthelenscollege.com. We are very grateful for your support.
Sign up to support St. Helen's College Trust on #easyfundraising, and they will give you a £5 shopping voucher once you have raised your first £5 - PLUS we will get a bonus £5 donation, it’s win, win! It's simple to join and you can raise FREE donations whenever you shop online with over 5,200 retailers. Sign up here:
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/sthelencoltrust/?invite=NX24VZ&referral-campaign=c2s&utm_source=ew5sharebox
Please don't forget, also, that you can donate your unwanted textiles (clothes, paired shoes, bags, belts, sheets/pillowcases, curtains etc) to our textile recycling bank which is located outside 227 Long Lane. You can pull your car into the car park area there while you drop your textiles off, whether during term time or holidays. The textiles are donated to poor communities and/or recycled to make industrial cleaning cloths, so nothing ends up as landfill, and the St. Helen's College Trust receives a small donation per kilo of collected clothing. We are happy to receive textile donations from the wider community, so do feel free to share this with any local family and friends too.
Posted on: 18/06/2021Weekly News - Friday 18th June 2021
4L Class Assembly - Honesty
Wow! Well done 4L for presenting a super class assembly today all about one of our school values, Honesty. They performed the story of Moses for us and taught us that Honesty is not always easy - it can take strength of character and courage to tell the truth sometimes, especially if we have done something wrong. They also reminded us of Nelson Mandela's words: that the most important thing is to be honest with oneself. Each child spoke confidently and with understanding and their performance was both educational and enjoyable. Well done, 4L!
Upper School Assembly
For the first time since lockdown began in March 2020, we were able to gather the entire Upper School together in the playground, socially distanced in bubble groups, for an assembly on Monday morning.
We celebrated many of the children's recent achievements and even managed to sing a hymn together. It was really wonderful to gather again!
Year 4 Prep School Quiz General Knowledge - National Finals
Well done to our Year 4 quiz team, who took part in the Prep School General Knowledge National Finals yesterday. Competing against other prep school teams from all over the country, and tackling some really challenging questions, they acquitted themselves very well indeed, getting twenty five questions right out of thirty! St. Helen's College ended up in 11th place overall. Very well done to the team: Advik S, Annie L, Arshvir S, Minaya W.
TFL STARS Ambassador
Congratulations to Miss Walker, who this week was sent a certificate awarding her the status of STARS Champion in recognition of the work that she does to promote sustainable travel and road safety. This award is bestowed by TfL and the Mayor of London and we are very proud that Miss Walker's tireless work in this area has been so deservedly rewarded.
Reverend Sarah Smith
We are also extremely proud of Mrs. Sarah Smith (Year 3 Teaching Assistant) who has been working incredibly hard over the past years and will be ordained as a Deacon in Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday 3rd July. Alongside her work at St. Helen's College, Mrs. Smith will be serving as Assistant Curate in Iver Parish after her ordination. You can hear about Mrs. Smith's journey here:
âhttps://soundcloud.com/user-487535189/bbc3c-sarah-smith-new-deacon
Year 4 Arts Award
Year 4 have been working really hard this term, making percussion instruments out of "junk", learning about musicians who perform using everyday objects and homemade instruments, and performing to complete their Arts Award Explore.
In assembly on Wednesday morning 4L performed Samba Reggae and 4T performed Jazz Junk using their body percussion compositions and their homemade junk percussion instruments.
Musicians' Concert
The Musicians' Concert will be recorded in school on Wednesday 23rd June, and a video will be made available for parents to watch. Students involved will need to remember their instrument and music on this day, and if a backing track or piano accompaniment is required please send this to Mrs. Fawbert before Monday 21st June.
Class Allocations 2021-2022
Class allocations for next year have been sent to all parents today by email.
Summer Holiday Club
Funtasia will be operating on Friday 9th July, the last day of term, and bookings for this session are now open - please book via your SchoolsBuddy account. We will also be running our Nursery - Year 6 Summer Holiday Club, based at Upper School, from Monday 12th July. Bookings will open next week and we will send an email to parents when you are able to book your places.
PA Forum Meeting
The next PA Forum meeting will take place remotely at 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday 23rd June. Please send any points for discussion to your class rep by the end of Sunday 20th June. Class rep's should forward these to Mrs. Smith by the end of Monday 21st June please.
Magazines for Children
We would like to remind parents that reading is the foundation for success in primary education and beyond. You might be interested in taking out a subscription to one of these excellent children's magazines/newspapers to encourage your child to read and to enhance their general knowledge and interest in current affairs.
First News
The Week Junior
Eco Kids Planet
Climate Change Consultation
Today is Clean Air Day and to mark the occasion, Hillingdon Council have announced the results of their recent Climate Change Competition. Many congratulations to Advik S (Y4), whose entry was commended and who will be receiving an Amazon voucher from Hillingdon Council to recognise his work!
St. Helen's College continues to actively promote climate action and sustainability, which are closely linked with the active travel and air quality benefits that Hillingdon Borough aim to encourage within schools.
Parents might be interested in Hillingdon's Climate Change Consultation, which closes this Sunday, 20th June. This gives you the opportunity to have your say by completing the survey, to help Hillingdon become the greenest London borough, protect and enhance the environment, and provide a brighter prospect for future generations. If you would like to complete the survey, please follow the link below.
Climate change consultation - Hillingdon Council
Big Bee Competition
We would like to encourage children aged 6-12 to enter the Big Bee Challenge, which is Radio 2’s brand new competition for children, in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society. It’s a fun and creative way to learn more about bees and other insects that help provide much of the food we eat, and are essential for a healthy environment.
Children are asked to design a bright, buzzy garden that will attract bees and other pollinating insects. The winner’s design will be built by the RHS at an NHS Trust site which is used by children and young people with mental health needs, and the lucky winner will be invited to open the garden at an outside broadcast of The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday 20 August 2021! They will meet lots of guests, receive a professional illustration of their garden design and go home with a box of goodies to help turn their own outside space into a wonderland for bees.
Each shortlisted finalist will also receive an array of bee themed goodies.
The closing date for entries is 5th July and full details can be found by following the link below. Good luck everyone!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2qk4dDdJJdsVFmcLhZ7RwmW/how-to-enter#:~:text=The%20Big%20Bee%20Challenge%20is,essential%20for%20a%20healthy%20environment.
St. Helen's College Art
Nya P (5A) has been spotted by professional artist Lucy Tiffany on Instagram with her large scale piece which she created in Art Club this week. If you have not yet followed St. Helen's College Art on Instagram please do so - it is such a great showcase of your children's work.
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