School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 8/03/2019Weekly News - Friday 8th March 2019
It has been a week of books, books and more books for children across the school as we have celebrated World Book Day and all that reading brings to our lives!
On Monday, the children were treated to a visit from The Book Bus, which gave them an opportunity to choose new books for the school libraries at Lower School and Upper School.
Visiting authors at both Lower School and Upper School inspired pupils with their stories and were able to share information about how and why they decided to write books. Mrs. McLaughlin visited Lower School and talked to the children about her efforts to tackle climate change by becoming a children's author. Onjali Rauf, author of the Blue Peter Award winning book 'The Boy At The Back Of The Class', spoke to Upper School children about her involvement in the refugee crisis.
Across the school, children have enjoyed reading to themselves and to others and having stories read to them by their teachers and by visiting readers, including other teachers, librarians, parents and visitors.
Here you can see our youngest children, the Ducklings, enjoying a story read by Zoe's mummy. Zoe's mum read the story in Chinese to the children, who listened intently and were fascinated. Then she taught our Ducklings some Chinese words.
Chamber Choir Perform At The Royal Festival Hall
We were extremely proud of our Chamber Choir this week as they took to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall to compete against 17 other school in National Finals of the Barnardo's Schools Choir Competition. The choir sang two pieces: So Long, Farewell (from The Sound of Music) and For The Beauty Of The Earth by John Rutter. Schools had travelled from far and wide from across the UK, including from Wales, York and Glasgow. The pupils participated in the competition in the morning and, before preparing for the mass choir performance and evening concert, we took a cruise to Greenwich taking in the wonderful sights of London. Although we were not the winning choir on the day, it an incredible achievement to make it to the finals and to perform in such a prestigious venue.
1J Assembly - World Book Day
World Book Day was truly embraced by 1J in their reading assembly. It was evident that each and every one of them is an avid reader and they reminded all the grown ups of the importance of losing ourselves in a book. Congratulations 1J!
4T Assembly - Easter Gratitude
The story of Easter and gratitude were interwoven into 4T's most succinct and professional presentation in assembly. As their St. Helen's College pledges came together and the school crest appeared, we were reminded that, to be inspirational, one needs to be proactive. Well done 4T!
Year 6 Visit The Globe
Having studied Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in English over the last few weeks, Year 6 pupils visited The Globe Theatre this week to watch a RSC production of Romeo and Juliet. They were inspired by the performance and are very much looking forward to the forthcoming auditions for their summer production of this wonderful play.
Netball Finalists
Our Year 5/6 netballers took part in the local district netball rally last Saturday held at Ryefield School. Our B team gained valuable match experience and improved their play throughout the morning, finishing in 3rd place in their group. Our A team's confidence developed as they won all their matches in the group stages to reach the knockout stages. In the quarter finals they beat St. Andrew's and in the semi finals they beat Cherry Lane to reach the final to play Hermitage. They played incredibly well against Heritage, who were formidable opponents, and the final score was 5-2 to Hermitage. Our A team were presented with runner up silver medals and it was announced that they had qualified for the Borough Netball Finals.
The Borough Netball Finals (for the top twelve qualifying schools) took place on Wednesday afternoon this week at Newnham School in Eastcote. In wet and windy conditions, our team battled on court in a tough competition. The team won three matches, drew one match and lost one match to finish in 9th place overall.
In the local netball league, St. Helen's finished in 4th place this season. The team support from parents over the course of the season has been superb, so thank you parents! It has also been great to see many girls taking up the opportunity to continue playing at local netball club Blaze.
Well done to all the girls involved:
A team - Ionie M, Hebe E, Aaria K, Zoe K, Georgia M, Rhea Sa, Wenru D, Rhea A-V, Jada P
B team - Tamara A, Eshar S, Laura B, Chloe W, Ruby D, Minna H, Grace B, Kyra S, Krisha S, Mya S
Hockey Result
Our hockey team had a very enjoyable match on Monday afternoon against St. Benedict's. There was some outstanding effort and passing, with numerous chances at either end. Unfortunately, we lost the game but everybody on both sides really enjoyed the afternoon. Our goals were scored by Pavitar and Hebe. Well done to the team: Pavitar D, Hebe E, Ionie M, Jayan C, Luke J, Mya S, Agastya S.
Year 3 Spring Production - 'The Pirates of the Curry Bean'
On Tuesday 12th March, Year 3 will be performing their production at the Winston Churchill Hall and children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will watch the dress rehearsal in the morning. Please drop children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to at the Winston Churchill Hall in the morning from 8 a.m. onwards (to arrive by 8.30 a.m.). The children will return to school by coach after watching the performance.
Year 3 parents have been contacted separately with information about the arrangements for Year 3.
Parents' Parking Pledge
Well done to our Year 5 Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs) and Year 1 Mini Road Safety Officers (MRSOs) who have been promoting our Parent Parking Pledge initiative this week. So far, over 100 families have taken the pledge and top marks to the parents of Wrens class, with twenty parents who have already signed up to the pledge! Thank you to all those who have already registered; your special parent parking pledge car sticker will be sent home next week. Please display these as you would have done with tax discs. If you have not signed up please click here to register online or pop in to Upper School next Wednesday before school, when our JRSOs will be on hand with laptops available to help you register.
Red Nose Day - Friday 15th March
On Friday 15th March, Year 4 will be leading the fundraising events for Comic Relief. It is a wonderful cause and we thank you in advance for your children’s participation and generous contributions. At Upper School, we are asking the children to make a £2 donation to wear their own clothes (preferably including something red and no football kits please). In addition to this, Year 4 will be hosting a cake sale where there will a range of delicious cakes and biscuits on sale, costing either 50p or £1 and with a maximum spend of £2 per child. Please note all ingredients will be listed at the point of sale.
We are asking children at Ducklings and Lower School to make a £2 donation to wear their own clothes (preferably including something red and no football kits please). This donation will also enable them to decorate a biscuit at school during the day.
Exhibition Day
We would like to remind parents that our annual Exhibition Day will take place on Saturday 23rd March. This year, to celebrate our new look Lower School, we would like to invite all parents and staff for a Bucks Fizz reception at Lower School from 9.30 a.m. The official timings of Exhibition Day at Ducklings and Upper School will be 10.00 a.m. until 12.00 p.m. Refreshments will be served from 10.00 a.m. in the Evans Hall. We do hope that you will all take this opportunity to celebrate your children's hard work and achievements on this special day.
Parents are reminded that Friday 22nd March is a half day to allow the school to prepare for Exhibition Day and that there is no Funtasia After School Club on Friday 22nd March.
School At Work Open Morning - Tuesday 7th May 2019
Flyers and posters advertising our next School At Work Open Morning are being sent home with your children today. In the past, parents have been very helpful in displaying these in local businesses and passing them on to friends who might have babies or young children and who might be interested in visiting the school. The vast majority of our new families come to us through word of mouth recommendation and we are very grateful to our parents for being such wonderful ambassadors for St. Helen's College. We would be most grateful for your support in displaying or distributing flyers again this year. Do let us know if you can make use of any more!
Posted on: 8/03/2019Motivation and Mandarin
Reading the Head’s blog last week on the value of learning modern languages, and on the great work going on at St. Helen’s College in this area, reminded me how times have changed – for the better!
At secondary school I studied French and German to ‘O’ Level. It was a struggle! I wasn’t particularly motivated, the teachers (none were native speakers) were extraordinarily unimaginative in their methods, and the focus was too much on grammar and textbooks and too little on conversation. We did visit Germany and Austria for a week but were left to our own devices (don’t ask!) and, apart from an idyllic lakeside lunch, my memories are mostly of Pepsi and chips, being bored, and the music of Simon and Garfunkel (the only cassette tape owned by the coach driver). Nevertheless, I achieved good ‘O’ Level grades, have reasonable conversational French and (somewhat to my surprise) was recently complimented on my German when helping a confused couple to understand a ferry timetable. I felt very proud.
I didn’t enjoy studying these languages and struggled terribly with learning vocabulary, so it came as something of a surprise to my family (and, if I am honest, to me) when I decided eighteen months ago that I was going to learn Mandarin. This was not a random choice – my son is married to a Singaporean of Chinese ethnicity, and my grandson Teddy is going to be bilingual in English and Mandarin.
Not really knowing where to start, I downloaded the app Hello Chinese and set to work on lesson 1. It is a really terrific learning tool which takes the complete beginner to a reasonable conversational standard, with each topic introducing new vocabulary, grammatical structures and common phrases. It uses a wide variety of excellent methods, including recording and playback, games, video, letter formation and flash cards and I can access it easily on my smart phone.
Shortly after starting work on the app, I was introduced to a Chinese class by a St. Helen’s College parent. The class was well ahead of me, which provided a spur to encourage me to work hard and catch up, and I am now about to enrol on a more advanced class at the School of Oriental and African Studies. My aim is to try to keep pace with my grandson who, at just 2 years and 4 months, already has a high degree of fluency in Mandarin.
So why is my experience of learning Mandarin so much more positive today than that of my schoolboy French and German lessons? On reflection, I think that there are four reasons, all of which are interlinked.
Motivation In contrast to my schooldays, I am hugely motivated to learn Mandarin. I hear it spoken at home every day and want to understand and join in the conversations. I want it to be a shared experience with my grandson, and I want to get over my long-held belief that I am not good at language learning.
Knowing how to learn Over many years of learning, both informally and through academic courses, I have learned which learning strategies work best for me. I try to study a little each day, regularly consolidate my knowledge, ask myself and answer questions, keep a pack of flashcards in my pocket at all times and practise speaking as much as I can.
Quality of teaching The Hello Chinese app is an excellent, interactive and adaptive virtual teacher, but I also have a super class teacher at my Saturday Chinese class. Always warm and encouraging, she provides the right level of challenge for our (admittedly rather laid back) class, and, as a native speaker who has lived in China, immerses us not only in language but in the culture of the country.
Peer support My Chinese school co-students are remarkably friendly and supportive. The help which we give each other, and the fun which we have together, have created a sense of shared endeavour and mutual support.
Language learning is very popular at St. Helen’s College, and the children make excellent progress in their fluency in Spanish, French and Latin. This is not surprising, given that my four factors are all in place. They have a thirst for knowledge and are hugely motivated to succeed. Through discussions about metacognition, and reflecting on and discussing their progress with their teachers, they understand how best to learn. They have inspiring teachers who create wonderful lessons to challenge and support them in their learning and they support each other through the joy of learning and the shared enthusiasm which arises from it.
These four factors are interwoven, and the latter three all impact positively on the first, motivation. Motivation is critical to learning: without motivation learning is limited and dry, whereas the motivated learner is unstoppable.
Teaching is both a science and an art, and the artistry of the brilliant teacher, parent or grandparent has a lot to do with motivating children. I am very mindful of this with Teddy, and am so enjoying helping him to discover the wonderful world of knowledge.
Mr. Crehan
Posted on: 1/03/2019Love of Language Learning - Head's Blog
The BBC reported this week that foreign language learning is at its lowest level in UK secondary schools since the turn of the millennium, with their analysis showing frankly alarming drops of between 30% and 50% since 2013 in the numbers of children taking GCSE language courses in some areas of England. A separate survey of UK secondary schools suggests that a third have dropped at least one language from their GCSE options.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47334374
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/a-third-of-state-schools-no-longer-teach-languages-in-year-9/
To those of us who believe passionately in the advantages of learning languages, this is concerning news indeed, especially as business organisations have expressed concern at the lack of language skills in the UK. Matthew Fell, Chief UK Policy Director for business group the CBI, said: "Employer demand for French, German and Spanish skills has significantly increased over the last few years. The decline in language learning in schools must be reversed, or else the UK will be less competitive globally and young people less prepared for the modern world. As well as speaking a foreign language, increasing young people's cultural awareness and their ability to work with people from around the world is just as important."
Mr. Fell makes important points: in a global marketplace and with Brexit imminent, the ability of the UK’s future leaders in all sectors to communicate effectively with their counterparts across the world is likely to be crucial. For the next generation, being able to speak languages other than English can surely only assist with this.
Moreover, there is undeniable merit in learning languages for their own sake. As a school teaching three languages, we see daily that language learning helps to instil, even in the very young, discipline, perseverance, the development of ‘an ear’ for meaning and expression, the ability to choose the correct word, phrase or tone to convey meaning and emotion, listening skills, grammatical knowledge and skills, conversational/interview skills, an appreciation of the subtleties of communication, and tolerance and respect for other languages and cultures. So it is clear to us that the teaching of languages imparts the all important ‘soft skills’ often mentioned by employers as being of equal importance with examination results and acquired knowledge.
For its survey, the BBC attempted to contact every one of the almost 4,000 mainstream secondary schools in the UK, and more than half - 2,048 - responded. Of the schools which replied, most said the perception of languages as a difficult subject was the main reason behind a drop in the number of pupils studying for exams, with pupils believing it would be harder for them to achieve a top GCSE grade in a language than in other subjects.
This is deeply worrying, but hardly surprising when you consider that, nationwide, many pupils transfer at 11+ into their senior school with very little, if any, experience of learning languages at primary level. We are very proud that this is not the case for St. Helen’s College children, where language learning is given a high priority. Our pupils learn Spanish from the age of 2, French from the age of 8 and Latin from the age of 9. Every child aged between 6 and 10 also takes part, every year, in the U-Talk National Languages competition, through which they have the opportunity to learn (for fun) three further languages each year - one European, one Asian and one African - and to enjoy competing online against pupils from across the United Kingdom. St. Helen’s College pupils learn about French, Spanish and Roman culture, develop relationships with French pen pals and spend a full week immersed in French language and culture during their Year 6 languages trip to the Chateau de la Baudonniere in Normandy, where they also have the chance to visit a French school and meet with their pen pals.
Our languages curriculum therefore gives pupils the opportunity to gain a solid grounding in grammar and vocabulary. St. Helen’s College children reach a good level in two of the most widely spoken languages, French and Spanish, and relish their introduction to several other languages. During their time with us, children become able to identify similarities and differences in languages and cultures; they also develop a love of languages and a willingness to ‘have a go’ at learning pretty much any new language which comes along. This week, observing Spanish lessons in Reception, it has been impressive to see the children’s confidence at the age of 4 and 5, as they are immersed in the language, learning numbers and actions through song. This foundation, laid during the children's earliest years with us, is built upon over the years to develop into a strong linguistic interest, confidence and skill set by the time they reach Year 6. There is no doubt that St. Helen’s College children love their language learning and leave us with an excellent grounding in this area. They are well equipped to tackle - and hopefully to excel at - languages at GCSE and A level in their senior school of choice.
In England, Ministers say that they are taking steps to reverse the nationwide decline in language learning and this is, in our view, absolutely essential. The government reportedly has a £2.5m plan which aims to increase the take-up of modern foreign languages at GCSE and A-level through new centres of excellence. Let us hope that this plan is successful but, whether it is or not, at least we know that St. Helen’s College children will be ready, willing and able to take full advantage of language learning at senior school and throughout their lives, since they have been lucky enough to attend a linguistic centre of excellence in their youngest years!
Posted on: 15/02/2019Working At St. Helen's College - Head's Blog
Working in the independent sector is a privilege for many teachers and support staff. Here at St. Helen’s College we have an incredibly supportive parent body, pupils who are eager to learn and it is the journey which home and school take together which ensures that we get the best from each child.
This may not always be the picture some schools are facing. For those of you who have been keeping an eye on the education news, it can often be quite a depressing read; teacher recruitment and retention sits high on the agenda.
Damian Hinds, education secretary, said: “I think teachers work too many hours – aggravated by unnecessary tasks like excessive marking and data entry, spending more than half their time on non-teaching tasks.”
I make it my job to keep in touch with what is going on in the maintained sector and regularly meet up and interact with colleagues from both the independent and maintained sector. On a Sunday evening I regularly contribute to an online discussions platform, ‘SLTChat’, which is both enlightening and refreshing as I am able to reflect on the good practice happening at our school.
At St. Helen’s College we have an incredibly dedicated staff who all work for the common interest in giving your children the most interesting experiences in our curriculum. We use smart assessment methods which are effective and involve the pupils in the process and our data is used effectively to plan the next steps for the children’s learning.
Parents from Year 1 upwards will have received the children’s Learning Logs this week as part of our reporting process. These Learning Logs were noted in our last school inspection as an exceptional aspect of our teaching and learning process and the inspectors were showing so much interest in these that I have become very protective of these unique logs as they are totally bespoke for our school, being the brainchild of Mr. Lewis. The subject leaders have ownership of their subject logs and work closely with the class teachers to ensure that each statement is appropriate for the children but that pupils will all be stretched and challenged, often aspiring to targets in the year above or adapting to targets which still need to be consolidated from the previous year. The pupils take ownership of their learning and visit these logs often to reflect on their progress and set their targets.
For our younger pupils from Ducklings to Reception their learning is tracked and monitored via our online platform ‘Tapestry’ which I know that all the parents also have access to. This assists us in building up the profile of the children’s progress and development as they work within the Early Years Framework.
Our staff have the freedom to be creative with our curriculum and have the time to research and plan for inspirational lessons to engage your children.
We have not felt the backlash of teacher recruitment which many schools face and it is with confidence and pride that we have a very low turnover of staff here at St. Helen’s College. When teachers do decide to move on to pastures new or retire (sadly we will bid Mrs. Stark farewell in due course), we are inundated with applications from ambitious and inspiring teachers and other staff who would like to join our team to make their contributions to your children’s learning.
To say that that I am proud of our school is an understatement. As we approach the mid-year point in our school calendar, I can hardly believe that we have already completed a term and a half of the 2018 - 2019 academic year. Enjoy the half term break with your children. Continue to enrich their learning - talk to them about the world around them, play games and puzzles, read books together, visit interesting places!
Happy Half Term!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 15/02/2019Weekly News - Friday 15th February 2019
Half Term Activities
Although no formal homework is set during the half term break, the teachers are offering some optional activities for pupils to keep them occupied. Please read on to find out more about these optional opportunities.
World Book Day - 7th March
This year for World Book Day our theme will be 'Stories from Around the World.' We have a range of fantastic activities planned for the children throughout the week including a visiting book bus, author talks and book quizzes. We will not be dressing up for Book Day this year; however, we will be creating a photograph compilation display of the children in traditional dress from around the world. Form teachers will issue guidelines for the challenge following the half term break.
"There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jacqueline Kennedy
Mindful Sit
Congratulations to the whole school for taking part in the Mindful Sit this week, sitting in complete silence for five minutes to experience the sound of silence. Many thanks to the Year 5 Mindfulness Ambassadors, who led the assemblies in Lower School and Upper School to explain what Mindfulness is and to demonstrate some practices. True ambassadors for how to be mindful!
Assemblies This Week
Money Money Money!
6W took on the challenge of financially educating the children in Upper School with their assembly all about money this week. They presented ideas about how to earn pocket money and how to make financially responsible decisions about how to use your money. The 6W pupils explained you can EARN, SAVE, SPEND or DONATE your money. There was even a working cash machine in the assembly issuing money!
Developing our pupils' financial literacy and ability to manage money is one of our PSHCE themes and such an important life skill, so the 6W pupils have challenged the pupils in Upper School to take on an optional half term pocket money challenge. They have encouraged the children to find some helpful jobs they can do around the house to earn a little bit of pocket money and everyone has been given a half term 'Money Flow Diary' to complete to show how they EARN, SAVE, SPEND and DONATE their money during the week. After half term they will share their diaries and what they did with their class in PSHCE lessons.
The themes of 6W's money assembly and ideas about teaching your child about financial responsibility can be found on the Cha-Ching Family Zone here. The resources are excellent and may be of interest to families for developing the child's life skills with money.
Valentine's Day
There was so much love in Lower School this week as Kingfishers Reception class performed their wonderful assembly celebrating the history and traditions of Valentine's Day. We even had a marriage celebrated on the day with our bride and groom! A delightful performance by all the children and so poignant as the children shared their Valentine's messages to their families.
Nursery Counting Cushions
The Nursery children absolutely loved counting on their new cushions this week, which have been kindly made by Brenda Hunt. The children used the Numicon pieces to count and then matched them to the cushions. Thank you very much Brenda!
Owls Visit the Art Studio
The children of Owls Reception class visited the Upper School Art Studio and Miss Dear this week to create space-themed t-shirts for their upcoming assembly. The children were very excited to come over to the Upper School and see the Art Studio and they created some lovely t-shirt designs!
Year 2 Trip to Heath Robinson Museum
Our Year 2 pupils enjoyed a super trip to the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner this week, where they looked at the different illustrations Heath Robinson had made and found clues in his pictures, like a swinging cat in a box. The pupils made felt with different coloured materials, using water and soap. It was great fun to have soapy hands!
JRSO Conference
Our Junior Road Safety Officers were invited to attend an event at Brunel University run by the London Borough of Hillingdon’s Road Safety & School Travel Team this week. Our team, consisting of six pupils from Year 5 (Catherine L, Laura B, Jasmine B, Dhiya K, Esha T & Anaiya B) were invited to participate in a number of fun educational activities including a theatre performance, workshops and the Dragons Den (during which they had to present an idea and pitch for funding).
Over the past few weeks the team have been discussing ideas to improve road safety or school travel and they came up with the idea of a loyalty scheme to encourage safe, active walking to school. They investigated their ideas, looking at how it would be achieved and what the rewards for participating would be. They then had to research the costs involved and produce a proposal in the form of a presentation.
On the day the girls were excited but a little nervous and were part of the first group to be called in to face the “Dragons”. They came across confidently and gave a polished presentation. The Dragon’s commented on their well thought out ideas and clear costings. Councillor Burrows remarked that he has never had a school ask for funding for a loyalty scheme, and he was impressed at the innovative idea to encourage everyone to make a commitment to our scheme.
At the end of the day we all sat nervously waiting to find out if our pitch to the Dragons had been successful and I am delighted to say that not only did they endorse our idea but actually gave us more money they we had asked for, which is fantastic. This will enable to JRSOs not only to implement their idea but promote their scheme throughout the school with posters and banners.
They very much deserved the funding that they received and we look forward to seeing their Active Walking Loyalty Scheme in action. Well done girls.
Sports Results
The Year 5/6 Netball B team played two matches this week, successfully winning both with improving performances. In their first match on Wednesday against Ryefield School they won 5 - 1. They then played St. Mary's School B team on Thursday, winning 3 - 0. The Year 5/6 Netball A team played St. Mary's School A team too on Thursday, dominating their match to win 12 - 0.
Our school football team resumed matches after the winter break with a 2-0 win against St. Andrew's, with Harry and Alex scoring the goals. This was followed up this week with a convincing 4-0 win over Laurel Lane School, with Alex scoring 2, Harry netting one and Jack H getting his first goal for the school. The team has started very well and hopefully we can keep this going for the remaining three matches. We welcome two new additions, Thomas W and Jack H, to the team.
BBC 500 Words Competition
The annual BBC 500 Words Short Story Competition is now open and entries are being accepted until 8th March for ages 5 - 13. This is a fun writing activity for the children with some fantastic prizes to be won, so we hope that you will encourage your child to enter. Half term is a super time for the children to plan and write a short story. An adult must submit a child's entry online so please feel free to submit your child's entry at home; alternatively, you may email the entry to your child's class teacher and we can submit it for you.
Here is a link to the main competition information:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00rfvk1
Here is the link to the resource pack, including planning tips and activities:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/radio2/500words/500_words_2019_resource_pack.pdf
Good luck to all entrants!
Waste Week: 25th-29th March
As part of waste week there will be a host of assemblies taking place by Mrs. Mann, Mrs. McLaughlin, Miss Dear and the Eco Reps. The theme this year is 'Say no to single use plastic', so we would like to set an optional half term challenge of taking photos of 'alternatives used instead of plastic'. These photos will then be displayed on our Eco Board for all to see. Please bring the photos into school and give to your class teacher no later than Friday 1st March.
During the week, the Eco Reps will keep a record of single use plastic they see from their class and the results will be shared in assembly, the aim being that all classes have 0% single use plastic. Children will be focussing on the theme in more detail in their lessons during that week to discuss, learn and debate this very important issue.
We look forward to seeing all your photos after the half term.
Posted on: 8/02/2019Antarctica by Mrs. McLaughlin
This week we have a guest blog from Mrs. McLaughlin, who has been inspiring the children at Upper School with assemblies about her journeys in Antarctica.
On Monday I had the opportunity to lead the Middle School and Upper School assemblies. When I am given such opportunities I like to share my life experiences with the children: having written a book, explored Antarctica with Sir Robert Swan, trekked the Amazon Rainforest and the Himalayan range, hiked Mt Fuji in Japan and volunteered in Palestine, there is something there that intrigues everyone.
On Monday, I chose to inspire the children (and staff) with my Antarctica story. It seemed apt with the children having had a snow day on the Friday and temperatures in other parts of the world sinking to lows never experienced before. I showed the children videos and pictures of my trip and talked about what it was like to visit one of the coldest, loneliest and driest places on Earth.
The children were in awe!
I started by telling the children that I had watched a video that Sir Robert Swan had shown the children at the school I was working in at the time, and it was this video, showing the beauty and wonder of Antarctica, that made me determined to visit. I shared this video with the children and they seemed to be just as inspired as I was.
As I continued to show the children videos and pictures, I could see their eyes widen with excitement. The story of my friend Jemima the penguin and the leopard seal was one of the stories that intrigued them most.
After telling my story of perseverance, co-operation, respect and fairness - just some of the values we teach here at school - I went on to explain the real reason I visited Antarctica. It was to make a difference, however small. It was to make small changes in my lifestyle and to inspire others to do the same, so that the world could be a much nicer place to live in.
I shared some eye-opening facts about climate change with the children and asked them what they felt was the number one threat to our planet. I got so many fantastic answers: pollution, noise, humans, artificial intelligence and more. The children were surprised but quickly realised the truth when I told them Sir Robert Swan’s most famous quote: ‘The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.’ This alone inspired me to do more and I know that it got the children thinking too.
Since the assembly, the children have asked me a whole host of questions and have carried out research about Antarctica independently of their own accord. As a school, we continue to work closely with our Eco Reps to make a big impact in small ways. This includes taking part in 'Waste Week' and 'Switch Off Fortnight', ensuring that electricity is used efficiently, growing our own vegetables and monitoring food waste. Last year we achieved the Eco Schools Silver award and we are now striving for the prestigious ‘Green Flag’ award.
If there is a final message I can leave you with, it is this:
‘The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.’ - Sir Robert Swan OBE
Mrs. McLaughlin
Posted on: 8/02/2019Weekly News - Friday 8th February 2019
Quiz Club Success
On Tuesday, eight members of our General Knowledge Quiz Club took part in the annual general knowledge quiz area heat at Davenies School in Beaconsfield.
Two teams of four children went head to head against nine other teams to answer forty general knowledge questions. Subjects included geography, history, classical music, films and literature. It was a close contest and our teams showed great knowledge and determination.
We are very proud to say that our teams finished in 2nd and 3rd place. Well done to Arushi (6M), Anisa (6M), Catherine (5A), Daniel (5G), Ben (4T), Vidhit (4T), Aryan (3B) and Anjika (3B).
Sign2Sing
All across the school this week our children have raised awareness of a very small charitable trust, Sign2Sing, by taking part in their annual event 'Sign2Sing'. In their music lessons the children have been learning British sign language to a popular Take That song. Mrs. Smith, one of our Year 3 Teaching and Learning Assistants, has also been running a sign language club at lunchtime. Each assembly gave me tingles and we were delighted that Tony the representative from the charity was able to join us yesterday to enjoy our performances.
It is so important that we raise our children's awareness of this disability but that they realise that deaf people are able to communicate and lead a very enriched and fulfilling life as they do. For those of you who have not seen the Oscar nominated short film about Maisie the 6 year old girl I would highly recommend it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkIbPTV1NIE
A special thank you is due to Georgia in Year 6, who has been inspired by this charity and arranged a 'Guess the number of sweets in the jar' event at Upper School, which raised £100 yesterday. We will announce the full amount raised next week and thank you all for your kind donations.
You can see videos of the assemblies here:
Lower School - https://youtu.be/SwFWlEaXy40
Upper School - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0R5EKWJeY&feature=youtu.be
Year 5 Sell Their Cereals
Pupils in Year 5 have been busy taking part in their own 'The Apprentice' challenge. The brief was to come up with a new cereal for children and our pupils worked in their English, art and computing lessons to put together a pitch for their own brand new cereal.
In art lessons they made and designed cereal boxes, in English they wrote a presentation pitch which would persuade supermarkets to buy their product and finally, in computing, they put together an eye catching and informative stop motion animation for their pitch.
The children worked enthusiastically to develop their ideas and the delivery of the pitches by all of the children was to a high standard and very professional. Watch out Alan Sugar - the next generation are on their way!
Chinese New Year
We had a great time at school this week celebrating Chinese New Year. The children loved the special menu created by Soula and her team for lunchtime.
The children in Year 2 particularly enjoyed seeing Joleen demonstrate how to use chopsticks properly!
Assemblies This Week
On Thursday, the children of Robins Nursery performed superbly as they shared with us the traditions and history of the Chinese New Year. A most colourful and confident performance from every child - congratulations!
2H told us all about The Great Fire of London in their assembly today.
Their re-enactment of the Great Fire of London was really entertaining, with wonderful singing, dancing and drama. We are so fortunate to live so close to London and I am sure that many of the pupils will enjoy visiting so many of the landmarks they have been learning about.
The visiting 2H parents had an extra treat today as the Middle School children also performed their Sign2Sing song to their audience - a very poignant moment.
5A performed a wonderful, thought provoking assembly this week on dreams and aspirations. The children recited a fun poem by Gareth Lancaster and re-enacted the traditional story of ‘The Three Trees’.
Parents and pupils alike joined in to sing 'A Million Dreams’, led by a confident and proud 5A, all dreaming big to be the very best that they can be in their futures.
Sports News
Handball Competition
Last Saturday some of our Year 6 pupils took part in the district handball competition held at Oakwood School. The event, supported by Ruislip Eagles Handball Club, who provided referees, saw ten teams of boys and girls play this exciting and fast paced game. St. Helen's College had two teams taking part and both teams played very well during the group stages, winning many matches. Our A team progressed to the semi finals to play Oak Farm in a thrilling match which was won by just one goal by Oak Farm. Player of the day was Thomas W who was outstanding in goal! Well done to everyone who took part and congratulations to the A team who were presented with bronze medals.
If your child is interested in handball, they might like to join the Eagles handball club for training. More details can be found here.
Information about Thames Valley Cavaliers basketball club's Saturday programme and half term holiday camp can be found here.
Netball Results
Netball teams from Langley Hall came to St. Helen's on Wednesday to play netball against our Year 6 girls. Our A team won 9 - 0 and the B team lost 10 - 0.
In the local schools' netball league our team played Hermitage school last night. After a shaky start, the girls rallied in the second half and the final score was 10-4 to Hermitage.
Mindful Sit
Pupils from Ducklings to Year 6 will take part in a mindful ' Sit Together' on Monday, where they will embrace the moment and sit mindfully to enjoy a strong silence. This activity is being carried out by thousands of children across the UK to raise awareness for National Children's Mental Health Week. More details can be read here:
https://mindfulnessinschools.org/sit-together-for-childrens-mental-health-week/
Month End Music Recital - Next Friday (15th February)
We would like to remind parents that our February Month End music recital is happening rather early, next Friday, because of half term! Please do come along to this lovely informal occasion to hear the pupils perform, playing their musical instruments or singing. You will be most welcome, whether your child is performing or not. We look forward to seeing many of you there.
PA Class Representatives - Forum Meeting Tuesday 12th February
Please let your PA class rep know if there is any point relevant to the whole school community which you would like us to discuss at the forthcoming forum meeting on 12th February. Any points which relate specifically to your class or year group should, as always, be addressed to the class teacher. We are particularly interested to hear any feedback or ideas from the parent community about car sharing and how this may be embedded further throughout the school.
Posted on: 1/02/2019Weekly News - Friday 1st March 2019
Owls Assembly - All About Space
The children in Owls took us on an intergalactic tour of Space this week in their assembly and astounded us with their knowledge of Space. Singing and performances were out of this world!
Well done Owls - you are all our little stars!
2B Assembly - Colours
2B brought much colour to a rather drab Friday morning (dreich as I would say in Scotland!) with their creative assembly on colour, inspired by their recent trip to the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner. (Do visit if you are not aware of this superb local museum, https://www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org/.)
The children then acted out a wonderful story told to us from the perspective of the crayons in a packet of Crayola crayons! I am sure that we will all be more mindful and creative in our use of colours in the future but also a lovely reminder to allow our own true colours to shine through. Well done 2B!
Quiz Team Success!
Our Quiz Team have reached the semi-finals of the Prep School General Knowledge Competition, which will be held at Merchant Taylor's School on 20th March. They will be busy over the next few weeks acquiring even more general knowledge to prepare themselves for what will be a very high level challenge against the other qualifying prep schools.
Year 4 Take Decimal Work Outside
The children in Year 4 made the most of this week's good weather to take their learning outdoors as they worked interactively and cooperatively learning to multiply decimals by 100, 1000, 10000. Great team work and fun in developing their mathematical understanding.
Year 5 Drama
The shrieking of witches and chants of spells resounded around the playground this week as our Year 5 classes practised performing their own versions of the famous 'Song of the Witches' from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Their focus is on characterisation, adding pitch, pace and vocal pauses where necessary. Great work, Year 5. You can see some photos and short videos of their work here.
HeartStart
We are delighted that the school has been re-affiliated for another year as a teaching school for HeartStart, the British Heart Foundation initiative to educate a future generation in life-saving skills. As part of our innovative and unique PSHCE curriculum, we run the HeartStart programme for all children from Reception to Y6 each year, teaching and building skills in emergency first aid including calling for help, dealing with conscious and unconscious casualties, choking, serious bleeding, strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrest.
British Science Week 2019
1st - 8th March is British Science Week. Parents may wish to learn more, or look at some of the resources with your children, to help to spark their scientific interest! To do so, please follow the link below for more information on the theme, which is ‘Journeys’. There are activity packs for all ages and families, and you can get involved with ‘Run with the Ancestors’, locate events near you, or get involved in ‘citizen science’ and help with digitizing old weather records!
https://www.britishscienceweek.org/
Direct links to age-appropriate resource packs are below.
EYFS (Ducklings, Nursery and Reception)
https://www.britishscienceweek.org/app/uploads/2019/02/BSA_sciweek_pack_earlystages_0119v2.pdf
Primary Pack (Years 1 - 6)https://www.britishscienceweek.org/app/uploads/2019/02/BSA_sciweek_pack_primary_0119v4.pdf
Family Pack
https://www.britishscienceweek.org/app/uploads/2019/02/BSA_EurotunnelTerminal_handout_1118_W1.pdf
A further useful resource is the Science Live site:
https://sciencelive.net/
We hope you will enjoy getting scientific together!
Walk on Wednesday
Our weekly initiative to encourage our pupils and parents to include walking as part of their journey to and from school returns next Wednesday. Why not enjoy a stroll through Court Park or along Long Lane on the way to school each Wednesday? It's a great way to start the day.
Our ''Drop and Stride' route will also operate from Court Drive where our older pupils can be dropped before independently walking down the path in Court Park to school. Our staff and Junior Road Safety Officers will be positioned along the path to supervise the route between 8.05 and 8.25 a.m.
Pledge Sign Up Clinics
Our Junior Road Safety Officers will be holding sign up clinics for the school's new Parent Parking Pledge on Wednesdays this half term in the Upper School gazebo. Signing up is quick and easy online and parents will receive their car pledge sticker immediately. If you can not make Wednesdays to sign up for the pledge you can access the online form here. Let's see which class gets all their parents signed up first!
Sign2Sing Fundraising
Many thanks to all who kindly made donations in support of our Sign2Sing initiative in the first half of term. We are delighted to report that the school raised a total of £400.56 for this most worthy of charities. More importantly, perhaps, we have once again raised the children's awareness of the importance of caring for those whose lives are more challenging than their own.
Sports News
Our football team suffered a defeat on Wednesday, losing 6-3 to Hermitage. It wasn't our best performance, but the boys showed a lot of character in the second half and hopefully this will help us moving forward. Goal scorers were Alex C, Jack H and Eli V-B.
Exhibition Day
We would like to remind parents that our annual Exhibition Day will take place on Saturday 23rd March. This year, to celebrate our new look Lower School, we would like to invite all parents and staff for a Bucks Fizz reception at Lower School from 9.30 a.m. The official timings of Exhibition Day at Ducklings and Upper School will be 10.00 a.m. until 12.00 p.m. Refreshments will be served from 10.00 a.m. in the Evans Hall. We do hope that you will all take this opportunity to celebrate your children's hard work and achievements on this special day.
Speech Competition
Children throughout the school are now busy learning their poems for our annual Speech Competition and aiming to produce performances of a really high standard.
Nursery and Reception children will recite their poems to their parents, teachers and peers on Tuesday 26th March. All Nursery and Reception parents are warmly invited to attend to hear the children perform.
Children in Years 1 to 6 will, as usual, perform their poems first to their class teachers, who will select semi-finalists. Mrs. Drummond and Mrs. Smith will then hear the semi-finalists and select the finalists. Parents of finalists will be invited to the finals on Monday 25th March, when the finalists will perform their pieces to parents, staff, peers and our guest judge, the Reverend Ken Kingston.
The children's performances will be judged on three things: expression, projection and clarity. Gesticulations or movements will not be counted. Some natural hand movement is acceptable but judgements will be made purely based on the quality of the pupils' speech. Choreographed actions are not permitted.
We hope that you will encourage your child to learn their piece by heart, to practise with expression, projection and clarity in mind, and to support and encourage their peers in doing the same.
We are very aware that not everyone can make it through to the final so please support us in helping your children to cope with disappointment to strengthen their resilience.
Registration Reminder
If you, or any of your friends or family, have a child whose date of birth is between 01.09.15 and 31.08.17 and you intend for them to join St. Helen's College, please register them now as a matter of priority. The online registration form is available here.
Trophies Reminder
We would like to remind parents that all cups/trophies awarded at Prizegiving, Sports Day and the school tennis competition need to be returned to the school office this term. Please return trophies as soon as you can.
Posted on: 1/02/2019Weekly News - Friday 1st February 2019
Year 5 Armada Battles
In their history lessons this week, 5A and 5G had great fun re-enacting the events of the Spanish Armada. Throughout their afternoon lessons, the children heard the story of the Armada whilst having their own 'mini battles'. On tables of four, children were split into two pairs, with one pair representing the English and the other pair the Spanish. Everyone had a picture of their monarch, a picture of the type of ship they would be in and a map of the English Channel showing the points of the various battles, as well as four sets of scenarios from different times during the event. The pupils were made commanders of their fleet, with the number of ships the Spanish and English actually had.
As events 'unfolded', the children worked in pairs to make decisions about how to proceed, given three possible options for each decision. Each class then discussed all the choices they had made, and Mrs. Hopkins revealed what actually happened and what would have happened if the children had been the decision makers back in the sixteenth century! The pupils very much enjoyed examining their results cards to see whether they would have lost ships and ultimately been victorious!
Many thanks to Burn, our History Prefect, and Anisa for assisting Mrs. Hopkins with these exciting lessons! Year 5 gave some excellent feedback after the sessions, which were clearly extremely interesting and memorable for them.
Times Tables Rock Stars
We would like to remind all parents from Year 1 upwards that all of your children have a school subscription to the superb 'Times Tables Rock Stars' site, which is also available as an app to download. This online programme assists the children in learning their multiplication tables in a fun and interactive manner...so do remind them to use it regularly! The children are able to access Times Tables Rock Stars via the Learning Portal, as well as other online resources including Mathletics, Language Nut, Abacus and Curriculum Visions.
DeLancey UK Chess Challenge
The first online Delancey UK Chess Challenge begins this Friday 1st February, and the children from our Upper School chess clubs will be encouraged to take part. Please see the following link for details on how to register and take part.
https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/chesskid/
Alternatively, watch the following brief videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpl7XQdwRMM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKAhDhFzhzQ&feature=youtu.be
St. Helen's College to become ABRSM Exam Centre
We are delighted to announce that we will be becoming an examination centre for some of our music pupils. This will mean a large number of our pupils will be able to sit their examinations in a familiar environment on a Saturday instead of missing lessons during the week and travelling to other examination centres. Peripatetic music teachers who will use our centre will be in contact directly with parents.
Hillingdon Music Hub
This week in assembly, Miss Collier gave a talk to Upper School children about the Hillingdon Hub. The Hub provides opportunities for young musicians from different schools to get together to play in a band or orchestra, on a Thursday evening and/or Saturday morning. Some current St. Helen's College pupils already attend, as do some ex-pupils. If your son or daughter has Grade 1, or plays at that level or above, they are able to join, and you don't have to live in the borough to attend. We would urge you to allow your children this extra musical opportunity! If any parent or pupil would like any further information, Mrs. Allery or Miss Collier would be pleased to provide this. You can also find more information by following the link below.
âhttps://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/music
Wrens Assembly
The children of Wrens Nursery put on a roaringly good dinosaur-themed assembly this week, displaying quite astonishing knowledge and performance skills for children aged 3 and 4!. They knew lots of interesting facts about dinosaurs and educated their audience about herbivores, carnivores and what caused dinosaurs to become extinct, even re-enacting a meteorite hitting the earth! They also sang three very catchy songs and wore fantastic costumes. Each and every child spoke individually, remembering their words and projecting their voices beautifully. Well done, Wrens!
Borough Basketball
Our basketball team took part in the borough basketball competition this week held at Uxbridge College. The team played four matches in their group and after narrow defeats in the first two matches they bounced back to win the final two matches against Ryefield and St. Swithun Wells schools. Well done to the team.
Chinese New Year - Special Menu
On Tuesday, we will be celebrating Chinese New Year with a special themed menu. You can see the special menu here.
Year 5 Transfer Meetings
Thank you to all the Year 5 parents who have met with me over the last couple of weeks to discuss the choice of schools available for your children’s senior school transfer. With us all working together, we can prepare the children for this exciting next step.
Car Sharing
If you currently drive your child to school, we would like to encourage you to consider sharing the journey with other parents who live near to you. Car sharing has many benefits, including:
Relieving parents of the need to drive to school every day.
Encouraging friendships among children, either within the same class/year group or across the years.
Reducing traffic congestion on local roads.
Easing the difficulties of finding parking spaces around school.
Reducing pollution in the local area.
Helping to educate children to be responsible citizens by reducing pollution and congestion.
Encouraging relationships between parents across the same/different year groups to enhance the SHC community.
Freeing up parents' time at the start/end of the day on some days of the week to enable more working hours/free time!
If you are interested in car sharing, please let your PA Class Rep know, as we will be discussing this further with Class Reps at the next Parents' Forum meeting.
We would be delighted to see more parents car sharing at morning drop-off and evening pick-up, and we will be actively promoting car sharing to the children in assemblies and via our Junior Road Safety Officers too. Thank you, in advance, for your efforts in arranging car sharing in order to improve the school run for everyone.
St. Helen's College Parent Parking Pledge
We are asking you to consider making the Parent Parking Pledge in an effort to manage congestion and improve safety near our school at busy times. The idea is simple: in return for agreeing to follow some basic principles, your car can carry a sticker that tells the world you are doing your bit to make a difference.
Parents at schools across Hillingdon are agreeing to:
• Help my child/children travel actively at least once a week
• Drive with consideration for others
• Park away from the school gates
• Never block a driveway
• Turn off my engine when parked
In addition we have three pledges that apply here and trust that you will agree to:
• Follow the St Helen's College parking regulations
• Use the 'Drop & Go' and 'Pick Up & Go' zones safely and efficiently
• Respect and adhere to the parking restrictions in operation around all our school sites
If you are happy to make the Pledge, it would be great if you could follow the link and complete the form. Once submitted, you will get your car sticker that will show others your commitment to pupil health and safety.
Thank you!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScEIokFqGjH68LP5qCH9miaJIxA4i6cTB4J67WMDB009-j5PA/viewform?usp=sf_link
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