School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 19/01/2024School Inspection
I am sure that many of you have read articles and reports in the media regarding the fallout from the tragic death of Headteacher Ruth Perry following her school’s Ofsted Inspection. Ruth took her own life in January 2023 before the publication of an inspection report rating Caversham Primary School in Berkshire ‘inadequate’.
The chief coroner concluded that the inspection 'lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity' and was at times 'rude and intimidating'.
Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, inspects and reports on anywhere that provides education for young people in England, including schools, nurseries and childminders. Schools or organisations are inspected every four years or 30 months depending on their status, and are then graded accordingly:
1 - outstanding
2 - good
3 - requires improvement
4 - inadequate
Many parents rely on Ofsted ratings to help them choose a school or nursery for their child. As at November 2022, 88% of schools in England were rated either outstanding or good.
As an independent school and part of the association IAPS (The Association for Preparatory Schools), we are inspected under a different inspection body: ISI (The Independent Schools Inspectorate).
Ofsted are contracted by the Department for Education to conduct and report on inspections of organisations such as schools (both maintained and academies). The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) are contracted to do the same but for Independent Schools.
ISI is a Government approved inspectorate and the quality of its service is monitored by Ofsted on behalf of the Department for Education. Every year, Ofsted prepares a report for the Education Secretary about how the ISI has carried out its work. Overall Ofsted is satisfied but will normally comment on an area for ISI to consider.
Both ISI and Ofsted report on independent schools’ compliance with the DfE Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations. These are the statutory rules the DfE imposes on independent schools against which ISI inspects. But ISI and Ofsted use a different framework and criteria for judging school quality, and they use different judgement words too. For example, up until last year ISI used 'excellent, good, sound and unsatisfactory', while Ofsted uses 'outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate'.
Another difference is that ISI inspection teams largely consist of practising senior leaders currently working in independent schools, whereas Ofsted inspectors have not necessarily run a school. This means ISI inspectors are realistic and knowledgeable about the challenges for individual schools and their reports are more nuanced. For example, ISI inspectors evaluate independent schools against the higher standards of academic achievement and extracurricular activities in the sector as a whole as well as against national norms.
The National Education Union (NEU) has urged school leaders to refuse to work as Ofsted inspectors until a health and safety assessment of the system is carried out. Ofsted inspections have been frozen and as well as calling for a freeze of inspections and the abolition of Ofsted, the motion instructed the union to 'call on all NEU leadership members to refuse to participate as inspectors in any further inspections until a full health and safety assessment of the inspection system is conducted'.
Educational leaders in both the maintained and independent sector can only see the positive in this but sadly it is too little, too late for Ruth Perry.
Many of you will know that I am a practising inspector for ISI and I am privileged to conduct regular inspections each year in other independent schools.
As an independent sector we also now have a new framework for our inspection process and ISI will now NOT give an overall judgement, and have abolished the four gradings of excellent, good, sound and unsatisfactory. Instead, they now focus on ‘nuanced reporting‘ within the report itself.
The new framework places a strong emphasis on promoting the wellbeing of pupils.
Pupil wellbeing is defined in section 10(2) of the Children Act 2004 as:
physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing;
protection from harm and neglect;
education, training and recreation;
the contribution made by them to society and
social and economic wellbeing.
This definition is used as a starting point for ISI’s approach to school evaluations, making it vital that all school leaders keep this at the forefront of their minds when updating policies and reviewing their curriculum and values.
The new framework places an overarching responsibility of the school’s leadership, management and governance to 'actively promote' these five aspects of pupils’ wellbeing in all aspects of school life. Governors are reminded of their responsibilities to ensure their school is fully compliant and aware of the measures they need to take in order to mitigate against the particular issues their school faces.
At St. Helen's College, we are approaching the end of our three year cycle and are due to be inspected hopefully by the end of 2024 under the new framework.
The new framework emphasises that schools need to actively seek and take into account pupils’ views, wishes and feelings about their school experience. School leaders should enable pupils to communicate, develop positive relationships with staff, and make their views known. Parent and staff views are also taken into account and questionnaires are sent out from ISI at the onset of the inspection process to assist the team in their evaluations.
Safeguarding continues to be at the forefront of inspections. Inspectors will check to verify there are arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils and meet the expected standards and provisions as set out in the relevant legislation and statutory guidance. The new framework specifically mentions the need for schools to have effective arrangements to ensure that pupils know how to stay safe online and that these are regularly updated and reviewed. Schools can ensure they meet these criteria by having an effective PSHE curriculum in place as well as an Online Safety Policy (either stand alone or incorporated into the Child Protection and Safeguarding policy), which is appropriate for the ages and needs of the pupils. It should cover all aspects of staying safe online and must include appropriate provision to have monitoring and filtering systems in place.
I am proud to be part of the ISI inspectorate and how we as a body work together with schools to evaluate their provision to celebrate strengths but also to recommend areas of improvement to ensure that as a sector we are the frontrunners in our educational provision for your children.
You may wish to read more information about our inspection process here.
Posted on: 12/01/2024Weekly News - Friday 12th January 2024
It has been a super first week back at school! The children have been very busy with their learning indoors and out. If you would like to keep in touch with what is going on at school, please follow us on your preferred channel(s) by clicking the links below.
Barnardo's National Choral Competition Final Tickets
We are delighted that The Chamber Choir have once again reached the final of the prestigious Barnardo's National Choral Competition. The final will be held on Tuesday 5th March at Birmingham Symphony Hall. The competition will take place between 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. with an evening performance at 6.00 p.m. If you would like to attend the evening performance, tickets can be purchased here. There is a group rate available if 4+ tickets are booked together. Once you have added the tickets for the evening concert to the basket, there is an option to purchase a daytime ticket for £5 which allows you access to watch the competition, if you wish to do so. Please ensure that you book early; tickets are sold directly by the venue and we have no access to additional tickets once they are sold out.
100 Things To Do In Our Centenary Year
We hope you are enjoying working your way through the list of '100 Things To Do In Our Centenary Year'!
For the school magazine, we would like to collate photographs of pupils/families doing these activities. Mrs. Smith would be grateful if you would share photographs of your children/family enjoying some of the activities with her. You may email photos directly to susmith@sthelenscollege.com. Please feel free to send photographs throughout the year as you complete each activity.
Library Books
Libraries are a brilliant expression of community recycling - books and resources are borrowed, read, and returned to be shared again and again! By enjoying their library books and returning them to the school library on time, St. Helen's College children are part of this sustainable cycle in our school community.
Happy readers are the best way to promote reading, and the Upper School library is often busy with children asking for the books they have seen their friends enjoy! So please support sustainability and help to promote reading by encouraging your child to choose a particular place to keep their library books safe, and return them to school promptly when they are finished so that the books are available for another child.
Books are loaned for up to two weeks and may be renewed for "another turn" by visiting the library. Books which remain overdue since before Christmas will be assumed lost, and parents may be asked to replace these.
Court Park Wood Carvings
One of our staff members came across this beautiful wood carving from a fallen tree in Court Park. We are so lucky to have access to the park for our pupils for sports and more.
To take a look for yourselves follow these directions: walk through the park past the tennis courts and children's playground into Court Drive. Walk straight up the road to the top of the hill where the path starts then walk around the perimeter of the park. You will see the carving on the right hand side. What a good excuse to walk or scoot to school, or to visit the park for a bracing winter walk!
Parents' Evenings
Ducklings, Nursery and Reception parents' evenings will take place on Thursday 25th and Wednesday 31st January. Bookings are now open; information has been sent directly to parents by email.
Alumni News
Esme Stallard is an Old Helenian who is a science and climate reporter for the BBC. This week, she has written on the likelihood of Norway becoming the first country to approve commercial-scale deep sea mining. You can read her piece here.
Sports News
5G have enjoyed a week of swimming lessons this week at Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Complex. Sporting fixtures will resume next week; please ensure that all children come to school with plenty of layers to keep warm during outdoor sports in this cold weather.
Free Basketball Tickets: Euro Cup Women
London Lions Women v Lointek Gernika Bizkaia
St. Helen's College pupils are being offered free tickets to the Women's Euro Cup basketball match between London Lions and Lointek Gernika Bizkaia on Thursday 18th January at the Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
To take advantage of this offer, simply follow the link below and use the promotional code LYG783.
https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/euro-cup-women-london-lions-women-london-18-01-2024/event/35005F7BBB668586?did=community
Next Week
Monday 15th - Friday 19th January - 5R swimming all week
Tuesday 16th January - Year 5 transfer meetings with Ms Drummond (5 - 8 p.m.)
Wednesday 17th January - Reception entry meetings (for September 2024 entry)
Wednesday 17th January - PA meeting in The Evans Hall (7.30 p.m.)
Friday 19th January - 5R coffee morning (8.15 a.m.) and class assembly (8.40 a.m.)
Dates For Your Diaries
As always, there will be lots of opportunities this term for parents to see children's work and activities, and meet with staff. Important dates for parents for this term include:
Friday 19th January - 5R coffee morning/class assembly
Thursday 25th January - 1C coffee morning/class assembly
Thursday 25th January - Ducklings/Nursery/Reception parents' evenings
Friday 26th January - 6H coffee morning/class assembly
Friday 26th January - Month End Music Recital in Evans Hall
Wednesday 31st January - Ducklings/Nursery/Reception parents' evenings
Thursday 1st February - Robins coffee morning/class assembly
Friday 2nd February - 5G coffee morning/class assembly
Thursday 8th February - Wrens coffee morning/class assembly
Friday 9th February - 6L coffee morning/class assembly
Tuesday 20th February - PA coffee morning
Thursday 22nd February - Owls coffee morning/class assembly
Friday 23rd February - Month End Music Recital in Evans Hall
Thursday 29th February - Kingfishers coffee morning/class assembly
Tuesday 5th March - Chamber Choir performing at Barnardo's National Final (Birmingham Symphony Hall)
Wednesday 6th March - 1R coffee morning/class assembly
Thursday 7th March - Year 3 play performance at Compass Theatre
Tuesday 12th March - Year 4 parents' Senior School Transfer Meeting
Friday 15th March - Half Day (NO AFTER SCHOOL CLUB AVAILABLE)
Saturday 16th March - Centenary Exhibition Day
Tuesday 19th March - Nursery/Reception Poetry Recitation
Tuesday 19th March - Year 5 Isle of Wight Information Evening for parents
Thursday 21st March - Speech & Poetry Competition Y1-6 (parents of finalists will be invited)
Thursday 21st March - Year 3 PACCAR Information Evening for parents
Friday 22nd March - Year 2 - 6 Easter Service at All Saints Church (11 a.m.)
Easter Camp
MiniMe Camps will be running an Easter Camp at PACCAR for 6-11 year old children from 8th to 12th April, which will include activities such as zip wire, abseiling, laser tag, giant swing and more. A flyer can be found here and bookings should be made here.
Posted on: 5/01/2024Weekly News - Friday 5th January 2024
Happy New Year to the St. Helen's College Community! We hope that you have all had a good break.
We have been busy in school for the past two days with staff training and preparations for the new term, and are looking forward very much to welcoming the pupils back on Monday. Please ensure that your child arrives at school in good time each morning, by 8.25 a.m., so that all pupils may enjoy a calm, purposeful start to the day.
Buy Nothing New Month
St. Helen's College is taking part in Buy Nothing New Month during January. This initiative, run by Keep Britain Tidy, is about moving beyond simply recycling to reduce the amount of new 'stuff' that we buy, and by extension, the amount of waste that we create. It is about cherishing the things we already have, repairing things rather than sending them to landfill, and finding new homes for the things we no longer need.
It is sobering to think that, if everyone in the world lived like people in the UK, we would need over two and a half planets to regenerate and absorb our waste. As a society, we need to move to a circular economy that wastes less and puts more value on the things we already have.
The 'Buy Nothing New' initiative is not just good for the planet; it is an opportunity to save money too. Last year, 65% of those who took part bought nothing new for a whole month, and an additional 31% bought less than they usually would.
We hope that you will join us in trying to buy nothing new this month.
Uniform And Equipment
Please double check that your children have the correct uniform and equipment and that everything is clearly named. It is essential that every child brings a waterproof St. Helen's College coat/raincoat with them each day.
Travel And Parking Reminders
We urge parents and children to travel to school by foot (or bicycle/scooter) wherever possible. Doing so is environmentally friendly and good for physical and mental health.
For those who must drive, we would like to remind all parents that it is your responsibility to adhere to the school's travel and parking regulations, and to ensure that anyone delivering or collecting your child to school does the same. The regulations are permanently published to the school website and are available here.
It is inevitable that there will be some congestion at school run times, and those who drive should allow for this when planning journeys. As a school, we work hard to maintain good relationships with neighbours, promote sustainable travel, ease congestion for parents and make the drop-off and pick-up as easy as possible. The measures we take include the following.
An optional Breakfast Club daily during term time, so that your children may be dropped off at 7.30 a.m.
Staggered arrival times between 8.00 and 8.30 a.m. (with school staff providing supervision of children during these times).
A 'drop and go' system in the mornings, overseen by school staff, so that children may be dropped off without adults needing to park and exit their car.
Staggered departure times at end of day, between 3.00 and 3.50 p.m.
An optional After School Club daily during term time, so that children may stay at school up until 6 p.m. if needed.
A variety of after school co-curricular activities which further disperse departure times at the end of day.
Promotion of 'walk to school' initiatives and safe bicycle/scooter storage at school for children's bicycles and scooters.
Requiring parents to adhere to our school travel and parking regulations.
We are always interested to hear if you have any further ideas for easing congestion and promoting safe and sustainable travel.
Next Week - Reminders
Monday 8th - Friday 12th January - 5G swimming all week
Wednesday 10th January - Nursery entry meetings (for 2024 entry)
Wednesday 10th January - Year 5 transfer meetings with Ms Drummond
Thursday 11th January - Nursery entry meetings (for 2024 entry)
Posted on: 13/12/2023Weekly News - Wednesday 13th December 2023
Christmas Wishes
We would like to send our heartfelt best wishes to you all for a peaceful, joyful Christmas.
It was magical to join together this morning for our annual Upper School Carol Service at All Saints Church. We reflected on the importance of the Christmas story and message, listening to Year 6 children deliver bible readings and prayers. The orchestra played beautifully and the Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Chamber Choir all sang for us, followed by a massed choir performance, for which several members of staff joined in. Special congratulations and thanks to Hana H (Year 6) for her exquisite Once In Royal David's City solo performance. This was a meaningful, fitting way to end the first term of the year.
Chamber Choir Reaches Final Of National Choral Competition!
We are absolutely delighted to report that the St. Helen's College Chamber Choir has made it through to the finals of the Barnado's National Choral Competition on Tuesday 5th March! This is such a wonderful achievement for our elite singers, who recorded two songs for the competition: John Rutter's 'Colours of Christmas' and Linn Marsh's 'Believe'. They will be learning new songs to perform at the final in March and we will all be rooting for them! If you would like to hear the songs which secured their place in the final, you can do so here.
ABRSM Exam Results
Congratulations to all of our musicians who have recently passed ABRSM examinations. It is, once again, an impressive list of achievements.
Mark D
5G
Piano
Grade 2
Pass
Pavan S
6L
Singing
Grade 2
Distinction
Verity S
6H
Singing
Grade 2
Pass
Karter P
5G
Piano
Initial
Merit
Aran P
4T
Piano
Grade 3
Pass
Aanya P
5G
Piano
Grade 4
Pass
Zoe F
3B
Piano
Grade 2
Pass
Carols Around The Christmas Tree
We were thrilled to see so many of you at the Carols Around The Tree event on Monday, and it was truly joyful to hear children, staff and parents sing with such gusto. When the St. Helen's College community comes together it is always a very special time and this was no exception. Thank you to Soula for the hot chocolate and mulled wine, and to the parents who brought sweet treats to sell for the PA. If you would like to see a video of the singing, you can do so here.
Father Christmas Visits!
Monday was an extremely exciting day for our Ducklings and Lower School children: Christmas party day! The children wore their own clothes and played games, and the day was topped off with a visit from Father Christmas, who brought along a gift for every child. He visited Ducklings first and then, at Lower School, the new library was transformed into Santa's Grotto and each class visited him to share their Christmas wishes and receive their present. You can see more photographs of the Lower School children enjoying the run-up to Christmas on our Galleries page here.
Santa Dash
Also on Monday, many of the children at Upper School chose to take part in a Santa Dash in Court Park. Wearing Santa hats, antlers, elf hats or - in some cases - entire Santa outfits, pupils and staff ran around the perimeter of the park. It was an enjoyable half hour of fresh air fun!
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
So many children throughout the school brought in home made decorations for our Christmas trees this year that it was extremely hard to choose winners! In the end, the honours went to:
Robins - Mayilan P
Wrens - Nishay A
Owls - Cameron G
Kingfishers - Oliver N
1C - Callum B
1R - Annalivia B
2R - Aarlen J
2H - Adam H
3B - Tansy M
3M - Emerald S
4B - Alyssa P
4T - Mahi B
5G - Shanaya P
5R - Inaaya S
6H - Arjun C
6L - Tiya T
Well done to all our budding artists!
Year 3 & 4 Trip to Peter Pan
On Tuesday our final Christmas trip of the term saw the Year 3 and 4 children travel to The Rose Theatre in Kingston-Upon-Thames to see a production of Peter Pan. They thoroughly enjoyed the outing!
Roman Day
Year 3 had great fun during their themed Roman Day on Monday (pictured here ready for battle!) They took part in three workshops throughout the day, designing shields, making Roman coins using clay, and finally a Lego building workshop where they created aqueducts, villas and even the Colosseum!
Ducklings And Nursery Entry - September 2024
If you have a child who is eligible for entry into Ducklings or Nursery in September 2024, and you have not yet registered them with us, please do so as soon as possible by completing our online registration form. Places will be allocated in early/mid January for both entry points.
Looking Ahead
As always, please take the opportunity over the holidays to check your child's uniform and equipment and to repair or replace anything as necessary, to ensure that they have all they need for next term. You can check the uniform and equipment list here. Please, please, please make sure that all items of uniform and equipment are clearly named!
It is often very cold during January, February and even March, so please help the children to remember their coats, woolly hats, gloves and scarves.
The spring term menu has been posted to the website and can be seen here.
First Week Of Term
Monday 8th - Friday 12th January - 5G swimming all week
Wednesday 10th January - Nursery entry meetings (for 2024 entry)
Wednesday 10th January - Year 5 transfer meetings with Ms Drummond
Thursday 11th January - Nursery entry meetings (for 2024 entry)
Posted on: 8/12/2023Weekly News - Friday 8th December 2023
Christmas Christmas Christmas!
There have been so many exciting Christmas celebrations, trips and activities going on across the school this week.
Our 1R children entertained and informed us on Monday morning with their Christmas assembly at the Methodist Church. Their speaking and singing was first class, with every child contributing confidently and tunefully. It was very interesting to learn of different Christmas celebrations from around the world, and everyone enjoyed hearing the children tell the traditional Christmas story and sing both traditional religious and upbeat modern songs. Well done, 1R!
On Tuesday and Wednesday it was the turn of our Reception classes, Kingfishers and Owls, to present their Nativity assemblies. The children shared a confident re-telling of the traditional Nativity story in fabulous costumes, every child speaking and singing beautifully. These two performances even included solo singers which is an incredible achievement for such a young year group! Thank you to all our Reception performers for your fantastic work.
On Thursday and Friday our Nursery classes, Robins (pictured here) and Wrens, took to the stage for delightful Nativity assemblies. We were treated to sparkling singing and lots of smiles at these joyous and uplifting performances.
It was wonderful to see pupils taking part so confidently in their first public performance at St. Helen's College. We are sure there will be many more to come!
To see more Christmas photographs visit the gallery on the St. Helen's College website.
We were delighted that, as usual, Reverend Ken Kingston spoke to each of the Lower School classes following their Christmas assemblies. This year, he had a special twist up his sleeve: a donkey costume which Ms Drummond bought for him last year, after he had admired the donkey costumes in the St. Helen's College 2022 nativities! The Methodist Church will be holding a special family 'Carols and Christingle' Christmas celebration on Sunday 17th December at 6.00 p.m. Everyone is welcome.
At Ducklings, our youngest children have been very busy creating festive decorations and cards, learning about the story of Christmas and exploring the traditional Nativity scene.
On Thursday, everyone wore Christmas jumpers to school and enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch. A huge thank you to all the Accent staff for their hard work. We were disappointed to have to postpone Carols Around The Tree, but hope to see you all on Monday afternoon for the re-arranged event, weather permitting.
We also held Festive Footsteps on Thursday. This was our JTA (Junior Travel Ambassador) team's latest incentive to encourage parents and children to walk, scoot or cycle for either part or all of the journey to school using our park and stride map. Our JTA team, in their green Santa hats, marshalled the route through Court Park, admiring some lovely Christmas jumpers and decorated bikes and scooters along the way! Well done to all of those who participated.
Hana H, Grace O'H and Anna K (Year 6) were very pleased with the outcome of their raffle this week. They raised a total of £145 for Cancer Research UK. Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket.
We were delighted with the efforts of all of our pupil artists who submitted designs for the Centenary Christmas Card competition. The standard of entries was incredibly high. There were two winning designs, from twins Zoravar and Naseeb D in Year 1, whose outstanding artwork will be adorning the official school digital Christmas card this year. Congratulations!
Theatre Trips
The first two of our Upper School class Christmas trips took place this week too. On Wednesday, Year 5 and 6 visited London's Peacock Theatre to watch a very special Sadler's Wells performance of The Snowman.
Parents might like to take children of any age to The Snowman Walking Trail in the Fleet Street area of London over the Christmas break. You can see details here:
https://wildinart.co.uk/events/walking-with-the-snowman-at-fleet-street-quarter/
On Friday, Year 2 enjoyed an entertaining trip to Dick Whittington, the seasonal pantomime at the Compass Theatre in Ickenham. The pupils relished the opportunity to travel to the theatre by tube and, once there, delighted in the songs, dancing and jokes. Everyone certainly entered into the fun spirit of the occasion.
Online Safety
As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping our pupils safe online, we would like to remind parents that we are members of National Online Safety, a platform that we use for our online safety curriculum and for training staff. Parents can also access the resources, including courses and webinars around online safety, using the following link: https://nationalcollege.com/enrol/st-helen-s-college
We also have a date for your diaries. Mrs. Hunt and Mr. McLaughlin will be hosting an online evening to discuss specific, topical online safety concerns for primary-aged children on Wednesday, February 28th at 7 p.m. We will send the joining link nearer the time.
Chamber Choir Visit to Chalfont Lodge Care Home
On Friday our talented Chamber Choir visited Chalfont Lodge Care Home to spread some Christmas cheer to the elderly residents. The choir enchanted the audience with their beautiful performance of Believe (Lin Marsh), The Colours of Christmas (John Rutter) and Believe (Glen Ballard & Alan Silvestri). They were then joined by the residents to sing a selection of festive feel-good numbers including Jingle Bells, Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. It was a special moment for St. Helen's College Headmistresses present and past, as Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Crehan and Ms Drummond were together for the first time.
Recipe Pack
Chef Soula has shared this lovely December recipe pack for you to try with your children at home. We hope that you will have fun cooking together over the holidays!
Oak Farm Library
Oak Farm Library will be running some lovely events for children over the Christmas holidays. You can find details here.
Dance School
The Lynne Chilver School of Dance has been popular with St. Helen's College pupils for many years. They run lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Methodist Church on Long Lane. Please click here for more information.
Free Basketball Tickets!
Once again St. Helen's College pupils have access to free tickets for this weekend's Thames Valley Cavaliers basketball fixtures at Uxbridge College Sports Centre. Full details are here.
Next Week
Monday 11th December - Lower School Party Day (children should wear party clothes)
Monday 11th December - Year 3 Roman Day
Monday 11th December - Carols Around The Tree 3.00 p.m.
Tuesday 12th December - Year 3 & 4 trip to Peter Pan
Wednesday 13th December - Year 2-6 Carol Service at All Saints' Church, 11.15 a.m.
Wednesday 13th December - End of Term.
Half Day Finish Times - 11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & N); 12.00 p.m. (R); 12.10 p.m. (Y1,2); 12.20 (Y3,4); 12.30 (Y5,6)
Posted on: 1/12/2023Weekly News - Friday 1st December
House Songs
We will rock you! The children - and staff - were in full voice on Thursday morning for our House Song event.
Ramping up the team spirit, each House delivered a hearty rendition of their chosen piece. The songs were Queen's 'We Will Rock You' (Hibernia) and 'Don't Stop Us Now' (Cambria), Katy Perry's 'Roar' (Caledonia) and 'Believer' by Imagine Dragons (Windsor).
Class Assemblies
On Friday Class 1C shared a beautiful assembly explaining why Christmas is such an important time of year for Christians. They retold the Christmas Story and shared various ways in which Christmas is celebrated around the world.
They sang a mixture of traditional and modern upbeat songs to entertain us too! Super work 1C, we were incredibly proud of your performance!
2R also treated us to a very festive assembly this week, sharing unusual Christmas customs and traditions from around the world. We learnt about hidden gifts on the Christmas tree in Germany and eating Christmas caterpillars in South Africa!
The assembly was topped off with the pupils' own fun and energetic take on 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', which proved a big hit with the audiences who watched this excellent assembly!
Middle East Conflict
We know that there are many in our community affected by the conflict in the Middle East. We have spoken to the staff about this at school over recent weeks and they have been dealing sensitively and individually with the topic where pupils have expressed concern. We continue to focus on our school values in assemblies and our daily school life. Our thoughts and prayers go to all those suffering. We are all praying for peace.
Social Media
Thank you to all of those who responded to the recent social media survey. We have taken note of your preferences and have now launched/re-launched the school's social media channels.
The school will never post essential information via social media so there is no obligation to follow us, but we hope that you will choose to do so in order to celebrate all that the St. Helen's College community is up to!
Instagram - @StHelensCollege_Hillingdon
Facebook - @StHelensCollege_Hillingdon
Twitter (X) - @StHelenCollege
You might also like to follow Ms Drummond on Twitter (X).
Twitter (X) - @shirleydrummon5
Chess News
Congratulations to the winners of our recent in-school chess tournament and to all of the Year 4, 5 and 6 Chess Club players who participated.
1st - Gold medal
Emily S (6L) 12 points
2nd - Silver medal
Aaron B (6H) 11 points
3rd - Bronze medal
Aakash B (4B) 10 points
The school will once again be taking part in the 2024 Delancey School Chess Tournament next term, so look out for more chess news then!
Uxbridge Junior Chess Club will be hosting a Junior Chess Tournament on Sunday 21 January 2024. This is an individual competition but if a school has five or more pupils in the tournament then the school is automatically entered in the school tournament. Further details can be found here.
Sports News
Last Friday our Year 6 footballers joined an exciting tournament at Goals Hayes, which was organised by Queen's Park Rangers Football Club. Players were Ryley J, Luca H, Kal-El M, Marco K, Rian M, Jeevan P, Viren C and Anand V. The boys won the first match 3-0 and narrowly lost the final two matches. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all and the children were a testament to St. Helen's College, demonstrating exemplary sportsmanship. Well done boys!
The football team's match against St. Catherine's School on Wednesday ended in a 1-0 loss. The boys were absolutely outstanding and only conceded in the last minute of the game. Team members were Jack K, Giuseppe D, Rian M, Sean R, Joe T, Daynan C, Aaron B, Maicen M and Mikail O.
Switch Off Fortnight
Looking after the environment is important to everyone at St. Helen's College and recently pupils have been on a real mission to save energy! Taking part in Switch Off Fortnight has galvanised everyone to put into action simple ways to save energy at school and at home.
Sofia S and Roshni J (5R) have written this to explain:
This year's Switch Off Fortnight has been amazing! All the classes have been doing so well, and the electric metre scores are a lot better than last year. We know that everyone has been trying very hard. Even when it’s not Switch Off Fortnight please do turn off the lights, turn off the board and more. We really want you as the parents/guardians to encourage your children and for your children to encourage you to switch off at home.
Switch Off Fortnight went on for two weeks from Monday 13th of November until Friday 24th of November. Well done to everyone for doing Switch Off Fortnight and not forgetting!
Class winners for week one were 2H (Middle School) and 5R (Upper School) and for week two were 2H (Middle School) and 6H (Upper School). The winners enjoyed five minutes of extra play. Well done everyone and keep up the great work!
Hillingdon Food Bank
The St. Helen's College community has generously donated a second large box of supplies to the Hillingdon Food Bank, proudly displayed here by Rohan V and Annalivia B (Year 1).
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to this important initiative. You can find collection boxes at Lower and Upper School entrance areas, and any contributions are gratefully received.
Staff News
We will, sadly, be saying goodbye to Miss Rackham, our 1R class teacher, at the end of this term, as she has now moved away from the area. We all wish Miss Rackham well as she pursues her next adventures, and we thank her for being a wonderful colleague.
Miss Rackham's position will be filled, from January, by Mrs. Ashley Coker. Mrs. Coker is no stranger to St. Helen's College, having worked at Lower School as a Teaching And Learning Assistant some years ago before pursuing her teacher training. We are delighted to be welcoming her back into the St. Helen's College fold!
Ms Furniss has recently joined the administrative team based at Upper School to assist with admissions, marketing, communications and more. We know that you will join with us in extending her a warm St. Helen's College welcome.
Atom Prime training
A big thank you to all of the Year 3, 4 and 5 parents who joined the Atom Prime online training webinar on Thursday evening. Atom is a terrific online platform and a great way to engage with and support your child's learning at home.
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
As usual we will be running our Christmas Tree Decoration Competition this year. Children should bring in their home-made decorations from Monday 4th December until Friday 8th December. This year, children in Nursery to Year 6 should make decorations themed in their house colour. These are:
Caledonia - Blue
Cambria - Red
Hibernia - Green
Windsor - Yellow/Gold
Ducklings may make decorations in any colour/style!
Each decoration entry will receive two house points and there will also be a prize for the winner in each class from Ducklings through to Year 6.
Christmas Post Box
Our Christmas post boxes will be in operation from Monday at both Upper and Lower School.
If your child would like to post cards for others in their class or other classes across the school, they may pop them into the post boxes and our Year 6 pupils will sort and deliver them. Please do not put chocolate or other edible treats into the cards.
Thursday 7th December
On Thursday 7th December, children should wear their Christmas jumpers to school over their usual uniform.
We are promoting 'Festive Footsteps' on this day, encouraging parents and children to walk (or use bicycles or scooters) for either part or all of the journey to school. Children might like to decorate their bicycles or scooters on this day to add to the festive feel! There will be school staff and JTAs (in green Santa hats) marshalling the route through Court Park from Court Drive to Parkway, so why not park a little distance from school that day and travel on foot the rest of the way? Our 'park and stride' map can be found here.
Families taking part in 'Festive Footsteps' will also be helping to ease congestion at the end of the day, when the whole school will be gathering together for Carols Around The Tree in the Upper School playground. You are all warmly invited to join us for this event. Refreshments will be served from 3 p.m. outside the Evans Hall, and singing will begin around the tree at approximately 3.30 p.m.
Year 6 children will be running a raffle in aid of Cancer Research UK on Thursday too, so please allow your child to bring £1 into school if they would like to buy a raffle ticket. This is entirely optional.
Co-Curricular Bookings and Holiday Club Bookings Open Today
Bookings for spring term co-curricular activities will open at 4 p.m. today. Please log in to your SchoolsBuddy account to submit your child's preferences. As ever, please discuss choices with your child in advance so that you know you are requesting clubs that your child really wants to attend. Preferences must be submitted by midnight on Sunday (3rd December).
Bookings for the Christmas Holiday Club will also open at 4 p.m. today and should be made through your SchoolsBuddy account.
Next Week/End of Term
Monday 4th December - 1R coffee morning/Christmas assembly 8.15 a.m.
Tuesday 5th December - Kingfishers coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Wednesday 6th December - Owls coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Wednesday 6th December - Year 5 & 6 trip to The Snowman
Thursday 7th December - Robins coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Thursday 7th December - Carols Around The Tree from 3.00 p.m.
Thursday 7th December - Christmas lunch - menu available here
Thursday 7th December - Christmas jumper day (Christmas jumpers may be worn throughout the school on top of whichever uniform/kit your child would usually wear on this day)
Friday 8th December - Wrens coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Friday 8th December - Year 2 trip to Dick Whittington
Friday 8th December - Chamber Choir visit to Chalfont Lodge Care Home
Tuesday 12th December - Year 3 & 4 trip to Peter Pan
Wednesday 13th December - Years 2 - 6 Carol Service at All Saints Church 11.15 a.m.
Wednesday 13th December - End of term 11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & N); 12.00 p.m. (R); 12.10 p.m. (Y1,2); 12.20 p.m. (Y3,4); 12.30 p.m. (Y5,6)
Posted on: 1/12/2023Broadening Our Thinking
Recently Ms Gilham, our Head of Science and Challenge and Enrichment Co-ordinator, noted that when the children were asked to research a key scientist, they tended to name a European or American scientist such as Newton, Einstein, Fleming or Edison. It struck her that their knowledge of scientists seemed quite narrow in this global world that we live in.
Ms Gilham had already noted that Iron Age and Bronze Age scientists were mostly from other parts of the world, perhaps of Arabic, Indian or Babylonian origin. It was this that inspired her to broaden the children’s thinking and she tasked them to research names with a broader geographical and historical approach. The children were encouraged to discuss this at home and to think about people they knew who were in the world of science, including female scientists and scientists who worked or lived in places other than Europe or America. The results from Year 6 have been quite astounding and they have all learnt so much from the task, as have the staff!
The pupils’ research revealed a great deal about a diverse range of scientists from across history and across the globe. The children certainly broadened their scientific knowledge and simultaneously learnt to take a global approach when tasked with independent research. Their thirst for knowledge also led them to research their own families and revealed some facts closer to home, including these.
A Year 6 girl’s aunt is a gynaecologist currently working towards a PhD and her research aims to find out why childbirth is more straightforward for some women than for others.
A Year 6 boy’s parent is a GP who used be a surgeon but found it too messy!
A Year 6 girl’s great grandfather was a professor named Dr. Drabu, who was born in Kashmir and qualified as one of the first General Practitioners in Pakistan. He worked in refugee camps after bearing witness to the partition of the Indian subcontinent.
The children also discovered that our very own Ms Gilham (nee Emily Capulas) was a researcher at Sussex and Brunel Universities. For those interested, some of her research papers can be seen here: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Emily-Capulas-33881681
Parents who are interested in broadening their own knowledge of scientists through the ages and across the world might like to start with this timeline:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_scientific_discoveries
Have a super weekend.
Ms Drummond
Posted on: 24/11/2023Weekly News - Friday 24th November 2023
Primary Maths Challenge
The results are now in for the Year 4 - 6 Primary Maths Challenge - a fun and exciting mathematical challenge which has taken place over the past few weeks. We had a number of children who secured gold, silver and bronze awards.
Special mentions go to these Year 4 children who performed incredibly well for their age bracket:
4T - William B (silver award), Shaylen P, Mahi B, Aran P, Gurdaya J and Parth K (bronze awards)
4B - Aaran T, Yuvraj R, Ella K, Tiffany T and Armaan V (bronze awards)
Additionally, very well done to Tiya T (6L) and Aryan L (6L) for achieving the highest (joint) scores in the whole school. All of the Year 4 - 6 pupils should be very proud of themselves for showing such perseverance and enthusiasm during the challenge.
4T Class Assembly
Class 4T presented a super assembly this morning all about 'Preparation'. By performing and narrating a short play about a squirrel who failed to prepare for winter, they taught us that preparation is a crucial part of life. They reminded us of the many things we all prepare for on a daily basis, and took a humorous look at preparations for the new school year, performing poems from a pupil, teacher and parent point of views. They also reminded us that advent is the season of preparation for Christmas, and of how we may prepare for this special time of year by performing acts of kindness and service, as well as by buying presents, writing cards and hanging decorations. The children had each made an advent calendar with doors which opened to show the acts of kindness which they intend to perform. Great work, 4T! This was a very meaningful and enjoyable assembly.
Month End Music Recital
Our November Month End Music Recital provided a wonderful opportunity for many of our instrumentalists and vocalists to perform to their parents, staff and peers. These occasions are always informal and allow the children to take to the 'stage' in a supportive and friendly environment, sometimes for their first ever public performance! Today, as well as vocal performances, children shared pieces on flute, piano and clarinet. Very well done to all of those children who stepped up to perform; it was a lovely way to start the weekend.
Chamber Choir Record For Barnado's National Choral Competition
On Tuesday, the Chamber Choir recorded the two songs which they have entered for this year's Barnado's National Choral Competition. St. Helen's College has a strong track record in this competition and we wish our elite singers the best of luck this year!
Library - Mystery Readers
Year 2 are loving their 'Mystery Reader' sessions in the library at the end of each week! The children never know who is going to turn up to read to them - it might be a parent, a member of staff or someone else!
Here is Mr. McLaughlin, who was last week's Mystery Reader, entertaining a Year 2 class.
The Mystery Reader season started in style with Mrs. Christodoulou sharing a family favourite read. We would love to hear from other parents or grandparents who would enjoy the opportunity to entertain Year 2 with a story! If you are interested please contact Mrs. Emanuel at semanuel@sthelenscollege.com. Story time is currently 3 p.m. on Friday afternoons.
Chef Soula Nominated For Award!
We are so proud of our school chef, Soula, who has been nominated for a very special award by Accent! Soula was recognised as one of Accent's most valued employees, for her professionalism and achievements. She runs a wonderful team of staff here at St. Helen's College and we are delighted that her work has been recognised in this way.
Food Bank Donations
Thank you so much to those who have made donations to our new, ongoing Food Bank collection. Mrs. Bickle, a St. Helen's College parent, took the first donation to the Hillingdon Food Bank today where it was gratefully received. Donation boxes are now permanently available at Upper School, Lower School and Ducklings.
Sports News
3M have enjoyed a week of swimming this week.
On Tuesday, Year 4 girls travelled to Alpha Prep to play two competitive netball matches. The girls have made some strong progress with their knowledge of the rules and positions so far this term and demonstrated this during the games. Well done to everyone involved!
The Year 6 netballers took part in a fixture against Alpha Prep at home on Thursday. It was a well matched competitive game, with the pupils displaying some fantastic shooting and making lots of interceptions which we worked on this week during their lesson time. They won 11-9. Well done to all of the pupils!
All of the Year 3 and 4 footballers played against Alpha Prep on Tuesday. There were seven matches played. St. Helen's College won 5, drew 1 and lost 1. The children thoroughly enjoyed the friendly fixture and there was lots to celebrate.
On Thursday our Year 6 footballers took on Alpha Prep at Court Park. They put on a convincing display, losing only one of the six games played.
Goalscorers were: Jeevan P (2), Kal-el M (3), Aidan T (1), Joe T(1), Aaron B (3), Riya S (1), Marco K (1), Mylo D'O (2), Rian M (1), Zaki M (1), Anand V (2)
The Year 6 footballers also took part in a competition at Goals Hayes on Friday. A report and pictures will follow next week.
Thames Valley Cavaliers are playing again this weekend, against Hemel Storm. Details are available here.
Message From The PA
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 26th November at the PA Christmas Party. The response has been great and we cannot wait to see you all there. Tickets are now sold out and will not be available at the door. Thank you for your enthusiasm, and let's make this Sunday a memorable one!
Centenary Christmas Card Competition
We would like pupils to have a go at designing the cover of a special Centenary Christmas Card for us this year. The card should include mention of the St. Helen's College Centenary. Pupils may draw, colour and paint the card but should not use glue or glitter.
The winning card, chosen by Ms Drummond, will be sent out digitally by the school to many recipients!
Pupils should hand their designs in to their class teacher (Ducklings/Lower School) or to the school office (Upper School). The deadline for submitting entries is next Friday, 1st December.
Next Week
Monday 27th November - Nursery/Reception nativity photographs
Wednesday 29th November - Football v. St. Catherine's (A)
Thursday 30th November - Flu vaccinations (Reception to Year 6)
Thursday 30th November - Atom Prime Parent Webinar (Years 3 to 5) 6.00 pm.
Friday 1st December - 1C coffee morning/Christmas assembly 8.15 a.m.
Friday 1st December - 2R coffee morning/Christmas assembly 8.15 a.m.
Friday 1st December - Holiday Club bookings open 4 p.m.
Christmas Arrangements
Monday 4th December - 1R coffee morning/Christmas assembly 8.15 a.m.
Tuesday 5th December - Kingfishers coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Wednesday 6th December - Owls coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Wednesday 6th December - Year 5 & 6 trip to The Snowman
Thursday 7th December - Robins coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Thursday 7th December - Carols Around The Tree and PA Christmas Fair 3.00 p.m.
Thursday 7th December - Christmas lunch - menu available here
Thursday 7th December - Christmas jumper day (Christmas jumpers may be worn throughout the school on top of whichever uniform/kit your child would usually wear on this day)
Friday 8th December - Wrens coffee morning/Nativity 8.15 a.m.
Friday 8th December - Year 2 trip to Dick Whittington
Monday 11th December - Lower School party day
Monday 11th December - Upper School carol service rehearsal
Wednesday 13th December - Upper School carol service
Wednesday 13th December - End of term 11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & N); 12.00 p.m. (R); 12.10 p.m. (Y1,2); 12.20 p.m. (Y3, 4); 12.30 p.m. (Y5,6)
Holiday Club
Holiday Club bookings will go live on Friday 1st December at 4 p.m. Please book your places promptly to enable us to staff the club appropriately.
Posted on: 17/11/2023Kindness/Anti-Bullying Week 2023
Throughout Anti-Bullying Week at St. Helen’s College, we have dedicated our time to educating one another on the importance of taking a stand against bullying.
The word ‘bullying’ at our school is one which we rarely hear, as our children are aware of how to treat each other and what to do if they feel uncomfortable or upset about something which happens to them or a peer. However, it is important that as a community we share with our pupils what other children around the UK are discussing in their schools this week. On Monday it was World Kindness Day and what a great way to introduce our new value of the week, kindness, and to remind our pupils of ‘kindness’ and how it looks at our school. It is with us all being mindful of ‘kindness’ that we can alleviate the behaviours which may lead to bullying. The AntiBullying Alliance has a wealth of resources to help schools and parents and I would recommend that parents use these tools to assist you in supporting your children.
As you know, we take a preventative approach in our behaviour policy and our mantra of ‘ready, respectful and safe’ resonates around the school, encouraging all pupils to be the best version of themselves every day.
There was a time where we would hear the phrase, ‘Oh, it was only banter.’ However, many educators are now rightly dismissive of ‘banter’ being a fun means of communication as it can often lead to bullying behaviours. Any form of ‘banter’ is well avoided. Martha Evans, Director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, says, “Banter is a fun part of communication, but too often bullying behaviours are dismissed as ‘just banter’. Recognising the fine line between banter and bullying is crucial for the development and emotional well-being of our children. We want to see schools having these conversations with pupils this Anti-Bullying Week. We must empower educators with the confidence to support children, fostering an environment where every child’s voice is heard and respected, and we hope Anti-Bullying Week 2023: Make A Noise can help achieve this.”
On Monday, pupils in our Upper School assembly were very articulate in their discussions regarding bullying behaviours and being kind. They shared their views:
Treat others as you would like to be treated
Do not say something or do something to anyone if you would not like it said or done to you
If you see a friend looking upset or sad ask them if they are ok
Tell a grown up if you see or hear anything unkind happening
Stand up to someone if they are being mean to you or your friends
These were the thoughts of our children and it was followed up during the assembly with some key points for us all (adults and children) to think about in order to support and care for those around us:
Be Kind: A simple act of kindness can change someone's life.
Speak Out: If you see bullying, don't ignore it. Stand up and speak out. Your voice will always matter. #makeanoise
Embrace Our Differences: Our uniqueness is what makes us so special. Celebrate diversity and appreciate everyone’s differences.
St. Helen’s College takes pride in being a school that nurtures, supports and uplifts every person that we welcome through our doors.
#AntiBullyingWeek #BeKind #NoMoreBullying
How are you going to share your ‘kindness’ this weekend? Happy weekend!
Ms Drummond
Category / All Articles
Categories
Archive
