Weekly News - Friday 19th November 2021

Children In Need

We have had a lot of fun today at school fundraising for Children in Need and have thought seriously, too, about why we are raising money and about the issues that affect children less fortunate than our own.

Children and staff throughout the school dressed in spots, yellow, Children in Need merchandise or just their own clothes. Many bought wristbands and entered the Design a Pudsey Bear competition. The raffles were, as usual, one of the highlights of the day!

The raffle winners were:

Ducklings: Gobind B (Blush), Noah G-W (Pudsey)
Lower School: Eleanor G (Blush), Anika S (Pudsey)
Middle School: Veer K (Blush), Daya R (Pudsey)
Upper School: Jacob N (Blush), Antony F (Pudsey)

The winner(s) of the Design a Pudsey Bear competition will be chosen by our Charity Reps next week.

We would like to thank parents sincerely for your generous support of this very worthy charity and for helping your children to understand why it is so important to help those in need. It is not too late to donate via the St. Helen's College Children in Need JustGiving page here. 

You can see more photographs of the children enjoying Children in Need Day on our Galleries page here.

2H Class Assembly - Buckets

Wow! Well done to the children of 2H who presented a very charming and thought provoking assembly this morning about buckets!

They explained that we each have a bucket that can be filled with good feelings and kindness and that, if we are kind and inclusive or do good deeds, we are filling other people's buckets but also filling our own. 

They sang a beautiful song to remind us that we can all count on each other, explained how we can help others less fortunate through Children in Need, and led us in prayer.

Every child spoke their lines with confidence and projection and we are very proud of them all.

While 2H presented their assembly live to their parents this morning, the other children at Upper School watched a pre-recorded version. You might like to watch it too - it is available here.

Chamber Choir - St. John's Smith Square

We were very proud of our Chamber Choir who performed magnificently last Sunday at the Children's Trust London Schools Concert. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support such a worthwhile charitable cause. We have received some lovely feedback from one of the concert organisers, who wrote: 

You can watch the videos of the performances here:

Power In Me
All Things Bright And Beautiful

Gurupurab

Today is a very special day as members of the Sikh community celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak. Thank you to parents Mrs. Raikmo and Mrs. Daheley for their input into assemblies over the last couple of weeks. Mrs. Raikmo celebrated with Lower School children yesterday.

 

 

 

Inspection

It has been a pleasure to welcome a team of ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) inspectors into St. Helen's College this week for both a compliance and an educational quality inspection. We have enjoyed showcasing our school, pupils and staff and demonstrating all that we do to ensure that the pupils have the best possible educational experience.

The inspection report should be available within five weeks and we will of course share this with parents when we receive it. 

Many thanks to all of the parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire so quickly and so positively.

IAPS iArt Competition 

After the success of iArt 2021, in which Arya A at St. Helen's College was a winner, IAPS will be running the competition again in 2022 and hopes to receive more submissions than ever. Shortlisted entrants will receive prizes of vouchers for local independent bookshops.
 
This year, the competition will have a theme and all submissions must in some way relate to this theme. The theme is my role model.
 
This theme has been chosen because IAPS is interested to see who inspires pupils, who motivates them, who they admire and who they would like to be like when they grow up. The role models can be anyone:

• someone personal e.g. a family member, friend, teacher, coach, librarian, a member of the local community;
• someone “in general” e.g. nurses, doctors, train drivers, farmers;
• someone public e.g. a famous person, such as a sportsperson, environmentalist, singer

While IAPS encourages pupils to attempt a portrait of their role model, pupils – and particularly, younger pupils – should feel free to just paint / draw / create something which reminds them of their role model instead. For example, if a pupil’s role model is David Attenborough, they might choose to paint trees and animals, or if their role model is a parent, they might choose to draw a picture of their house. 

Each pupil must write a maximum of 100 words in a sentence or two to accompany their piece of work, saying 'My role model is...because...'.

Entries will be judged on a) interpretation of the theme; b) creativity around the theme; c) overall design; d) and that ‘certain something’ that just draws you to the artwork! There is no set format for entries and artwork can be submitted in any medium. Submissions can be paintings, drawings, or models, any size, and use any art supplies.  
 
There are five categories for the iArt competition: Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6, Years 7 & 8 and Years 9 & 10.  Each school may enter one piece of art for each category. For example, one piece of artwork representing the Years 5 & 6 category, not one artwork from Year 5 and one from Year 6.  

The competition opens for entries on Thursday, 6 January. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday, 4 May and the shortlist will be announced later that month. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony which will take place towards the end of June.  

Pupils who would like to enter this competition should submit their pieces of art and accompanying sentences directly to Mrs. Pruce or via their class teacher. Mrs. Drummond and Mrs. Pruce will judge which entries to put forward from St. Helen's College.

This might be a lovely Christmas holiday activity for the children. Good luck everyone and happy creating!

Alumni News

Don't Unleash The Beast is being shown on CITV starting on Monday (November 22nd) at 5.30 p.m. It is also available on the ITV hub afterwards. Two Old Helenians will be appearing in the show. Samir H is in the Firecracker team and his show is on Tuesday November 23rd. Vidhit N's show is appearing later - possibly Tuesday November 30th. We hope that you will watch the shows and support our Old Helenians and their teams!

Co-Curricular Activities - Spring Term

Bookings for co-curricular activities for the Spring term will open at 4.00 p.m. today. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to make your selections by the deadline of midnight on Monday 22nd November. Co-curricular club allocations will be confirmed to parents in due course and we ask that you make any payments due promptly at that point in order to confirm your child's place.

Christmas Holiday Club

Bookings open at 4.00 p.m. today for the Christmas Holiday Club, which will run from Monday 13th December to Tuesday 21st December. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your child's place.

Author Event

On Saturday 11th December from 1.00 - 3.00 p.m., bestselling children's author Lauren Child will be signing copies of her latest books, Clarice Bean: Think Like An Elf and Pippi Longstocking, at Chorleywood Bookshop. We hope that many of you will take your children along to meet the author and perhaps buy a copy of one or both of these lovely books to support them in reading for pure enjoyment! You can find full details and book tickets for the event here.

Next Week

Next Friday 3MB will be performing their class assembly. 3MB parents are welcome to join us for coffee from 8.15 a.m. and the assembly will begin at 8.40 a.m.

Also next Friday we have our November Month End Music Recital in the Evans Hall from 3.45 p.m. We hope that many parents will join us!

Accent Catering Survey

Yesterday we circulated a survey to parents of children in Nursery to Year 6, asking for your feedback about the catering service here at school. Many thanks to all of those parents who have already completed the short questionnaire. If you have not already done so, please do check your SchoolsBuddy account and complete the survey to give us your feedback. Your responses will be used to inform how we may improve the catering service even further. Pupils in Years 3 - 6 will also be asked to complete a short survey in school next week so that their views may be taken into account too.

Parents are reminded that the school menu is always available in the School Documents section of the school website here. 

PA Raffle Donations

The PA will be running a raffle at the PA children's Christmas parties and would love donations from parents. If you have anything to donate, you can bring items to either Upper or Lower School where there will be collection points outside school each morning. Many thanks in advance for any prizes you are able to donate.