Weekly News - Friday 14th July 2023

Wishing you all an enjoyable, peaceful summer holiday. We look forward to seeing all of the children return and welcoming all of our new families next term.

Video Of Memories 2022-2023

Ms Thomas has very kindly put together this video of some of the events and activities the children have enjoyed during this academic year at school. We hope you enjoy it! 

End Of Term News

After a final tally of house points for the entire academic year, the House Cup was today awarded to Hibernia. Congratulations to all of the members of Hibernia who contributed to the win, and very well done to pupils from the other three houses who earned so many house points to make it a tight competition. The final house point totals for the year were:

Hibernia  5261
Windsor   5173
Cambria   5051
Caledonia  4965

We would like to congratulate our Year 3, 4 and 5 prizewinners who received trophies and book tokens today to recognise an excellent year of effort and achievement. 

The Upper School tennis finals were held this week. The winners were:
Year 3: Mona C and Parth K
Year 4: Simar C and Avar D
Year 5: Tiya T and Aiden T
Year 6: Arshia S and Xavier B.

 

 

 

 

We are delighted to announce the names of our new pupil leadership team. From September, these Year 6 children will be taking on the major positions of responsibility:

Head Girl - Samara P
Head Boy - Aiden T
Deputy Head Girl - Tiya T
Deputy Head Boy - Raiden B

Caledonia House Captains - Dylan C and Nya O-A
Cambria House Captains - Anand V and Grace O'H
Hibernia House Captains - Luca H and Charlee G
Windsor House Captains - Ryley J and Verity S

It was an emotional morning for staff and pupils today as we said farewell to Mrs. Allery after so many years of service to St. Helen's College. We wish her all the best for her retirement and extend our deepest gratitude to her for the dedication, hard work and love she has shown throughout her time with the school.

We said goodbye also to Miss Flemming, who has been a much valued member of the Lower School TALA team and has also been our Holiday Club Manager of late. We wish her well on her forthcoming travels and thank her for all that she has done.

Mrs. Collier, one of our peripatetic music teachers, has been with us for some years now and we are very sorry to see her go as she expands her teaching at another school. Her pupils will miss her greatly, and so will we. Thank you, Mrs. Collier, for your service to the school and your commitment to the pupils.

Mrs. Hawkes will be much missed at St. Helen's College; she leaves us today to relocate with her family to the west country. Mrs. Hawkes was a pupil at St. Helen's College herself and, as well as working in our wraparound care provision over the years, has recently inspired so many vocalists at the school with her love of singing, her extremely high standards, and her first class care for the children. 

Our final staff leaver is Ms Kharoti. She will be studying in Brighton but we hope we may see her back at St. Helen's College wraparound care in the future. Good luck Ms Kharoti!

Amazing Year 6 Show - Honk Jr!

The children of Year 6 certainly rounded off their time at St. Helen's College with a bang this week, as they performed their musical Honk Jr! at The Compass Theatre in Ickenham on Wednesday and Thursday. 

This was a spectacular show. The singing, dancing, stagecraft and acting were all superb and the costumes were just something else! We are so grateful to everyone who was involved in the production and we are so proud of our Year 6 children for their amazing efforts, talents, confidence and dedication. It has been a privilege to watch their dramatic talents develop over the years and we wish them all well, and hope that they continue to find joy in performing, as they leave us.  

You can see more photographs of the Year 6 children in their costumes on our Galleries page.

School Magazine 2022-2023

We have sent home a copy of the school magazine for each family. We hope that you will enjoy looking through this and reflecting on all that has gone on throughout the school during this academic year. You can also see many examples of the artwork produced by children this year in our Art Gallery online on the Galleries page.

ABRSM Exam Results

We are very proud of our musicians who have been working so hard all year, practising their instruments/singing and showing real commitment to rehearsal and performance. Since the last report, we have received these exam results. Well done everyone!

Emily S	5G	Piano	2	Merit
Tiya T	5G	Piano	1	Distinction
Shaylen P	3M	Piano	1	Distinction
Arshia S	6B	Piano	4	Pass
Sienna D	5G	Piano	1	Pass
Anand V	5G	Piano	1	Pass
Caitlin P	3M	Piano	Initial	Distinction
Armaan V	3B	Piano	Initial	Merit
Aaran T	3B	Piano	Initial	Pass
Verity S	5A	Violin	2	Distinction
Aria M	3M	Violin	2	Merit
Millie B	3B	Violin	Initial	Merit
Arjun P	4L	Cello	3	Merit
Aran P	3B	Cello	3	Merit
Lavanya B	6B	Cello	2	Pass
Karter P	4L	Cello	1	Pass
Alex A	4L	Cello	Initial	Merit
Dominic M	6B	Trumpet	3	Pass
Zinnia M	4L	Trumpet	1	Pass
Evie J	4L	French Horn	2	Distinction
Hana H	5A	Singing	2	Merit
Aiden T	5A	Guitar	2	Merit
Arjun C	5A	Guitar	2	Pass
Luca H	5A	Guitar	2	Pass
Marco K	5G	Guitar	1	Pass

FREE Baby Mindfulness Classes

Mrs. McLaughlin will have some spaces at her Baby Mindfulness sessions from September. These run on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. in six weekly blocks and are suitable for babies from birth until they begin to crawl. They provide a safe, supportive space for mums and babies to bond and take part in Mindfulness and some gentle yoga. The classes are available, free of charge, to anyone with a baby of the right age - parents do not need to have a child at St. Helen's College or be intending to send one here! If you would like to attend, or know anyone who might like to, please contact Mrs. McLaughlin at pmclaughlin@sthelenscollege.com.

September 2024 Entry - Ducklings and Nursery

If you have a child who will be eligible to join St. Helen's College in September 2024 (either into Ducklings or into Nursery) and you have not yet registered him or her, please do so at your earliest convenience. The next admissions cycle begins in September when the new academic year begins. Thank you.

Next Term

The School Calendar has been updated for next term. Please do look through and make a note of dates relevant to your child.

The uniform/equipment list and menu for next term are available on the School Documents page of the website.

Aman Sidhu 
11th November 1977 - 30th June 2023

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mr. Aman Sidhu, an alumnus of St. Helen’s College. Aman passed away peacefully on 30th June surrounded by his family. 

Aman had been part of the St. Helen’s College community for over forty years and attended St. Helen’s College from 1982-1989 under the care of Mr. & Mrs. Crehan. The Sidhus have always had a deep connection with the school, unwavering loyalty and the pride that comes along with that. Aman’s children were also former students of St. Helen’s College, his youngest, Devan, having left the school just last year. Amongst the tributes pouring in for Aman were these from Mr. Crehan and Ms Drummond.

‘I remember Aman as a quiet but cheerful boy who had a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous sense of humour. In class, he was a hard-working student who took pride in his achievements. He enjoyed his football, and used to run rings around me when we played in Court Park! Latterly, it was a huge pleasure to welcome his children, Rhea and Devan, back to St. Helen’s College, and to meet Aman again. He still had that twinkle! His early passing is a huge loss to his family and to all who knew and loved him.’ - Dominic Crehan.

“Mr. Sidhu was a very caring dad to Rhea and Devan and a great supporter of St. Helen's College as one of our alumni.  He always showed a great interest and pride in the children's achievements over the years and it is with great sadness that the community has lost such a loving and caring father and friend to many”.  - Shirley Drummond.

A private funeral service took place yesterday (13th July), where family and friends were able to pay their respects and say their final goodbyes. We offer our heartfelt condolences to Aman's family at this difficult time. 

The Sidhu family kindly wishes for memorial donations to be made to the Hillingdon Hospital Charity, a charity deeply close to Aman’s heart. The link for donations is below.
https://amansidhu.muchloved.com/

The Summer Games Free Family Fun Day

Presented by Hillingdon Libraries in support of their Summer Reading Challenge, The Summer Games will be at The Great Barn, Manor Farm, Bury Street, Ruislip HA4 8BD on Thursday 17 August from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. This is a fun, free, family day out and there is no need to book, families may simply turn up on the day. 

There will be a story telling zone, a chance to try out games old and new with Past Times Pastimes and a craft zone where children can make their own Hero Arm, use recycled materials with STEM activity Pom Pom Propulsion and try out Bottle Bowling with the Recycling Team. There will also be sessions with Spectrum Drama. Jones the Bones is a medical exploration of the human body using a life size skeleton and his ‘minder’ who shows how the organs/muscles work together to enable humans to function, and Isaac Newton will demonstrate the laws of motion with a skateboard!  

Dr. Bike will be there so you may also take your bike along for any basic bike repairs and Better Leisure will be running a mini circuits challenge. There will also be ice cream and coffee available.

Perform In The Park

Perform In The Park is London's first ever festival of children's theatre. You may wish to visit with your children to inspire and enhance their love of drama! You can find details here.

Summer Tennis Camps

Our tennis coach Mr. Stidder will once again be running tennis camps locally over the summer holidays. You can find full details here.

Basketball Sessions For Girls

Thames Valley Cavaliers are running basketball sessions for girls aged 7+ on Saturdays at Uxbridge College. You can find details here.