Weekly News - Friday 3rd November 2023

3B Class Assembly

Thank you to all of the parents who attended the 3B coffee morning and class assembly today. We all very much enjoyed watching the children present their informative and enjoyable assembly about their history topic of the Romans. They told us how the Romans came to Britain and the impact they had. The pupils also described their recent Year 3 trip to St. Albans, including what they learnt about the Roman town of Verulamium and mosaics, and the drama workshop in which they acted out the life of St. Alban himself. The assembly also included four wonderful musical performances: vocal, piano, trombone and violin. The children's delivery was confident and engaging and there was plenty of humour too. Well done, 3B!

Orchestra Enjoy Northwood College Event

The school orchestra visited Northwood College for Girls on Wednesday, for a joint orchestra day. The two orchestras joined together to rehearse pieces of music by Vivaldi, Verdi and Beethoven, and showcased their hard work in a performance to parents at the end of the day. They also very much enjoyed making new friends and enjoying play time with the Northwood College children.

The pupils made us all very proud with their high level of engagement and their beautiful behaviour and manners throughout the trip. The final performance was of a very high quality and we are sure that the children have benefited hugely from the experience. Thank you to the many parents who attended too!

 

Sports News

Netball

On Monday our Year 5 and 6 netball players travelled to Highgate School to play in a highly competitive fixture. The pupils worked well as a team and demonstrated great resilience and determination throughout. 

The Year 6 netball team built on Monday's experience, playing an excellent match against St. Andrew's on Wednesday. St. Helen's College won 7-2, and the pupils continue to display excellent character skills and make significant progress. Well done to everyone. 

 

 

 

Football

The football teams thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon at Highgate School on Monday; some of the teams won and some of them lost. The real winner was football though. All of the games were played in good spirit and it was a great opportunity for everyone to represent the school in a sports fixture. Well done to everyone for upholding the school values and for their fantastic efforts.

The U11 first team played Laurel Lane on Wednesday 1st November. It was their first league fixture and they played extremely well. The game finished 6-0. The scorers were Aaron B (3), Joe T (2) and Daynan C (1) and it was a superb display by all.

The Packham Cup competition which was due to take place tomorrow has been CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER.

Basketball

Thames Valley Cavaliers are once again offering free tickets to St. Helen's College children for their game this weekend against the Nottingham Hoods. You can find details here.

Pedestrian Training

Our Year 3 and Year 5 pupils have undertaken Pedestrian Training this week, delivered by the London Borough of Hillingdon. They learnt and practised how to keep safe on foot in the local area, including crossing roads with parked cars and being vigilant around driveways.

Nursery Trip To Playtrain

On Friday our Nursery classes enjoyed a trip to Playtrain. Great fun was had by all!

Parents' Evenings

Thank you to the parents who attended the Owls and the Year 2 - Year 6 parents' evenings last night. As always, it was lovely to see so many of you and we hope that you found the conversations useful. Please do keep in touch regularly with your class teacher if you have any concerns or questions about your child's well-being or progress. The next parents' evening for Year 2 - Year 6 will take place on Tuesday 7th November.

PA Coffee Morning

On Thursday, we held a coffee morning for the Parents' Association committee and class representatives in the Evans Hall. It was a great opportunity for everyone to get together and very well-attended. Thank you to those who came along. Ms Drummond particularly enjoyed talking to parents about parental well-being and has written a blog about this topic this week, which you can read here.

Attendance Policy

We would like to draw parents' attention to our Attendance Policy. It is crucial that all children arrive at school promptly and attend each school day from start to finish, in order to take full advantage of the education and opportunities we offer. The Attendance Policy and some other school policies are published on the school website here.

Messages from the PA

PA Christmas Parties

The PA has organised two Christmas parties for St. Helen's College children on Sunday 26th November. Your child/children can attend either time slot together, despite being in different year groups. We are not holding parties for specific year groups on this occasion. As spaces are limited they will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Each party will consist of party food and soft drink, a disco and a gift from Father Christmas.

PARTY OPTIONS: Sunday 26 November 2023
PARTY 1: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
PARTY 2: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Please complete your booking here: https://forms.gle/JUQpUgR8J5z4vnWg9

PRICES:
£15.00 per child
£5.00 per adult

Please make payment of £15 per child and £5 per adult using the Child 1 Name and Class as your reference. Please note that payment must be made within 24 hours and is only accepted by bank transfer to:

Account Name: SHC Parents Association
Bank: Natwest
Sort Code: 60-02-60
Account No: 10315152

VENUE:
Yiewsley and West Drayton Community Centre, 228 Harmondsworth Road, West Drayton UB7 9JL
Some parking available on site.

Please ensure that you include all the information on the form as requested and make payment within 24 hours of booking. BOOKINGS WILL BE OPEN UNTIL THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER. Book early to avoid disappointment.

If there are any queries, please email pa@sthelenscollege.com.

PA Christmas Fair Stalls - Expressions of Interest

The PA will be running a Christmas Fair in the Evans Hall at Upper School from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on 7th December to complement the Carols Round The Tree event being held in the school playground that afternoon.  

If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in holding a stall at the Christmas Fair to sell items, raise awareness, or to promote a business, please complete and submit this Google Form: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYeBvdIhNelDvL2MrUF4aWtLbJfL7Kdo_rXtZ1D4LBsgFF_Q/viewform?usp=pp_url

Uniform Stall

Thank you for all your generous donations of uniform. The uniform stall held over half term was successful and we would like to extend our appreciation to all those who helped to make it happen.

Comedy Night

Please take a look at this flyer for the PA comedy night at The Comedy Bunker, Uxbridge Golf Club, on Friday 8th March at 7.45 p.m. Do save the date! Tickets will go on sale in January and are £18.50 per person.

Next Week

Our charity representatives will be selling poppies at school from Monday 6th November for pupils to wear ahead of and on Remembrance Day. Please allow your child to bring a donation into school if they would like to buy a poppy.

Here is a reminder of upcoming events next week.

Monday 6th November - Year 1 trip to The Roald Dahl Gallery
Tuesday 7th November - Year 4 girls' netball tournament at Reddiford School
Tuesday 7th November - Year 2 to 6 parents' evening
Wednesday 8th November - Netball match (H) and football match (A at Oak Farm)
Thursday 9th November - Football tournament at Reddiford School
Friday 10th November - Remembrance at St. Helen's College

Diwali Special Menu

We will have a special lunch menu at school on Tuesday 14th November to celebrate Diwali. You can see the menu here.

Flu Vaccinations

Flu vaccinations will take place at school on 30th November. Parents of children in Reception to Year 6 will be sent a link approximately two weeks before this date. In order for your child to have the vaccination at school you must follow the link to register them. Unregistered children will not be vaccinated.

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. There are two ways to do this.

1. Upload the photos to this shared folder on Google Drive (preferred option).

2. Email photos directly to susmith@sthelenscollege.com.

With so many families in the school, to keep things manageable please limit the number of photographs you send to one per activity! Please feel free to send photographs throughout the year as you complete each activity.

Art Workshops

Parents of budding young artists might be interested in some new art workshops which will be running on Saturday mornings in Rickmansworth. These will be run by a well-qualified ex-colleague of Ms Drummond. You can find details here.