Weekly News - Friday 1st December
Posted on: 01/12/2023House 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
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)
