Weekly News - Friday 18th May 2018

Pupils throughout the school had a fabulous day yesterday taking part in lessons outside of the classroom as part of Outdoor Classroom Day. There was excitement and enjoyment as the children tried new ways of learning ideas, concepts, topics and subjects. There are photographs of this and many of the other exciting events of this week on our Galleries page.

Black Park Nursery Visit

Our Nursery children enjoyed a super outing to Black Park this week, where they made their own 'bug hotels' as well as helping to stock up the huge one already in use. This was great fun as the children went on a scavenger hunt to try and find things to put in the tunnels. They also went on a mini beast hunt to try and find real mini beasts in their natural environment. Lifting logs and digging in the undergrowth was lots of fun and a great way to explore nature. This was a really exciting way to spend Outdoor Classroom Day. 

The children also got to use the adventure playground, and discovered that climbing, swinging and sliding is so much fun and a brilliant way to do exercise. The children behaved beautifully during their outing and the teachers were very proud of them, particularly as there was a lot of walking to do!

5W Assembly

The pupils of 5W delighted us this morning with their account of their recent trip to the Isle of Wight. From the 3G swing, the 'leap of faith' and the visit to The Needles, our audience were captivated as the children performed with such confidence. It was clearly a truly memorable residential trip for the children - well done 5W. 

A Royal Occasion

The school sites were an array of red, white and blue today as the pupils and staff prepared for the big day tomorrow with the forthcoming marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan. Street party style lunches were enjoyed and the children's crowns dazzled in the summer sunshine!  

5* Award to Accent Team

Amidst the preparations for our street parties across the school today, Soula and her catering team had a spot inspection from a representative from the Food Standards Agency.  The inspector was so impressed by everything and we are delighted to announce that we have once again achieved the highest star rating and maintained our 5 stars! Thank you to the Accent team for all their hard work, not only in giving the children such a superb street party royal lunch today but for their dedication and commitment all year round. 

Upper School Parents' Evenings

It was lovely to see so many parents over our two Upper School parents' evenings this week. The new timings seemed to work really well and we hope that you all found it useful to talk with the teachers about your children and their work. 

Borough Tennis Champions!

Many congratulations to our Year 3 and 4 tennis teams, who took part in the Borough tournament held at Tripletts Community Tennis Centre this week. Tennis is such a popular sport at St. Helen's College that we were able to field three teams and all of our players performed well in some very competitive matches. Our C team and A team won all their matches in the group stages to proceed to the quarter final stages. The C team played very well but were defeated by Hillingdon School, but our A team defeated St. Andrew's to meet Dr. Tripletts in the semi-final - a match they won to reach the final to face Hillingdon. Eli played first and narrowly lost 10 - 9, Daniel then won 10 - 2, Catherine won 10 - 4 and Amar won 10 - 6 for the team  be crowded Borough Champions! The team will now go forward to represent the London Borough of Hillingdon at the Crystal Palace School Games on 5th July. Miss Walker, who also organised the event for over 20 teams from across the Borough, said, 'I'm delighted with the way all our teams played; they showed great determination but also good sportsmanship and they were a credit to the school'.  Well done to all of the players who took part: Aditya 3V, Samir 3T, Shaina 4T, Fredericka 3V, Patrick 4A, Harry 4T, Grace 4A, Lily 4T, Eli 4T, Daniel 4A, Catherine 4T and Amar 3T.  

Mother and Daughter 'She Rallies' Tennis Taster Session

Next Wednesday after school we will be opening our doors to our Year 2 and 3 girls and their mums to come and try some tennis together. The fun taster session will take place in the Upper School playground on our mini tennis courts from 4 - 5 p.m. and will include lots of fun games and challenges for mothers and daughters to try. 'She Rallies' is a programme championed by Judy Murray to create opportunities for women and girls of all ages and experiences to be involved in tennis. Last year Miss Walker was invited by Judy Murray to become a 'She Rallies' ambassador. All our Year 2 and 3 mothers and their daughters are invited to come along. There is no need to book or to bring any equipment - just turn up wearing some trainers and something comfortable to move around in! 

Tag Rugby Tournament

Our Year 5 mixed tag rugby team took part in the local district tournament this week held at Whitehall School. We played matches against Hillingdon, Oak Farm and St. Bernadette's, winning against Oak Farm. Thank you to all of the parents who came to support the team.

North Hillingdon Methodist Church Spring Fair

The North Hillingdon Methodist Church will be holding their Spring Fair this weekend. Parents may wish to take children along; there will be a variety of stalls and you can watch the royal wedding on the big screen too! Their flyer is here.

Mini Monets Art Classes

It may seem early to be thinking about the long summer holiday, but if your son or daughter is a budding artist and you are looking for something to keep them occupied, you might be interested in the summer art camps run in Beaconsfield by Mini Monets. Full details are available here.

Parking

Please would Upper School parents refrain from parking along Parkway. This causes unnecessary annoyance to our neighbours and we will be unable to continue running the 'drop and go' system if cars continue to park along the road on the opposite side to the school. Please pull up in the designated 'drop and go' zones only, or use the Court Park car park.