Weekly News - Friday 8th March 2024

 

World Book Day Celebrations!

The school was abuzz with excitement today as we celebrated World Book Day across all three sites. Our theme this year was 'Read, Reuse, Recycle' and we had asked parents not to buy new costumes but to recycle or upcycle existing clothing to help children dress up as book characters.

Children enjoyed World Book Day assemblies, quizzes and a themed lunch. Classes from Upper School visited Ducklings and Lower School to read to the younger children and to watch 1R's World Book Day assembly. In Reception, the children had a great time building reading dens. There were also book swaps and much more. Pupils had great fun trying to guess which books had supplied the quotes pinned to staff too!

Huge congratulations to Roha and Emily in Year 6, pictured here, who have written and published their own story, Colour Washed, to coincide with World Book Day. Roha even came dressed today as one of their own characters! Colour Washed is available for children to borrow from the school library. It's great to see such passion for books and nurture writers of the future. 

Overall the day presented a wonderful opportunity for us all to focus on the value - and joy - of books and reading. Please, please continue to read with your children daily and to let them see you enjoying reading too. Developing a love of reading really is the backbone for educational success!

You can see lots of World Book Day pictures from across the school on our Galleries page here.

Year 3 Play

Year 3 made a big 'Splash' on Thursday evening, taking to the stage to perform their play at the Compass Theatre in Ickenham. What a treat it was for us all! Having worked extremely hard for weeks in rehearsal, the Year 3 children delivered a show stopping performance in this fun and vibrant re-telling of the story of Noah's Ark. 

Every child had the opportunity to speak and they all impressed the audience with their acting and vocal skills, confidence and stage presence. It was wonderful to see the children thrive in the exciting setting of a professional theatre and truly bring the production to life. Year 1 and 2 children were lucky enough to attend the morning dress rehearsal; a great opportunity to enjoy the show and experience a taster of what is to come for them. Congratulations Year 3 for a terrific evening, you can see some pictures here.

 

Chamber Choir Enjoy Barnado's Competition

On Tuesday our Chamber Choir travelled to Birmingham for the day to take part in the Barnado's School Choir Finals at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Twelve junior schools and eleven senior schools from across the United Kingdom had qualified for this very prestigious event.

Our Chamber Choir and accompanying staff travelled by coach, arriving at around 10.30 a.m. for a warm up and rehearsal, then taking to the stage to perform their two songs to six judges and an audience. There followed a Pizza Express lunch, after which the choir had the chance to watch a few senior schools perform, which was very inspiring.

Late afternoon was taken up with a massed choir rehearsal, led by Douglas Coombes MBE, for which all of the junior and senior school choirs came together. This was a marvellous opportunity for our children to sing with a large group of vocalists, led by an extremely experienced and talented conductor!

The day concluded with the grand concert itself, which began at 6 p.m. and concluded with the announcement of the winners. Each choir performed a song and the massed choir performances at the start and end were a real sight to behold. There was just one winner from amongst the junior schools and one from amongst the senior schools; sadly it was not St. Helen's College on this occasion, but we were enormously proud of our Chamber Choir's performances and of how they conducted themselves throughout the day. We know that it is an occasion that will be long-remembered by all involved, as well as a tremendous learning opportunity for the children. 

We would like to thank all of the parents and family members who came to Birmingham to support the children. It is typical of the loving and encouraging nature of the St. Helen's College community that every single child was supported by family who travelled to see them perform.

Author Visit - Zanib Mian

The children in Years 2 to 5 had a real treat on Tuesday - a visit from Zanib Mian, author of the popular 'Planet Omar' and 'Meet The Maliks' series. Zanib shared a fun and inspiring talk about her life as a writer, explaining how she became an avid reader as a child and loved writing stories. She involved the children in a short 'detective' activity to show how creating interesting characters is the cornerstone of a gripping story and how we can all use our observation skills in every day life for inspiration! 

The event was a wonderful opportunity for the children to gain some valuable tips for their own creative writing and to have a book specially signed and dedicated to them. Zanib's parting message was a passionate call to visit the library as much as possible; books have the power to transport us to all sorts of exciting and magical places, something we heartily encourage here at St. Helen's College. 

1R Class Assembly

Wednesday saw our 1R pupils perform their class assembly to an eager audience of parents and staff. Themed on World Book Day the children dressed up as their favourite book characters and celebrated the many joys of books and reading.

The children highlighted how books can help us learn about the world around us, can be wonderful practical guides, for honing skills like cooking, and how fiction can take us into amazing, new and magical worlds! The assembly was a joy to watch, all the children delivered their lines clearly and with confidence and delighted in the songs celebrating the wonderful world of books. Well done 1R for a very special assembly!

 

Eco Team Plastic Free Schools Project

Congratulations to our diligent Eco Team who have accomplished the fourth objective in the 'Plastic Free Schools' initiative, which is to 'challenge industry'. Our Eco Warriors conducted their own research into plastic packaging in school, at home and whilst out and about to identify three companies they felt could do more to reduce plastic use. They wrote compelling letters to food and drink giants Coca-Cola, Ferrero and Mondelez-International, to highlight the damaging environmental impact of their products and packaging. Applying pressure on influential food companies is a crucial step in the campaign to tackle plastic pollution. Well done to the Eco Team for their hard work on this important issue. 

Quiz Team Semi Final

On Friday our Quiz Team took part in the semi final of the national Prep School General Knowledge Quiz. Children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 collaborated in this online event, competing with other schools from across the UK in a hotly contested competition covering history, geography, art, popular culture and more. Our team made a great effort finishing in 28th position out of 48 teams. 

Well done to our team members:
Rian S (Year 3)
Armaan V (Year 4)
Sofia S (Year 5)
Anika C (Year 6)

Junior Citizens Event 

On Thursday, Year 6 took the bus to Brunel University for the annual Junior Citizens event. The children participated in many interactive workshops with organisations including the London Fire Brigade, the Metropolitan Police, Bikeability, RNLI, the NHS, SCARF Lifeskills and TfL to develop safety awareness and life skills. The children learnt about travelling safely on public transport, fire safety, crime risk, safe and unsafe substances and staying safe online.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained many valuable skills to help equip them for the transition into senior school. 

 

Exhibition Day

We would like to remind you that Saturday 16th March is our annual Exhibition Day, during which the school will be open for pupils and their families from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

All children should attend on this day in full school uniform, at the time that suits you best during the two hour slot. Pupils will no doubt be eager to show you around their classrooms and will also want to revisit previous year groups to reminisce! The day also presents a lovely opportunity to visit older year groups to see what lies in store for your child in coming years. Your children's work will be available for you to view on this day and staff will be in school, but please note that the day will not allow for detailed conversations about individual children.

This year, to tie in with our Centenary celebrations, each year group has a decade theme, so it will be particularly poignant to travel through time as you travel through the school. Refreshments will be served in the Evans Hall throughout the morning.

Friday 15th March is a half day in order to allow the school to prepare for Exhibition Day. There will be NO FUNTASIA available on Friday 15th March and children must be collected at the following times:

11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & Nursery)
12.00 p.m. (Reception)
12.10 p.m. (Y1,2)
12.20 p.m. (Y3,4)
12.30 p.m. (Y5,6)

We look forward to seeing you all on Exhibition Day and to celebrating the pupils and their work!

Gaza Charity Day

A reminder that next Friday 15th March we will be raising money for Save The Children, to support children currently suffering in Gaza. We have been thinking about how lucky we are to have warm homes and cosy beds and so on Friday 15th, pupils and staff may come to school in pyjamas in return for a donation of their choice to Save The Children. You can make donations via our JustGiving page here. We thank you in advance for your support.

Sports News

The football team travelled to St. Andrew's School on Wednesday afternoon for another fixture. The team won 3-1, with Aaron B scoring two goals and Ryley J adding the third. At times the boys played some good football on a poor pitch, but once again the story of the match was our missed opportunities in front of goal. This is something on which we will continue to work, in the hopes of improving our league position and making things easier for ourselves in the league next season. Man of the Match, for an outstanding second half performance, was Daynan C.

Co-curriculum Clubs Summer Term

Booking opens today for co-curriculum clubs for the summer term. Please login to SchoolsBuddy to make your choices. 

Holiday Club (Easter)

Holiday Club will run from Monday 25th March - Friday 12th April (Excluding Good Friday - 29th March and Easter Monday - 1st April). Bookings open on Friday 8th March at 4 p.m. Please login to SchoolsBuddy to make a booking. 

RoboThink Easter Workshops

RoboThink will be running special Egg-ineering robotics workshops during the Easter holidays at St. Helen's College Lower School. There are options for half or full day sessions. You can find out more and book here. 

Baby Mindfulness Classes

Mrs. McLaughlin's next set of FREE Baby Mindfulness classes will begin after the Easter break. These classes are for mothers and babies (aged from six weeks until crawling). They run on Wednesday mornings at St. Helen's College Upper School and provide a safe space for mums and babies to bond, taking part in breathing, gentle yoga and other mindfulness exercises. There is also the opportunity to meet other local mums and babies and to socialise with them. If you have a baby of the right age (or will do by mid-April) and are interested in joining these classes, please email Mrs. McLaughlin on pmclaughlin@sthelenscollege.com. The classes are open to everyone, whether they have a child at St. Helen's College or not, so please do spread the word.

Messages From The PA

Uniform Donation Bins / Uniform Stall / Charity Bake Sale

Do you have any good condition SHC uniform that you no longer need?  If you would like to donate it to the PA, you will be able to drop it in the donation bins which will be located outside the school entrances from Monday 11th March until Friday 22nd March. 

A second hand uniform stall will be set up and run in the Upper School car park on Parkway from midday to 3 p.m. on Tuesday 26th March (the first Tuesday in the Easter holidays). If you'd like to pick up a bargain, make sure you come along and visit the stall. 

A cake stall will run alongside the uniform stall, selling delicious sweet treats to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Please do come along and treat yourself and your family!

Next Week And End of Term Events

Monday 11th March - Year 5 (U10) netball v. Highgate School (H)
Thursday 14th March - Year 1 Trip To Gunnersbury
Thursday 14th March - House Assembly
Friday 15th March - Half Day - NO FUNTASIA 
Saturday 16th March - EXHIBITION DAY 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Monday 18th March - District Cross Country
Monday 18th March - Year 4 Senior School Transfer Meeting in Evans Hall 6 p.m.
Tuesday 19th March - Reception Poetry Recital (coffee from 8.15 a.m.)
Tuesday 19th March - Year 5 Trip To Bletchley Park
Tuesday 19th March - Beechwood Park Year 6 Netball Tournament
Tuesday 19th March - Year 5 Isle Of Wight Information Evening (6.30 p.m.)
Wednesday 20th March - Nursery Poetry Recital (coffee from 8.15 a.m.)
Wednesday 20th March - Orley Farm Year 5 Netball Tournament
Thursday 21st March - Speech Competition (9.00 a.m. Y1/2, 1.50 p.m. Y3/4, 2.50 p.m. Y5/6)
Thursday 21st March - Planetarium Visiting Reception 
Thursday 21st March - Year 3 PACCAR Information Evening (6.30 p.m.)
Friday 22nd March - Year 2 - 6 Easter Service At All Saints Church (11.00 a.m.)
Friday 22nd March - End Of Term (Half Day)