Weekly News - Friday 15th March 2024

Exhibition Day

We are looking forward to seeing pupils and their families tomorrow (Saturday 16th March) at our annual Exhibition Day 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 have the opportunity to show families around their classrooms and to share their workbooks, displaying all their hard work this year so far. The day also presents a lovely opportunity to visit older year groups to see what lies in store for your child in coming years, and to visit previous year groups to reminisce. 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. We look forward to seeing you all on Exhibition Day and to celebrating the pupils and their work.

Speech Competition

The competition is hotting up in our annual Speech Competition for Years 1 to 6 and, as usual, the standard is very high. The children have been working very hard learning their designated poems off by heart and taking on feedback to improve even further. You can hear more from the children here. The finalists are selected by class teachers and senior members of staff, evaluated on the following criteria: expression, projection and clarity.

The Year 1 - 6 Speech Competition finals will be held on Thursday 21st March, and parents of finalists are invited to attend. These will take place at the following times: 

Year 1 & Year 2  9.00 a.m. at Lower School (with coffee served for parents from 8.15 a.m.)
Year 3 & Year 4  1.50 p.m. at Upper School
Year 5 & Year 6  2.50 p.m. at Upper School

Every Nursery and Reception child is also busy learning a poem and all Nursery and Reception parents are warmly invited to join us for their recitals. These will take place on:

Reception - Tuesday 19th March at 9.00 a.m. (coffee served from 8.15 a.m.)
Nursery - Wednesday 20th March at 9.00 a.m. (coffee served from 8.15 a.m.)

Easter Service

Our traditional Easter Service at All Saints Church on Long Lane will take place next Friday 22nd March at 11.00 a.m. for Years 2 - 6.  Parents are warmly invited to join us for this special occasion; the service will include performances from our Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Chamber Choir and the school orchestra. Year 6 children will lead us with readings and prayers. Please be reminded that the school term finishes at lunchtime with the following collection times for the children:

11.50 a.m. - Ducklings & Nursery
12.00 p.m. - Reception
12.10 p.m. - Years 1 and 2
12.20 p.m. - Years 3 and 4
12.30 p.m. - Years 5 and 6

Year 1 Trip to Gunnersbury

On Thursday, our Year 1 classes enjoyed a visit to Gunnersbury Museum where they were taken back in time to experience life in a Victorian household. The children visited a traditional Victorian kitchen, dressed up as house servants and carried out jobs that the maids and footmen would have done every day; sweeping the floor, washing dishes, cleaning clothes, ironing clothes (and newspapers!) and shining spoons. It wasn't all hard work however, the children also had the opportunity to play with some traditional Victorian toys and discover how toys have evolved through to the modern day. The children were highly engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the day trip. 

 

Spring Garden In A Box

Calling all green-fingered gardeners! Don't forget to bring in shoe box gardens next week to win points in our latest House challenge. Pupils are asked to find an old shoe box or similar and, using only natural or recycled materials, to create their own mini spring garden. The children may be as colourful and creative as they like! They might like to include paths, ponds, fences, plants and wildlife.

Please bring your garden creations into school on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th March. Each entry will receive two house points. Ms Drummond will judge the winning entries for each year group, who will receive extra House points and will appear on the school website!

Gaza Save The Children Appeal 

Thank you to all of the children and staff who dressed in pyjamas and loungewear today; we are extremely grateful for all of the generous donations to Save The Children, to support children currently suffering in Gaza. St. Helen's College has so far raised over £4000, a significant contribution to a very worthy cause. Thank you so much for your support. You can still make a donation via our JustGiving page here. 

PA Comedy Night

We would like to remind all parents about the upcoming PA Comedy Night on Friday 19th April. Details are here and tickets will be on sale until the end of term.

The link for booking is:
https://forms.gle/4GjXNdkAxmDsTYZG9

Co-Curricular Clubs

All co-curricular clubs for this term have now ended, apart from the following which will take place in the final week of term:

Orchestra (Monday after school)
Tennis Club (lunchtime only)

As usual, the children have engaged enthusiastically with all of the many extra activities and opportunities we have offered. We are looking forward to even more outdoor activities next term with the better weather!

Staff News

Mrs. Brooker, our School Counsellor, will be stepping away from her TALA (Teaching And Learning Assistant) role at the end of this term in order to focus solely on her counselling practice. She will remain available to St. Helen's College children for Time To Talk sessions from next term. 

Mrs. Webb, who many children already know as our netball coach, will be taking over Mrs. Brooker's TALA role and is looking forward to working more closely with the children across the year groups at Upper School. 

Mrs. Roscoe has today completed her final day working with our Wrens Nursery class, and we wish her all the very best as she leaves St. Helen's College to spend more time with her family. After Easter we will be welcoming Mrs. Krawiel as a full time TALA in Wrens. Mrs. Krawiel is already a familiar face to the class and we know that the children of Wrens will be delighted to have her around full time.

Next Week

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)