Weekly News - Friday 22nd March 2024

It was wonderful to be joined by so many members of the St. Helen's College community for our Easter Service this morning at All Saints Church. Many thanks to all of the families who attended and to our wonderful choirs, orchestra and Year 6 readers who led the service so beautifully.

We would like to wish everyone a happy, peaceful Easter break.

Speech Competition and Poetry Recitals

Our Nursery and Reception children did an amazing job this week of reciting the poems they had learnt off by heart.

On Tuesday, both Reception classes performed their pieces from a stage in the Methodist Church Hall, watched by an audience of around one hundred parents and staff. Their courage and confidence in mounting the stage individually and speaking their poems was astonishing for children so young. 

On Wednesday, it was the turn of the Nursery children to have a go at their first solo performance at St. Helen's College. They did so in the familiar environment of their classrooms, using a small stage, and speaking out one by one to their parents, staff and peers. For those who found the experience a little intimidating, a friend was available to hold their hand and share the stage with them for the duration of their poem.

For children aged just three, four and five to be willing - and able - to stand up in front of a congregation of adults and speak verse from memory is very impressive indeed. Many of the children projected confidently and conveyed the meaning of their poems in style, as well as making lovely eye contact to engage their audience. The future of drama and public speaking at St. Helen's College is certainly in safe hands. Well done Robins, Wrens, Kingfishers and Owls. We are very proud of you!

On Thursday, the children in Years 1 to 6 took part in our annual Speech Competition. Competing in three categories (Years 1/2, Years 3/4 and Years 5/6), they performed their poems with poise and style to their audiences. The pupils had been given a range of challenging, sophisticated and in some cases humorous poems and the expression they put into their performances was really wonderful. It was an extremely difficult job for our judge, Mrs. Emanuel, but in the end the winners were:
Year 1 Class Winners: Aan G and Aahana G
Year 2 Class Winners: Sikhya R and Zakariya S
Overall Pre-Prep Winner: Sikhya R

 

Year 3 Class Winners: Eleanor G and Aaria M
Year 4 Class Winners: Alana F and Leo A
Overall Junior Competition Winner: Alana F

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 5 Class Winners: Veer K and Aarav C
Year 6 Class Winners: Verity S and Emily S
Overall Senior Competition Winner: Veer K

 

 

 

 

 

Centenary Exhibition Day

Thank you to all of the families who attended the Centenary Exhibition Day last Saturday and for the wonderful feedback from this busy event. It was a joy to see the children's hard work displayed so beautifully throughout all three school sites: Ducklings, Lower School and Upper School.

The children thoroughly enjoyed showing parents their classrooms and the variety of work they have completed so far this year. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the tradition and legacy of St. Helen's College over the past one hundred years, and to welcome back some familiar faces of attending alumni!

We are very proud of all of the children at St. Helen's College and the huge effort each and every child puts in to achieving such a high standard of work. Thank you for supporting the children and celebrating with us in our special Centenary year. You can see some photographs from Exhibition Day here and hear from some pupils here. 

ABRSM Music Exam Results

Huge congratulations to all of the children who have been working so hard on their pieces for instrumental and vocal examinations this term. We are delighted to report the following results:

Luca H	Piano	Grade 1	Pass
Jeena H	Piano	Grade 1	Pass
Hana H	Singing	Grade 3	Distinction
Sofia K	Piano	Grade 1	Merit
Tiya T	Piano	Grade 2	Distinction
Simar C	Violin	Grade 3	Pass
Amelia L	Piano	Grade 5	Merit
Zinnia M	Singing	Grade 2	Merit
Aanya P	Violin	Grade 4	Pass
Aaran P	Piano	Initial	Pass
Shanaya P	Violin	Grade 1	Merit
Rayan S	Guitar	Grade 2	Merit
Inaaya S	Singing	Grade 3	Distinction
Rohaym U	Guitar	Grade 1	Pass
Jana A	Trumpet	Grade 1	Merit
Gurdaya J	Singing	Grade 3	Distinction
Avleen P	Piano	Initial	Merit
Shaylen P	Piano	Grade 2	Merit
Alyssa P	Singing	Grade 3	Distinction
Caitlin P	Piano	Grade 1	Pass
Armaan V	Piano	Grade 1	Pass
Oliver B	Violin	Initial	Merit
Eleanor G	Piano	Initial	Merit
Emerald S	Violin	Initial	Merit
Leonard S	Violin	Initial	Merit
Alicia Z	Singing	Grade 1	Distinction
Alicia Z	Violin	Grade 3	Distinction
Anika S	Piano	Initial	Merit

 

Sports News

This week the Year 5 and 6 netballers took part in the Beechwood Park and Orley Farm netball tournaments. It was a great way to finish off the season and they played brilliantly, displaying great character skills: perseverance, determination and respect. Well done to all of the pupils involved!

 

 

 

 

Trips and Visits

Year 5 visited Bletchley Park on Tuesday where they enjoyed an interactive day finding out all about the development of electronic computers and the vital role of Britain's code breaking operation during World War 2.  

The children toured the museum which is home to the largest collection of Enigma code breaking machines in the UK. They learnt about the remarkable life and achievements of Alan Turing and visited the original huts which housed the code breakers, most of whom were women. The children were fascinated to discover how the code breakers were recruited, then sworn to top secrecy; for some surviving staff until this very day!

It was very powerful to hear how their specialised skills were instrumental in bringing the war to an end. To top the day off, the children were able to experiment with the machines and had the chance to write a coded cipher of their own names. 

Our Reception classes were thrilled to receive a visit from a travelling Planetarium this week to bring their learning about Space alive! This pop up, immersive experience transported the children into virtual space where they delighted in a tour of the night sky, viewing the transition from daytime to night. The children discovered fascinating facts about the stars, moon and Jupiter and explored the concept of shapes in space. Finally, the children had the opportunity to identify the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations, otherwise known as the 'Big Bear' and 'Little Bear'. The event proved to be a fun, interactive experience which illuminated their learning about earth's place in the wider solar system. 

We have held residential trip information evenings this week for next term's Year 3 and Year 5 residential trips. Thank you to the parents who attended. There will be meetings early next term for parents ahead of the Year 4 and Year 6 residential trips too.

Spring Garden Competition

Thank you to all of the pupils who took on the challenge of designing and creating a spring garden in a box for our House competition. The designs were beautiful and very imaginative and we were delighted that the children adopted so enthusiastically the idea of using natural or recycled items to make their gardens. Congratulations to the winners, Leonard S. in 3M and Armaan V. in 4B who won extra points for their House teams. 

 

 

 

One World Day

One World Day will take place on May 7th. This year there is a sustainability focus, as we only have one world. If any parents, alumni or friends who work in this area would be willing to offer a talk or workshop on that day, please would you contact Mrs. Briggs at vbriggs@sthelenscollege.com at your earliest convenience.

Waste Week Battery Collection

Thank you to all the children who collected and brought in old/used batteries for the 'Recycle To Read Batteries Collection', part of a National Waste Week initiative. Each House has now filled a large box with batteries and will be awarded two valuable House points for each battery donated. 

We heartily encourage all our families to continue to recycle unwanted 'tech', you can find out more information on local electrical and battery drop off points here. Please remove batteries from electricals and recycle them separately. You can find out more information on the these links:

Material Focus hello@materialfocus.org.uk
www.recycleyourelectrical.org.uk
facebook.com/recycleyourelectricals
@recycleelectric
@recycleyourelectricals_
linkedin.com/company/materialfocus

News From The PA

The PA will be running a second hand uniform stall in the school car park at the Parkway entrance to the school on Tuesday 26th March 2024 from 12.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m.  Come along and snap up a bargain before the change over to the summer uniform next term.  Grace O'H from 6H will be running a bake sale alongside the uniform stall, selling all sorts of delicious treats, including home-made cupcakes, tiffin, rocky road and cookies. All money raised will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

The PA has once again donated prizes for a free draw for the children this Easter.  All of the children were included in this free Easter draw with one prize drawn for each class. We hope the lucky winners enjoy their prizes and wish everyone a wonderful Easter break!

Summer Term - Important Information

Children should return to school after Easter in their full, correct summer uniform. Please remember that tights must NOT be worn with the summer dress. White knee or ankle socks are the summer uniform option with the summer dress.

The lunch menu for the summer term has been published to the website and is available here.

Summer term co-curricular clubs will begin on the first full week back. 

Please check your child's bags, pencil case, water bottle, snack box and other equipment over the holidays to ensure that everything is clean, in good working order and NAMED. Please replenish/replace items as necessary to ensure that your child has all of the correct equipment each day.

There are a number of major events in the summer term, as usual. Please check the school calendar and make a note of the dates relevant to your child's year group. In addition, here is a reminder of events for the first two weeks of the summer term:

Wednesday 17th April - Term begins
Friday 19th April - Year 6 Bikeability sessions begin
Friday 19th April - PA Comedy Night at Uxbridge Golf Club
Saturday 20th April - Mini Marathon
Wednesday 24th April - Year 4 Flatford Mill Information Evening
Thursday 25th April - PA meeting in Upper School Hall
Friday 26th April - Month End Music Recital in Evans Hall

Library Book Drive 

We are delighted to announce our community will be supporting The Children's Book Project at the start of summer term! Learning to read - and reading to learn  - is central to our school life and we are grateful to enjoy a wealth of books. The Project shares books with children who are less fortunate and matches families who have grown out of their books with those who have few books at home. Working with schools, Food Banks and prison projects, books are donated to children in need.

We would invite you to look at your book shelves over the holidays to find those books you have enjoyed and feel you could now share by donating. Please note:

Books should be very gently worn - no creased covers, tatters or yellow pages.

No thank you to puzzle, sticker books, dated books such as annuals, text books, school books. 

We are looking for books aimed at children between 2 and 11.

We will have collections points available for books at Lower and Upper School on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd April. 

Mini Me Easter Camps 

Mini-Me Camps are running an Easter holiday camp at PACCAR Scout Camp. There are limited spaces left available and all friends and family are welcome! Full details, including booking details, are available here.

Delancey UK Chess Challenge Megafinal Registration  

Registration for this year's Delancey Megafinal 2024 is now open for registration. This season it will include a range of over-the-board and online events. Megafinals will take place across the UK, the gigafinals will take place in Edinburgh, Manchester and Sandown Racecourse and the terafinal in the splendid surrounds of Blenheim Palace. Over £10,000 worth of prizes will be awarded as cash, trophies and medals. You can register and find out more here. 

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. 

Lynne Chilver School of Dance

The Lynne Chilver School of Dance runs regular classes in the Methodist Church Hall on Long Lane and has been popular with St. Helen's College pupils for many years. Lessons take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and include ballet, tap, jazz and musical theatre. More information can be found here. 

Local Theatres

For Easter holiday entertainment don't forget about local theatres which will be running family friendly productions over the holiday period. The Compass Theatre in Ickenham is showing The Little Mermaid - Easter Panto and the Beck Theatre in Hayes is showing The Sooty Show - 75th Birthday Spectacular! and Alice in Wonderland.