Weekly News - Friday 3rd May 2024

Isle of Wight Year 5 Residential 

Year 5 have enjoyed a terrific residential trip to the Isle of Wight this week. The jam packed itinerary included an array of exciting and adventurous outdoor activities; the children took part in hiking, kayaking, beach exploration, shelter building, camp fires, trapeze, a sensory assault course and more. 

The trip has been a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience new challenges and develop team work and problem solving skills. It has been wonderful to see the children work together and thrive whilst tackling all the activities with confidence and big smiles! You can see more photographs on the school website here. 

 

Kew Gardens Year 3 Trip 

Year 3 visited Kew Gardens on Monday for a special workshop and the opportunity to explore the botanical gardens and tropical greenhouses.

The children took part in a fun 'plant detective' workshop which captured their imagination as they followed the clues to discover the plant 'thief'! Then they demonstrated their identification skills and plant knowledge by searching for a selection of different exotic plants: bamboo, banana tree, cacao and the Madagascan periwinkle.

The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the glorious tropical Palm House and the Princess of Wales Conservatory, both of which support rare and diverse ecosystems. This was a terrific trip to experience plant diversity and preservation first hand, and to consolidate Year 3's hard work on plant life in the classroom. 

4T Class Assembly

This week 4T presented a very polished assembly about the 1940s. The children began by presenting an overview of their work on World War 2, including The Blitz, the child evacuation programme and the role of Winston Churchill in keeping up morale. They thoroughly entertained the audience by performing a jaunty celebratory dance to capture the jubilant mood of VE Day. 

They also shared their inspiring work on the Windrush. The children eloquently read their own creative writing in the form of letters and poems from the perspective of Windrush immigrants. You can hear some extracts here. Finally, they considered all the important roles within the ground-breaking NHS, founded by Aneurin Bevin in 1948, including doctors, nurses, cooks and porters. The assembly rounded off with a very moving rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' from the 1940s musical 'Carousel' which perfectly encapsulates the spirit of resilience and community from this challenging decade. Well done 4T for such a confident and informative class assembly. 

2024 SATIPS Art Exhibition

Huge congratulations to the talented artists from Years 2 to 6 whose work has been included in the annual Support and Training in Prep, Primary and Senior Schools (SATIPS) Art Exhibition. 

This year the exhibition was kindly hosted by Moreton Hall in Shropshire. Pupils and their families were invited to a special private viewing and afternoon tea last weekend to celebrate the achievements of everyone involved. 

Well done to these pupil artists for their outstanding contributions to the exhibition. We are very proud of each and every one:

Nihal B (Y2), Laksh K (Y3), Hugo VS-S (Y3), Naiya L (Y4), Jana A (Y4), Shanaya P (Y5), Ashvika A (Y5), Amelia L (Y5), Pavan S (Y6), Grace O (Y6), Riya S (Y6).

Singing Competition

Don't forget to send entries in for our very exciting Singing Competition! The competition is open to Year 2 - 6, please note the following dates:

Friday 17th May - song(s) must be approved by this date using this form.

Friday 31st May - video entry must be received.

Friday 7th June - finalists announced.

Friday 14th June - Singing Competition final.

The categories this year are as follows:

Middle School Competition: Year 2 Solo, Year 3 Solo, MS duet, MS group and Best Overall Performance.

Upper  School Competition: Year 4 Solo, Year 5 Solo, Year 6 Solo, US duet, US group and Best Overall Performance.

For full details of how to submit song choices for approval and enter the competition please refer to the recent email from Mrs. Fawbert. 

One World Day Menu 

Sustainability is the focus for One World Day next Tuesday 7th May with a wide range of dedicated activities and workshops planned across Upper and Lower School throughout the day. The St. Helen's College Global Citizenship Prefects met with Chef Soula this week to develop a special One World Day menu, which you can view here. 

Rainbow Recipe Cards - May

For those families who enjoy cooking you may like to try some new recipes from our yellow-themed 'Eat The Rainbow' recipe cards for May here.

PA - New Members Needed!

The PA is inviting new members to join the team to continue their brilliant work supporting the strong connection between the school and parents. The PA is a vital organisation that makes a valuable contribution to the school community and relies on the goodwill of parents giving their time to plan and run many fun events for families throughout the year, such as the Summer Fete, Christmas parties, quiz nights and Mother's/Father's Day stalls. If you are bursting with fun and innovative ideas and would like to be involved please do get in touch by email sthelenscollegepa@gmail.com to find out more. 

Holiday Club - May Half Term

The school holiday club will run from Tuesday 28th May - Friday 31st May (excluding Bank Holiday Monday 27th May). Bookings open on Friday 10th May at 4 p.m. on Schoolsbuddy and close on Wednesday 22nd May at 4 p.m. Places must be booked in advance in order to arrange appropriate staffing ratios so please be sure to book before the deadline.

Next Week

Monday 6th May - Bank Holiday (school closed)

Tuesday 7th May - One World Day 

Tuesday 7th May 4 -7 p.m. - Parents Evening Y1-6 

Thursday 9th May 8.15 a.m. - Robins Coffee Morning and Class Assembly 

Thursday 9th May - U11 Cricket v Buckingham Prep 

Thursday 9th May to Friday 10th May - Year 3 PACCAR residential 

Friday 10th May - Year 6 Bikeability continues