End of Term News - 11th July 2018

It was enormously impressive for parents, staff and pupils to visit the Year 6 project exhibition this week. Our Year 6 pupils have been working very hard on their independent projects, which covered subjects as diverse and interesting as World War 2 (and, for one project, an investigation into how our lives might be if the Allies had not been successful), fashion through the ages, space rockets, wildlife, oceanography, neuroscience, planes and much, much more. The children had developed websites, produced books, made models and created artwork and the standard of their work was very high indeed. There was even a live volcanic eruption to enjoy! To prepare their projects, the Year 6 pupils were mentored by staff with expertise in their subject area and it was clear that their imaginations and independent research skills have really been kick-started by this process. Well done to all involved. The projects will all be available to view on the Learning Portal shortly.

Pupil Leadership Team

A huge thank you to this year's excellent Pupil Leadership Team, who have done an outstanding job as role models for the younger pupils. Special thanks to our Head Girl Sophie, Head Boy Krish, Deputy Head Girl Amishi and Deputy Head Boy Max.

We are now delighted to announce our new Pupil Leadership Team for the academic year 2018-19.

Head Girl will be Ionie M
Head Boy will be Jayan C
Deputy Head Girl will be Anisa W
Deputy Head Boy will be Thomas W

Other senior positions of responsibility will be announced in September.

Musician of the Term - Summer Term 2018

The Music Trophy is awarded each term to a pupil who has shown outstanding effort, commitment, dedication and achievement within the music department.

The winner this term is Wenru D. Wenru is an excellent role model in the music department. She has always worked conscientiously and demonstrated enormous enthusiasm over several years, in all aspects of music at St. Helen’s College. She has excellent music skills and applies and shares creative ideas successfully in class work. She plays the recorder fluently in class and at recorder club, has been learning the violin for several years, and enjoys playing in the school orchestra. Wenru began singing in the Lower School choir and has continued in the Upper School. She has performed successfully, in both solo and group categories, in the Singing Competitions and at the Singers’ Concerts. Two years ago, Wenru was selected to join the Chamber Choir and has since performed at two prestigious venues in London. 

Wenru has exceptional musical talent and has recently been awarded a distinction for her Grade 8 piano examination.

Well done, Wenru!

Music Vacancy

We have one space available for an Upper School pupil to learn the piano on a Saturday morning at 11 a.m. If you are interested in your child taking this space, please email Mrs. Allery at rallery@sthelenscollege.com. The place will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Chess Tournament

On Monday, the St. Helen's College chess teams attended a tournament at local rivals St. Bernadette's. All the players played at least one game, including reserves. The A team reached the semi-final of the championship and the B team reached the semi-final of the shield. Although the teams were unable to progress to the final, this meant that each of the team players (including reserves) received a bronze medal.

There was also a set of chess puzzles. These increased in difficulty as they progressed and required considerable concentration and determination from the pupils. We are delighted to report that, in this contest, Nirmit N came first and Luke J came second. Each boy received a badge. Well done, chess players!

School Sport 2017-2018

It has been a superb year of sport at St. Helen's College. The school was awarded the Platinum School Games Award, being one of only a handful of schools nationwide to be recognised in this way.

Our teams became Borough Champions in tri-golf and table tennis, and we were double Borough Champions in tennis and represented Hillingdon at the London School Games. There were individual medals in swimming and cross country at district level, and in netball we were runners up in the District Girls League and runners up at the Year 6 Reddiford Netball Tournament.

In a fantastic year for English football, St. Helen's College football team were to WIN the football league and were runners up in the Packham Cup tournament.

In athletics, there were several bronze, silver and gold medals at district level and several pupils achieved their English Schools Athletics bronze, silver or gold awards.

Tennis Tournament

Congratulations are due to all of the children who took part in the school tennis tournament this term, organised by Mr. Dyson.

Results were as follows:
Y3 Boys - Winner: Samir H; Runner up – Zayd K
Y3 Girls - Winner: Fredericka T; Runner up – Amar C
Y4 Boys - Winner: Eli V-B; Runner up – Harry J
Y4 Girls - Winner: Rhea A-V;  Runner up – Shaina A
Y5 Boys - Winner: Rishi S-P; Runner up - Adi S
Y5 Girls - Winner: Aaria K; Runner up - Zoe K
Y6 Boys - Winner: Timi O; Runner up - Amrit R
Y6 Girls - Winner: Ryeesa S; Runner up - Zara S-P

Highly Commended for Sport

Two certificates were presented today, to Lincoln B and Hebe E, for their outstanding contributions to the school athletics team this term.

Sports Personality of the Term

The Sports Personality of the Summer Term was awarded to Ryeesa S. Ryeesa has represented the school in many sports and has always shown a determination to perform to the best of her ability.

She became a triple Borough Champion this term as part of the table tennis team, tri-golf team and tennis team, and she represented Hillingdon at the London Youth Games tennis finals, losing only one match all day on her way to finishing in 4^th place.

Ryeesa also won a silver medal at District Sports; she is a school tennis champion and she is the current school record holder for Year 5 Turbo Javelin.

However, football is Ryeesa's real passion; she is a part of the Arsenal youth team and we are sure it won’t be long before she gets her first England cap!

Very well done, Ryeesa. Your contribution to sport at St. Helen's College has been wonderful. 

Holiday Club

There are some exciting themes planned for this summer's Holiday Club, run by Miss Carmichael and the Holiday Club team, including:
SUMMER IS HERE!
WACKY TRANSPORT – AROUND THE WORLD IN 10 DAYS
OUTDOOR MINI OLYMPICS
HOLIDAY CLUB’S GOT TALENT
CARNIVAL

If your child/ren will be attending Holiday Club, please take note of these important reminders:

Please apply sun cream to your child before coming to school.
​Bring a sunhat to wear.
Bring spare clothes for your child - we could be getting wet!  
Make sure your child is wearing suitable footwear.

We will be using the main school entrance in Parkway, with the exception of Breakfast Club. Holiday Club numbers will be displayed on each door should you need to contact us.

We look forward to seeing you!

Summer School - Years 2-6 at HOAC

For those taking part in the Year 2 - 6 Summer School at Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre (HOAC) in August, the kit list and programme have been sent home with your children. These have also been posted to the School Documents page of the website, so you can refer to them there in case they are misplaced between now and August. 

Cancer Research Relay for Life 2018

Our team fundraising is well underway for this year's Relay for Life, which takes place at Harrow School on 1st September 2018. It is not too late to join our team or to make a donation to sponsor us as we attend on the day to walk the track in a team relay for 24 hours and staff the Candle of Hope stall.

You can join the team or make a donation here. If you would like to dedicate a Candle of Hope to a loved one who has fought, or is currently fighting, cancer, please email Mrs. Stark at tstark@sthelenscollege.com by the end of August. The suggested minimum donation for a Candle of Hope dedication is £5; this may be sent into Mrs. Stark at Upper School when we return to school in September.

Preparing for September

Parents should check the School Documents page for the uniform and equipment list for 2018-19. Please ensure that your children return to school in September with full, correct school uniform and PE/Games kit in good repair and a freshly stocked pencil case where relevant.

Please note the change this year that, due to the hot Septembers we have experienced in recent years, pupils may return to school in either full summer or full winter uniform, depending on the weather. You may decide daily which uniform is more appropriate for that day. The only exception is the day of your child's school photograph, when they must wear full winter uniform. Reminders will be sent about this nearer the time. From the October half term, all pupils must wear full winter uniform.

The Autumn term lunch menu can also be found on the School Documents page. You might like to read through this with your children over the holidays and help them to make healthy choices for their lunches next term.

The Parents' Handbook has also been updated and re-published to the School Documents page. Please ensure that you are familiar with its contents.

The school calendar has been populated with important dates for the Autumn term. We strongly suggest that you check this over the holidays and make a note in your own diaries of all dates relevant to your children. 

The Autumn term co-curricular programme will be published when we return to school in September so please do not worry - you have not missed it! We are planning to use a new, online booking system similar to our parents' evening booking system, which should be much easier for parents and will allow for online payments too. We will be working on setting this up over the summer and full details will be sent out at the start of next term.

STEAM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts and Mathematics) will take place on Friday 21st September this year. In the past, parents have been very generous in giving time to run workshops or activity sessions on this day, or to support teachers in doing so. Recent examples include The History of the British Telephone Box, Making an Ideal Parachute, Testing Aerodynamics, Music Workshops, Arts and Crafts, Drama...the opportunities are endless and it is hoped that the day will be as wide-ranging as possible! Please contact Mr. Tovell if you would like to offer a workshop or your time: dtovell@sthelenscollege.com. A big part of what makes St. Helen’s College such a fantastic school for your children to attend is the wonderful level of parental support, so please do sign up and make this our best STEAM Day to date!

You can see a video of our first ever STEAM Day here to give you an idea of the sorts of activities we have had in the past. 

Summer Greetings

Many thanks to all pupils, parents and extended family for their continued support throughout this academic year. It truly has been an incredibly successful and exciting year for everyone. To those who are leaving us to move onto new schools, we wish you all the best and please do keep in touch! We wish you all a safe, happy and fun-filled summer.