Weekly News - Friday 14th June 2024

Singing Competition Final 

Over the past few weeks the sound of children singing has been ringing out from the classrooms, corridors and playground at Upper School as anticipation has built for the annual Singing Competition. Pupils have entered into the competition with enthusiasm and have taken every opportunity to squeeze in extra practise! Today we welcomed parents of our talented finalists into school for the hotly contested final. All the children sang beautifully with backing accompaniment in solo and group numbers and certainly made the job for our guest judge, soprana and music teacher Jessica Bergman, extremely difficult. Finally a decision was reached...huge congratulations to the winners for their outstanding performance:

Year 2: Amina H
Year 3: Alicia Z
MS group: Eleanor, Alicia and Sanaya

Year 4: Gurdaya J (with Leo A highly commended)
Year 5: Rohan F
Year 6: Samara P
US group: Anna, Grace, Hana and Samara

A huge thank you to Jessica for not only taking on the difficult task of judging the competition but also for singing for us. To hear opera sung here at St. Helen's College was absolutely beautiful and so inspiring for the children. 

Kingfishers Class Assembly

Kingfishers took parents on a whistle-stop tour around the world at their class assembly on Wednesday. The children presented their own 'St. Helen's College News', reporting on the art, music and culture from Africa, Asia and Europe, all in the spirit of celebrating world harmony. Parents were treated to beautiful Korean dress, traditional Morris dancing and a fun retelling of the famous Aesop's fable 'The Hare And The Tortoise'. It was also a lovely opportunity to wish St. Helen’s College a very happy 100th birthday!

It was wonderful to see how the confidence and poise of Reception has grown throughout the year and we look forward to seeing even greater things in Year 1!

Year 2 and 3 First Maths Challenge

This week children in Years 2 and 3, and selected children from Reception and Year 1, have put their maths knowledge to the test by taking part in the First Maths Challenge. This 45 minute online quiz, consisting of twenty multiple choice questions, has been specifically created for children aged 7-9 years. The challenge offers children the opportunity to demonstrate their maths knowledge, application and aptitude for problem solving. All participants will receive a certificate once the papers are marked and are banded into bronze, silver and gold categories. Well done to everyone who took part! 

 

 

School Handwriting Competition

On Monday the Year 1 and 2 winners of the in-house handwriting competition were announced. The standard was very high and the competition stiff so congratulations to Amayra C in Year 1, and to Harleen P and Sikhya R who were joint winners in Year 2. Each winner received a certificate and special framed copy of their handwritten submitted poem. 

Cricket News

Our U11 A team played in the The Uxbridge and District Primary School Sports Association (UDPSSA) best cricket tournament on Wednesday 12th June. The boys played extremely well and were just beaten in the final to a very strong Newnham School team. They should all be extremely proud of finishing as runners up.

 

 

 

 

Year 6 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Tickets are now on sale for the eagerly anticipated Year 6 production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Compass Theatre on 27th and 28th June. The children have been working hard on rehearsals before they take to the stage for their final performance at St. Helen's College. Tickets are available here. 

Centenary Concert and Art Exhibition 

Don't forget to buy your tickets for the art exhibition on Thursday 11th July. Every child in the class will have at least one piece of work in the exhibition and we have been working hard to mount and package the art beautifully to send home with your child the following day. Tickets are £5 per family and include refreshments. The exhibition is open from 3.00 - 5.00 p.m. on that day. 

Concert tickets for the evening concert (starting at 7 p.m.) are also now on sale to parents of performers. These are £15 each and include refreshments and entry to the art exhibition, which will re-open at 6 p.m. 

This should be a really special afternoon/evening so we hope you will support your child's artistic and/or musical efforts by coming along to celebrate their creativity!

Please log in to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your tickets.

Lower School Art Exhibition

Parents of children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 are warmly invited to our Lower School Art Exhibition on Friday 5th July 2024, which is being hosted by MiniMasterworks. Refreshments will be served from 2.30 p.m. in the Lower School playground, weather permitting, and the exhibition will be open in the Lower School Hall from 3.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. on this day.

Each child has created a masterpiece that has been professionally mounted and framed. Your child’s piece of art will be available to purchase and take away with you on the day for the bargain price of £20. You will also be able to order extra prints and postcard sets featuring your child's artwork if you wish. We would love you all to attend with your child; however, if you are not able to do so, pre-order forms are available from Mrs. Rooney.

We are looking forward to celebrating all our future Monets and really hope you are able to attend to enjoy the occasion with your child!

Centenary Teddy Bear Naming Competition!

Thank you very much to all who allowed their children to pay £1 to enter the raffle to name our centenary teddy bear. We had lots of entries and today we drew the class winners, to great excitement. Each winner was awarded their own centenary bear to keep!

The overall winner will be drawn from the winning class entries on Monday and the centenary teddy bear's name will be revealed!  We raised a wonderful £205.80 to be donated to the Four Paws animal preservation charity to support their important work. 

 

Staff News

We will be bidding a fond farewell to some staff at the end of this academic year, and extending a warm welcome to some new colleagues.

After four years at St. Helen's College, Mrs. Briggs is leaving us to relocate with her family.  

Mrs. Hussein has had a long association (eleven years) with St. Helen's College as a teacher and parent. She will be taking a well-deserved rest when she leaves us at the end of this term.  

Miss Joiner has been a valued member of our Lower School team for six years and is leaving us to spend more time looking after her young family.  

Mrs. Stark's St. Helen's College journey stretches back over 25 years, as a part-time teacher, full-time teacher, Deputy Head and, most recently, part time French teacher. She has been a huge part of the school. 

We know that you will join us in wishing our staff leavers well on the next stage of their journey. They will be greatly missed by us all at St. Helen's College; they have each had a huge impact on so many young lives.

Uniform & Equipment Lists

The Uniform & Equipment lists for 2024-2025 have been posted to the School Documents page of the website. There are no changes to required items for the forthcoming year but please check the lists carefully and ensure that your child has all that they need by September for their next year group.

Next Week

Tuesday 18th June - Year 1 and 2 rehearsal at Compass Theatre
Wednesday 19th June - Year 1 and 2 rehearsal at Compass Theatre
Wednesday 19th June - Parents' evening for Ducklings, Nursery and Reception
Thursday 20th June - Year 1 and 2 performance for parents at Compass Theatre 
Thursday 20th June - Chess match v St. Bernadette's Primary School
Friday 21st June - Prep Sports Day  
Saturday 22nd June - Centenary PA Summer Fete