Weekly News - Friday 5th July 2024
Posted on: 05/07/2024Year 6 Prizegiving
On Thursday it was an evening of achievement and celebration at the St. Helen's College annual Prizegiving reception and ceremony. This special evening for Year 6, held in the Evans Garden, recognises the children's remarkable talents, hard work and personal development during their time at St. Helen's College. Our Principals, Mr. and Mrs. Crehan, delivered an inspiring speech and lovely song and offered words of encouragement for the children as they embark on new beginnings and many exciting adventures ahead. Thank you to Samara P for her wonderful solo performance and to the Chamber Choir for their beautiful renditions of 'Rhythm Of Life' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone', a fitting sentiment as we prepare to bid Year 6 a final farewell next week.
Lower School Art Exhibition
Lower School celebrated the many talents of our gifted pupils today at their Centenary Art Exhibition. Every child had a piece of art beautifully mounted, framed and displayed and enjoyed showing them off to their parents! The mini masterpieces were available for parents to buy, with extra copies and postcards also available to order. We hope that all of the families who visited enjoyed the exhibition as much as we did!
Ducklings parents were also able to view and buy framed artwork created by our youngest Helenians. What an artistic bunch they are!
We are looking forward to the Upper School Art Exhibition next Thursday too. As a reminder, the exhibition will be open at the Winston Churchill Hall in Ruislip from 3 - 5 p.m. and from 6 - 8 p.m. on Thursday 11th July.
Year 2 Trip To Iver Environment Centre
On Tuesday Year 2 visited Iver Environment Centre for a full day of outdoor activities. The children relished a day in nature, taking part in a mini beast hunt, pond dipping and building bug houses as part of work on wildlife habitats. The day was rounded off in the fun adventure play area which proved to be very popular. The school were kindly gifted two bird boxes which will be decorated by the children and installed in the school grounds. We hope the boxes will make a cosy home for nesting birds and we look forward to monitoring them for life in the coming months!
Wimbledon Visit
A lucky group of pupils from Year 5 and 6 had an exciting day out at Wimbledon Tennis Championships on Tuesday. Arjun S, Tiya T, Amaya L, Rian M, Marco K, Simar C, Avar D and Shanaya P watched two thrilling matches on Court 1 featuring the world number 4 women's player (Elena Rybakina), followed by the world number 4 men's player (Alexander Zverev). Both players won convincingly and demonstrated incredible skill. The children also had the opportunity to tour the whole Wimbledon complex and watch world class tennis action on the smaller courts. It was a fantastic day and we hope the children will be inspired to excel in their own sporting endeavours.
Election Day
The children had the chance to experience democracy in action here at St. Helen's College on Thursday when the School Council ran its own ballot to tie in with the General Election. Year 6 representatives shared the key manifesto promises from four leading political parties; Conservative, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party, in rousing speeches during morning assembly. The Upper School children then took to the ballot box at breaktime to cast their vote. All the candidates were very convincing. We may have one or two budding politicians in our midst!
In total, 173 votes were cast and counted overnight. The results were announced in assembly this morning, as follows:
Conservative Party - 79
Liberal Democrats - 41
Labour Party - 35
SNP - 18
Move Up Mornings
On Monday children from Years 1 - 5 participated in 'Move Up Morning'. This is always an eagerly anticipated event, offering children a glimpse into next year's classroom and some of the activities they will be doing. It is also a chance for them to meet and get to know their new teacher for the academic year ahead. On Tuesday it was the Nursery and Reception children's chance to do the same. We hope all the children feel reassured by the visit and excited for the new academic year in September!
NSPCC Workshop
On Thursday, representatives from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) visited Years 2 - 6 for a workshop on staying safe. The session educated pupils on recognising the signs of bullying and abuse and the importance of always speaking to a trusted adult about any concerns they may have. This was illustrated by the fun NSPCC mascot 'Buddy', a bright green inflatable in the shape of a speech bubble! All the children participated in the group discussions and found the workshop a valuable addition to their personal development education.
Maths Success
We strive for excellence in maths here at St. Helen's College and it is wonderful to see pupils go above and beyond to achieve success. Huge congratulations to Aryan (6L), Aaryav (5R) and Raiden (6L) who took part in the demanding UK Maths Trust Junior Challenge Kangaroo and Olympiad follow-on challenges. A special mention to Aryan who came in the top scoring 25% of participants in the Kangaroo, achieving a Certificate of Merit!
Well done to all the children from Reception - Y3 who took part in the First Maths Challenge over the past couple of weeks. The results are now in and certificates are being prepared for all participants. These will be handed out next week.
Library Summer Reading Challenge
On Friday the children were treated to a visit from Esha Chaman of Hillingdon Libraries who introduced the exciting Summer Reading Challenge. The theme this year is 'Marvellous Makers!' and it's all about celebrating children's creativity. Children aged 4 to 11-years-old are invited to fire up their imagination and unleash storytelling and creativity through the power of reading.
The Summer Reading Challenge is a free initiative whereby children are encouraged to read six books across the summer holidays and in return receive free gifts. You can watch a short video explaining more about the challenge here.
So, why not camp out at your local library this summer to make the most of all the wonderful books on offer! Our local library at Oak Farm, on Long Lane, is just a hop and a skip from the lovely Court Park where you could picnic and read the books you have borrowed. Also well worth a visit is the library in Hayes. This is found within Botwell Sports and Leisure Centre so families can spend the morning swimming and splashing and the afternoon relaxing in the library. We would love to hear in September how you have used your library!
Summer School 2024
There are now just a handful of spaces left for Summer School which will be running at PACCAR Scout camp from 5th - 9th August for Years 3 - 6. This will be a fun-packed week of thrilling outdoor activities including climbing, archery and a day of water sports at nearby Taplow lake. Full details have been sent directly to parents, if you would like to book a space for your child, you can do so through your SchoolsBuddy account. Please note the deadline to book is next Thursday 11th July. The St. Helen’s College Holiday Club will run at school for children in Nursery - Year 2 as usual during this week. There are also a few spaces left at the Mini Me Camps at PACCAR from 29th July - 2nd August for children in Years 2- 6.
Centenary Fun Day Menu
The team at Accent Catering have devised a special 'street party' lunch for our Centenary Fun Day next week. You can see the menu here.
Next Week
Tuesday 9th July - Centenary Fun Day (children to wear House colours)
Tuesday 9th July - Year 6 Coffee Morning and Project Exhibition
Wednesday 10th July - Year 1 Trip to Mad Bess Woods
Wednesday 10th July - Year 6 Teacher For A Day
Wednesday 10th July - New Year 1 (6 p.m.) and Year 2 (7 p.m.) Parent Meetings
Thursday 11th July - Ducklings Sports Day
Thursday 11th July - Centenary Concert & Art Exhibition
Friday 12th July - End of Term (Half Day) Pick up times: 11.50 (Ducklings & Nursery); 12.00 p.m. (Reception); 12.10 p.m. (Y1 and Y2); 12.20 p.m. (Y3 and Y4); 12.30 p.m. (Y5 and Y6)
