Weekly News - Friday 14th September 2018

It has been an incredible first week back for the pupils at all three sites. It is wonderful to see how quickly our Ducklings children have settled in to their new 'nest'! There was much excitement as our Lower School children entered their new-look school on Monday morning. They have now all explored their new classrooms and are making the most of the amazing new facilities. The grand opening will be after half term and we will finalise dates as soon as possible.

Upper School children have had a very busy week meeting their new teachers and settling into new routines. I have admired how they are responding to the changes and rising to new challenges. Our Year 6 pupils have had an intense start to the new academic year with their 11+ examinations and we look forward to seeing them all next week for a 'normal' school week.

PA Welcome Event For New Parents

The PA Welcome Event for parents who are new to the school will now take place next Saturday, 22nd September, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in The Evans Hall. We hope to see all our new families there.

STEAM Day - Friday 21st September

Preparations are well underway for our exciting STEAM Day next Friday. Thank you to all parents who have offered to run or assist with the workshops. If there are any Upper School parents who would still like to assist, please email Mr. Tovell at dtovell@sthelenscollege.com.

Tog Day

The school was a riot of colour today as we had our first Tog Day of the year, in support of Cancer Research UK's Relay for Life. Many thanks to you all for your generosity in supporting this charity. We will announce the total raised in due course. It has been heartwarming this week to hear from families whose children have requested donations towards the charity instead of birthday presents. What incredibly aware and kind-hearted children we have here!

Co-Curricular Activities - Autumn Term (Reception to Year 6)

We are pleased to announce that our new online booking system goes live for parents today. The school has partnered with SchoolsBuddy to provide this system, which will allow parents to make bookings for school events and activities online.

Today, parents of children in Reception to Year 6 will receive an activation email. Please follow the link in the email to activate your account, and then follow the instructions on the SchoolsBuddy screen to book your Co-Curricular Activities for this term. The booking system allows you to choose up to three activities per session using a preference system. Once parents have added their preferences and the closing date for bookings has passed, the system will automatically allocate as many first choice clubs as it can. Next week, parents will receive an email confirming which clubs your child has been allocated and you will then need to pay online, through SchoolsBuddy, in order to confirm your child's place. Please do also download the SchoolsBuddy app when you are prompted to do so.

Parents with children in Ducklings and Nursery will receive their SchoolsBuddy activation email early next week when bookings will also open for our upcoming Internet Safety evening.

We know that the new system will take a little getting used to, but we are confident that it will be user-friendly for parents and will prove very useful in the long term. Since we will be using SchoolsBuddy for all bookings (including parents' evenings, play/event ticket bookings and, eventually, wraparound care), it is crucial that all parents activate their account and become familiar with the system. If you experience any difficulties in using SchoolsBuddy, please telephone or visit the school office and staff will be pleased to help. Please note that school staff will not be able to make bookings on your behalf.

Summer Schools

A super time was had by over 70 pupils at our two summer schools a few weeks back in August. At Upper School, the younger pupils were thrilled to experience the delights of having a petting zoo visit for the day, as well as enjoying many creative and active activities throughout the week's theme of 'On The Farm'.

Our older pupils got their thrills in adventurous activities on water and land whilst based at Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre for the week. Kayaking, abseiling, caving, fencing and karting were just a few of the adrenaline-fuelled activities they did during the week. Friday was fancy dress day and we saw some amazing 'Under the Sea' themed costumes. Photographs of both our summer schools can be seen in the gallery here. 

Please note a number of items were left at HOAC. These have been returned to school and can be found in lost property.

Meet The Teacher Evenings

It was lovely to see so many parents attend the Year 3/Year 6 Meet The Teacher evening last night. I am sure you found the meeting informative. We look forward to meeting with the Year 4 and Year 5 parents next Thursday.

School Bus

Our new school bus service is now running daily from Eastcote through Ruislip and Ickenham to school. Children in Years 2 to 6 are welcome to book onto the bus for odd days or whole weeks. Please telephone the school office or complete the booking form on the School Documents page if you would like to book onto the bus.

School Uniform

We already have rather a large amount of lost property, much of it unnamed. Please do check the lost property areas at both Lower School and Upper School and please remember to name every item your child wears or brings to school.

Table Etiquette

I am sure that you have heard from the children the drive that we are having at school on 'routines'. One of our focus areas is developing the children's lunchtime etiquette and table manners. Please do reinforce this at home as the children are developing their knife and fork skills and awareness of table etiquette.