Weekly News - Friday 27th September 2024

Trips And Workshops Galore!

It has been a busy week of learning for the children both inside and outside of the classrooms, with our 2024-2025 enrichment programme getting off to a flying start this week.

Year 4 Ancient Greek Day

The Year 4 children enhanced their history learning with a full day immersive workshop about the Ancient Greeks on Tuesday, delivered by The FreshWater Theatre Company. First, the pupils watched a show during which an Athenian helped a time traveller to answer questions about many aspects of Ancient Greek life: Sparta, Homer, clothing, myths, battles and the Greek Gods to name a few!

Afterwards, the children took part in workshops, acting out Ancient Greek daily life and special events, and learning all about the Olympics. The day really brought history to life for our Year 4 children.

 

Year 2 Stone Age Studies At The Chiltern Open Air Museum

At the same time on Tuesday, our Year 2 pupils were bringing their Stone Age studies outside the classroom with a visit to the wonderful Chiltern Open Air Museum, where they were transported back in time to experience what it was like to live in a Mesolithic Stone Age camp, learning to make fire (safely!), re-enacting hunting and gathering, and building shelters. They also became archaeologists, learning how to look for clues about the past, had a chance to create their own spears and, of course, enjoyed the beautiful play areas. The staff at the museum were very impressed by the children's knowledge and enthusiasm. If you have not visited the Chiltern Open Air Museum, we heartily recommend it to all families. The children had a super time.

Year 5 Trip to Hampton Court Palace

Wednesday saw our Year 5 children take a trip to Hampton Court Palace to enhance their understanding of The Tudors. The children were full of enthusiasm and the staff were impressed with their behaviour.

Our pupils explored the outside grounds including the gardens, real tennis court, chapel and impressive range of kitchens and had tours of the Tudor state apartments. They also took part in a workshop session (‘Tudor Palaces and World Trade’), which helped to link their first two units of History in Year 5: ‘The problems faced by Elizabeth I’ and ‘The British Empire’.

In the workshop session, the children went on a voyage of discovery to find out how new technology began making the world a smaller place in the 16th Century and what the real cost of trading overseas might be. Journeying through the palace, they looked for evidence to show which commodities the Tudors wanted and who paid the human price for the legacy of Elizabethan exploration. What a lot they learnt!

Reception Trip To Odds Farm

Our Reception children have been learning all about farming and life on the farm and have been enjoying farm role play - we currently have a farm shop in both the Owls and Kingfishers classrooms. They have also been painting farm animals which they would like to meet on a real farm. They took their learning further on Wednesday with a visit to Odds Farm Park near High Wycombe, where they had opportunities to see and touch different breeds of animals including rabbits, sheep and goats. They were also able to see first hand how the farmer milks a cow and there was even time for an exciting and rather bumpy tractor ride across the field!

 

Month End Music Recital

Well done to all of the performers who took part in our first Month End Music Recital of the year today. It is always so wonderful to see our musicians building their confidence by having the chance to perform in an informal arena with a hugely supportive audience. Thank you to all of the parents and friends who came to watch too.

If your child is not yet learning an instrument and you would like to sign them up for lessons, please contact Mrs. Fawbert at cfawbert@sthelenscollege.com.

Parent Practice Webinar: 'Bringing Out The Best In Your Child'

Thank you to all of the parents who joined us on Wednesday evening for Elaine Halligan's extremely useful webinar, 'Bringing Out The Best In Your Child'. We hope that you found the content of the session both informative and useful. We have worked with The Parent Practice for many years and we recommend their resources to parents regularly.

We would like to remind you that, while your class teacher is your first point of contact for matters concerning your child, Mrs. Hunt (Lower School) and Mr. McLaughlin (Upper School) are our Pastoral Leads and are available to meet with parents who may feel they need some extra support with aspects of children's wellbeing or behaviour. You may contact them at the email addresses below.

Mrs. Hunt: lhunt@sthelenscollege.com
Mr. McLaughlin: amclaughlin@sthelenscollege.com

ISI Inspection

We were delighted to welcome a team of ISI inspectors to the school this week and to be able to showcase our pupils and their positive attitudes, diverse talents and excellent class work. We would like to thank all of the parents who responded so promptly to the ISI parent survey. The inspectors seemed to enjoy their time with us and we are looking forward to reading their report in due course. We will of course share it with you as soon as we are allowed to do so!

Ducklings, Nursery, Reception, Year 1 Parents' Evenings

Our next parents' evening for Ducklings, Nursery, Reception and Year 1 will take place on Wednesday 2nd October. Bookings are still open so if you have not yet booked your meeting please do so before the system closes on Sunday 29th September. You should follow the link below to make your booking.
https://sthelens.schoolcloud.co.uk/

PA Quiz Night - Book Your Place Now!

The PA are organising another of their very popular Quiz Nights on Tuesday 15th October at The White Bear in Ruislip. You can see the poster/flyer here. Please complete the Google form below to book your spot - you will need a team of 4-6 people with a team name in order to book. 

https://forms.gle/Z9VPgLBzNGTKFw8s8

News From The PA

Thank you for your continued support with the food donations. We’ve now been running this for nearly a year now and the volunteers at the Hillingdon Food Bank are extremely overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of SHC community.

Just a gentle reminder that if you would like to donate any items of non-perishable food items, the boxes are held by the entrance of Lower School and going forward, children in Upper School will be able to drop their food items at the start of the day at the Parkway entrance by the first two classrooms (2S/2C) after they enter the school gates.

PA Co-Secretary

There is a vacancy for someone to assist on the executive committee as the co-secretary. Please do consider this role if you have a little time to spare in helping the work of the Parents' Association. The Executive Committee are now sharing all the roles to enable us to share the tasks to make it more manageable. Your support is very much valued. You can express your interest by emailing us at pa@sthelenscollege.com.

Next Week

Monday 1st - Friday 4th October - 4C swimming
Tuesday 1st October - Year 6 trip to Battle Of Britain Bunker
Wednesday 2nd October - Nursery coffee morning (8.15 a.m. in Lower School Hall)
Wednesday 2nd October - Ducklings, Nursery, Reception & Year 1 parents' evenings (4 - 7 p.m. at Lower School)
Friday 4th October - Money Focus Day
Friday 4th October - 4T coffee morning/class assembly (Upper School Hall)