Weekly News - Friday 2nd November 2018

6W's class assembly re-enactment of the Gunplowder Plot heist gripped the audience this morning, with a guest performance from the St. Helen's College School of Rock band! It was a superb performance by all. I am sure that our Year 6 pupils' visit to the Houses of Parliament next week will be a memorable and most enjoyable outing. 

Poppy Appeal

Pupils at Lower School and Upper School are able to purchase their poppies at school. Year 6 and the Charity Monitors will be selling these next week in the playground. Thank you for supporting the Royal British Legion.

Parking Restrictions in Parkway

We have been informed by the London Borough of Hillingdon that there will be new parking restrictions introduced in Parkway from mid-November. Single yellow lines will be painted along the whole road, with restrictions so that drivers are not permitted to park between the hours of 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. Our drop-and-go system should not be affected by these restrictions, since parents using the drop-and-go system do not stop their engines or exit their cars. We hope that the new restrictions will help with the traffic flow in the area since traffic should be able to move freely both ways along Parkway at these times.

Staff/Parent Choir

We are very interested to hear from parents who would like to join our staff/parent choir, which will be meeting on Wednesday mornings from 8.00 - 8.25 a.m. during the second half of term to prepare for a performance at the Carol Concert on the final day of term.  We are a friendly group, led by Mrs. Garnes, and enthusiasm is really the only requirement. All are extremely welcome and male voices are particularly in demand! Why not come along and join us - we are sure that your children will be delighted to see you in the choir. If you are able to join us, please email Mrs. Garnes to let her know so that she may prepare the correct number of packs in advance, and then simply turn up on Wednesday morning to the Upper School Hall at 8 a.m. You can reach Mrs. Garnes at mgarnes@sthelenscollege.com.

Concert Tickets

We are currently arranging an exciting opportunity for our Chamber Choir to sing at the prestigious St. John’s Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HA as part of the annual London Schools Concert organised to raise money for The Children’s Trust, the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injury. Choirs and young musicians from some of London’s best independent schools have been performing for family and friends at this event for many years and we are delighted to have been invited to participate, once again, in what will be their 15th concert.  

The concert will take place on Sunday 3rd February 2019 and starts at 2 p.m.

The link for the tickets is below. Adults are £25 and children are £15.

https://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/1/london-schools-concert.html

Sports Results

Our Year 6 netball team played St. Andrew's School in the local league this week. It was a home match and we enjoyed some great home support from the sidelines. The team played very well, working effectively together through the centre court towards goal. Our attacking pairs teamed up well to create lots of shooting opportunities and our defending pairs made lots of interceptions to limit the shooting chances of St. Andrew's. The final score was 18 - 0 to St. Helen's College.

Eleven Year 6 children participated in the Borough Tag Rugby competition this week, at which there were 17 teams representing 11 schools. St. Helen's College put on an impressive performance and were unbeaten, winning two matches and drawing two. The children developed their running and passing skills throughout the tournament and were particularly good in defence, giving their opponents little opportunity to score. Another team in the group won three matches, so we did not progress to the finals. 

PA Christmas Parties

The PA children’s Christmas parties will take place on Sunday 2nd December 2018 at The Breakspear Arms, Breakspear Road South, UB9 6LT. Tickets will cost £10 per child, which includes food and entertainment and the parties promise to be bigger and better than ever this year! 

The timings of the parties will be as follows:

10.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.: Ducklings, Nursery and Reception​
1.00 p.m. - 3.00 p.m.: Years 1-3
3.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.: Years 4-6

Please look out for the flyer/reply slip which will be sent home in book bags next week. Full details of how to book your tickets and the food choices available will be included on the flyer. Don't miss out - pencil the date in your diary now!

Breakfast Club

We would like to remind parents that Breakfast Club bookings are now open on SchoolsBuddy. If you wish for your child to attend Breakfast Club, you must book in advance through your SchoolsBuddy account. You may book up until 7.30 a.m. on the day of attendance, so there is still plenty of flexibility for parents. Please note that you may not just turn up on the day and ask Breakfast Club staff to take your child without first making a booking online.