Weekly News - Friday 10th January 2025

It has been wonderful to welcome all of our families back to St. Helen's College this week for a cold and snowy start of term! We hope that you are all well-rested and ready for the busy times ahead. Please be sure to mark your diaries now for Exhibition Day on Saturday 22nd March, which is always a highlight of the school year and a super celebration of your children and all of their hard work.

Communications

We are moving to a new database and communications system here at school. Every parent should have received a 'Test' email sent through the new system this week. If you did not receive a 'Test' email to your inbox, please check your junk/spam folder and, if the message was received there, please mark it as 'not junk/spam' and/or add the sender address to your trusted sender list. If you have not received a 'Test' message to your inbox or junk/spam folder, please contact Mrs. Smith at susmith@sthelenscollege.com so that we can ensure that we have the correct contact details on file for you.

As always, your class teacher is your primary point of contact for all matters concerning your child. Teachers can be reached by email and are usually available for a quick chat at the beginning and end of each school day. If you require a longer conversation, please do make an appointment to meet with your class teacher.

Code Club

Oak Farm Library are running a Code Club (For Beginners) event for children aged 7 to 11 which may be of interest to Upper School children. Held every Monday (term-time only) at 5.30 p.m. - 6.30 p.m., this is a six week introduction course to coding using exciting, fun & immersive Lego Spike kits.

Code Club is totally FREE and booking is essential which can be made at the following link: https://discover.hillingdon.gov.uk/code-club-oak-farm.

Christmas Tree Donated to Hillingdon Ambulance Service

The Upper School Christmas tree took on a new lease of life at the end of last term when it found a worthy home for the remainder of December at the Hillingdon Ambulance Service. We were delighted to donate the tree to the hard working team to provide a little festive joy at a busy time of year. 

 

 

 

 

Absence And Late Arrivals

We would like to remind you of the procedures for pupil absence and late arrival at Upper School and Lower School.

If you need to request absence for any reason, or to inform us of absence due to illness on a particular day, you should email absence@sthelenscollege.com and cc their class teacher. This is also the address to use, cc'ing the class teacher, if you know that your child will be arriving late to school on a particular day; in this instance, please also include your child's lunch order for that day. Please do NOT call the school office to report absence, or rely on children to pass on absence messages.

Please allow plenty of time for your journey to school, especially during inclement weather, so that your child arrives by 8.25 a.m. and can enjoy a calm, ordered registration period with their class. Registration begins at 8.30 a.m. and is completed by 8.40 a.m. and lunch orders are taken during this time. Late arrivals are difficult for your child and can also disrupt the rest of the class. If you are unexpectedly delayed in the morning and do arrive late to school, you must accompany your child to the entrance at Lower School or to the Cambria front door at Upper School, sign them in as directed and ensure that you/they have noted their lunch selection on the late sign in book. Your child's arrival will be recorded as late and their lunch order will be sent to the kitchen to ensure that we are catering appropriately. 

Please also note that, if your child is well enough to attend school then we expect them to be well enough to participate in all lessons, including PE/Games. If they have a serious injury or doctor's note requiring them to miss their PE/Games lessons, please email Mr. Harrington at lharrington@sthelenscollege.com. We will then organise a non-physical activity for them during the lesson.

Welfare

Miss Gilbey is now no longer working as the Upper School Welfare Assistant but remains in role as our Upper School Funtasia Supervisor. Please ensure any medical information or queries are emailed directly to welfare at welfare@sthelenscollege.com.   Mrs Gayle Oatshott based at Lower School is our overall Welfare and Attendance Officer and we will be welcoming our new Welfare Assistant, who will be based at Upper School, in the coming weeks. 

Easter Mini-Me Camp

Mr. Harrington will once again be running a Mini-Me Camp at PACCAR Scout Camp over the Easter holidays. These are very popular and include lots of exciting activities such as zip wires, laser tag, giant swing, archery, climbing, abseiling and caving which help to build and enhance friendships, improve fitness and foster a love of activity and outdoor fun! Full details and bookings are available here.

Next Week

Monday 13th January - Co-curricular Clubs Begin 

Wednesday 15th January - Reception 2025 Entry Meetings

Wednesday 15th January - Football v. Ryefield

Thursday 16th January - Reception Storytime Taster Session (External Applicants Only)