Weekly News - Friday 28th February 2025

LAMDA Examination Results

Huge congratulations to all of the pupils who recently entered LAMDA examinations. All the entrants worked extremely hard and we are delighted to share their excellent results as follows:

LAMDA Entry Level Award in Performance (Entry 3):

Harleen S, Y2 - Pass
Tanavya B, Y2 - Merit
Ari P, Y3 - Distinction
Aayan B, Y3 - Distinction
Kiran S, Y3 - Distinction
Kyan K, Y3 - Merit
Aarav L, Y3 - Merit

LAMDA Level 1 Award in Performance (Grade 1):

Tanavya B, Y2 - Merit
Elisa K, Y4 - Distinction
Sienna K, Y3 - Distinction
Ivaan M, Y4 - Distinction
Anika S, Y3 - Distinction

LAMDA Level 1 Award in Performance (Grade 2):

Eleanor G, Y4 - Distinction
Mustafa F, Y6 - Merit
Naiya L, Y5 - Distinction

LAMDA Level 2 Award in Performance (Grade 4):

Zoe F, Y4 - Merit
Shanaiya K, Y6 - Merit

LAMDA Level 1 Award in Communication (Grade 1):

Aryan S, Y5 - Distinction

LAMDA Level 1 Award in Communication (Grade 3):

Aadhya M, Y5 - Distinction

Wrens Class Assembly

On Thursday our Wrens Nursery children charmed the audience at their class assembly which was all about the weather. The children took us through the seasons with a collection of songs and accompanying actions, singing with gusto! It was wonderful to see them brimming with excitement and confidence, and hard to believe that they really are only of Nursery age - they are such accomplished performers already!

 

 

 

Bicycle Workshop

On Wednesday the JTAs (Junior Travel Ambassadors) organised a Bicycle Workshop at Upper School to promote safe and active travel to school. It was wonderful to see so many children on their bikes, with more than 30 children travelling into school by bike to take part. All the bikes were serviced by experts from Bikewise in Ickenham who kindly visited to check they are all in safe working order.

The children taking part all had the chance to join the 'Bikers' Breakfast' after dropping off their bike and entered a special draw for a chance to win vouchers to spend on bike accessories. Well done to the following raffle winners:

First prize £50 - Andrew (6H)
Second prize £25 - Siara (3B)
Third prize £10 - Tanu (2C)
Fourth place £5 - Naiya  (5G), Amari (2C) and Nikita (3B)

Thank you to our hard-working JTAs who are so passionate about promoting healthy and sustainable travel. We hope to see many more children travelling by bike on a regular basis now that spring is on the way!

AI Summit 

Earlier this month four Year 6 children, Ashvika A, Mustafa F, Alexander A and Avar D, attended the world's first Children’s AI Summit at Queen Mary University of London. This high profile event brought together children from across the UK to share their messages for global leaders, policymakers, and AI developers on their vision for the future of AI. You can watch a short video about the event here and see a story featured on Sky News here. You may be interested to hear the presentation from our school representatives at the event and the response from panel members here. Well done to the participants for representing the school so brilliantly. 

 

Year 1 Pedestrian Training

On Friday Year 1 participated in an important indoor pedestrian training session from Hillingdon Borough Council STARS team. The children learnt about the Green Cross Code and put into practice their observation skills in role play with their peers. They learnt about walking on paths responsibly and crossing the road safely using a zebra crossing, at traffic lights and with a lollipop person. The session was finished off with a lively song! 

 

 

 

Month End Music Recital

Also on Friday, we were delighted to welcome residents from Woodlands Residential Care Home in Ickenham to the regular Month End Music Recital. Once again we were treated to an accomplished display of musical and vocal talent from across Middle and Upper School. Well done to all the children who took part and performed so confidently. 

Royal Academy Of Arts Young Artists Scheme

We are pleased to announce that St. Helen's College has signed up to the Royal Academy of Arts' Young Artists scheme. If your child is a keen artist, they may like to submit a piece of artwork; submitting artwork is completely free and can be done online at home by parents/pupils. Each pupil may submit one piece of work and there is no theme. When you enter, you will be asked for an image of the artwork plus some information about the piece such as title, size and some text written by the artist to explain why they created the work and what it means to them. A Royal Academy of Arts panel of judges will see the artwork and the selected pieces will be shown in an online exhibition. Some of the artworks will also be shown at the Royal Academy of Arts!

You can find full information and submission links here:
https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/get-involved#howitworks

Author Visit 

We are looking forward to welcoming Professor Raman Prinja, author of Our Cosmos and Wonders of the Night Sky, to school next Wednesday 5th March. There will be a book signing after the event and you have the opportunity to pre-order one or more of these beautiful hardback books for the author to sign for your child! Please order your books as soon as possible via Chiltern Bookshops here.

The timing could not be better as Professor Prinja's visit coincides with the planetary parade, a rare phenomenon beginning this evening, whereby seven planets appear to line up together. Thank you to Year 5 for their illuminating assembly today where they shared their knowledge of the solar system with their fellow pupils. We hope everyone will take the opportunity to see this amazing spectacle over the next few evenings! 

Themed Lunches

There will be two special lunch options available in the school refectory next week to mark Shrove Tuesday and World Book Day which is celebrated in school on Friday 7th March. The pancake bar will be offering exciting fruit selections on Tuesday 4th March and, to tie in with the non-fiction World Book Day theme, there will be 'amazon rainforest stir fry' and 'moon rock brownies' amongst the offerings available on Friday. 

First News Offer

To mark World Book Day next week, the children's newspaper First News are running a special offer to order a copy for just £1 (no subscription required) valid until Sunday 9th March. First News is a fun and informative weekly publication perfect for Upper School children which covers current affairs, global news and other entertaining topical stories. The school is championing non-fiction for World Book Day this year and this is the perfect introduction to news media for children interested in the world around them. Reading a trusted weekly newspaper can also help develop literacy, oracy, world knowledge, critical thinking and reading for pleasure.

Sports News

On Tuesday the Year 3 and 4 netball players travelled to Orley Farm School to play a series of small sided netball matches. The children enjoyed playing lots of short matches against different teams and demonstrated how much they have progressed so far this year as well as having plenty of fun. It was fantastic to see so many of them participating in a great afternoon of sport! 

 

 

 

Water Aid Fundraiser

Year 5 organised an exciting fundraiser across the school today for the charity Water Aid. Each class at Upper and Lower School took part in a fun competition to see who could make the longest coin trail! Congratulations to the winning classes: Wrens at Lower School and 3M at Upper School. Well done to the runners up at US: 5R in second place, and 2S in third place. 

All the coins will now be collected together and counted, we look forward to revealing the total raised for Water Aid very soon! Many thanks to everyone for your coin donations for this vital charity.

 

Perform Drama Classes

Drama specialists Perform recently visited Lower School for special workshops which the children thoroughly enjoyed! Now they are are offering children a free trial class for local sessions which are held at a variety of venues in Uxbridge, Ickenham, Ruislip and Iver. The classes combine drama, dancing and singing and are a fun way to improve confidence and make new friends! 

Pilates Classes

Sarah Flemming, a former member of staff at St. Helen's College, will be returning to run her own regular Pilates classes in the Evans Hall. Classes start on Monday 10th March and will run weekly at 6.30 pm. Pilates helps to build strength, mobility, and confidence through controlled movement and breath awareness. Whether you're new to Pilates or looking to deepen your practice, Sarah's goal is to leave you feeling challenged, energised, and more connected to your body. Classes are £12 each and bookings can be made here. 

 

 

Next Week

Saturday 1st March - ABRSM Examinations 
Tuesday 4th March - Year 3 Play Rehearsals at Compass Theatre
Wednesday 5th March - Year 3 Play Rehearsals at Compass Theatre
Wednesday 5th March - Year 6 Junior Citizens Event at Brunel University
Wednesday 5th March - Year 4, 5 and 6 Author Visit from Professor Raman Prinja
Thursday 6th March - Year 3 Play Rehearsals at Compass Theatre
Thursday 6th March - Year 3 Play at Compass Theatre 7 p.m.
Friday 7th March - World Book Day 
Friday 7th March - Kingfishers Coffee Morning and Class Assembly
Friday 7th March - Girls Football Tournament at Radlett Prep
Saturday 8th March - Year 6 Netball Tournament at Ryefield School