School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 4/02/2022Weekly News - Friday 4th February 2022
Chinese New Year Celebrations
Well done to all of the pupils who contributed this week to our Chinese New Year celebrations! In Monday's assembly, Ruby L presented a wonderful video she had made which explained the traditions behind Chinese New Year celebrations. Aman B shared a lovely video of himself and his neighbour performing a piece of Chinese guitar music and 3MB performed a 'Song of the Dragon' for us all too.
4T Class Assembly
4T presented a very meaningful class assembly today all about friendship and friendliness. They told a story about friendliness and did sign language along with a beautiful performance of the song 'You've Got A Friend In Me'. The children all spoke their lines confidently and it was clear to see that they were invested in the meaning of what they were presenting. Very well done, 4T.
Travelling Natural History Museum Visits Nursery
The Nursery children had the most wonderful dinosaur experience last Friday when they enjoyed a visit from the Travelling Natural History Museum!
Dinoman told them all about the different dinosaurs. He shared information about their size and what they ate, explaining the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. The children were able to touch a real dinosaur claw and a T-Rex tooth as well as touching the dinosaur models and the baby dinosaur.
The boys and girls all enjoyed taking part in a dinosaur dig to find fossils and using dinosaur feet to stomp around! They also learnt about how the dinosaurs became extinct with a meteorite explosion but the crocodiles survived.
This was a truly memorable experience which they will be talking about with joy for a very long time. You can see lots more photographs of their day on our Galleries page.
Science Quiz Club
Luka K, Aryan B, Advik S and Jacob N took part in the semi final of the Science Quiz Club competition today. They were up against strong competition and it was super to see them work so well as a team and enjoy the experience so much.
Year 5 and Year 6 Basketball
The children in Year 5 and Year 6 were very fortunate today to take part in basketball training sessions with Coach Pete and Coach Juan from the Thames Valley Cavaliers.
Thames Cavaliers Basketball
It was super that so many families attended the basketball match last Saturday to support the Thames Cavaliers. The team have offered free tickets and pizza again this weekend for St. Helen's College pupils in Years 3 - 6. The match is on Sunday afternoon this week, with doors opening at 3 p.m. You can find details and pizza vouchers here and here. St. Helen's College children from Year 5 and 6 who are attending the match on Sunday will be taking part in a half time shoot out against another school.
Sports Results
It was a good week for the St. Helen's College football team this week as they won their mid-week game against Laurel Lane 6-0. Well done to all those who played.
Cookery Club
The Year 4 children in Cookery Club have had a stupendous time cooking and baking this half term. Their enthusiasm, appreciation and appetite for delicious food were evident! They have made sausage rolls and pizzas, and baked apple crumble cake and brownies. Ms Gilham has enjoyed sharing their love of food.
Online Safety
National Online Safety have shared these two excellent guides about Respect on the Internet, one for parents and one for children. We will be discussing these in school with the children after half term, and would like to encourage parents to read them and discuss them at home too.
Respect Online - Guide for Parents
Respect Online - Guide for Children
Mother/Baby Mindfulness Classes
Our next set of Mother/Baby Mindfulness classes will begin on Wednesday 23rd February, the week after half term.
These are completely free to parents. They take place on Wednesday mornings at 9.00 a.m. in the Evans Hall at our Upper School site on Long Lane, opposite Lower School. Classes run in half termly blocks. Each class lasts for 45 minutes and is followed by optional tea/coffee/chat.
The classes are led by Mrs. McLaughlin, one of our Year 3 teachers, who qualified as a PAUSE Baby Mindfulness practitioner after having her first baby a couple of years ago. They provide a safe space for mums and babies to bond and relax, taking part in Mindfulness exercises and some very gentle yoga, and have proved very popular so far.
If you would like to join the set of six classes starting in February, please email susmith@sthelenscollege.com with your baby's name and date of birth and your telephone number. Please do also feel free to share the information about the classes with any other friends or family who might have a baby (birth to crawling - no crawlers allowed!). They don't have to have children at St. Helen's College (or intend to send children here) to come along - the classes are free to anyone.
IAPS iArt Competition
After the success of iArt 2021, in which Arya A at St. Helen's College was a winner, IAPS will be running the competition again in 2022 and hopes to receive more submissions than ever. Shortlisted entrants will receive prizes of vouchers for local independent bookshops.
This year, the competition will have a theme and all submissions must in some way relate to this theme. The theme is my role model.
This theme has been chosen because IAPS is interested to see who inspires pupils, who motivates them, who they admire and who they would like to be like when they grow up. The role models can be anyone:
someone personal e.g. a family member, friend, teacher, coach, librarian, a member of the local community;
someone “in general” e.g. nurses, doctors, train drivers, farmers;
someone public e.g. a famous person, such as a sportsperson, environmentalist, singer
While IAPS encourages pupils to attempt a portrait of their role model, pupils – and particularly, younger pupils – should feel free to just paint / draw / create something which reminds them of their role model instead. For example, if a pupil’s role model is David Attenborough, they might choose to paint trees and animals, or if their role model is a parent, they might choose to draw a picture of their house.
Each pupil must write a maximum of 100 words in a sentence or two to accompany their piece of work, saying 'My role model is...because...'.
Entries will be judged on a) interpretation of the theme; b) creativity around the theme; c) overall design; d) and that ‘certain something’ that just draws you to the artwork! There is no set format for entries and artwork can be submitted in any medium. Submissions can be paintings, drawings, or models, any size, and use any art supplies.
There are five categories for the iArt competition: Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6, Years 7 & 8 and Years 9 & 10. Each school may enter one piece of art for each category. For example, one piece of artwork representing the Years 5 & 6 category, not one artwork from Year 5 and one from Year 6.
The competition opens for entries on Thursday, 6 January. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday, 4 May and the shortlist will be announced later that month. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony which will take place towards the end of June.
Pupils who would like to enter this competition should submit their pieces of art and accompanying sentences directly to Mrs. Pruce or via their class teacher. Mrs. Drummond and Mrs. Pruce will judge which entries to put forward from St. Helen's College.
This might be a lovely half term activity for the children. Good luck everyone and happy creating!
Dining Room Etiquette
We are encouraging parents to support us in helping pupils with their dining room etiquette at lunch times. We have in the past run 'Cutlery Club' but are hoping that you may be able to share your 'eating etiquette' with your children and this video here may be helpful for you. We will be assisting the pupils in the dining room and will discuss knife and fork skills and table etiquette in assemblies over the next few weeks.
Posted on: 28/01/2022Weekly News - Friday 28th January 2022
1C Class Assembly
What a super assembly the children of 1C performed for us on Thursday, all about Queen Elizabeth II. They relayed all sorts of information about the Queen and her reign, performed the Changing of the Guard to a super song and sang the National Anthem with pride! It was clear how much they have learnt about our sovereign and how enthusiastic they all are about this topic - they are very much looking forward to their trip to Windsor Castle next month!
Every child spoke their lines with confidence and projection. There was a lot of humour and the smiles on the children's (and adults') faces showed how very much we all enjoyed the performance. Well done 1C!
6R Class Assembly
The pupils of 6R planned and created their own assembly which they performed to us today, entitled Our St. Helen's College Journey.
They used their assembly to look back and reflect on their journey through St. Helen's College over the years. They shared a brilliant piece of collaborative art, performed some wonderful poems that they had written themselves all about their experiences at St. Helen's College, and sang 'A Million Dreams' beautifully. There was hardly a dry eye in the house!
The children also guided us through a brief Mindfulness session.
Well done, 6R, on a first class assembly.
Month End Music Recital
Well done to the performers who entertained us at today's Month End Music Recital in the Evans Hall. We heard a variety of instruments and, as ever, it was lovely to see our young musicians take the opportunity to perform in an informal environment. It was clear to see that the pupils enjoyed it as much as the parents and staff did! Thank you to the families who attended to support our young performers.
Fairness
The children at school have been discussing our value of Fairness this week and thinking about ways to be fair to themselves, to each other and to the world. Mrs. Hunt has written a guest Head's Blog this week which links to the value too - you can read it here.
Burns Night
On Tuesday we thought about Burns Night and the children at school had the opportunity to try some Scottish food. They really enjoyed sampling the haggis, neeps and tatties, orange cranachan and orange and lemon caraway shortbread. Thank you so much to our lovely chef Soula for preparing these extras on the day!
Pupil Welfare
We are delighted to share the news that St. Helen's College has once again been named an 'Asthma Friendly School' by the North West London Health and Care Partnership.
This recognises all that the school does to support children with asthma. This includes our regularly reviewed Asthma Policy, frequent training for the entire staff body, monthly asthma audits and, of course, the first class care that is given to children in school every day. Mrs. Wilcock and Mrs. Beale, our Welfare staff, communicate regularly with parents before children join us and throughout their time at the school to ensure that asthma and other medical issues are managed effectively and sensitively.
Please also see the winter edition of our Welfare Newsletter here. This contains important information about Covid-19, sleep and healthy snacks as well as some fun facts. Thank you for your continued support in keeping children healthy and well so that they are best able to make the most of all the opportunities at school.
Football News
This week, the boys' football team won 5-0 against Whitehall School in a super display of teamwork and skill. The team now progress to the quarter finals of the cup and we wish them well in the next stage of the competition!
Thames Cavaliers - Free Basketball Tickets and Pizza for SHC Pupils
The Thames Valley Cavaliers have a home fixture this Saturday and they would like to invite St. Helen's College pupils (Y3-6) to watch the match for free. They also have free pizza for any St Helen's College students who go to the game! There will be music, entertainment, half-time competitions with prizes and also a chance to meet the team afterwards for some autographs.
Please see this flyer with all the details. There are also free pizza vouchers for your children.
They hope to see lots of you coming to the game to support the Cavaliers! It should be a great night of fun and entertainment.
Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Centre Swim Offer
As parents will know, St. Helen's College has a long-standing relationship with Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Centre, where we take Upper School pupils for swimming lessons as part of our PE/Games curriculum.
The centre are running a special promotion for children of partner schools, which will give parents a £10 discount for a course of Better Swim lessons for your child. Swimming is a vital life skill so we hope that many of you will take up this opportunity to receive a discount on further swimming lessons/practice for your child. You can find full details here.
Heath Robinson Museum 150th Anniversary Art Competition
The Heath Robinson Museum are running a competition for young artists to mark their 150th anniversary this year. Children are asked to produce a piece of art on the theme of 'What would Heath Robinson make of the world today?'. The deadline for submissions is 15th May and there are various age categories. You can find out more, and enter the competition, here. Shortlisted entries will be exhibited at the museum over the summer and there are prizes to be won too. We hope that you will encourage your children to enter - do let us know how you get on!
Jungle Rumble
Perform's family musical Jungle Rumble is being performed at the Fortune Theatre over the February half term. You can see full details and purchase tickets here. St. Helen's College have worked with Perform in the past and we hope that parents will want to support them and that you will enjoy taking your children to see Jungle Rumble!
Lacrosse Easter Camp
Chiswick Lacrosse Club are running an Easter Camp which will be open to girls in Years 5 to 9. This would be a great opportunity for girls currently in Year 5 or Year 6 to have a go at lacrosse before moving on to senior school. If you are interested in finding out more, details are here.
Posted on: 21/01/2022Weekly News - Friday 21st January 2022
Year 4 Trip To Amersham Field Centre
Year 4 enjoyed a wonderful field trip this week, exploring electricity and energy conservation. They toured around a national grid substation, learning all about how electricity gets to our homes. They generated electricity using wind power and water power and went on to power motors using solar panels. The children discussed renewable energy and energy conservation. They put their experimentation skills to the test, making predictions and drawing conclusions. Their final challenge was to build a suitable nest for a small mammal which would keep it warm. They measured the temperature of their dormice after some time in their nests and compared these to a control mouse out in the open. Their nests proved successful at conserving heat within a small mammal!
Value of the Week - Cleanliness
Pupils at the Upper School were introduced to the concept of cleanliness as the value of the week. We discussed the moral aspect of cleanliness of spirit as well as personal hygiene and looking after our environment. It has been wonderful to see the children being extra vigilant around the school looking after the school grounds and taking responsibility for their personal belongings. We hope that this continues at home for you!
We are proud that the pupils of St. Helen's College display cleanliness of morals in their day to day lives too. Their spiritual awareness, willingness to help others and sense of collegiality shine through every day.
Month End Music Recital
Next Friday (28th January) we will have our first Month End Music Recital of 2022. Please join us in the Evans Hall from 3.45 p.m. where many of our young musicians will perform in an informal and friendly setting.
Individual Music Tuition
There are spaces currently available for trumpet, flute and singing lessons. If you wish to begin learning one of these instruments please complete this form to register.
The form can also be used to register your interest to be added to the waiting list for other instruments taught in school (including Violin, Cello, Piano, Guitar and Singing).
Please note that we only currently offer lessons on Violin and Cello to students in the Lower School. All of the instruments mentioned are available from Year 2 upwards.
We would also like to remind parents that a half term's notice is required if you would like to cease individual instrumental or singing tuition. You should give notice by emailing our Director of Music, Mrs. Fawbert, at cfawbert@sthelenscollege.com.
Blaze Netball Club
If you have a son or daughter in Years 2 -5 and they would like to develop their netball skills, you might be interested in Blaze Netball Club which runs at Douay Martyrs School on Saturday mornings. Full details are available here.
Posted on: 7/01/2022Weekly News - Friday 7th January 2022
ISI Inspection Report
We hope that all parents have now had an opportunity to read the report from the ISI Educational Quality inspection which took place towards the end of last term. We are sure that, in doing so, you share our pride in the pupils, staff and parents who make St. Helen's College such an amazing community. We were delighted that the inspectors found so much evidence of the superb work and excellent pupil progress at St. Helen's College, and were equally delighted that they were able to include so many examples in the final inspection report. The report is available on the website here and has also been featured by IAPS, ISC and Attain magazine.
We will be producing a printed booklet containing the inspection results and will send one home to each family when this is ready. If you have a local business or anywhere else to share more booklets with the community and would like some more copies, please just let us know by contacting the school office and we will be pleased to provide more.
Internet Safety Day Information
Next Tuesday, 11th January, will be an Internet Safety Day here at St. Helen's College. We will be joined at school once again by Paul Hay from PCLS Training. All classes from Reception to Year 6 will have specific lessons/workshops on Internet Safety, staff will receive a twilight training session and there will be an evening Zoom session for parents too. Information about this has been emailed directly to parents and is copied below.
Keeping your Child Safe Online
Tuesday 11th January 2022 7.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Our children live in the Internet Age. They love to use technology and play the latest games. However, it is not always easy for parents and carers to understand what they are doing and how we can help to do the right things to keep them out of danger.
It is important that parents are also involved so they are able to help their children when they are at home. We would like to invite you to an online talk, which will be delivered by Paul Hay, a specialist in internet safety. Paul will be spending the school day with the children and staff and will then present to parents in the evening.
He will tell you :
How young people use the Internet.
Show how children use programs such as Moshi Monsters, Minecraft, Roblox, Instagram, SnapChat and Tik Tok.
Describe how information young people post can be misused by people who are not their friends.
Explain what you, as parents, can do to help keep them safe.
Above all it will give you as parents and carers the confidence to help your child get the most benefit and enjoyment from the internet while keeping safe.
Topics will be discussed in language we as parents understand. No technical or computer knowledge is required or expected.
To attend this session, please join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85069890558?pwd=WUc1d0p5a1NOQi9KUGk5SGk1Tm15dz09
Meeting ID: 850 6989 0558 Passcode: 813801
We look forward to you joining us. You may join on the night but it would be useful if you could complete this short form if you intend to attend.
Ducklings/Nursery/Reception Parents' Evenings
Parents' evenings will take place for Ducklings, Nursery and Reception on:
Thursday 27th January 2022 (5.00 - 8.00 p.m.) - remote.
Tuesday 1st February 2022 (4.00 - 7.00 p.m.) - in school.
To book your appointment(s), please use the following link: https://sthelens.schoolcloud.co.uk/
Bookings will go live from 6.30 p.m. on Friday 14th January 2022.
For parents who chose to have a remote meeting last time, it would be lovely to see you face-to-face in school this time if you can make it.
Full class names should be used to access the system: Ducklings Kindergarten, Robins Nursery, Wrens Nursery, Owls, Kingfishers.
Year 5 Transfer Meetings
Mrs. Drummond will be holding individual meetings with Year 5 parents next week to discuss senior school transfer. If you have a child in Year 5 and have not yet booked an appointment with Mrs. Drummond, you can do so by following the link on the email sent out this week via SchoolsBuddy.
Co-Curricular Activities - Spring Term
Co-curricular activity sessions for spring term clubs will begin from Monday 10th January, apart from any clubs which take place outdoors at the end of the school day. These will begin from Monday 17th January (which will allow for more daylight as the days get longer).
RSPB Bird Watch Week 2022
We continue to encourage families to enjoy the outdoors and sign up for the annual Big Garden Bird Watch which will be running from 28th - 30th January 2022. Please see the link here on how to sign up.
Happier January Calendar and Happiness Jars
As per the Head's Blog this week please see the link here to download your Happier January Calendar. We look forward to hearing about the 'happiness jars' that your children are creating at home. You may wish to join them in this lovely gratitude/happiness activity.
Class Assemblies
We will not be having our usual annual Exhibition Day this year but instead parents will be invited to to view pupils' work back in the classroom following your child's class assembly. You may therefore wish to schedule in a little more time to spend at school on the morning when you attend your child's class assembly.
Covid-19 PCR Tests
Confirmatory PCR tests following a positive lateral flow device (LFD) test result are to be temporarily suspended from Tuesday 11th January. This will mean that anyone who receives a positive LFD test result will be required to self-isolate immediately and will not be required to take a confirmatory PCR test.
Posted on: 10/12/2021Weekly News - Friday 10th December 2021
Nursery Nativity Assemblies
Very well done indeed to the children of our Robins and Wrens Nursery classes, who presented wonderful musical Christmas assemblies to their parents in the Methodist Church Hall this week. Their confidence in getting up to perform, on 'stage', at the age of just 3 or 4 was astonishing, especially considering how much their social development could have been affected by the Covid pandemic. It is a real testament to the St. Helen's College community of staff, parents and fellow pupils that they each felt comfortable and confident enough to sing so beautifully for their audience. Thank you, Nursery, for presenting the Christmas story with such charm. We are very proud of you all.
Carol Service
Children at Upper School attended a virtual carol service this morning which was pre-recorded and included readings, choir performances and the Christmas story told by Reverend Sarah Smith. Parents may watch the recording here.
Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Lunch
We would like to extend a big thank you to the wonderful Accent catering team who provided such a super Christmas lunch yesterday. The dining halls were filled with music and laughter as everyone tucked in to traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings or a delicious vegetable wellington.
Crackers were pulled, hats were worn and jokes were told! Throughout the school, children and staff wore Christmas jumpers and the festive spirit was very much with us all!
Ducklings and Lower School Christmas Celebrations
The children at Ducklings and Lower School were thrilled to receive a surprise visit from Father Christmas on Thursday! They also really enjoyed their Christmas party celebrations.
Parents might like to see our Lower School choir singing Christmas songs here.
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
Thank you to all of the children who worked so hard to contribute imaginative and colourful home-made decorations for our school Christmas trees. It was difficult to judge the competition this year!
Well done to our Upper School winners: Shayna C, Avleen P, Inaaya S, Karter P, Verity S, Tiya T, Annabelle S, Joleen Z and Layla O.
Congratulations too to the Lower School winners: Sara B, Aidan S, Kyan K, Kiran S, Tansy M and Leonard S.
Awards
Congratulations to Eshan N, who was today named the Music Personality of the Autumn Term. Eshan has shown outstanding commitment, effort and achievement in music over many years. He is a valued member of both the Senior Choir and Chamber Choir and he plays the violin, drums and ukulele. Eshan is currently working towards his Grade 4 violin and learning his first concerto too.
Well done also to Jessica B, who has been named Sports Personality of the Autumn Term. Jessica consistently displays the school sporting values of respect, inspiration, determination and leadership. Her netball and football contributions are super and she has worked extremely hard this term to improve her cross country running times too.
Riyan T has been awarded a special 'green' Blue Peter badge to recognise his commitment to the environment. Riyan produced a wonderful poster all about polar bears and how we can improve their environment to help their chances of survival as they are an endangered species.
The House Cup was this term won by Cambria. Our House Captains announced the results and gave speeches to congratulate the winners and to encourage the members of Windsor to keep pushing on next term in the hope of winning the cup back!
Science Fun at Upper School
Our Year 4 children really enjoyed making circuits to light up Rudolf's nose and other Christmas pictures on cards on Wednesday.
5G had great fun exploring butterfly chromatography in their science lessons this week too.
Cookery Club
Last week, Cookery Club children made quesadillas and they were particularly engaged when making their Christmas cookies this week!
Staff Farewell
Today we said goodbye to Mrs. O'Mahoney, who is leaving us to go and work for the NHS. She will greatly missed by our Nursery children and her colleagues. We wish her all the very best for the future.
Alumni News
In Summer 2023, more than
40,000 Scouts from all over the world will gather in South Korea for the 25th World Scout Jamboree. The World Scout Jamboree happens every four years, each time hosted by a different country. Thousands of UK young people aged 14 to 17 and their leaders will travel to South Korea as the UK Contingent.
Having successfully gone through the selection process, former St. Helen's College pupil (and Head Girl) Ruby Cargill has been selected to attend as part of the team from Greater London. Ruby is absolutely thrilled to have been chosen for this once in a lifetime experience.
NextGen Enterprise Christmas Courses
For those interested in taking part in Christmas courses with NextGen, here are the details, dates and booking links:
Christmas course – 12.30 - 2.30 p.m. over 5 days – 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th December. This is the first part where children are taken through entrepeuneral fundamentals including personal finance and business finance.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19BPSE-Bg8dRAkfST1RgOSQq37kxRcNdOLU3cSmX3eVY/viewform?edit_requested=true
Entrepreneurial pathway – 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. 13-16th and 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.17th Dec (This would be the Bronze course)
10 a.m. - 11 a.m. 20-24th Dec & 29th-30th Dec (This would be the Bronze course).
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sZSt9PgkmqXyYJElnL9x6PC4ZeIDpPyMZYOtPCUt1qg/viewform?edit_requested=true
Perform Drama - Free Session and £40 Discount
Perform is a popular children's drama and dance school. They are offering a free trial session and a special introductory discount of £40 for members of St. Helen's College who sign up by Wednesday 26th January. Parents should quote SHLE260122 when booking their free session by going to perform.org.uk/try or calling 020 7255 9120.
You can find out more about the classes at perform.org.uk/try. Alternatively, pdf flyers can be downloaded from here.
The nearest classes to St. Helen's College are these (please click for a map and further details):
Perform Ickenham (Drama for 4-7s)
(1.3 miles)
Fridays at 4pm
Ickenham Village Hall
33 Swakeleys Road,
UB10 8DG
Perform Ickenham (Drama for 7-12s)
(1.3 miles)
Fridays at 5.05pm
Ickenham Village Hall
33 Swakeleys Road,
UB10 8DG
Perform Iver (Drama for 4-7s)
(2.9 miles)
Tuesdays at 4pm
St Peter's Centre
1 Thorney Lane North,
SL0 9JU
Perform Iver (Drama for 7-12s)
(2.9 miles)
Tuesdays at 5.05pm
St Peter's Centre
1 Thorney Lane North,
SL0 9JU
Perform Eastcote (Drama for 4-7s)
(3.5 miles)
Thursdays at 4pm
Eastcote Methodist Church
Pamela Gardens,
HA5 2QU
There are others too. Click to find all the nearest here or view a list of all areas.
Perform's family musical Jungle Rumble is being performed at the Fortune Theatre over the February half term. You can see full details and purchase tickets here.
RocketLearn Christmas Camp
We have arranged for all children in Years 3-6 to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Well-being all aimed at children aged 7-13. If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code STHELENS on checkout to reserve a free place. You can find additional information also on the pdf which has been sent out by email to Year 3-6 parents today. We hope your children will enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp.
Spring Term 2022
Planned events for the spring term have been added to the school calendar so do take a look here and make a note of dates relevant to your child's year group/class.
The spring term lunch menu is now available on the School Documents page of the website here.
Co-curricular clubs will begin in the first full week of term, the week beginning Monday 10th January. If you have any queries about the co-curriculum programme or specific clubs, please contact Mr. Harrington, our Director of Co-Curriculum, at lharrington@sthelenscollege.com.
Wraparound care bookings for the spring term (Breakfast Club and Funtasia After School Club) can now be made via your SchoolsBuddy account. From next term, Breakfast Club will run in the Evans Hall for both Lower School and Upper School pupils. Please make your bookings by 12 p.m. on the preceding day. We do appreciate parents booking in advance wherever possible as this really helps with staffing, catering and other logistics.
Over the Christmas holidays, please take the opportunity to check the condition of required uniform and equipment to ensure that it is smart and in good working order, replenishing as necessary. The uniform/equipment list can be found here. Please also make sure that haircuts adhere to school guidelines (girls' hair should be neatly tied back if long, using black or green bands/clips and boys' hair should be cut neatly above the collar with no shaving, gelling etc). The felt winter caps and girls' hats should be worn as part of school uniform. The school woolly hats are ONLY for use at playtimes and outdoor lessons in bitter weather conditions, not for wearing to and from school.
Upon our return to school, please ensure that you follow the school parking regulations (available here) and that any snacks you send into school with your children follow our policy: no nuts, no chocolate/high sugar items etc. Suitable snacks are fruit or vegetables or plain biscuits and your child should have a named, refillable water bottle with them every day.
Please also ensure that your child arrives at school in good time before the bell goes at 8.30 a.m. so that they are ready to line up with their class for registration. We encourage parents to drop children by 8.25 a.m. at the latest.
We would also like to remind parents that the cost of peripatetic music lessons is increasing next term to £22.50 per half hour.
Posted on: 3/12/2021Weekly News - Friday 3rd December 2021
Reception and Year 1 Christmas Assemblies
Our Reception and Year 1 children presented beautiful, heartwarming and very confident Christmas assemblies to their parents this week.
The children of 1C and 1R told us the story of Christmas and the history of many of our modern day Christmas traditions, performed some beautiful (and fun) songs, told us a Christmas poem and led us in prayer.
The children of Owls and Kingfishers performed traditional Nativity plays for their assemblies yesterday and today, delighting their parents and school staff with their portrayal of the familiar characters from the Christmas story, and with their wonderful costumes. They each spoke and sang with great joy and confidence.
We are very proud of the Reception and Year 1 children. It was lovely to see so many parents in attendance at these events and we are sure that you enjoyed seeing your children perform too.
2B Assembly
Well done also to the children of 2B, who performed a moving assembly for us all today. They looked at the gifts they were each hoping to receive for Christmas and then considered what other gifts we could all give to others which might not cost a penny, but might make the world a better place: hugs, smiles, love, care for the environment and more. They recounted and acted out a story of a kind-hearted, animal-loving child who accidentally sent a shopping list to Santa by mistake, and ended up with everything she really wanted for Christmas when she was given the items she needed to feed and care for the cold, hungry animals about whom she was so worried.
2B's confident, tuneful and very beautiful rendition of 'We Are The World' will stay with us all for a long time, as will the important message they shared with us today. Bravo, 2B!
Year 3 Roman Day
On Wednesday Year 3 had a Roman Day at school. It was great fun and everyone looked amazing!
They found out what it was like to be a gladiator in Ancient Rome, made clocks with Roman numerals and enjoyed Roman drumming.
They also had a Roman feast and made Roman shields.
Thank you to all of the parents for providing such fabulous costumes and to all of the children who were so enthusiastic and really made the most of the chance to enrich their learning about the Romans.
You can see more images of the day on our Galleries page here.
Science Quiz
On Tuesday 30th November two teams of children from Years 5 and 6 took part in a national science quiz. Out of 89 teams we finished 48th (team 2) and 23rd (team 1) with team 1 qualifying for the semi finals in February. Congratulations to both teams for participating.
Team 1 Aryan B, Luka K, Jacob N, Advik S (made it through to the semi finals).
Team 2 Reiss D, Diyan C, Minaya W, Arshvir S
Salvation Army Christmas Appeal
Here you can see Avar D and Arup D with the pile of presents that the school has amassed for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal. These were collected by The Salvation Army today and will be distributed to children in the local community. We are sure that their faces will light up when they receive their surprise gifts. Thank you to the Dhillon family for suggesting this initiative and we would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to every family who has donated gifts for this appeal.
Christmas Card Deliveries
Children may bring Christmas cards into school and post them in our school postboxes for delivery to other children or staff on their school site.
Christmas Decoration Competition
Just a reminder that children's home made Christmas decorations must be brought into school by Wednesday 8th December. Prizes will be awarded on Friday 10th December.
Pantomime
The Theatre Royal in Windsor has offered St. Helen's College families the chance to buy tickets for 'Jack and the Beanstalk' at the discounted school price of £15 for the following performances.
Friday 3rd December - 4.30 p.m. (pupils will be given permission to leave school early if you attend this performance)
Wednesday 15th December - 7 p.m.
Thursday 16th December - 7 p.m.
Thursday 6th January - 7 p.m.
If you would like to attend as a family, please use the following link to book your tickets: https://sthelens.schoolcloud.co.uk/clubsevents/admin/events/111158 and a charge will be added to your SchoolsBuddy account.
This offer is open to the whole school. Tickets must be booked by Thursday 9th December.
RocketLearn Christmas Camp
We have arranged for all children in Years 3-6 to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Well-being all aimed at children aged 7-13. If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code STHELENS on checkout to reserve a free place. You can find additional information also on the pdf which has been sent out by email to Year 3-6 parents today. We hope your children will enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp.
NextGen Enterprise Taster Session
On Monday NextGen Enterprise held an online taster session with over 20 attendees from Years 5 and 6. The children learnt a lot and had so much fun doing it. If you are interested in signing up please visit https://nextgenenterprise.co.uk/. Just a reminder that there is an exclusive offer of 25% off for St. Helen’s College students which will be valid until the 10th December.
You can see the NextGen prospectus here.
You can see the NextGen presentation from Monday here.
Carols Around The Tree
It was super to welcome so many parents and children to Upper School today for our annual Carols Around The Tree event. Thank you to all those who came along to get into the festive spirit with us!
End of Term
Next Friday, 10th December, is the last day of term and is a half day. Children should be collected at the following times unless they are booked into Funtasia:
11.50 a.m. (Ducklings & Nursery)
12.00 p.m. (Reception)
12.10 p.m. (Years 1, 2)
12.20 p.m. (Years 3, 4)
12.30 p.m. (Years 5, 6)
Posted on: 26/11/2021Weekly News - Friday 26th November 2021
COP26 Talk
Children in Years 1-6 were very lucky this week to be joined live from New York by one of the organisers of the recent COP26 summit, who spoke to them about why and how the summit was organised and its aims.
You can read more about this in this week's Head's Blog here.
3MB Class Assembly
The children of 3MB presented a class assembly this morning all about babies! They looked at the best years of their lives so far and how they have changed since they were babies. They thought about getting older and had some interesting interviews with their grandparents. They also thought about what they might be like as adults and wrote some letters to their older selves. They cleverly linked their theme with our school value of kindness and considered how we should be kind to everyone, including ourselves. The children were clearly so happy to share their assembly with so many parents, pupils and staff. Well done, 3MB, on a thoroughly enjoyable performance.
Month End Music Recital
As always, it was a real treat to end the month with an informal music recital in the Evans Hall at Upper School. We heard a wide variety of pieces and instruments, including piano and cello performances from five of our Year 2 pupils and over twelve performers from Years 4, 5 and 6 delighted us with guitar, piano, flute, violin and singing.
Well done to all of those who performed.
Lower School Gardening Club
At Lower School, children have been making flower arrangements in Gardening Club this week, using foliage from teachers' gardens and fresh flowers. The children really enjoyed designing their own arrangements!
We hope that all of the children across the school who have taken part in co-curricular activities this term have enjoyed the chance to have a go at something new, and maybe have discovered an interest or talent they did not know they had.
Co-Curricular Allocations
Club allocations for the spring term were sent out to parents yesterday (Thursday 25th November) and parents have until midnight on Monday 29th November to pay. Any places allocated for which payment has not been received by this deadline will be allocated to children on the waiting lists.
NextGen Enterprise - Monday 29th November
We have secured an exclusive one-hour virtual taster session with NextGen Enterprise on Monday 29th November from 6.30 - 7.30 p.m. for pupils in Year 5 and Year 6. NextGen Enterprise provide entrepreneurial courses to ages 10-15 and aim to introduce the next generation of entrepreneurs to a world of innovation, collaboration, and creativity. Many of our alumni have been on the NextGen Enterprise courses and we have received fantastic feedback. Parents have already been emailed the link to the event (https://zoom.us/j/95271795428?pwd=alpZbHRxdkN5UCs1K0g5ejVUWGJ2QT09) and we hope that many of our pupils will participate in this super opportunity.
Christmas Events
Next week sees the beginning of Christmas festivities here at St. Helen's College and there are many exciting events coming up.
The PA Christmas Party is this weekend on Sunday 28th November and we are sure that everyone who is attending will enjoy the festive fun.
Christmas Tree Decoration Competition
Pupils across the school are invited to make a homemade decoration for one of the school Christmas trees and these can be brought into school from Monday 29th November. Please make sure that the child's name and class are attached in some way to the decoration and that they are not too heavy for us to hang on the tree. There will be prizes for each year group. The closing date is Wednesday 8th December.
Lower School
Tuesday 30th November - 1C Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
Wednesday 1st December - 1R Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
Thursday 2nd December - Owls Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
Friday 3rd December - Kingfishers Christmas Assembly in Methodist Church
For each of these Lower School assemblies, coffee will be served in the Lower School Hall at 8.15 a.m. and parents will then be directed to the church in time for the start of the assembly at 8.45 a.m. There will be a collection at the end of each assembly for the St. Helen's College Trust.
Our Nursery classes will perform their Christmas assemblies the following week.
Thursday 9th December - Wear a Christmas jumper day. Lower School children will enjoy a visiting pantomime production in the afternoon. Details will be sent to parents separately.
Upper School
Friday 3rd December - 2B Coffee Morning/Class Assembly (Coffee from 8.15 a.m. in the Evans Hall, assembly from 8.40 a.m. in the Upper School Hall)
Friday 3rd December - Carols Around The Tree at Upper School (Lower School families, Y2 and Y3 from 3.20 to 3.40 p.m. and Year 4, 5 and 6 from 3.40 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
Wednesday 8th December - Year 2-6 Pantomime trip to 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Full details will be sent separately to parents.
Thursday 9th December - Wear a Christmas jumper day.
Friday 10th December - Carol Service. Our Year 6 parents are invited to attend All Saints Church at 11 a.m. on Friday 10th for our Christmas Service which will be hosted by our Year 6 pupils, the school orchestra and choirs. As per our Harvest service we are limiting the audience in the church due to the Covid protocols which are still in place. We will be recording a similar Carol Service for the pupils who are back in school to participate in and this will be shared in due course with our parent body.
Christmas Lunch
Christmas lunch will be served for all children from Nursery to Year 6 on Thursday 9th December. The menu is available here. Orders will be taken from the children in school next week, so please discuss the menu with your child so that they know what they would like to order.
Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal
You may recall that last year we successfully ran the Christmas Present Appeal for the Hillingdon Salvation Army. Encouraged by the same St. Helen’s College family, we would like to encourage the pupils to participate again. This is such a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our school’s core values by helping those local families less fortunate than ourselves.
Therefore we are inviting your child to choose a brand new toy/game for ages 3-11 with a value of approximately £12. The Salvation Army has also suggested gift vouchers. The item should not be gift wrapped and should fit inside a shopping plastic bag.
Please allow your child to bring in their donation by Friday 3rd December. We will have systems in place so that gifts can be put into a class collection bag and subsequently quarantined until The Salvation Army collects them.
We will launch the appeal in our assemblies and really hope it is something you feel able to support. Thank you so much in advance for your kindness and generosity.
Charity Fundraising
We would like to extend heartfelt thanks to parents, pupils and staff for all of the recent generous charity donations received. We are delighted to say that the St. Helen's College community has raised:
Poppy Appeal - £382.35
Children In Need - £1,984.92
Uniform Reminder
Please may we remind parents that pupils should be wearing their winter felt caps and hats to and from school and that the woollen beanie hat is only for use in the school playground.
Posted on: 19/11/2021Weekly News - Friday 19th November 2021
Children In Need
We have had a lot of fun today at school fundraising for Children in Need and have thought seriously, too, about why we are raising money and about the issues that affect children less fortunate than our own.
Children and staff throughout the school dressed in spots, yellow, Children in Need merchandise or just their own clothes. Many bought wristbands and entered the Design a Pudsey Bear competition. The raffles were, as usual, one of the highlights of the day!
The raffle winners were:
Ducklings: Gobind B (Blush), Noah G-W (Pudsey)
Lower School: Eleanor G (Blush), Anika S (Pudsey)
Middle School: Veer K (Blush), Daya R (Pudsey)
Upper School: Jacob N (Blush), Antony F (Pudsey)
The winner(s) of the Design a Pudsey Bear competition will be chosen by our Charity Reps next week.
We would like to thank parents sincerely for your generous support of this very worthy charity and for helping your children to understand why it is so important to help those in need. It is not too late to donate via the St. Helen's College Children in Need JustGiving page here.
You can see more photographs of the children enjoying Children in Need Day on our Galleries page here.
2H Class Assembly - Buckets
Wow! Well done to the children of 2H who presented a very charming and thought provoking assembly this morning about buckets!
They explained that we each have a bucket that can be filled with good feelings and kindness and that, if we are kind and inclusive or do good deeds, we are filling other people's buckets but also filling our own.
They sang a beautiful song to remind us that we can all count on each other, explained how we can help others less fortunate through Children in Need, and led us in prayer.
Every child spoke their lines with confidence and projection and we are very proud of them all.
While 2H presented their assembly live to their parents this morning, the other children at Upper School watched a pre-recorded version. You might like to watch it too - it is available here.
Chamber Choir - St. John's Smith Square
We were very proud of our Chamber Choir who performed magnificently last Sunday at the Children's Trust London Schools Concert. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support such a worthwhile charitable cause. We have received some lovely feedback from one of the concert organisers, who wrote:
"Your school was absolutely amazing – I really enjoyed your performances. Power in Me was particularly one of my favourites on the day. We cannot thank you enough for all your fantastic hard work and for kindly supporting us on the day. Your support allowed us to raise over £8,000 for children with brain injury."
You can watch the videos of the performances here:
Power In Me
All Things Bright And Beautiful
Gurupurab
Today is a very special day as members of the Sikh community celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak. Thank you to parents Mrs. Raikmo and Mrs. Daheley for their input into assemblies over the last couple of weeks. Mrs. Raikmo celebrated with Lower School children yesterday.
Inspection
It has been a pleasure to welcome a team of ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) inspectors into St. Helen's College this week for both a compliance and an educational quality inspection. We have enjoyed showcasing our school, pupils and staff and demonstrating all that we do to ensure that the pupils have the best possible educational experience.
The inspection report should be available within five weeks and we will of course share this with parents when we receive it.
Many thanks to all of the parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire so quickly and so positively.
IAPS iArt Competition
After the success of iArt 2021, in which Arya A at St. Helen's College was a winner, IAPS will be running the competition again in 2022 and hopes to receive more submissions than ever. Shortlisted entrants will receive prizes of vouchers for local independent bookshops.
This year, the competition will have a theme and all submissions must in some way relate to this theme. The theme is my role model.
This theme has been chosen because IAPS is interested to see who inspires pupils, who motivates them, who they admire and who they would like to be like when they grow up. The role models can be anyone:
someone personal e.g. a family member, friend, teacher, coach, librarian, a member of the local community;
someone “in general” e.g. nurses, doctors, train drivers, farmers;
someone public e.g. a famous person, such as a sportsperson, environmentalist, singer
While IAPS encourages pupils to attempt a portrait of their role model, pupils – and particularly, younger pupils – should feel free to just paint / draw / create something which reminds them of their role model instead. For example, if a pupil’s role model is David Attenborough, they might choose to paint trees and animals, or if their role model is a parent, they might choose to draw a picture of their house.
Each pupil must write a maximum of 100 words in a sentence or two to accompany their piece of work, saying 'My role model is...because...'.
Entries will be judged on a) interpretation of the theme; b) creativity around the theme; c) overall design; d) and that ‘certain something’ that just draws you to the artwork! There is no set format for entries and artwork can be submitted in any medium. Submissions can be paintings, drawings, or models, any size, and use any art supplies.
There are five categories for the iArt competition: Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6, Years 7 & 8 and Years 9 & 10. Each school may enter one piece of art for each category. For example, one piece of artwork representing the Years 5 & 6 category, not one artwork from Year 5 and one from Year 6.
The competition opens for entries on Thursday, 6 January. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday, 4 May and the shortlist will be announced later that month. Winners will be invited to attend an awards ceremony which will take place towards the end of June.
Pupils who would like to enter this competition should submit their pieces of art and accompanying sentences directly to Mrs. Pruce or via their class teacher. Mrs. Drummond and Mrs. Pruce will judge which entries to put forward from St. Helen's College.
This might be a lovely Christmas holiday activity for the children. Good luck everyone and happy creating!
Alumni News
Don't Unleash The Beast is being shown on CITV starting on Monday (November 22nd) at 5.30 p.m. It is also available on the ITV hub afterwards. Two Old Helenians will be appearing in the show. Samir H is in the Firecracker team and his show is on Tuesday November 23rd. Vidhit N's show is appearing later - possibly Tuesday November 30th. We hope that you will watch the shows and support our Old Helenians and their teams!
Co-Curricular Activities - Spring Term
Bookings for co-curricular activities for the Spring term will open at 4.00 p.m. today. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to make your selections by the deadline of midnight on Monday 22nd November. Co-curricular club allocations will be confirmed to parents in due course and we ask that you make any payments due promptly at that point in order to confirm your child's place.
Christmas Holiday Club
Bookings open at 4.00 p.m. today for the Christmas Holiday Club, which will run from Monday 13th December to Tuesday 21st December. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your child's place.
Author Event
On Saturday 11th December from 1.00 - 3.00 p.m., bestselling children's author Lauren Child will be signing copies of her latest books, Clarice Bean: Think Like An Elf and Pippi Longstocking, at Chorleywood Bookshop. We hope that many of you will take your children along to meet the author and perhaps buy a copy of one or both of these lovely books to support them in reading for pure enjoyment! You can find full details and book tickets for the event here.
Next Week
Next Friday 3MB will be performing their class assembly. 3MB parents are welcome to join us for coffee from 8.15 a.m. and the assembly will begin at 8.40 a.m.
Also next Friday we have our November Month End Music Recital in the Evans Hall from 3.45 p.m. We hope that many parents will join us!
Accent Catering Survey
Yesterday we circulated a survey to parents of children in Nursery to Year 6, asking for your feedback about the catering service here at school. Many thanks to all of those parents who have already completed the short questionnaire. If you have not already done so, please do check your SchoolsBuddy account and complete the survey to give us your feedback. Your responses will be used to inform how we may improve the catering service even further. Pupils in Years 3 - 6 will also be asked to complete a short survey in school next week so that their views may be taken into account too.
Parents are reminded that the school menu is always available in the School Documents section of the school website here.
PA Raffle Donations
The PA will be running a raffle at the PA children's Christmas parties and would love donations from parents. If you have anything to donate, you can bring items to either Upper or Lower School where there will be collection points outside school each morning. Many thanks in advance for any prizes you are able to donate.
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