School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 6/03/2020Weekly News - Friday 6th March 2020
What a wonderful day we had yesterday as we celebrated World Book Day! At Ducklings and Lower School, children and staff dressed up following their 'enchanted' theme and the pupils of Robins Nursery presented a beautiful book-themed assembly (see below).
At Upper School, the children arrived at Platform 9 3/4 to embark upon their Hogwarts adventure as the school grounds were adorned with Harry Potter themed signs. Staff and pupils enjoyed a day of Potter-themed activities and lessons, including riding 'broomsticks' in PE sessions! The following morning, 6M presented their Harry Potter assembly (see below). In response to a parent request, you can see here a picture of some of the many staff who dressed up as Hogwarts teachers and pupils!
Soula and her wonderful team provided a special 'enchanted' themed lunch and the Evans Hall was transformed into the Hogwarts Great Hall, with extra long tables and polyjuice potion smoothies. Accent Catering have provided some World Book Day themed recipes which you might like to try cooking with your children at home. You can see them here.
Thank you to all of the parents who worked hard to help your children dress up as characters from their favourite books - reading really did come to life at St. Helen's College this week and we couldn't have done it without you!
Robins Class Assembly - Books Books Books
Wow! The children of Robins Nursery really did enchant us all with their assembly performance on Thursday, as they stood up confidently in front of a hall full of adults and recited their lines and songs about books and all the magic to be found within them. Their costumes were really beautiful and it was particularly touching to see the children being such good friends to each other, as they helped each other to remember their lines and take their places. It is easy to forget that these children are only 3 and 4 years old when we see them able to command a room, remember lines and songs and present themselves so confidently. Very well done, Robins!
6M Class Assembly
We are grateful to the children of 6M, who presented a confident, musical and meaningful Harry Potter-themed assembly on Friday morning. Linking the Harry Potter stories neatly to our school values, they reminded us that friendliness is perhaps one of the most important values of all, and that bravery and perseverance often pay off. We were treated to a beautiful rendition of 'Double Double' by a Hogwarts-style choir and there was some super choreography and some humour too! Five of the girls also played Harry Potter themes on recorder, in parts, to begin the assembly. The pupils certainly showed off their excellent musical and acting skills and we are sure that, along with the children of 6RD, they are going to give us an end of year musical to remember this year - there is so much talent among them! Well done, 6M.
Year 1 Trip to Windsor Castle
Year 1 were very lucky with the weather on Tuesday, as the children and staff enjoyed a super day out at Windsor Castle, the largest and oldest inhabited castle in the whole world! The pupils really enjoyed learning all about the Queen and her favourite home.
Exhibition Day
Our annual Exhibition Day will take place on Saturday 21st March from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. This is a wonderful St. Helen's College tradition and we hope that all families will attend so that you may view the displays of children's work across the curriculum. Pupils should wear full school uniform please. Please note that Friday 20th March is a half day and that there will be no Funtasia available on this day as the staff prepare for Exhibition Day.
Speech Competition (Years 1- 6)
Well done to all of the children who have been reciting their poems in class this week. The teachers have been very impressed with the standard and have had the very difficult task of choosing class semi-finalists. When finalists have been selected from each class, the parents of finalists will receive a letter inviting them to attend the final on Monday 23rd March, which will be judged by one of our school Governors, Miss Linda Beckett.
Staff Updates
Mr. Tovell will be leaving us at the end of this academic year to take up a new position at St. Alban's High School for Girls prep department. This is much closer to his home and will allow him more family time as his son Teddy starts school. Although we are very sorry to see him go, we wish him well in this new stage of his career.
We are currently recruiting and will announce details of new appointments soon.
Sports News
Football
It was a difficult week for the football team, who lost 3-1 to Heathrow on a challenging pitch in very wet, boggy conditions. Well done to the boys for their efforts on such a miserable day. Onwards and upwards!
Netball Borough Finals
Our netball team competed in the borough finals this week and put up a creditable performance on a rather dismal, rainy day. In the end, they won 4 matches and lost 2, and were placed 9th overall. Well done to the girls who took part.
Marks and Spencer's Little Garden
Marks and Spencer are currently running a promotion named 'Little Garden'. When you spend over £20 in the food hall or on food to order, M&S will give you a free seedling kit. You could use this to grow seedlings with your children at home or, if you find you have surplus kits, we would be very grateful if you would bring them to school for Ms Gilham, who will use them in our summer term Gardening Club.
Many thanks for your support - let's all get growing!
Posted on: 28/02/2020Weekly News - Friday 28th February 2020
World Book Day
We would like to remind you that next Thursday, 5th March, we will be celebrating World Book Day. The theme for Ducklings and Lower School is 'Enchanted' and the theme for Upper School is 'Harry Potter'. The children are asked to dress as a book character of their choice (which may of course link to the themes if you wish). It is sure to be a fun-filled day, celebrating the fantastic world of books and all the reading done throughout the year. The children are also asked to bring the book their character is from on the day so that we can share them together.
There will be a special themed lunch menu on World Book Day. You can see this, and associated allergens, here.
In conjunction with our World Book Day celebrations, the school is taking part in a sponsored read through Usborne Books in a bid to get even more fresh new books into our classrooms and libraries for your children to enjoy. Sponsorship forms and reading logs have been sent home with your children and full details have been sent out on SchoolsBuddy. Many thanks for your continued support of the children's reading.
As part of World Book Day, we will be holding a book sale of pre-loved books surplus to the library. It will take place in the Upper School gazebo between 8 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. on Thursday and books will cost 25p, 50p or £1. The money raised will be used to buy new books that will boost our wellbeing and good health! Please do come along with your child(ren) if you can.
Speech Competition
Children are busy preparing their Speech Competition entries and recitals. This is one of the many opportunities across the year which enables the children to showcase their verbal skills and to develop their confidence in public speaking. Please note that children must not use gestures or choreography of any kind in their performances. For Years 1-6, the judging criteria are: expression, projection and clarity.
Year 2 Visit The Heath Robinson Museum
Year 2 had a very enjoyable trip to the Heath Robinson Museum on Monday.
They had a look around the beautiful museum and then took part in an art activity using different coloured wool and lots of soap and water to make felt. They used the colour wheel to decide on different colours for their designs and have created some lovely pieces of art work.
This beautiful, local museum offers lots of craft activities over the holidays for families so please do consider taking your children during school holiday times too!
JRSO Conference
On Wednesday our Junior Road Safety Officers were invited to attend an event at The Winston Churchill Hall by the London Borough of Hillingdon’s Road Safety & School Travel Team.
Our team, consisting of six pupils from Year 5 (Fredericka, Georgia, Samir, Vidhit, Jena & Manisher) were invited to participate in a number of fun educational activities, including a theatre performance, workshops and the “Dragons Den”, for which they had to present an idea and pitch for funding.
Over the past few weeks the team have been discussing ideas on how to improve road safety and decided upon a drive to raise speed awareness amongst parents, staff and pupils. They came up with various ideas of how this could be achieved including signage, banners on the railings, a portable speed bump to reduce speed in Parkway to 10mph, assemblies for parents, leaflets and making their own awareness video similar to the TfL “Watch your Speed” campaign. They researched the resources that are available and then calculated the costs involved. They then produced their proposal in the form of a presentation.
On the day they were all very excited and a little nervous before they were called in to face the “Dragons”. They spoke confidently and delivered a polished presentation. The Dragons gave them quite a grilling at the end of their presentation and they answered all their questions with confidence. Councillor Burrows remarked that he was unable to authorise a speed bump but was impressed by their well thought out ideas for raising speed awareness.
At the end of the day we all sat nervously waiting to find out if their pitch to the Dragons had been successful and we were delighted that not only did the Dragons endorse the children’s ideas but actually gave them more money than they had asked for! We received a total of £500 which will enable the JRSOs to get working on their campaign. We look forward to seeing their Speed Awareness Campaign come to life!
Year 3 Pedestrian Training & Year 5 Road Safety Workshop
Our Pedestrian Safety training programme continued this week, with Year 3 pupils undertaking their road safety training with the London Borough of Hillingdon's Road Safety Team, and Year 5 children enjoying a visiting Road Safety Workshop from 'Riot Act' today.
Kingfishers Class Assembly - Space
The children in Kingfishers rocketed us into space this week with a superb assembly, teaching us all about the solar system and space travel. We even met some cheeky little aliens! We were also reminded of how to look after our planet by reusing, reducing and recycling our waste. The children performed confidently and it was a very informative and enjoyable presentation. Well done, Kingfishers.
Woodlands Care Home Visit
On Thursday a group of our Year 6 children, Mrs. Belvoir, Mrs. Drummond and Mr. Barnard visited Woodlands Care Home in Ickenham. This was the first 'getting to know you' visit for the children and the residents and our pupils are incredible ambassadors for the school. Many of the residents suffer from dementia/Alzheimer's and the children were so incredible with their communication and the interest they showed in their new friends. Our new relationship with Woodlands is particularly special for Mrs. Belvoir as her mother is one of the residents who enjoyed the company of the children.
Friday Informal Music Recital
We enjoyed another superb informal music recital in the Evans Hall at the end of the school day today, with performance from pupils from many year groups. It is wonderful to see the children gaining confidence in performing to a supportive, friendly audience and we are sure that many of them will go on to a lifetime of performance and musical achievement! Well done to all those who took part.
Football - Cup Match v. Oak Farm
Unfortunately on Wednesday we suffered our first defeat of the football season, going down 4-0 to Oak Farm in the Cup. The team weren't at their best and hopefully we can rectify that for our remaining two league games.
Exhibition Day
Our annual Exhibition Day will take place on Saturday 21st March from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. This is a wonderful St. Helen's College tradition and we hope that all families will attend so that you may view the displays of children's work across the curriculum. Pupils should wear full school uniform please. Please note that Friday 20th March is a half day and that there will be no Funtasia available on this day as the staff prepare for Exhibition Day.
StarGazing Event at Ruislip Lido This Weekend
The West of London Astronomical Society would like to invite children, parents and staff to a public stargazing event being held at Ruislip Lido this coming weekend: Fri 28, Sat 29, Sun 1 Mar, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Details are on the poster attached which you are invited to print and publicise as you wish.
Medium term forecasts are now quite reliable and are currently saying:
Fri: poor
Sat: starting partially cloudy then clearing
Sun: the most promising, again improving over the evening.
Please check the WOLAS website before setting off: http://www.wolas.org.uk when the GO/NOGO call will be made by 4pm.
The next stargazing weekend is 20 - 22 November, at the end of National Astronomy Week when Mars will be at its closest until 2035.
We do hope that many of you will take your children along to enjoy some stargazing!
Junior Bake-Off
Love Productions, the company behind The Great British Bake-Off, are currently looking for young budding bakers between 9 -15 years old for a new series of Junior Bake-Off. Filming would take place from July 2020, but applications close on Sunday 5th April 2020.
Interested young bakers can apply online at WWW.APPLYFORJUNIORBAKEOFF.CO.UK.
Spice of the Month - Caraway
Accent Catering's 'Spice of the Month' for March is Caraway. You can find lots of recipes including Caraway here - we hope you will enjoy making some of these with your children!
Posted on: 14/02/2020Weekly News - Friday 14th February 2020
Well-Being Week
Our focus on well-being this week was kick-started on Monday with wonderful performances in assemblies from children who wished to share their talents with their peers. We enjoyed singing, dancing, poetry recitals, trumpet playing and ballet to name but a few talents. It was such a joyful start to the week!
Well-Being Day
Yesterday was a wonderful day throughout the school as the children from Ducklings to Year 6 participated in a wide array of well-being activities from making gratitude jars and well-being snow globes to listening ear crowns, yoga, mindful nature walking, a tree of life activity, reflective diary writing.... the list goes on! Do speak with your children and discuss what they did on the day. I am sure that many of the activities they did they would love to do again with their families.
For those of you who were unable to attend last night's parent presentation and workshop evening, please see our booklet for information, some activities to do with your child and top tips to support your child's well-being.
Some children had the opportunity to take part in a session with 'Youth Fit' whilst others took part in other physical activity sessions during the day yesterday. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. If you would like to sign your child up for Youth Fit sessions outside of school, you can find out more information here.
Owls Assembly
Happiness exuded from the Lower School Hall yesterday as the Owls class launched the Lower School well-being day by sharing their smiles and happiness with us all in songs and poems. Mr. Happy even managed to put a smile on Little Miss Miserable's face!! They were all little rays of sunshine! Well done Owls.
5A Assembly
5A shared the love of Valentine's Day with everyone today, re-enacting the story of St. Valentine and reminding us that it is not all just about roses, chocolates and cards but in the ways that we can demonstrate our love towards each other, towards ourselves and to our community. Well done, 5A!
Soula and her team delighted everyone at lunchtime, continuing the Valentine's theme, with love-heart shaped strawberry cheesecakes. LOVEly!
Asthma and Allergy Training
All of our pupils from Year 4 to Year 6 participated in a superb training session this week from Rebecca, the asthma and allergy nurse from Hillingdon.
The children now have a much better understanding of what asthma is, how it can affect people and how important it is that children and adults who are diagnosed with asthma follow the medical advice they are given and use their inhalers as appropriate. Rebecca also spoke to the children about the types of allergies people can have and the treatment that is given if someone has a reaction. Our pupils at St. Helen's College really are equipped with amazing life skills.
Football News
We travelled to John Locke on Wednesday afternoon after our win last week, when we beat St. Andrew's 6-0. Looking at the very uneven pitch, we thought we were in for a tricky game at John Locke and this proved to be the case. We managed a 1-0 win thanks to Adam K and the team showed great determination and desire to come out on top. This puts us in a very strong position in the league with two games to play against Heathrow and St. Matthew's. Winning both should see us crowned as champions! We entertain Oak Farm the week after half term in the Borough Cup, with kick off at 3.45 p.m. on Wednesday 26th February in Court Park. All support welcome!
North Hillingdon Methodist Church - Worship KidStyle!
The North Hillingdon Methodist Church are holding new church services especially for children on the third Sunday of every month, with the first one taking place this Sunday, 16th February. Why not take your child along to join in. You can see their Kidstyle poster here.
Coronavirus and Half Term Travel
Many families might be travelling abroad over the half term break, so we would like to remind you that, as a school, we are following the advice issued by the government concerning the Coronavirus. This advice is being updated online daily at 2 p.m. and can be accessed at this link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public
All parents should check this advice and, if you are travelling abroad, please continue to check the latest government advice before, during and after travelling. During and after travel, please be vigilant for signs of illness in children or other family members, and comply with the latest advice issued if you have any concerns.
Posted on: 7/02/2020Weekly News - Friday 7th February 2020
1C Assembly - Brazil And The Rainforest
The children of 1C took us on a journey to Brazil on Thursday and shared the delights of their culture, landmarks, traditions, football and of course the wonderful Amazon rainforest. Superb performances from all children - thank you!
5G Assembly
Albert Einstein and Benjamin Bloom graced us with their presence this morning as 5G explained relativity, why the sky is blue and how to ask outstanding questions using Bloom's Taxonomy. The children engaged their audience with their knowledge and understanding of critical thinking skills and performed the popular song from Matilda 'When I grow up'. I am sure that everyone present is confident that when our children grow up our world will be a very interesting place indeed! Well done 5G.
Chamber Choir
Tremendous congratulations to our Chamber Choir pupils who performed at the Children's Trust London Schools Concert in St. John's Smith Square on Sunday to a most appreciative audience of approximately 800 people. All the staff who attended and Mr. and Mrs. Crehan were so proud of the children. Thank you to all the families who supported the event
We wish the Chamber Choir well for this weekend, too, as they will be representing the school at a concert at St. John's Church, Royal Lane, Uxbridge on Saturday evening. The concert will begin at 6 p.m. and tickets will be available on the door at a cost of £5 each. Please do come along and support the Chamber Choir if you can!
Mindful Sit
Pupils from Year 2 - Year 6 and staff participated in the national Mindful Sit on Wednesday during assembly time in recognition of National Mental Health week. Pupils were guided through a practice of noticing with their attention finally settling on their breathing. A wonderful start to the day as the children returned to their classes ready for the day ahead with a clear and calm mind.
Pedestrian Skills/Road Safety Training
Our annual pedestrian skills/road safety training programme has commenced for this year. Our Year 2 children received their training this week and other year groups will be taking part in training and/or workshops over the coming weeks. The children have really enjoyed wearing their new hi-vis jackets which we have been able to purchase for every child in the school, thanks to a grant from the London Borough of Hillingdon Road Safety Team.
Sports News
Our netball and our football teams remain at the top of their respective local leagues, having both won their matches this week.
The handball tournament last Saturday was well-attended and most enjoyable. The St. Helen's College children played well in their matches and enjoyed putting the skills they have been learning at school into practice.
Co-Curricular Clubs Led By Pupils
It is always wonderful to observe our children using their leadership skills around the school. Several clubs are running this term led by pupils. One such is the Coding Club, which began this week and is led by Michael K in Year 6.
World Book Day
The school will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 5th March. The theme for Ducklings and Lower School is 'Enchanted' and the theme for Upper School is 'Harry Potter'. The children are asked to dress as a book character of their choice (which may of course link to the themes if you wish). It is sure to be a fun-filled day, celebrating the fantastic world of books and all the reading done throughout the year. The children are also asked to bring the book their character is from on the day so that we can share them together.
World Cancer Day
St. Helen's College staff have supported World Cancer Day this week by buying wristbands and donating money in return for staff room treats! Thank you to all of the staff who have contributed.
Uxbridge Library Exhibition - Hillingdon Geological Society
Harrow and Hillingdon Geological Society will be holding a 'hands on' exhibition in Uxbridge Library from 12th to 28th February. Pupils might like to go along to explore the geology of our local area and discover, amongst other things, that Ruislip was once warm waters of a shallow subtropical sea!
PA Forum
The next PA Forum meeting will take place on Tuesday 25th February. If you have any points of school-wide relevance that you would like discussed at this meeting, please send these to your class representative as soon as possible. Class rep's should send any issues for discussion to Mrs. Smith by Friday 14th February please, just before we break up for half term.
Robins Nursery class do not currently have a class representative - if you have a child in Robins and would like to volunteer, please contact Mrs. Smith as soon as possible. Mrs. Smith can be reached on susmith@sthelenscollege.com or by telephoning the Upper School office.
As usual, we will circulate minutes from the PA Forum meeting to all parents after the meeting has taken place.
School Arrival and Collection
The safety of your children whilst they are at school is crucial to us all. Please note that pupils are not permitted to enter the Upper School via the Long Lane entrance after 8.30 a.m. when the door is closed. After this time, parents must accompany pupils to the Parkway entrance and sign them in as a late arrival.
Parents are also reminded that they must not hold the gates/doors open for other parents or visitors to enter the school sites at any time.
Parents using the 'drop and go' system on Parkway are reminded that your child must be ready to leave the car independently (with their belongings) as you pull up alongside the kerb, and that they must exist the car on the kerb side. Please then pull away promptly to allow other cars to move up and drop children off. Children should exit the car when their car is the first in the line (just before the barriers) and not further down Parkway. Parents using 'drop and go' should not exit the car or linger at the kerb after a child has exited; it is crucial that we keep traffic flowing at this busy time of day.
Many thanks, as always, for your support.
Posted on: 31/01/2020Mindfulness and Me
This week I am handing the Head’s blog over to a guest blog from Mr. Shah who has two daughters at St. Helen's College.
Last week I attended a ‘Reconnection Day’ in London with 50 other mindfulness teachers to reflect on how we were taking mindfulness into schools around the UK and overseas. It was only when we separated into smaller focus groups that I became fully aware of how much we do as a school, giving our children the opportunities to embrace just being; taking some time to appreciate our environment and community and bringing their attention to their breath.
I cannot take any credit for St. Helen’s College being a frontrunner in the field of mindfulness as it was Mr. and Mrs. Crehan who were so forward-thinking and brought the paws b and .b training to the school. Mrs. Crehan also starts our young Ducklings off with their mindfulness journey with her weekly visits.
Year 6 are currently in their 4th week of the .b programme and Year 4 will soon embark upon their Paws b course. But it is our whole community who engage with ‘mindful moments’ as they choose ‘strong silence’ in assemblies and are given time to be in their bubble and appreciate the silence, conducting simple mindful practices at ease. Our Mindful Ambassadors meet weekly and the commitment to mindfulness is admirable but they also recognise the benefits it has brought to them.
For those of you who may wish to find out more about mindfulness and would like to engage in a programme of mindfulness, the MISP (Mindfulness in Schools Project) are launching their next online course .begin: https://mindfulnessinschools.org/course/begin-5mar2020/.
At our Friday recital last week, Mrs. Shah delighted me as she told me how their family had embraced mindfulness - I shall allow Mr. Shah to tell the story!
My Mind and Me
As a family we are surrounded by friends and family who actively practise meditation. This has rubbed off on the children and both our girls are quite enthused by the idea and are quite eager to practise and promote mindfulness at any given opportunity.
In my opinion, it will still take me a lot of practice to bring my mind to a meditative state in any session, so the idea of mindfulness which I thought would give my mind the liberty to sense and feel the immediate environment was right up my street.
I’ll share my experience of one such mindfulness session conducted by my 10 year old daughter.
We agreed last week that we would have our dinner on time on Tuesday, after which, Krisha would lead a session on mindfulness.
Come 8.00 p.m., we had tidied up after dinner and gathered in the lounge where we were allocated a chair, which is ideal as opposed to on the couch. Krisha explained why we had gathered and then put on a soothing piece of music.
Feet flat on the floor and palms on the thighs is what we were advised to be the most effective position. We were then led through what she described as a pacifying journey.
Mindfulness of one’s five senses
Gently, Krisha led us through being aware of the immediate environment by using each of our senses. Noticing – really noticing – the sensation in a given moment, brought about by the sights, sounds and smells that ordinarily slip by without reaching our conscious awareness. We tuned into the physical sensations, from the gentle hum of the light bulbs over us to the way the body rested on the chair.
Breathing
We were introduced to a variety of breathing techniques. The first being ‘Flower-Breathing’. This technique is applied by mimicking the opening and closing of a sepal. Breathing in as the sepal opens, and breathing out as it closes. The other technique was that of tracing the index finger of the right hand over the fingers of the left hand. Breathing in as we trace the index finger going up the finger, and breathing out going down the finger. Only later did I realise that this not only made me feel aware of my external (flower) and personal (hand) environments, but also the harmony between the two.
Mindfulness of one’s thoughts and feelings
Being mindful of the environment soon transitioned to the awareness of thoughts and emotions. The relaxing background music helped me to recognise that fleeting thoughts and emotions could actually be harnessed, and as such don’t define either me or the way I behave or react. I felt a transition from a mind racing with a menagerie of emotions and feelings to that of a pretty transient state of awareness, bordering on deep relaxation to the point of drifting into sleep. This is how my meditation session almost always ends up, to be woken up by a sharp nudge on my arm.
Throughout the session, not once did I realise that our 10 year old was conducting the session, such was the confidence and maturity with which she created the state of tranquillity and ambience. This state could easily have been plucked from our lounge and planted in an auditorium full of people. St. Helens College has been subtly instilling the idea of mindfulness into the children who, in turn, have been spreading the message outside. For this I am thankful because I was able to have a meaningful session of meditation, albeit mindfulness, after such a long time.
Mr. Shah
Posted on: 24/01/2020Weekly News - Friday 24th January 2020
Month End Music Recital
Wow! Our first Month End Music Recital of the term saw several children perform on many different instruments. This was probably the biggest of these recitals so far: there were solo performances on various instruments, including some from Lower School, a flute duet and a string ensemble! We were also treated to some fabulous singing. Very well done to all of the children who performed, and thank you to Mrs. Nash, Mrs. MacLean and, in particular, Mrs. Allery who was put on the spot for some sightreading too!
Children's Trust London Schools Concert - Sunday 2nd February
The St. Helen's College Chamber Choir will once again be performing at the Children's Trust London Schools Concert this year. This event takes place from 2 - 4 p.m. on Sunday 2nd February at the beautiful St. John's, Smith Square in London.
All St. Helen's College families are welcome to book tickets, whether your child is in the Chamber Choir or not. This is a really special event in beautiful surroundings and we would appreciate support from families across the school. You can purchase tickets via the following link.
https://thechildrenstrust.digitickets.co.uk/category/24930#cart-summary
St. John's Church Concert - Saturday 8th February
The Chamber Choir will also be performing publicly more locally in February, taking part in an evening concert at St. John's Church, Royal Lane, Uxbridge on Saturday 8th February. The concert begins at 6 p.m. and tickets are available to all (£5 cash payable on the door). Through ticket sales, the concert will raise funds for renovation of the church and for two animal charities in South Africa which promote animal welfare, one of which is run by an ex-Hillingdon vet.
We would be delighted to have as many St. Helen's College families as possible supporting the event, so please do come along if you can. The concert will last from approximately 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with tea/coffee/cake available in the interval. Our Chamber Choir will be performing in the first half of the event, and several other local bands and artists will be performing too. We hope to see you there!
Sports News
Gymnastics
Well done to our gymnastics teams from Years 3/4 and Years 5/6 who took part in the Borough Gymnastics Competition held at Botwell Green Leisure Centre this week.
Each of our gymnasts completed a floor routine, a body management routine and two vaults in front of panels of judges.
Our pupils performed with precision and flair, showing great skill. Our Year 3/4 team finished in 8th place and our Year 5/6 team finished in 5th place.
Team members were Mark R, Marvin R, Charlotte M, Poppy H, Krish S, Jasmine B, Daniel G-J.
Multi Skills Festival
Some of our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils took part in a friendly multi skills festival hosted by St. Mary's School in Gerrards Cross this week. Senior school sports leaders from St. Mary's organised different skills stations to challenge the teams taking part from St. Helen's College, Dair House and St. Mary's. Our children thoroughly enjoyed taking part and representing their school in a sports event. Many thanks to Miss Ward for organising this for our pupils.
Netball Match
Our Year 6 netball team resumed matches in the local schools' league this week. In a very close match against St. Andrew's, our team rose to the challenge and maintained a high standard of play throughout the game. Our team remains top of the table with two matches to go!
Holding Area
Holding area at Upper School will now take place in the school library each night and will be separate from Funtasia. Holding Area is only for younger siblings at Upper School to use until their older siblings are released and come to collect them. This is one of the methods we use to help reduce congestion outside the entrance during home time.
Staff News
Sadly, Miss Dear will be leaving us at the end of this academic year as she moves to work closer to home to enable her to spend more time with her family. Miss Dear has been with us for nine years and has worked at both Lower and Upper School as well as leading Art for several years. She will be much missed.
We must also share the news that Mrs. Allery will be stepping down as Head of Music from September in order to free up more time to spend with her family. Mrs. Allery has been with St. Helen's College for 20 years and, happily, is not leaving us entirely but will be relinquishing some of her many musical duties.
We will shortly be advertising for teaching staff to join us from September in various roles, including maternity cover and other teaching roles. If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining our team, do direct them to the school website!
Parents' Forum
The next PA Forum meeting will take place on Tuesday 25th February. If you have any points of school-wide relevance that you would like discussed at this meeting, please send these to your class representative as soon as possible. Class rep's should send any issues for discussion to Mrs. Smith by Friday 14th February please, just before we break up for half term.
Robins Nursery class do not currently have a class representative - if you have a child in Robins and would like to volunteer, please contact Mrs. Smith as soon as possible. Mrs. Smith can be reached on susmith@sthelenscollege.com or by telephoning the Upper School office.
As usual, we will circulate minutes from the PA Forum meeting to all parents after the meeting has taken place.
Bus Route 278
There is a new TfL bus route running daily in both directions between Heathrow and Ruislip and stopping along Long Lane just outside both Upper and Lower School. We know that some parents are already using the bus for their school run journeys and, as part of our ongoing efforts to ease congestion and pollution, we would encourage others to do the same! As the new route will mean increased bus traffic along Long Lane during drop and go/pick up and go times, we would like to remind parents not to idle in these areas (and, particularly, not to stop cars in the bus stop areas).
You can see more information about the new bus route here: https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/278/
Half Term Holiday Club
Bookings are now being taken for Holiday Club during the February half term. Please log into your SchoolsBuddy account to make your bookings.
Posted on: 17/01/2020Weekly News - Friday 17th January 2020
Lower School and Ducklings Reading and Phonics Evening
Thank you to all parents who attended last night's workshops. We hope that you have taken away some very useful tips on how to support your child's development in reading and writing and that you now understand more fully how teaching staff are developing these skills. Please do speak with the class teachers if you would like to follow up on any points discussed.
Upcoming Music Events - All Welcome!
Month End Music Recital
Our next Month End Music Recital will take place this coming Friday (24th January) from 3.45 p.m. in the Evans Hall at Upper School. All are welcome to this informal event, which gives our instrumentalists and singers a chance to practise performance in a friendly and encouraging environment. Do come along!
Children's Trust London Schools Concert - Sunday 2nd February
The St. Helen's College Chamber Choir will once again be performing at the Children's Trust London Schools Concert this year. This event takes place from 2 - 4 p.m. on Sunday 2nd February at the beautiful St. John's, Smith Square in London.
All St. Helen's College families are welcome to book tickets, whether your child is in the Chamber Choir or not. This is a really special event in beautiful surroundings and we would appreciate support from families across the school. You can purchase tickets via the following link.
https://thechildrenstrust.digitickets.co.uk/category/24930#cart-summary
St. John's Church Concert - Saturday 8th February
The Chamber Choir will also be performing publicly more locally in February, taking part in an evening concert at St. John's Church, Royal Lane, Uxbridge on Saturday 8th February. The concert begins at 6 p.m. and tickets are available to all (£5 cash payable on the door). Through ticket sales, the concert will raise funds for renovation of the church and for two animal charities in South Africa which promote animal welfare, one of which is run by an ex-Hillingdon vet.
We would be delighted to have as many St. Helen's College families as possible supporting the event, so please do come along if you can. The concert will last from approximately 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with tea/coffee/cake available in the interval. Our Chamber Choir will be performing in the first half of the event, and several other local bands and artists will be performing too. We hope to see you there!
Pupil-Led Learning
Well done to Manisher L (Y5), who is certainly taking her learning into her own hands. Last week, she proudly brought a scale model of the solar system into school, which she had created at home with her father over the Christmas holidays. Here is the piece she wrote about her creation:
Over the Christmas holidays, I was asking my Daddy how big our solar system is and that's when he said, “Why don't we make our own scale model of the solar system!”
It took us approximately 3-4 hours to collect the measurements, divide the length by 34 billion and find out more information about each planet, for example my age on each planet.
The following day my Daddy had ordered a 200 metre long roll of paper and 200 metre tape measure so that I could be 100% accurate.The next day the equipment arrived. It took a while to measure out all of the planets, because the distance from the Sun to Mars is relatively close but the distance from the Sun to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto is astronomical!
When I finally finished my scale model of our solar system it was 169 meters of paper from the Sun to Pluto!
Fun Facts:
The full length of our solar system is 6 billion kilometres.
The day in Venus is shorter than the year.
It takes 365 days to complete a year or a full orbit on earth.
Pluto is not actually classed as a planet - it is classed as a dwarf planet.
Scientists are not 100% sure that Pluto orbits the Sun. They are thinking that Pluto orbits another planet.
ABRSM Music Results
In addition to the excellent set of results announced last week, we are also delighted to let you know the following result for an ABRSM exam taken last term:
Violin
Krisha S - Grade 2 Merit
Acts of Kindness
Our school community continues to inspire pride. We were delighted to hear this week of further acts of kindness by two Upper School pupils. Samir (Y5) and Hana (Y2) are regular visitors to their grandpa's social group; the children regularly sing, play the piano and bring joy to the older people with their presence. Hana also helps out at a toddler and baby group run by her grandmother. Well done Samir and Hana - this is yet another example of how our pupils really are living the St. Helen's College values and ethos.
Co-Curricular Clubs
It has been wonderful to see the engagement of the children in the first week of our spring term programme of clubs. We have an additional pupil-led club which will commence next week; a group of very enthusiastic Year 6 pupils (Harry, Taha, Lakhi, Eli, Mohib, Jai and Dhian) will be running a 'Mathletics and TimesTables Rock Stars' Club commencing next Thursday lunchtime for Y4-6. Pupils can sign up on Monday. Pupils are aware that if they have already committed to another Thursday club then they must attend the club that they were allocated.
News From The School Kitchen
Chinese New Year - Special Themed Menu
Please note that we will have a special, Chinese-themed menu on Thursday 23rd January, to celebrate Chinese New Year. You can see the menu here.
February's Spice of the Month - Recipes for Parents
At school we are always working to stimulate your children's taste buds and encouraging them to try new flavours. February's 'spice of the month' is ginger and we are delighted to share with you these recipes, all including ginger, which you might like to try cooking at home with your children. Do let us know how you get on!
Pick Up and Go
We would like to remind parents collecting children from the Parkway entrance at Upper School that you must move to the car park if your child is not visible at the gate at the end of the day. This week there has been congestion along Parkway due to some parents remaining at the pick up and go area. Mrs. Hunter does her best to keep the traffic moving and we work hard to maintain our relationships with our neighbours; we ask that parents work with us to do the same. Teachers try hard to ensure that the classes are out on time; however, there may be the odd occasion when a class is delayed for some valid reason and we ask, on such an occasion, that you move to the car park to enable traffic to move freely on Parkway.
Posted on: 10/01/2020Weekly News - Friday 10th January 2020
We would like to welcome all members of the school community to a new year and to a new term. We look forward to another busy, productive and joyful term together.
Many of our Year 6 children will be sitting entrance examinations and having interviews for independent schools over the coming weeks. We wish them all well and look forward to hearing of their successes.
Autumn Term ABRSM Exam Results
Well done to all of those children who sat ABRSM examinations at the end of the Autumn term. We are delighted to announce another super set of results.
Guitar
Jasmine B Grade 4 Merit
Flute
Ridhima M Grade 3 Merit
'Cello
Devan S Grade 2 Merit
Piano
Reece G Grade 2 Pass
Samir H Grade 2 Pass
Arjan D Grade 1 Merit
Advik S Grade 1 Merit
Oliver T Grade 1 Merit
Sofia H Prep Pass
Trumpet
Patrick E Grade 2 Pass
Aarya D Grade 1 Pass
Violin
Leila B Grade 1 Pass
Singing
Dhiya K Grade 3 Merit
Esha T Grade 3 Merit
Anaiya B Prep Pass
Singing for Musical Theatre
Siyana M Grade 2 Merit
Anaya K Grade 1 Merit
Clarinet
Georgia S Prep Pass
Staff News
We are delighted to share three very happy pieces of staff news with you.
Mr. McLaughlin (Deputy Head, Y6) and Mrs. McLaughlin (Y3) are expecting their first baby in the summer.
Miss Hill (Ducklings) is also expecting her first baby, which means another grandchild for Mrs. Hill (Y2) as well!
Mrs. Hunt has recently celebrated the milestone of 20 years as a member of staff at St. Helen's College! Pupils and staff at Lower School surprised her on their first day back this week with a beautiful assembly celebrating her long term service. Children from each Lower School class shared why they all love Mrs. Hunt so much. It was a very emotional and moving celebration with tears of joy.
What a wonderful way to start the term and the new year with such happy news!
Year 5 Parent Transfer Meetings
Mrs. Drummond will be meeting with Year 5 parents individually over the following weeks to discuss senior school transfer in detail. If you have a child in Year 5 and have not yet met with Mrs. Drummond or made your appointment to do so, please log on to your SchoolsBuddy account and book an appointment as soon as possible.
Well-Being Day
We will be holding a school-wide Well-Being Day on Thursday 13th February to support the well-being of all members of our community and especially our pupils. Throughout the day, pupils will take part in special off-timetable activities designed to give them the tools to look after their own well-being.
Last term, Lower School parents had the opportunity to attend a Parent Practice presentation about how to support your child in developing their self-esteem, and so bring out the best in them. On 13th February, we are inviting parents of Upper School children to attend a Well-Being Evening Workshop Session, which will give parents ideas about how to support children's well-being beyond school. If you have a child at Upper School and have not yet signed up for the evening session, there are still some places available. These can be booked through your SchoolsBuddy account. There are 70 places in total and these will be allocated on a first come, first served basis with a maximum of one place per family. Bookings will remain open until Friday 17th January.
Pipers Corner Literary Festival
One of our school priorities is to promote a love of reading in our pupils. The Pipers Corner Literary Festival in High Wycombe is now in its second year and will take place from 31st January to 13th February. We would encourage you to book tickets if you would like to visit and hear one of the visiting authors speak; there are authors/events suitable for children aged 4-7 and 8-11 as well as a few events suitable for adults. âhttps://www.piperscorner.co.uk/our-school/pipers-corner-literary-festival
Community Service/Acts of Kindness
Following on from our school promotion of acts of kindness and community service, two of our families visited a Watford care home over the holidays and performed a mini music recital to the elderly residents, spreading joy to all who experienced it. The five children involved (Alex S, Marcus S, Annabelle S, Jasmine B and Xavier B) shared their experience with the rest of the Upper School in assemblies this week. It is wonderful to hear about these acts of kindness taking place outside of school - please do let us know if your family has any similar news to share.
Charity Fundraising
We would like to thank all parents and staff who contributed last term to collections for SANDs, raising funds to support families affected by Still Birth and Neo-Natal Death. The school raised a total of £172.03 which has now been passed on to this very important charity.
Upper School End of Day Pick Up
Please can we remind parents using Court Park car park that, while waiting, engines should be switched off rather than left idling. Idling engines contribute to local air pollution and we would like to do our bit to help the environment!
School Security
The safety of pupils is our primary concern at school. We would like to remind parents that, when school gates are closed and you have pressed the buzzer to gain entry, you should not then hold open gates at any school entrance to allow others access to the grounds. All visitors to the school must report to the school office and be accompanied while on site. We thank you for your support in adhering to our Safeguarding Policy in this respect.
EasyFundraising
Just a reminder that, if you are not already doing so, you can raise money for the St. Helen's College Development Fund while shopping online at no extra cost to yourself. You simply need to download the EasyFundraising app and/or visit easyfundraising.org.uk and sign up to support our cause. Most well known high street and online retailers take part in this initiative, including John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Boots, Amazon, Ebay and many, many more. Once you get into the habit of using EasyFundraising it is very easy indeed.
If you are booking a holiday, break or getaway or renewing car, home or other insurance this month, please use EasyFundraising. You can raise a big donation for the St. Helen's College Development Fund when booking higher cost items like holidays and insurance - companies including Expedia, Secret Escapes, Virgin Holidays, Onthebeach, MoreThan, Direct Line, Admiral Multicar and many more will donate to our cause at no extra cost to you. If you book a holiday or getaway before 12th January you'll raise twice as much with a double donation!
Thank you so much for your ongoing support with our efforts to launch the Development Fund.
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