School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 14/10/2022Weekly News - Friday 14th October 2022
Children's Trust Concert
We were filled with pride last Sunday when our Chamber Choir performed at the beautiful St. John's Smith Square at the Children's Trust Concert. They sang their two pieces with great confidence and musicality and certainly touched the audience.
The event organisers and the staff of many other schools commented on how smart and well-behaved the St. Helen's College pupils were, as well as how impressive it was that so many of our parents were in attendance. We are grateful to all of the families who came along to support the children and this very worthy charity.
Woodlands Care Home Visit
On Monday, a group of Year 5 and 6 pupils visited Woodlands Residential Care Home on Long Lane to spend time with residents there. Woodlands cares for elderly people who are living with dementia and/or other health issues. While there, our pupils spoke with the residents and performed some songs for them. Both residents and pupils enjoyed the get-together.
PA Welcome Event For New Families
It was lovely to see so many of the families who joined us in September at the PA Welcome Event on Saturday. The weather was kind and it was clear to see how much the children enjoyed having a play in the beautiful Evans Garden and how much the parents enjoyed getting to know other families. Many thanks to the PA Committee and helpers who put on this event.
Year 6
Our Year 6 pupils have had a superb start to the academic year and have risen to their many leadership roles. They were excellent ambassadors this week as they toured prospective parents at our first Open Morning of the year and were rewarded with a surprise morning tea party on Thursday.
PA Christmas Card Project
Children will have brought home a sheet this week with an order form on one side (with instructions on how to pay) and a space for artwork on the other side. If your child has started their artwork at school but hasn't finished and you want to place an order for Christmas cards, they will need to complete the art at home over half term. If they have completed their artwork and you want to order something, you just need to complete the adjoining order form and then return it to school and also make the associated bank transfer. The artwork MUST be on the same sheet as the order form. Please make sure you include the child's name and class (clearly written) on the order form, return the form to school and make the bank transfer payment, all by Friday 4 November 2022 at the very latest. Unfortunately the PA will not be able to process any orders which have not had payments made, have missing order forms, or are missing the artwork by the Friday deadline. If anyone has any questions, please contact your class rep.
PA Christmas Parties
The PA will, once again, be running Christmas parties for the children of St. Helen's College. This year, these will take place on 27th November. Please see this Save The Date flyer for more details. Further details and a link to the booking form will be sent out to parents after the half term break.
Queen's Green Canopy
We are delighted to report that our Queen's Green Canopy tree planting has been uploaded to the Queen's Green Canopy map. We planted our trees at Lower and Upper School during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as part of the initiative https://queensgreencanopy.org/get-involved/schools/.
Year 5 Visit to Hampton Court Palace
Year 5 enjoyed a fabulous day at Hampton Court Palace on Thursday, enriching their learning about The Tudors. The weather stayed dry, the children were full of enthusiasm and the staff were impressed with their behaviour.
Our pupils explored the outside grounds including the gardens, real tennis court, chapel and impressive range of kitchens and had tours of the Tudor state apartments.
The children thought about the impression Henry VIII was trying to make on his court and visitors, used their detective skills to find evidence of Henry’s wives and were wowed by the ceilings in particular. In a workshop with a leader from Hampton Court they used prior knowledge from school lessons along with their critical thinking skills to consider questions about Henry VIII and his reign.
2H Coffee Morning/Class Assembly
It was a pleasure to welcome the parents of class 2H into school for a coffee morning and class assembly this morning. In their presentation, the children of 2H magically transported us back to life in The Stone Age. They taught us all about trading, cave painting, jewellery making and even staying away from poisonous mushrooms. The children looked amazing in their costumes and the assembly was a great ending to their history topic on The Stone Age and thoroughly enjoyed by all!
TfL STARS Gold Accreditation
St. Helen's College has retained its gold accreditation through TfL STARS, which recognises the school's continuous work around Sustainable Travel And Road Safety over the last few years. The STARS team praised the commitment from the school, the children and the parents to continually improve sustainable travel and road safety in and around St. Helen's College.
Parents' Evenings
Bookings open at 4 p.m. today for the Upper School (Year 2 - 6) parents' evenings which will take place after half term on Tuesday 1st November and Thursday 10th November. Parents should login and book appointments using this link.
Ducklings Two Year Progress Check meetings will be taking place on Tuesday 1st and Thursday 3rd November. Parents have booked their meetings and we look forward to seeing you all then.
Remembrance Day
The school will, as usual, be marking Remembrance Day in November. From 1st November, when we return from the half term break, we will have some items available for children to purchase in return for a donation. There will be poppies, a zip pull, a clip on reflector poppy, silicon wristbands and snap bands which double up as rulers. We suggest a minimum donation of £1 per item.
Winter Uniform
All pupils should return to school wearing full winter uniform after half term. Please note that woolly hats are only to be used in very cold weather conditions and they should not replace the boys' wool caps or girls' felt hats.
Flu Vaccination - Action Required
Parents of children in all years from Reception to Year 6 are reminded that you MUST complete your flu vaccination form. This must be done whether your child will be having the vaccination at St. Helen's College or not. The link was emailed to parents via SchoolsBuddy last week.
Free Basketball This Weekend!
The first Thames Valley Cavaliers home game is on at Uxbridge College this weekend and all St. Helen's College pupils are invited to watch the Cavaliers take on Manchester Magic. It is FREE for pupils to enjoy the fun. Just state that you are from St. Helen's College at the door to get in free. There is also a special £1 price for pizza slices!
The flyer with all the information about the match is here.
Half Term Basketball Camp
The Thames Valley Cavaliers are running a basketball camp at Uxbridge College during the second week of half term for children aged 7 and above. If your son or daughter might be interested in attending this, you can find the details here.
Posted on: 14/10/2022Enlightened Education
Last week I returned to my homeland in Scotland, to attend the annual Heads’ Conference in Edinburgh, which this year brought together 1000 Headteachers from IAPS (Independent Association of Preparatory Schools) and HMC (Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference) Schools. Returning to Edinburgh, where I spent four years studying at University, always fills me with great pride and nostalgia for a city which ignited my love for education and teaching.
The theme of the conference was ‘Enlightened Education’ and there was no better city to host a conference with such a theme. Edinburgh was very much regarded as a centre of enlightenment during the 18th century, when the New Town sprung up to provide changes in law, philosophy, science, literature, the arts, engineering and architecture. Observatories were built, advancements in medicine and microbiology were shaped and Edinburgh became a pioneering beacon of excellence in education. Schools - grammar and independent - were founded by mechant companies to encourage liberal thinking and intellectual curiosity. Edinburgh’s New and Old Towns now sit alongside one another to remind us of fusion, heritage and modernity.
The first keynote speaker of the conference, Marc Randolph, the founder of Netflix, articulated the purpose of education in the spirit of enlightenment. He wants young people to be energised to deal with the uncertainties of the world. As we know from the last few years in particular, we cannot predict the future. So, with a willingness to make mistakes (and learn from them) and a desire to see all problems as having solutions, our pupils will need to be real world ready.
Professor Gabriell Finn from the University of Manchester is leading a university-wide review of assessment and imparted the following key messages.
Factual recall is no longer the focus, and shouldn’t be. There is no link between this and preparing pupils for the real world.
There has been a 16000% increase in the number of students plagiarising their assignments.
GCSEs and A-levels are very far removed from where universities are starting to focus assessment: students collaborating and submitting their own websites rather than tests.
Technology, in particular AI, needs to be a dominant factor in any reform of assessment.
As fellow Heads discussed some of the points raised by the speakers, I felt so proud of what we are doing here at St. Helen’s College. We have a very balanced curriculum, skills and knowledge based, but our pupils' learning skills are far more in line with what universities wish to move towards. This was noted recently by one of our ex-parents who is a university lecturer as she reflected on what her daughter was already achieving with our flipped classroom model of teaching. She was somewhat overwhelmed at how efficient her daughter was as a learner in Year 6 in comparison with some of the first year university pupils she had encountered!
Over the years we have heard the word ‘tolerance’ being used when we discuss diversity. This word should now be replaced with ‘celebration of’. I truly believe that it is one of our defining features at St. Helen’s College that we are such a diverse community - and this extends to neuro-diversity too (a point which was emphasised by Rory Bremner in his most humorous after dinner address).
Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson further emphasised this ‘celebration’, which 30 years ago would have been labelled as tolerance, as she recalled her experience of growing up as a wheelchair user (it was only because her Headteacher refused to adhere to the local authority guidelines that she was able to attend a mainstream school). She made the point that discrimination is taught and not a learned behaviour, and we must all focus on this - not just for the sake of our individual pupils but for humanity as a whole.
Sarah Brown, Founder and Chair of ‘TheirWorld’ and the Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education (also once inhabitant of 10 Downing Street) shocked delegates by reminding us that by 2030, half of the world’s young people will not have the privilege of attending school. This seems unbelievable, not least against the backdrop of the UN’s Sustaninable Development Goals, created in 2017 with the goal of achieving them all by 2030. Sarah emphasised that for pupils to be real world ready, there is a moral imperative for them to learn how to look after their world and each other.
Throughout the conference, keynote speakers emphasised that the fundamental aim of education should not be focused around end-point assessment, but the development of a child’s relationship with others, and, through this, the creation of powerful, ethical communities, focused around a force for good.
Nicola Benedetti, world renowned violinist, Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Festival and founder of the Benedetti Foundation, used the impact of choirs and ensembles to illustrate this point. Within an orchestra or choir, there is no hierarchy and, in creating music together, people are sharing in one humanity. Music played a role throughout the conference and reminded us of the transformational impact of music in everyone’s lives. There is a moral obligation for all young people to be exposed to this form of deep connection and communication.
I hope you can see how passionate I am feeling about many of the topics discussed at the conference. As I reflect on this first half term of St. Helen’s College life I am sure that you will agree that our pupils have demonstrated their own contribution to an enlightened education in so many ways, including:
the wonderful Harvest assemblies and donations;
the musical recital;
the many sporting fixtures;
the various school trips to interesting venues;
âThe Children’s Trust Charity Concert where our Chamber Choir performed;
the TCS Mini London Marathon;
the visit to the Woodlands Care Home by a group of our musicians;
STEAM Day and
St. Helen’s Day.
I could keep listing - there is more, much more!
Thank you for all your support during this first half term. It has been a wonderful beginning to this academic year and I wish you all a restful and energising half term holiday!
Ms Drummond
Posted on: 7/10/2022Weekly News - Friday 7th October 2022
TCS Mini London Marathon
What an amazing day it was last Saturday, with well over 200 St. Helen's College pupils, parents and staff taking place in the TCS Mini London Marathon. The sun shone, there was a real community spirit and we were so proud of everyone who competed in the race and gained a London Mini Marathon medal!
Daya R (Year 4) was interviewed by BBC Sport and several more of our pupils featured in media coverage of the day. It was clear to see that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event.
We are delighted that so many families took up the opportunity to be involved in this special day and hope that many young runners have been inspired for the future.
Lower School Harvest Assemblies
It was super to see our Nursery children perform this week at their harvest assembly on Wednesday. The children of Robins and Wrens sang their harvest songs enthusiastically and were all very brave to perform in front of such a packed room of adults for the first time!
On Thursday, the Reception classes (Kingfishers and Owls) presented their harvest performance. They reminded us how lucky we are to live in a country that is able to produce so much food through farming, and how grateful we should be to the farmers at this harvest time of year. They then went on to consider the importance of thinking of others less fortunate and of sharing our food with them. Each child spoke individual lines and there were group poems and songs performed with gusto.
Today, Year 1 finished off the Lower School harvest assemblies with their confident and tuneful performance all about the word HARVEST. They noted that the letters of HARVEST can also be used to make the words STARVE and SHARE, reminding us that we should be thankful for our own food and be sure to share it with those who do not have enough. The singing in this assembly was particularly impressive.
Very well done to all of the children involved and a big thank you to all of the families and staff who gave such generous harvest donations. These are being distributed by the Salvation Army to those in need in our local area.
Year 2 Stone Age Studies
Our Year 2 children had a wonderful immersion day all about the Stone Age on Tuesday to enhance their understanding of their history topic. They all came to school dressed in amazing homemade Stone Age costumes and took part in many activities such as cave painting, foraging in the park, collage making, pebble painting, mystery food tasting, using clay and even Stone Age maths!
On Wednesday, they further enriched their learning with a visit to the Chiltern Open Air Museum, where they took part in shelter building, bracelet making, charcoal face painting, lighting fires and den building. We were proud to receive very positive praise from the Chiltern Open Air Museum for the children's exemplary behaviour during the trip.
You can see some photographs of Year 2 enjoying their Stone Age studies on our Galleries page here.
Year 6 Trip to Denham Country Park
Year 6 enjoyed a beautifully sunny day for their geography trip on Thursday and enhanced their learning about rivers by river dipping and measuring different river data.
They also enjoyed a scenic walk in Denham Country Park and were able to identify rural and urban features of the park. The children found freshwater shrimp and a variety of invertebrates in the river and identified them using magnifying glasses. Everyone got wet, had fun and learnt lots about the geography topic!
Sports News
On Monday every pupil in Years 5 and 6 represented St. Helen's College in either netball or football in friendly fixtures at Highgate School. This was a lovely opportunity for every child to engage with representative sport for the school.
Our Year 4 children have thoroughly enjoyed their week of swimming. Their confidence in the water has been a joy to behold. Year 3 children will be swimming each afternoon next week.
School At Work Open Morning - Wednesday 12th October
Next Wednesday is our first Open Morning of the year for prospective parents. Our Year 6 children will be guiding tours at Upper School on this day. There are now very limited appointments left available. If you know of any family who may be interested in visiting us on the day, please ask them to contact us to book in for an appointment, either by telephone or by email at susmith@sthelenscollege.com.
Recipe Cards - Orange
This year, the children of St. Helen's College will be encouraged to 'eat a rainbow', with a monthly colour theme on displays in dining areas. October's colour is Orange and Soula, our chef, has provided these recipe cards for parents in case you would like to make some orange food at home with your children!
Posted on: 30/09/2022Weekly News - Friday 30th September 2022
Yesterday we celebrated St. Helen's Day at school, which is when we think about the history of our school and about St. Helen, after whom we are named. During the day, pupils in Years 2-6 attended a special afternoon assembly at which Old Helenian Ishil Mehta spoke about life at St. Helen's College many years ago. The pupils also had the opportunity to ask Mrs. Crehan questions about what life was like at St. Helen's College when she lived here as a child and in the days when Mr. and Mrs. Crehan were the joint Heads of the school.
Our new pupil leadership team gave a presentation about the history of the school, Year 5 performed a chant about St. Helen herself and we had a super performance from Minaya W on the piano. Many thanks indeed to all those involved.
In the evening, we held a drinks reception for Old Helenians and current and ex-staff. Some of our Year 6 pupils gave musical performances and tours for alumni who were keen to see how the school has changed over the years. Our guests also enjoyed perusing the history boards with old photographs, school reports and more. It is always wonderful to see old pupils return and super that they are so interested in what is going on at the school now.
Upper School Harvest Festival
Today pupils in Years 2 - 6 attended All Saints Church for our annual Harvest Festival service. Our Year 5 pupils led the service with poems and readings to remind us of all that we have to be thankful for at this special time of year. There were many parents in attendance and, as ever, the St. Helen's College community was extremely generous with donations of food. These will be given to the local Salvation Army for distribution amongst those in need in our local community. Thank you all very much for your generosity.
The Lower School will also be celebrating Harvest next week and parents are warmly invited to watch your children's Harvest performances and to bring in donations a day or two before your child's event. The dates and times are as follows.
Nursery:
Wednesday 5th October 8.45 a.m.
Harvest Assembly at Methodist Church
Reception:
Thursday 6th October 8.45 a.m.
Harvest Assembly at Methodist Church
Year 1:
Friday 7th October 8.45 a.m.
Harvest Assembly at Methodist Church
Trips and Visits
It has been a busy week of activities to enrich the children's learning.
Year 3 visited St. Albans on Monday, where their history knowledge about The Romans was certainly expanded through a tour and workshops.
On Thursday, our Reception children took a trip to Odds Farm, during which they enhanced their learning about their 'On The Farm' topic.
Also on Thursday, the Year 4 classes enjoyed visiting workshops themed around Ancient Greece to bring history to life.
Our Nursery children today had the chance to join a live webcast through Scholastic of Julia Donaldson reading her latest book 'The Baddies' and Axel Scheffler drawing pictures for the book. They also had a singalong with Julia Donaldson with some of her familiar songs.
Month End Music Recital
Very well done to the many children who performed at our first informal music recital of the academic year this afternoon. Thank you to the parents who came along to support and celebrate your children's musicality. What a lovely way to start the weekend!
News From The Library
The Upper School library marked St Helen's Day with a number of quizzes for all years which celebrated this literary corner of school! Children enjoyed an acrostic St. Helen's Day quiz, solving clues that showed them how well they have been learning their way around the library shelves. Even the youngest years grappled a little with the Dewey Decimal system!
It was a very busy library session; in fact it has been a week of many quizzes, with more to come next week with a quiz set by Ayla A in Year 6.
Interested Year 6 pupils are reminded to apply by Monday for the role of Student Librarians. These students work one shift a week to assist in the running of the library at lunchtimes. All Year 6 pupils are encouraged to reply; an interest in reading is really helpful and readers of all abilities are welcome. Listening and organisational skills are valued too! Pupils should email Mrs Emanuel a few sentences about why they would like to be a librarian, their current clubs and a few sentences about a book they have recently enjoyed reading and why.
TCS London Mini Marathon: Tomorrow
We are delighted that so many families and staff have signed up for the TCS Mini London Marathon tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you there. Timings for the event are:
12.00 p.m. Reception & Year 1
12.30 p.m. Years 2 - 6
If you have not already done so, please read carefully through this information about the day. Please remember that parents remain responsible for their children throughout the event. Your child should wear their school PE kit; although there is no official meeting point, this will make it possible for St. Helen's College families to spot each other more easily.
Walk To School Fortnight: 3rd - 14th October
The last two weeks of this half term will be 'Walk To School Fortnight' for our Year 2 - 6 children. Every child will be given a loyalty card, which will be stamped by our Junior Travel Ambassadors for each day that the child walks to school. If your child is unable to walk to school, they can also achieve a stamp by walking five laps of the playground before school each day. Children will need to arrive at school in good time (by 8.15 a.m. at the absolute latest) in order to complete their laps and earn their stamp.
The class with the most stamps at the end of the fortnight will receive a certificate and some extra play time too. No doubt there will be fierce competition amongst the classes for this coveted prize!
We hope that you will join us in encouraging the children to walk to school during the final two weeks of the half term, or to earn their stamps by walking the playground laps. You can find a fun Walk to School booklet here and a Walk From Home activity sheet here to help make your walk to school fun!
You can also find our St. Helen's College Walk Zone map here.
St. Helen's College Trust
The St. Helen's College Trust (Registered Charity Number: 1196657) is an independent charity which exists to promote educational opportunities and all-round development of children aged 0-11 in Hillingdon and the surrounding areas. The charity was established last year and we are delighted that St. Helen's College parents have been generous in their support of it so far.
We are pleased to report that, this week, the charity's Trustees approved applications for grants from local charitable bodies for the following:
Ickenham Youth FC: Funds to set up an U6/U7 girls' football team. The money will be used to train coaches and buy equipment so that even more girls in the local area will be able to play football in an inclusive club from a young age.
Home Start Hillingdon: Funds to train volunteers in their spring training programme. Home Start volunteers assist families with children aged 0-5 who are struggling. Volunteers provide emotional and practical support and signpost families to further services where appropriate.
Hillingdon Basketball Club: Funds to buy equipment and t-shirts for youth members, to encourage a sense of community and to encourage children to return to the club and be ever more active.
The Trustees will be carrying out impact assessments in due course to monitor the impact of grants awarded.
The charity is inviting grant applications on a rolling basis. The criteria for grant applications is wide: the only restrictions are that funds applied for must be used for the direct benefit of children aged 0-11 (whether individuals or groups) in Hillingdon and the surrounding areas and that the charity cannot approve grants to be spent on educational equipment or services that should be provided by the Local Authority. If you do know of any group or individual who might like to apply for funds, please direct them to the simple online application form here.
Charity Climb
Many congratulations to Ali (1R) and Hassan (Robins), who completed a sponsored climb last weekend up Northala Hills.
The brothers were raising money for Al Ayn Social Care Foundation who care for over 82000 orphaned children in Iraq.
The two boys started this with a small group of their friends aged 2-6 last year and this year they have raised over £8000! It costs £55 per month to sponsor an orphan in Iran, so this will go a long way. The boys hope to make this a yearly endeavour.
Well done, Ali and Hassan, it is always wonderful to see pupils involved in charity work - your efforts will make a big difference.
Posted on: 30/09/2022St. Helen's Day by Mrs. Crehan
Yesterday we celebrated St. Helen's Day - a time to remember our school history in our 98th year.
The children in Years 2 - 6 congregated in the Windsor Garden for an assembly in the afternoon. We had an ex-pupil, Ishil Mehta, reminiscing on the time Mr. Crehan pursued a burglar down Parkway to retrieve a cassette player that was stolen through an open window during the school day. He didn't tell us much about his own life but he is a very successful businessman who is a trustee of the St. Helen's College Trust.
The Year 5 pupils sang us a song which Mrs. Smith and I wrote specially for St. Helen's Day a few years ago about the life of St. Helen herself.
The Head Girl/Boy team gave us the whole history of the school referring to a wonderful display, created by Mrs. Pruce, of photographs of St. Helen's College from 1924 to the present day.
I then told the children a few anecdotes from when our family moved into Cambria when my mother, Mrs Evans, took over the school from the second Head, Mrs. Hempstead, when I was 11 years old. I was remembering that at that time there were no administrative staff and no office. If I or my brother or sister were off school through illness, we had to run down the stairs from our sickbeds, in view of the children who were in a class which is now the library, to answer the phone and take details of prospective pupils. It was very different in those days! The children then asked further questions about what it was like 50ish years ago.
We then had a wonderful event for the alumni and past teachers in the evening. Our present pupils were performing as background music and then leading tours around the school to show the alumni the changes since their day, and also what hasn't changed.
The alumni have all done so well! We had a female professional footballer, a female engineer working on HS2, Oxford and Cambridge university students and a graphic designer who told us that her sister who would have come but was still at work as a BBC climate-change journalist looking into some ecological disaster which has affected the health of people abroad and is being denied by the authorities. And there were many more amazing careers our alumni are now involved in. Hopefully St. Helen's College can claim their good starts which have led to where they are today. We were encouraging them to spread the word to other Old Helenians amongst their family and friends - and they still know many - that we will be having a big celebration for our centenary in two years.
We had many ex-staff who attended including the very first Deputy Head, who used to call Mr. Crehan 'The Boy' when he first started as Head, because he was the youngest member of staff. Mr. McLaughlin said to her, 'I have your room' and she responded, 'I didn't have a room!'
So a great day was had remembering our St. Helen's College family past and present, which is growing by the year and of whom we are so proud!
Mrs. Crehan
Posted on: 23/09/2022Weekly News - Friday 23rd September 2022
STEAM Day
There has been such an atmosphere of purposeful and joyful learning across the school today as children have spent our annual STEAM Day discovering new things through hands-on workshops and interactive sessions.
At Ducklings, children had the opportunity to experience a range of STEAM activities and they particularly enjoyed investigating the sights and sounds of fizzing bath bombs and launching some spectacular footpump rockets.
At Lower School, the children were visited by 'The Sublime Science Team' and thoroughly enjoyed taking part in a range of exciting workshops, exploring slime making, 'climate chaos', forces, pressure, touch and smell. The Lower School children also experienced a carousel of technology, engineering, arts and maths activities throughout the day. They had great fun with 3D sculptures, nature art, giant marble runs, bubble blowing, coding, musical drawing and more.
At Upper School, two Old Helenians visited to inspire current pupils with talks and workshops focussing on invention, robotics, structure building and micro-bits. The pupils also enjoyed 'exploding art' sessions, tower building, workshops with Glencar Construction, virtual reality immersion and much more.
It was clear to see, across the school, that the children experienced many of those 'lightbulb moments' which really do inspire an ongoing love for learning and passion to take their experiments even further. We know that they will apply all that they have learnt today in their ongoing education and, no doubt, will remember the excitement and joy involved in discovering something new!
Thank you to everyone involved in organising and running this special day, including our parent helpers. It was a real community effort.
You can see photographs of the pupils enjoying their STEAM Day activities on our Galleries page.
New House Captains
Hustings have taken place this week for House Captains and Sports Captains for each of our four new houses, and the Year 6 children who applied for the positions made some excellent speeches to their houses before all of the children and staff in each house cast their votes. Well done to everyone involved. The elected Captains are:
House Captains
Caledonia - Arshvir S and Shriya K
Cambria - Lavanya B and Burhan P
Hibernia - Inaya S and Aman B
Windsor - Anaya S and Gabriel K
Sports Captains
Caledonia - Anaiya B and Malek C
Cambria - Poppy H and Oli K
Hibernia - Ayla A and Nayan P
Windsor - Minaya W and Albert H
We look forward to seeing how the House and Sports Captains will lead and inspire their houses over the coming year.
Author Visit - Mini Grey
On Thursday we had a fantastic author visit from the renowned writer and illustrator, Mini Grey. She presented her latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth, to all the children in Years 2, 3 and 4.
Mini took us on a 4.6 billion year journey through time with interactive timelines, many wonderful creatures and even a draw-along masterclass at the end!
This was followed by a book signing in the library, where the children were able to meet and speak with Mini.
Books are still available (for all pupils) and will come with a signed bookplate. You can order your copies here.
The deadline for ordering is 5pm on Sunday 25th September and the books will be given to your child at school next week. We look forward to more exciting author events in the future.
Plastic Free Schools
We are pleased that St. Helen's College has now completed Objective 3 for 'Plastic Free Schools'. Armaan V wrote a letter to our local MP (who was then Prime Minister) highlighting the need for a change in plastic use and asking for his assistance. We are awaiting a response!
We now move on to Objective 4: Challenge the Industry. Pupils will contact the companies responsible for plastic packaging and use the power of their voice to call for change.
Harvest Festivals
As ever, we will be celebrating Harvest with Harvest Festival events at school. Children are invited to bring in donations of non-perishable food items, which will be given to the local Salvation Army for distribution amongst those in need. We suggest that these are combined into a simple basket or suitably covered cardboard box.
We would be grateful if your child would bring their donations in one or two days before their Harvest event. The dates for the events are as follows and parents are warmly invited to attend the event for your year group:
Years 2 - 6:
Friday 30th September 9 a.m.
Harvest Festival Service at All Saints Church
Nursery:
Wednesday 5th October 8.45 a.m.
Harvest Assembly at Methodist Church
Reception:
Thursday 6th October 8.45 a.m.
Harvest Assembly at Methodist Church
Year 1:
Friday 7th October 8.45 a.m.
Harvest Assembly at Methodist Church
Nursery, Reception and Year 1 Parents' Evenings
Parents' evenings for Nursery, Reception and Year 1 will take place on Tuesday 4th October (in-person) and Thursday 13th October (remote).
Bookings for these are now open. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account to book your meeting.
Thames Valley Cavaliers - Free Tickets for St. Helen's College Pupils This Weekend
Basketball team Thames Valley Cavaliers are playing two games this weekend and our pupils are invited to attend to watch them for free. Details are on the flyers attached - you just need to let the table know (at arrival) that you are St. Helen's College pupils to get free entry for the children.
Saturday TVC Match Flyer
Sunday TVC Match Flyer
TCS Mini London Marathon
We are delighted that so many families and staff have signed up for the TCS Mini London Marathon. We will receive confirmed timings for the event early next week and will send these out to parents as soon as we receive them. In the meantime, if you have not already done so, please read carefully through this information about the day, which was sent to parents by email this week.
Walk To School Fortnight: 3rd - 14th October
The last two weeks of this half term will be 'Walk To School Fortnight' for our Year 2 - 6 children. Each child will be given a loyalty card, which will be stamped by our Junior Travel Ambassadors for each day that the child walks to school. If your child is unable to walk to school, they can also achieve a stamp by walking five laps of the playground before school each day. Children will need to arrive at school in good time (by 8.15 a.m. at the absolute latest) in order to complete their laps and earn their stamp.
The class with the most stamps at the end of the fortnight will receive a certificate and some extra play time too. No doubt there will be fierce competition amongst the classes for this coveted prize!
We hope that you will join us in encouraging the children to walk to school during the final two weeks of the half term, or to earn their stamps by walking the playground laps.
October Half Term Holiday Club
Bookings will open on Friday, 30th September for our half term Holiday Club sessions. Please login to your SchoolsBuddy account and book early to secure your child's place.
Brilliant Parents: Emotional Resilience Lunch and Learn Webinar
Brilliant Parents are hosting a free ‘Lunch and Learn’ Webinar for parents in Hillingdon Borough on building emotional resilience with children.
Friday 30th September
12.30 – 1.30 p.m.
Samantha Abraham will deliver her expertise online and towards the end there will be an opportunity to ask questions if you wish to. Parents can register for this event using the link below.
Building Emotional Resilience Event Registration
Home-Start Hillingdon
Home-Start Hillingdon, a charity based at All Saints Church on Long Lane, are recruiting for their next volunteer preparation course which will begin on 7th October and run on a Friday for 9 weeks.
Home-Start work with local families who have at least one child under 5 and who are finding things tough. The charity trains and manages volunteers to support families who are struggling with issues including post-natal depression, isolation and managing difficult personal circumstances. Some members of St. Helen's College staff have been Home-Start volunteers and it can be a very meaningful and rewarding role to take on.
There is some information about the role of a Home-Start volunteer here.
The flyer about the next volunteer training course is here.
If any parent would like to apply to train as a Home-Start volunteer, you can contact the Hillingdon branch at: office@homestart-hillingdon.org.uk or by telephoning 01895 252804.
Hillingdon's Trees for Streets
Hillingdon Borough Council are working with Trees for Streets to encourage residents to sponsor a street tree. In doing so, you can help to:
- fight climate change and pollution
- improve the health of everyone in the neighbourhood
- leave a legacy that will last for generations
- create a haven for wildlife
- make your street a nicer place to live.
You can find out more here.
Posted on: 16/09/2022Weekly News - Friday 16th September 2022
Author Visit - Mini Grey
On Thursday 22nd September, we will welcome multi award-winning author/illustrator Mini Grey to St. Helen's College to present to our children in Years 2, 3 and 4.
Mini will take pupils on a whistle stop tour through the story of life on Earth - all 4.6 billion years of it! Children will be introduced to the amazing creatures which have evolved on our planet and the events - including mass extinctions - which have caused chaos.
To pre-order copies of her latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth, ready to be signed and dedicated at school on the day, please click the link below and place your order through Chiltern Bookshops by 5 p.m. on Wednesday 21st September:
https://schools.chilternbookshops.co.uk/events/mini-grey/
Orders placed in time will automatically be delivered free to St. Helen's College for your child to bring home.
STEAM Day
Next Friday (23rd September) we will hold our annual STEAM Day.
The children will be off timetable and will take part in a range of activities covering Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Maths.
Pupils should wear PE kit as they will have an active day. Co-curricular clubs will run as usual.
New House Competitions!
This week the children in Years 2 - 6 attended their first house assemblies with their new groups. They were introduced to their new pupil and staff teams amid much anticipation. Here is a reminder of our new house names, colours and House Leaders for this year:
Cambria (Red - Mrs. Hunt)
Caledonia (Blue - Mr. Lewis)
Hibernia (Green - Mr. McLaughlin)
Windsor (Yellow - Mr. Harrington)
To launch the new house groups, the children have been asked to take part in a competition to design a house shield and mascot. Form teachers have the templates; entries should be returned to them by September 30th. Each entry will gain house points for their team and the winners will be displayed on our new house boards. We look forward to an exciting first year with our four houses and a keenly contested House Cup competition too!
Rearranged Dates
Just a reminder for parents of upcoming events, some of which were rearranged due to the period of mourning following the Queen's death.
Monday 19th September
SCHOOL CLOSED
Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Tuesday 20th September
Individual Lower School pupil photographs (optional sibling photographs from 7.40 a.m. at the Methodist Church Hall)
Co-Curriculum clubs start
Year 5/6 Meet the Teacher Evening at Upper School
Wednesday 21st September
Individual Ducklings pupil photographs from 9.00 a.m. at Ducklings
Year 1 Phonics & Maths Evening at Lower School
Year 2 Phonics & Maths Evening at Upper School
Thursday 22nd September
Individual Upper School pupil photographs (optional sibling photographs from 7.40 a.m. in the Upper School Hall)
Year 2-4 author visit (during morning lessons)
Friday 23rd September
STEAM Day
Parents are reminded to check the school calendar regularly for information about events.
Co-Curricular Clubs
Co-curricular clubs will begin on Tuesday 20th September. Allocations were sent to parents during this week. Please remember that, once you have signed your child up to a club and they have been allocated a place, the school is unable to make changes to the allocations or issue refunds.
We are looking forward to a busy and fun term with so many different clubs and activities on offer!
Supporting Children With Grief
National Online Safety have published a guide with tips for supporting children in dealing with grief. As we all continue to focus on the death of Queen Elizabeth II and her upcoming funeral, this may be useful for you in discussing bereavement with your children. It is available here.
Polio Booster Vaccination Programme
Following the detection of polio virus in sewage samples taken from North and East London, the NHS is offering all 1-9 year olds in London a polio booster vaccination. For some children this may be an extra dose of polio vaccine on top of their routine vaccinations. In other children it may just bring them up to date.
Polio is an infection caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system and can cause permanent paralysis of muscles. Because of the success of the polio vaccination programme, there have been no cases of natural polio infection in the UK since 1984. By giving an extra polio vaccine dose, this will boost each child’s protection.
Please read this NHS letter carefully and follow the NHS advice.
School at Work Open Morning - Wednesday 12th October
Our next 'School at Work' Open Morning for prospective parents will take place on Wednesday 12th October. This is a lovely opportunity for prospective parents to view the school and meet the pupils and staff on a normal day.
If you know of any family who are considering private education for their child, please do let them know about the event. Visits on Open Morning are by appointment only; prospective parents can book an appointment by calling the school office on 01895 234371 or emailing susmith@sthelenscollege.com.
Posted on: 16/09/2022Nurturing Our Youngsters
This week I was quite shocked to learn that there are 260 million children around the world who are not in any form of education and 175 million who are not enrolled in any form of pre-primary education.
An interview piece in the TES with Sarah Brown, the founder and chair of global education charity Theirworld, talks about the importance of teachers. Ms Brown says, "I don’t think there’s a person who has success in their lives that doesn’t credit some of that back to a teacher."
The first two weeks of this academic year have been such a pleasure in school as I have breathed in the joy that your children create on a daily basis with their thirst for learning and their willingness to embrace all the experiences each day. However, I would like to add to what Ms Brown states and say that, "I don’t think there’s a person who has success in their lives that doesn’t credit some of that back to a member of the school staff team."
As parents you have chosen St. Helen’s College as your child’s school, investing in your child’s future, and for this we are most grateful. However, the success of your children is also testament to the support you give them at home and to every adult who interacts with them as part of the St. Helen’s College family. Many of our pupils have been with us since they were aged 2 or 3, enjoying the best possible start in life with a wide range of experiences.
The research from ‘Theirworld’ includes these observations:
90% of a child’s brain development takes place between birth and the age of five.
This is why the five elements of nurturing care – health, nutrition, play, learning and protection – are so important for early childhood education and development.
Early years education and development can help identify a child’s learning needs early on, improve their socialisation and set them on the road to reaching their full potential.
Your children are fortunate to have incredibly supportive families and a team of staff who nurture them on a daily basis. The relationship between home and school is crucial. This is why we enlighten parents about how you can support your children in their development in regular meetings throughout the year.
The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) is called such for a reason - it lays the foundation of development for your children to enable them to thrive. The social and emotional aspect is the most important area of learning in very young children and creates the pathway for future learning and development.
Some of you may also have viewed some of our ‘Teddy Talks’ on our ‘Pre-School Parenting’ tab on our school website. They are there to help families with common aspects of raising your children. Our staff have a diverse range of expertise in many areas and sharing this is helpful to our current and prospective parents. If you have never visited our Pre-Parenting area then please do so - you may find some of it very helpful.
I am proud to be the Head of St. Helen’s College and to have such an incredibly skilled and committed staff who all have the best interests of your children at the heart of all that they do, whether that be the teaching or support staff. The relationship between home and school is key and it is this unique partnership which creates the haven of harmony for your children to thrive each and every day.
Ms Drummond
Posted on: 9/09/2022Weekly News - Friday 9th September 2022
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
We have held special assemblies across the school today to commemorate the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our Union Jack flags are flying at half mast and will continue to do so throughout the ten days of mourning. During this time, school events are postponed and new dates for these will be sent to parents in due course.
Sorrow and grief affect all of us in different ways. Please be assured that, if your children have any questions or are feeling sad, we are here to listen and support them. A valuable resource to help children deal with bereavement can be found here and more resources for supporting children's mental health are available here.
St. Helen's College Winners in National Handwriting Contest
Many congratulations to the four St. Helen's College pupils who were awarded prizes in the Satips national handwriting contest, and particularly to Tiffany and Abir who are NATIONAL CHAMPIONS in their age groups!
1st Place: Tiffany T (Year 3)
1st Place: Abir G (Year 2)
2nd Place: Avleen P(Year 3)
2nd Place: Amariah O-A (Year 2)
Well done to all of the children who entered the competition.
Junior Olympiad Maths Award
Zakariya M (Year 5) received a distinction in the UKMT Junior Olympiad with a score of 44. He will receive a silver medal and book prize for this outstanding achievement.
Trinity Arts Award
Congratulations to our Year 5 pupils, who have been awarded the Trinity Arts Award which they worked towards last year in their music lessons.
Commonwealth Karate Competition
Good luck to the Year 6 St. Helen's College pupils who will be competing in a Commonwealth Karate Competition this weekend: Myla K, Inaya S and Dylan C and to Kylah O-A, who left us in July at the end of her Year 6 and will also be part of the team.
Music Lessons
If your child is interested in learning a musical instrument, please use this form to register their interest and to be added to the waiting list. Mrs. Fawbert will contact you directly once a space is available.
London Mini-Marathon - 1st October
All pupils from Reception to Year 6 will this year be able to take part in the NEW TCS Mini London Marathon, taking place in Westminster on Saturday 1st October.
This is a one mile event for children the day before the world-famous TCS London Marathon. It’s a chance for your children to run, jog, walk or wheel by Buckingham Palace and cross the very same finish line as the world’s best athletes. Every child who finishes will receive a special TCS Mini London Marathon medal and our school will receive £10 per finisher to spend on PE or IT equipment too.
Thank you to all of those parents who have already signed up. It is not too late to do so - simply complete the Google form which was emailed to you recently. The deadline for responses has been extended to Friday 16th September. Provisional timings for the event are 11 a.m. - 1.20 p.m. although these are yet to be confirmed. We will let parents know as soon as we have confirmation of exact timings.
Autumn Term Co-Curricular Activities
We would like to remind parents that the deadline for submitting your child's preferences for this term's co-curricular activities is this Sunday, 11th September. Club allocations will be sent out to parents at the end of next week.
PA Class Representatives 2022-2023
The St. Helen's College Parents' Association is made up of parent volunteers and does a wonderful job of arranging social events to draw the community together. The PA Committee and class representatives work hard all year and we are very grateful for their time and input. Here is the list of class representatives for this year.
Ducklings: Shirel Amin
Robins: Fatima Al-Ruhaimi & Simmie Gill
Wrens: Atiyeh Ardakanian
Owls: Lisa Patel
Kingfishers: Tayiba Qureshi
1C: Reena Patel
1R: Nipa Patel
2H: Zoya Sadiq
2R: Ciara Banerji
3B: Rajni Gupta
3M: Misba Malik
4L: Sejal Patel
4T: Sima Sandal
5A: Suchita Patel & Nikkie O'Halloran
5G: Indy Lachhar
6B: Zoya Sadiq
6R: Vacant
If any parent from 6R would like to volunteer to act as class rep this year, please contact pa@sthelenscollege.com.
The committee and representatives meet with Ms Drummond and other senior leaders at school once a term to discuss matters of whole school relevance. If you do have any comments or suggestions about matters which affect pupils/parents throughout the school, please feel free to send them to your class representative for discussion at the next meeting. Matters relevant to specific class or year groups should be directed to the class teacher.
Pakistan Floods Appeal
As parents will know, devastating floods have hit Pakistan, submerging vast areas of land and leaving 6 million people in need of urgent help. According to the government of Pakistan, a third of the country - equivalent to an area the size of the UK - is underwater, in what the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called a "climate catastrophe". Whole villages have been cut off, with rescuers struggling to reach them. At least 1,200 people have been killed and 12,577 injured.
Aid agencies are scrambling to respond to meet people’s basic needs such as food, clean water and shelter, and the government of Pakistan has called for international assistance to provide humanitarian aid.
Huge areas of agricultural land have been affected, with crops swept away and three quarters of a million livestock killed, which will mean many people going hungry in the longer term. There is also a high risk from water-borne diseases spreading in affected areas.
DEC charities are providing life-saving aid either directly or through local partners. But they urgently need more funds to reach more people.
£10 could provide essential hygiene supplies for two people
£50 could provide emergency shelter for two families
£100 could provide emergency food for two families for a month
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so via the DEC website appeal at:
https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/pakistan-floods-appeal.
We will be educating the children at school about this catastrophe and the urgent need to support those affected.
Roblox - Online Safety Information
National Online Safety have issued this useful guide for parents and carers, which covers online safety for the popular video game Roblox.
Uniform/Hair Reminders
We would like to remind parents that blazers are a required part of both the winter and summer uniform for all children from Reception to Year 6. Please ensure that your child has a clean, smart blazer with them every day. Games/PE kits should only be worn on PE days.
Long hair must be tied back neatly and hair cuts should be appropriate, with no obvious shaving or gelling.
ISI Consultation
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is currently consulting on proposals for its new inspection framework. This will be introduced in September 2023, at the start of the next inspection cycle. The proposed framework builds on the strengths of ISI’s current framework, while providing the opportunity to review and develop inspection practice.
The consultation closes on Friday 16th September 2022 and ISI are keen to hear parents' views. Please visit www.framework.isi.net to read about their proposals and complete the survey. You do not have to answer every question or complete the free text boxes, but please make sure to click on the ‘submit’ button once you have finished.
Category / All Articles
Categories
Archive
