Our Governors and Staff

Our Governors

Principals and Governors                  
Mr. D. A. Crehan  (Chair of Governors)
BSc  BA  MSc  MEd C.Phys  ARCS                          

Mrs. G. R. Crehan                   
BA  MA  PGCE                                                          

Governors
Miss L. Beckett Cert Ed                                            
Mr. D. Crehan BA GDL BPTC                                
Mr. J.  Crehan BSc MSc Chartered MCSI QTS      

Our Staff

Senior Leadership Team

Head
Mrs. S. Drummond  BEd (Hons) PGCert MLDP FFCT       

Deputy Head
Mr. A. McLaughlin  BA PGCE
                                      
Head of Lower School
Mrs. L. Hunt Mont Dip  BEd   

Director of Studies
Mr. M. Lewis BSc PGCE

Director of Co-Curriculum
Miss S Walker  BSc QTS

Director of Administration 
Mrs. S. Smith  BA, CAMDIS

Teaching Staff                  

Form Teachers
Mrs. N. Mann BA  PGCE  ​
Miss M. Carmichael  BA                       
Miss S. Joiner BA                                             
Ms J. Matthews BSc PGCE Early Years Lead, Deputy DSL
Miss A Cooper  BEd RS Lead
Mrs. L Hunt Mont Dip BEd             
Mrs. L Califano BA                                          

Mrs. L. Hussein BEd                             
Mr. J. Bustard BSc                                           
Mrs. P. McLaughlin BA  PSHCE Lead
Mrs. S.J. Belvoir BEd History Lead
Mrs. K. Thompson BEd                            
Mr. D. Tovell BA PGCE AfL Coordinator
Mrs. R.J. Allery GTCL  LTCL  PGCE Director of Music 
Mrs. E. Gilham BTec  BSc  PGCE Science Lead
Mr. A. McLaughlin BA PGCE English/Drama 
Mrs. Rance BA PGCE Maths Lead

Specialist and Cover Teachers

Art      
Miss A. Dear DipEd Art Lead

MFL    
Mrs. T.M. Stark BA PGCE  MFL  Lead
Mr C. Aguiar  BA PGCE   

Drama
Mrs. L. Moore  BTec Dip. Perf. Arts   

PE      
Mr. M. Dyson Cert. PE                     
Miss S Walker  BSc QTS PE/Games & Geography Lead
Miss S Ward  BA, PGCE                   
Miss E Barham  BTec Dip. Sport         

ICT     
Mr. M. Lewis BSc PGCE ICT Lead 

Music  
Miss H Collier BMus PGCE  Violin
Mr. T. Chan BMus PGDip  Guitar
Mrs. E Edwards BMus PGCE  Music
Mr. G. Knox BMus  DipRCM  PGDip Piano
Mr. I. Lynch DipRAM Trumpet
Mrs. J. Maclean HNC  BA  LTCL  Cello
Mrs. K. Nash MMus GRSM LRAM  Violin
Mrs. K Stubbs GCTL LTL ARCM  Flute 
Mrs M. Garnes BA  Choir, clarinet

Special Needs
Mrs. D. Hopkins BAEd NASENCo                    
Mrs. N. Mann BA  PGCE                                                                       

Ducklings Staff

Miss C. Diogo NVQ3 ,EYFound.Deg.            
Mrs. C. McGee NVQ3, EYFound.Deg.            
Miss A. Burksfield NVQ3                         
Miss M. Douglas NVQ3                         
Miss K. Hill NVQ3                         
Mrs. B. Purewal NVQ2                         

Teaching and Learning Assistants (TALAs)         

Lower School 
Miss K Bundy NVQ3                         
Mrs. E. Coyle CACHE3                    
Miss E Davies BEd                             
Miss H. Durkin BA                              
Mrs C O’Mahoney NVQ3                                     
Miss L. Eaver NVQ3                         
Mrs. S. Lawrence NNEB/NVQ3              
Mrs K. Neri PGCE                         
Miss J. Williams BA                              
Mrs. L. Coker NVQ3                         
Mrs. V. Edgson NNEB                         
Mrs. V. Harker NVQ3                         
Miss G. Oakshott NVQ3                         
Mrs. R. Place NNEB                         
Ms S. Thomas NVQ3                         

Upper School
Mrs. S. Schlachter CACHE2                    
Miss C. Heath  BA                              
Mrs. S. Hill NVQ3                         
Mrs. S. Smith  NVQ4                         
Mrs. J. Brooker  CACHE3                    
Mrs. K. Mahesaratnam BA                              
Mrs. T. Parker  NVQ3                         
Mrs. R. Place  NNEB      

Non-Teaching Staff                           

Business Manager
Mrs. S. Cargill                                                                        

Finance Manager
Mrs F. Bool  Dip. Business Management   

Finance Assistant
Mrs J. Golis  MA, ACCA                             

IT Manager
Mr. P. Puchinszki                                                       

Librarians
Mrs. E. Smith  HND                                       
Mrs. S. Emanuel  BA                                          

School Secretary
Mrs. S. Clements                                                       

Office Assistant
Mrs. K. Rumney                                                         

Lower School Receptionist
Mrs. L. Rooney  HND                           

Welfare and Attendance Officer
Mrs N Wilcock L3 Paediatric First Aid           

Welfare Assistant
Mrs. T. Beale                                                             

Midday Supervisors

Lower School 
Mrs. J. Couto                                                             
Mrs. J Fong                                                                 
Mrs. S Daly                                                                 
Mrs. M. Moorfield                                                                   
Mrs. C. Shurety                                                          

Upper School 
Miss J. Brooks                                                           
Mrs. E. Bryce                                                             
Mrs. J. Hunter                                                            
Mrs. S. Hawkins                                                         

School Patrols
Mrs. J. Hunter                                                            
Mrs. J. Couto                                                                                

Funtasia

Mrs. S. Blackstone NVQ3                                     
Mrs. M Carmichael BA  Holiday Club Manager
Mrs. E. Coyle CACHE3                                
Miss E. Davies BEd                                        
Miss H. Durkin BA                                          
Miss K. Hill NVQ 3                        
Mrs. S. Lawrence NNEB/NVQ3 Funtasia Manager
Ms K. Mellon BTec                                       
Ms S. Moonshadow Dip Arch                     
Mrs. B. Patel  NVQ3                         
Ms S. Porteous NNEB                                     
Miss J. Williams BA                                          
Mr B. Jones                                                                
Miss A. Gilbey NVQ2, CACHE2   Funtasia Supervisor
Miss P Williams                                                         

Premises Manager   
Mr. C. Smith                                                               

Premises Assistants
Mr. G. Rizzo                                                               
Mr. K. Barnard                                                           

News

Posted on: 27/03/2020

Stay Connected

This is undoubtedly one of the hardest blogs I have ever attempted to write. Last night, as I joined with my neighbours and the entire nation to applaud the NHS, I was quite overwhelmed with emotion. This week has been like no other and I am sure you all feel the same. As yet, I have not actually been at home during the day and I am so grateful to have a routine of some form to my day, albeit ‘school’ has not been normal. We have had a small number of children attending each day, whose parents are our incredible key workers, and I am in awe of their resilience and adaptability. Our young Ducklings through to our Year 6 children have been so resilient as they have adapted to new classrooms, new staff and a very quiet  school, some of them not quite understanding where all their friends are. The staff in school have been just wonderful: support staff, TALAs and teachers all pulling together to make each day as happy and productive as possible for the children. You can see some photographs of the school this week on our Galleries page here.  I have also been able to join in class Google meets, during which children, working remotely, have touched base with their form teachers, and I have joined in on a guided reading session on World War II, a recorder lesson, Chamber Choir, story time and many more outstanding distance learning sessions throughout the week. Our teachers, working from home, have surpassed all expectations! Their enthusiasm and dedication this week has humbled me as they have supported each other, learning new skills and working tirelessly into the wee early hours to video lessons, upload resources, provide feedback and assess tasks the children have been working on.  Your children have been outstanding, and you as parents have been outstanding!  I know for many of you who are also working from home this week you must feel as though you have been put through the wringer, trying to support your children’s learning as well as adapting to your new routines of working from home.  The last thing we wish to do is to cause anxiety and stress for you all at home, so I would like to take this chance to say that the distance learning educational provision needs to be approached by each family as appropriate for you. This is only Week 1 of a journey which may be quite a long one and we need to treat it as a marathon rather than a sprint. I do think that your children are proving they are in good shape for this marathon, but we appreciate here at school that you must settle into a sustainable pace for the family. Yesterday I participated in a live webinar along with 160 other Head teachers and Bursars and we spoke with the Headteacher/CEO from the Kellet British International School in Hong Kong whose school is now on Day 41 of distance learning. They have learnt many lessons along their journey and have worked with their community of pupils, parents and staff to ensure that everyone is being looked after in such uncertain times. I felt quite gratified and proud of our St. Helen’s College community as we are only into Day 5 of our distance learning experience and already have so much in place which they did not have at the outset.  Wellbeing for everyone is paramount at the moment and it is so important, for children and adults alike, that we allow ourselves to acknowledge how we are feeling. Take time to notice the wobbles - they will happen to everyone I am sure, as we all live through something which none of us expected. It is how we respond to our wobbles that is important. Perhaps, by using the tools of mindfulness and bringing attention to our breath, we can try to find stillness as we acknowledge how our bodies and minds are feeling.   Your children already know so much about mindfulness and they will be able to teach you some of the practices which we do in assemblies - so I hope that you will be able to have some moments of quiet stillness every day with your family.  I have shared with you below a famous poem which is often recited in mindfulness circles; our current Year 6 have discussed the poem and understand the sentiment, not to resist the thoughts and emotions that pass through you but to meet them with courage, warmth and respect. Over the Easter holidays it may be very difficult for us all to negotiate the impacts of what is happening in our country and our world. Please do reach out to each other, staying connected by whatever means you can. Many of us are possibly grieving the old way of life from just a week ago but at the end of this we will, no doubt, value human contact even more.  If anyone is concerned about how their child or even an adult is coping then Mrs. Brooker, our ‘time to talk’ listener, is more than happy to be contacted. Parents all have our staff contact details. We will also be keeping in contact with you regularly over the holiday - as a community we will get through this together.  Below I have sign posted some additional sites which may be useful for you as parents to help your children cope and keep busy at this time.  Some top tips on how to talk to our children about Coronavirus: https://www.cwmt.org.uk/mental-health-coronavirus Opera I am sure like me you are being inundated with emails and posts on social media about things to do with your family whilst in lockdown, but I am delighted that the Royal Opera House will be streaming live and tonight's ‘Peter and the Wolf’ may be enjoyed by young and old! http://email.wordfly.com/view/?sid=ODBfNDg1NTRfMTI5OTcxN183MzQ5&l=708b7e31-646f-ea11-bd94-e61f134a8c87&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_March_Peter_and_the_Wolf_Countdown&utm_content=version_A&emailsource=49941 Theatre During the holidays I love to attend the theatre with my family and although it may not be possible to be there physically I am pleased that I may enjoy some productions - the link below provides information of shows which are live streaming. http://www.filmedonstage.com/news/76-free-musicals-and-plays-you-can-now-stream-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak-updating-daily Singing Competition I am sure many children are avidly rehearsing for the St. Helen's College annual Singers Competition next term - please keep encouraging them to do so, as this is an event which we are looking forward to very much.  Rainbow Trail During the Easter Holidays do encourage your children to become part of the Rainbow Trail - to share positivity families have been taking part in creative projects to display rainbows in their windows/gardens to stay connected with their community and spread positivity.  It would be wonderful to see some photos of the rainbows you create - here is our first one, from Mylo and Oliver O!             Free Audible Books In assembly on Thursday, we showed the children a site for free audio books during the school closure period. Here is the link: https://stories.audible.com/start-listen. The books come in different age categories and even include foreign language sections. It is a wonderful opportunity for the children to explore stories in a new and exciting way whilst boosting their vocabulary. Stay safe everyone; stay home but stay connected. Thank you all for being my extended family. Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 20/03/2020

Weekly News - Friday 20th March 2020

Scholarships We are thrilled to announce that our Year 6 pupils have performed extremely well in the independent school entrance processes. Following the 11+ entry assessments and interviews, they have been awarded the following scholarships. As you will see, it is an impressively long list! Many congratulations to all of these children, and to all of the other Year 6 children - we are so pleased that your hard work has been acknowledged in this way. Headington School Academic Scholarship - Catherine L Music Scholarship - Catherine L Long Close School Academic Scholarship - Taha U Merchant Taylors School Academic Scholarship - Daniel G-J Northwood College Academic Scholarship - Aarna A Academic Scholarship - Esha T Art Scholarship - Kaixin F Art Scholarship - Ridhima M Sport Scholarship - Rhea A-V Reddam House School Academic Scholarship - Ibraheem F Royal Masonic School All-Rounder Scholarship - Ridhima M St. Helen's School, Northwood Academic Scholarship - Aarna A Academic Scholarship - Ridhima M St. Mary's School Academic Scholarship - Jasmine B St. Paul's Girls' School Music Exhibitions for Flute and Voice - Catherine L Wycombe Abbey School Music Scholarship - Catherine L Music Personality of the Term The Musician of the Term trophy was awarded this term to Jasmine B, who has always worked conscientiously and demonstrated great enthusiasm over many years in all aspects of music at St. Helen's College. Jasmine has excellent music skills, applies and shares creative ideas well in class work, and has is an excellent role model within the music department as a music prefect. She has been a regular member of the Junior, Senior and Chamber Choirs and she regularly performs in assemblies and recitals. As well as playing the recorder fluently, Jasmine plays the piano and the guitar, and has recently taken her Grade 5 singing exam. Well done, Jasmine! PA Easter Egg Winners The following children won the PA Easter egg raffle today. Some of these children were not in school but don't worry - we will hold onto their prizes for them until we return! Ducklings - Alana P Robins - Aaria M Wrens - Nihaal P Kingfishers - Millie B  Owls - Caitlin P 1C - Avar D 1HC - Ashvika A 2B - Hana H 2H - Lachlan J 3B - India C 3M - Milo M 4KT - Nirvaan D 4T - Avaani M 5A - Jessica L 5G - Joban K 6M - Jai D 6RD - Aran C Many thanks to the PA for their generosity in donating these Easter prizes!   Outdoor Choir This week the Senior Choir took their musicality outdoors and delighted Accent staff, other pupils and staff (including catering staff) with a medley of Frozen songs. It was wonderful to see and hear such uplifting musicality around the Windsor Garden and playground.         Sports News Well done to the girls who played in the netball rally last Saturday. The team lost in the semi finals and were awarded bronze medals. They were also presented with gold medals and the cup for winning the league. Congratulations, girls.         Staff News We know that you will wish to join us in congratulating Ms Califano (1HC) who is expecting her second child! 
Posted on: 20/03/2020

Stronger Together

As a Headteacher and educator of over 30 years,   and all of my fellow colleagues in the profession have never faced anything quite like what our country and the world is facing. The St. Helen's College community - staff, parents and children - have all truly become united as we face the unknown in the following weeks. Our mental and physical health is going to be challenged and the importance of community must prevail. Please do keep in touch with each other by whatever means you are able to. I heard today that the National Trust have opened up all their sites free of charge to non-members - appreciating and enjoying open spaces and nature is something that any doctors would be prescribing to us all.  My daughter arrived home safely from university on Wednesday and last night she shared a post which she had come across on her instagram feed - it is rather poignant and so I am sharing 'Leila Stead's' words with you:                                     Take care everyone, and stay strong and calm for the children - this will pass and I look forward to seeing you all again in the very near future.  With my very best wishes to you all. Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 13/03/2020

Weekly News - March 13th 2020

Chess  Congratulations to Michael K from Year 6, who was the winner of the Delancey Chess Tournament; Michael received a lovely trophy and book voucher. Congratulations also to Marcus S and Alex S who both qualified for the Megafinal, which is due to take place over the Easter break. Wrens Assembly A budding group of scientists entered an amazing time machine and went back to the prehistoric era in the Wrens class assembly this week, where they met two paleontologists who introduced them to an array of fascinating dinosaurs.  The children delighted us with their singing, acting and knowledge of dinosaurs and how they became extinct. There were some wonderful performances from such young children. Congratulations to everyone involved!     6RD assembly It was an emotional morning for the pupils and parents of 6RD as the children presented their final class assembly. They took the opportunity to share their favourite memories of their time at school with the audience, from Nursery right through to Year 6, and to reflect upon the great start they have made not just to their education but to their lives! They considered their hopes and dreams and speculated on the careers they might go on to undertake, but also reminded us all that health and happiness are the most important goals in life. Well done, 6RD; your singing and acting were very impressive and we very much enjoyed sharing your reflections.   Quiz Club Heats On Tuesday, our Quiz Club visited the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster to take part in the national primary General Knowledge Quiz Club finals. The A team came 10th overall and the B team came 25th overall. There were 31 teams taking place in all. This was a fantastic experience including a super minibus tour of London for our Quiz Club members, who were: Catherine L, Esha T, Ben L, Vandan V, Aryan B, Riddhi S, Annie L and Arshvir S.     Book Sale We are delighted to report that the World Book Day book sale last week (of surplus library stock plus some books donated from home) raised £108, which will be used to purchase new school library books which enhance our wellbeing. This might include books specifically addressing wellbeing and mental health, fiction for different ages, hobbies and sports...any specific suggestions or ideas are most welcome! In the summer term, our librarians will create a display of the new books. Many thanks indeed to all those who supported the book sale!  Sports News Table Tennis We took twelve players (three teams) to the Hillingdon Primary Table Tennis at Oakwood School on Monday. The format of the competition was different this year, with twelve individual medals available instead of team medals. We are delighted to report that, of the twelve individual medals available, St. Helen's College won seven! There were four seed pools overall and our individual medals were as follows:     Seed Pool 1 Silver - Eli V-B Bronze - Ciaran R Seed Pool 2 Gold - Jai D Silver - Harry J Bronze - Mohib F Seed Pool 3 Silver - Rhea A-V Bronze - Hema G  We were crowned Borough Champions once again and the team proudly retained their silver plate trophy! Well done to all those pupils involved. Football Our school football team finished their campaign for this season with a 2-1 defeat at home to St. Matthew's. It has been a season of two halves, with some great play and results before Christmas followed by a drop in form after the Christmas break. The team should be proud of themselves as we have introduced younger players this year and some of the performances from our Year 6 players have been outstanding. Mistakes have cost us a higher finishing position in the league, but with the introduction of youth we look forward to a successful campaign next season. Netball Many congratulations to our netball team, who were winners of the Year 6 netball tournament at Reddiford School this week. Schools taking part were Alpha Prep, Reddiford, Quainton Hall and St. Helen's College. Our team were undefeated all afternoon and showed great competitive skills and team play.     Swimming Gala At Thursday evening's swimming gala, the St. Helen's College team put on a very strong performance indeed, qualifying through the heats for 7 out of 8 finals! In the finals, there were bronze medals for Krisha S in breaststroke and Catherine L in freestyle and a silver medal for our freestyle relay team, made up of Catherine L, Ben L and Krisha S. The St. Helen's College team came in 3rd place overall and should feel very proud of themselves!   Speech Competition (Years 1- 6) Our finalists have now been selected from each class for the Speech Competition, following a very high standard of semi-finals. 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. We hope that we will all enjoy a sensational day of 'projection, expression and clarity'! Singing Competition Our very exciting Singing Competition for Years 2-6  will take place on Friday 5th June this year. Children should decide which category they would like to enter and choose a song. Next, fill in a slip and put into the boxes which can be found at the front of the Upper School hall. Entries must be submitted no later than Thursday 26th March. Semi-finals will be held during the first half of the summer term this year.  Once again, there is no set theme this year as we would like to hear songs from all different genres and perhaps a range of songs throughout musical history. Singing in other languages is permitted. The only restrictions are that we would like you to avoid singing pop songs and we would like to see only simple gestures and appropriate movements relevant to the performance. No dance moves please. Duets and groups are encouraged to add harmony/part singing to their performance. The categories are: Best solo singer from each year group. Best duet Middle School  Upper School  Best group - trios (3) or quartets (4) only. Middle School  Upper School   There should be just one solo entry per child but they may also participate in either a duet or a group. No summer term choir songs please! A backing track is required (without words) for performance on the day; CD or ipod only. No piano accompaniments will be used this year, unless a child is playing the piano or guitar as part of their performance.                                                                      All winners will be invited to sing at the Singers’ Concert on 9th June. Exhibition Day, Easter Service and Nursery/Reception Poetry Recital We have taken the decision to postpone Exhibition Day, which was due to take place on Saturday 21st March, and to cancel the Upper School Easter Service, which was due to take place on Friday 27th March, as part of our action to mitigate against the risk of Coronavirus. We are sorry that these events will not take place this term but we are sure that parents will understand the reasons behind their cancellation. We are currently considering the format of the Nursery/Reception Poetry Recital and whether it will be possible for this to take place, and will contact parents about this in due course. PA Easter Raffle The PA has again donated prizes for a raffle for the children this Easter. All of the children are included in this free Easter egg draw with one prize drawn for each class. We hope that the lucky winners enjoy their prizes and we thank the PA for organising the raffle! Rescheduled PA Forum Meeting Date The next PA Forum meeting is now scheduled to take place in the Upper School Hall at 7 p.m. on Monday 27th April. Class rep's should send any points for discussion to Mrs. Smith at susmith@sthelenscollege.com by the first day of term please, to allow the school time to collate and research any issues before the meeting.  
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