The Parents’ Association is made up of a lively, passionate group of hard-working volunteer parents who pool their talents with the aim of enhancing your experience of the School and building a strong community spirit. Every parent/carer of a child who attends the School is automatically a member of the Parents’ Association and we hope you will join us with providing practical support for the School, as well as contributing to the social, emotional and academic growth of our students.
Our mission is to promote communication and collaboration between parents and the School, provide educational resources and support, and advocate for the needs and interests of students and families. The involvement of parents is an essential component of fostering a positive and engaging learning environment for their children which benefits everyone.
Our aims as a Parents’ Association are as follows:
- To help create and sustain a wider, diverse and deeper sense of community
- To support the School with specific major projects and smaller departmental requests to aid student life enrichment
- To raise money for the annually nominated school charity.
We offer a variety of opportunities and activities early in Michaelmas term to welcome you to the St Helen’s community.
Welcome evenings
Class socials
School events
We host a range of social events and provide opportunities for fundraising throughout the year. Here’s a taste of what you can expect:
- The September Social – this new addition to the calendar features live music, food and drinks and provides the opportunity to meet your fellow parents
- Perfect Pairings – our fine wine tasting evening with canapes from the School’s fantastic catering team
- SHSK Christmas Fair – this is our flagship event with high-quality crafts, fabulous food and students’ own stalls
- The 200 Club – our very own lottery, featuring a monthly £100 draw amongst all participating parents
- Quiz Night – following a successful event in March 2022 (won by Headmistress Mrs Dougall’s team!) we hope to make this a regular fixture in the PA’s calendar
- Book and Wine Club – our popular monthly meet-up, provides the chance to share a love of books over a glass of wine.
Fundraising
As well as making a significant donation to charity each year, money raised by the Parents’ Association enables the school to purchase a variety of items to enhance the pupils’ overall school experience.
Over the last few years the PA has funded many items including equipment to enable the sixth formers to record a weekly podcast, the indoor cricket nets installed in April 2022 and the facilities at Church Farm which are in constant use. We have also recently agreed to purchase wet weather clothing for the junior department to use during their outdoor learning sessions and plant a wildflower meadow.
Parents’ Association funds have also enhanced learning by providing over-locker sewing machines for students to use in the Art Department, a semi-acoustic guitar for small musical ensemble work and rod puppets for Year 7 drama lessons. It is always wonderful to walk around and see how these invaluable contributions have been spent on the upkeep of our internal and external spaces, and the life of the School.
Contact
Of course, none of this would happen without the involvement of parents who are willing to help create a thriving wider school community. If you’d like to help in any way or you are interested in receiving further information about the Parents’ Association, please contact us via email shskpa@gmail.com.
