St John Vianney School Newsletter 3.10.2025

Assistant Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been another excellent week at St John Vianney, with pupils participating well in a wide range of experiences both in school and off-site. I am amazed that we have completed one month of this academic year and it is October already! Attendance this month has been very good so far, and it is imperative that we maintain this outstanding record for the last two weeks before we can enjoy a well-earned break in our two-week October half term.

Today we celebrated two Rosary services in the Chapel which were lovely; a great way to introduce our pupils to the month of 'Mary and the Rosary'. All classes will be given the opportunity to pray a decade of the Rosary together as a class or use the time for quiet reflection on how thankful they are for their mothers and any important women in their lives who do so much for them.

Many of our pupils thrive in creative subjects and that is especially true in Photography where Mrs Wood has been leading and developing a range of qualifications and opportunities for our pupils. Photography GCSE results are outstanding with many of our pupils achieving grades comparable to other students nationally. Two of our Post 16 pupils have won prizes in national competitions totalling over £4000 for themselves and the school Art department. The two winning entries are shown below, I’m sure you will agree they are truly phenomenal!

On Thursday evening we welcomed parents and carers into school to meet their class teachers and learn a little bit more about life at St John Vianney. It was lovely to meet our new families and some familiar faces who have been with us on this journey for many years. The home/school relationship is absolutely critical in ensuring that together we provide the best possible education and enrichment experiences for our children and young people, your support is always greatly appreciated.

Next week is the final week of our class collections of foodstuffs for the local food bank in Stretford, which will help our local community. Pupils are asked to bring in unperishable produce, which will be collected by class teams and presented in the Harvest Festival services on Friday 10th October. Please do help us in this very worthy cause.

Can I also remind you that the forthcoming October half term break this year is for 2 weeks. School will close at 3:15pm on Friday 17th October 2025 and will open again for Autumn Term 2 on Monday 3rd November 2025.

God Bless,

Mr Damant, Assistant Headteacher

Key information and Dates for your Diary

Dates for your Diary

• Tue 14th Oct 2025 @ 9:00 - 10:50am - College Morning for Key Stage 4 & 5.
• Wed 15th Oct @ 1:45 - 2:30pm - Open Afternoon for prospective parents to attend.
• Fri 17th Oct @ 3:15pm - School closes for Half Term Break.
• Mon 3rd November @ 9:00am - School Re-opens after the half term break.
• Tue 11th Nov @ 9:15 - 10:00am - Open Morning for prospective parents to attend.

Key Info

Zones of Regulation - Parent Course

Our Zones of Regulation, online course for Parents and Carers is starting again this week with Module 1. The online course will run over ten weeks and each short module can be accessed via our website: Training for parents & carers. This course will introduce to you the ten concepts of the Zones of Regulation. The aim is to encourage the consistent use of language at school and at home to help regulate your child/young person's emotions and behaviours. I will set activities for you to do at home and introduce some strategies for you to use. If you would like some more information about this course, please contact the school office.

- Miss M Rodgers, Assistant Headteacher

Shoebox appeal

Spreading Christmas joy one shoebox at a time! Our Operation Christmas Child appeal has now begun as letters were sent home this week, and we're excited to share the spirit of giving with children around the world. Want to sprinkle some magic into a child's Christmas? From bouncy balls and cuddly friends to cozy socks and cool shades, every item brings a smile! Whether you contribute individual items or create a complete shoebox of treasures, your kindness makes a world of difference.

Together, we're not just filling boxes – we're filling hearts with hope and happiness! Thank you for helping us show that small acts of kindness can create big ripples of joy.

With gratitude, Mrs Murphy

Allergies

Please be aware that we have a number of pupils in school with severe nut allergies. To reduce the risk of exposure for these young people, we aim to keep the school nut free. In order to support us with this we kindly ask that you:

• Do not give children nuts or nut products in their packed lunches.
• Do not give nuts, nut products or snacks/bars containing nuts for break time snacks.
• Do not send cakes or food items, containing nuts, in to school for birthday celebrations, cake sales or events.

Thank you for your support.

Lunches

Week commencing 6th October 2025:

Stars of The Week

• Class 1 - Nicholas - For having a positive attitude and overcoming tricky situations maturely.
• Class 2 - Jessica - For handling a tricky week well.
• Class 3 - Tyler - For good focusing during lessons and being a good influence to others.
• Class 4 - Zackariya - For a great job at Duke of Edinburgh.
• Class 5 - Ruby - For managing herself well in a challenging week.
• Class 6 - Aidan - For a great OMF music session.
• Class 7 - Matilda - For consistently brilliant attitude, and being an amazing 'always' pupil.
• Class 8 - Miya - For scoring her first goal at the football tournament.
• Class 9 - Thomas - For improvements across the board! Had a great start to the year.
• Class 10 - Kayden - For fantastic work all week.
• Class 11 - Laura - For having a more settled week and being more engaged in her lessons.
• Class 12 - Bruno - For being a good role model to others.
• Class 13 - Jensen - For having a good week.
• Class 14 - Aliya - For a fantastic week at the Edge Cafe completing her work experience.

Employee of The Week

Welcome to our school

Introducing Hunter, Class 1

• Did you feel it was easy or hard transitioning from primary school to high school? At first, I found it hard to come here but I slowly, slowly got more used to it, after a month I am really loving it here – SJV is the best special needs school as it has such kind teachers. Every teacher is kind, they all have different styles of teaching but that’s okay because the pupils all learn differently. My first day at SJV I fell asleep in the quiet room because I got no sleep the night before as I was so excited!
• What have you most enjoyed about SJV? During independence last week we went to Longford Park and played hide and seek and I loved that. Mrs Rock had the best hiding place. I don’t know how we didn’t see her but she was hiding behind the tree. Getting to play the piano in assembly, I have played twice now; Rondo alla Turca by Mozart composed in 1722, I also play Ludwig van Beethoven's moonlight sonata 1st movement composed in 1823. I enjoyed this mainly because I wanted others to rate my talent.
• What are you looking forwards to most at SJV? I am looking forwards to the residential we are going on this year. We are going to the Children’s Adventure Farm next week and sleeping over a night. I can't wait to play with my friends in the dorm before I go to sleep. I can’t wait to go to Post 16 so I can sit in the common room!

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our spiritual focus in SJV this week is:

"Whatever gifts and talents we are given by God are to be shared with the entire community."

- St Baldwin of Canterbury

It’s already October and we are more than half way through the first half term! One of the joys of SJV is that there is always so much happening in our school community and with our engaging curriculum!

Class 12 enjoyed their retreat at The Spiritan Centre with Fr Nick spending some quality time in prayer and reflection. They had a lovely time reflecting on the Jubilee Year of Hope and our theme 'we are all equal in the eyes of God'.

October is the month of the Rosary so this will be the focus in our Catholic school. Fr Nick held two Rosary Services with fantastic input and support from the GIFT team, which helped to remind us of the importance of the Rosary in Catholic life and prayer.

We will also be celebrating the Harvest Festival this month and would very much appreciate any donations. If you can please send in to school, items such as cans and long-life or dried goods e.g. pasta, noodles, beans etc. Each class will be collating the donations in a beautiful box that they will be designing and decorating themselves during their Faith in Action lessons.

Within RE this week we have been discussing the responsibility we all have for looking after God's world.

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

St John Vianney celebrates National Poetry Day with its own inspiring competition.

This Thursday 2nd October marked National Poetry Day 2025. Here at St John Vianney School we celebrated in true poetic style with a vibrant whole-school poetry competition, inviting both students and staff to take part in crafting original poems.

In classrooms, corridors, and even the staffroom, creativity was flowing. Pupils from all Key Stages took the opportunity to express their thoughts, feelings, and hopes through poetry. The competition has already received an incredible range of entries, and the friendly staff vs student rivalry added to the spirit of celebration and community. A panel of pupil judges will be deciding the staff winners whilst our poet in residence Mr Lomax will have his work cut out judging the wonderful student entries. Poetry is truly alive at SJV! Winners will be announced on Friday 17th October.

If you would like to try writing a poem at home please see below some of the poetry prompts to help inspire you. Good luck everyone.

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Supporting the wellbeing of children has never been more critical than it is right now. All custodians of a child, from parents, to teachers, governments and policy makers are more focused than ever on ensuring that children are protected from online harms.

The wellbeing outcomes of children are heavily influenced by their digital experiences. A child’s online activity, including what they view, who they interact with, and what they share can contribute to a deeply positive outcome, or pose a worrying threat to their wellbeing.

Developed by a team of world-renowned Online Safety Experts, the Hub is designed to engage and align the community on online safety and wellness by providing up-to-date and evidence-based information to all key stakeholders of a child’s life.

Parents will find a rich library of helpful resources, including app reviews, how-to guides and advice on an array of online safety topics.

Click here to visit our Online Safety Hub for more useful tips and advice.

- Mrs J Griffin, Family Liaison Officer, Deputy Safeguarding Lead.

Click on the following link to open a directory of useful links and information about facilities, activities and support available to you and your young person: INFORMATION DIRECTORY