St John Vianney School Newsletter 15.11.2024

Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had another really busy week in school, with the pupils engaged in lots of internal and external activities. They are settled back into our routines now, after the half term break.

We are now undertaking preparation for our visit, in January 2025, from the National Autistic Society. We are working towards the reaccreditation standards that are set down by NAS and which will validate our practices with autistic people. We are striving to be more consistent in these practices, ensuring we take into account the individual needs which many other autistic children and young people present.

We will welcome into school 2 assessors from NAS who will observe practice, talk to children and staff, interview parents and then advise and guide on where we can make further developments moving forwards. We are looking forward to the opportunity to share our practice with the specialists from NAS. We will be asking parents and carers to complete a questionnaire about our provision in the near future, and additionally will be sending home information, through the newsletter, about how parents and carers can support their Autistic child in the home environment. Please do look out for the questionnaire that will be sent to you and endeavour to feedback to the assessment team.

Next Tuesday we welcome into school the Governing Body, who are having a training day with Senior Staff. We are looking forward to welcoming them into school and providing the Governors with an opportunity once again to see the school in action.

Finally, can I remind you please that Friday 29th November is a staff INSET training day in School and school will be closed to all pupils on this day?

NEW BUILD INFORMATION

We have now been given a provisional date for the handover of the new build to the school, which will be during the Easter Holidays, 14th April 2025.

We will need to plan with the builders, Kier Construction, on how we will manage this move and it is highly likely that we will need the days after the published Easter break, (which is Friday 4th April to Monday 21st April), to manage the move. That will mean that all pupils will not be able to return to school after the Easter break until Monday 28th April 2025. We are writing to inform parents of these dates, which I will confirm officially with you at the start of the spring term, in January 2025. If you have any concerns with these plans please do let us know.

Additionally, if there is anything we can offer to support you or your families with, throughout the winter period, do please contact the Admin team in the first instance.

I do hope you have a restful weekend with your families.

Mr A Moloney, Headteacher

Key information and Dates

Dates for your Diary

• Tue 26th Nov @ 9:30-10:50am - College Morning for Key Stage 4 & 5 parents/carers.
• Fri 29th Nov - INSET Day - No pupils in school.
• Fri 20th Dec @ 3:15pm - School closes for the Christmas Break.

Key Info

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 18th November 2024:

We will be holding our College Morning on Tuesday 26th November. This is an ideal time for parents to meet the colleges, discuss preferred options for your child and submit applications to prospective colleges.

• Parents of July 2025 leavers: This will be your final opportunity to collectively look at college offers before you are required to submit your child’s college application form.
• Parents of July 2026 leavers: This is an ideal time to start making enquiries and gain insights as to what the different colleges are able to offer, and best meet your child’s needs. You will then be in a strong position to articulate this to your local authority at their final EHCP annual review, along with school, in Autumn 2025.

Plan for the morning

A letter was handed out to pupils on 18th October. Please can you return the reply slip, confirming your attendance, if you have not done so already.

Yours sincerely, Mr Harris and Mr Cooper.

Stars Of The Week

• Class 1 - Aidan - For great engagement and working hard all week.
• Class 2 - Quinn - setting a fantastic example to others and trying to challenge herself.
• Class 3 - Neo - For being consistently respectful and a good role model for his peers.
• Class 4 - Meera - For a good swimming lesson and getting out of the pool well.
• Class 5 - Lee - For being an always child.
• Class 6 - Jack - For showing a more mature attitude.
• Class 7 - Kayden - For improved behaviour.
• Class 8 - Aiden - For making a greater effort with his learning and making a superb poppy in his Faith in Action lessons.
• Class 9 - Thomas - For great engagement.
• Class 10 - Jason - For having a fantastic week and a brilliant attitude.
• Class 11 - Rayyan - For challenging himself and having a great week.
• Class 12 - Nesrine - For supporting a peer and demonstrating confidence by reading Saint of the Day.
• Class 13 - Liz - For having a brilliant, settled first week back.

Employee Of The Week.

Congratulations Mr Freshwater!!

Highlights of the Week

Positive Noticing Day 2024

We were delighted to participate in Positive Noticing Day again on Wednesday this week. We spent time during the day thinking about the power of positive noticing. It is simple, practical, and highly effective. Being positively noticed by others builds self-esteem, supports behaviour and promotes good mental health. We encouraged pupils and staff to positively notice one another and were delighted with the response from the school community! We noticed all the positive words and actions from individuals around school and recorded them on luggage tags. What a lovely feeling it is to receive a tag describing something positive that you have done and knowing that someone acknowledged it.

You may wish to use Positive Noticing Day as an opportunity to start daily positive noticing in your home. You can create and share positive labels as a family and save them - stick them on the fridge, the back of the door or put them in an old picture frame. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• ‘I noticed that you put your plate by the sink, that really helped me this morning, you are very thoughtful, thank you’
• ‘Doing your homework without me asking shows real independence. I love the determination you are showing’
• ‘You are so good at sharing with your sister/brother. You are such a kind person.’
• ‘I noticed that you were really kind to X at school today. That made me really proud of you’
• ‘Thank you for putting your clothes in the washing basket. I notice that you are following the routine and remembering it perfectly. You are really trying and I appreciate it.'

We really enjoyed the day, and we would like to say that ‘we notice you, parents & carers’ and the effort you make to support your children, engage them in learning and enrich our school community! Thank you.

You can find out more about positive noticing and Positive Noticing Day by clicking here

Our Catholic School

Our prayer focus this week is:

' Life is a precious gift, but we realise this only when we give it to others.'

- Pope Francis

We started the week with a lesson on Remembrance, which led into a whole school service delivered by Father Nick, with readings from the Chaplaincy Team. We held a minutes silence and Mr Dumville played 'The Last Post' on his trumpet.

Each class then took a Remembrance Wreath that they made in their 'Faith in Action' lesson and placed it in our Remembrance Garden at the front of the school, under our Cross. Every pupil had a wooden memorial appropriate to their religion on which they had written a prayer. It was a very moving service and the students were respectful and reflective.

Within our Catholic school during November, we continue to pray for all the Holy Souls. Each morning we look at a 'Saint a Day' during form time which is important to our school, for example did you know that Saint Thorlak is the patron Saint of Autistic people?

This week's Wednesday word is 'Faithfulness'

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

Today's Poetry Corner is dedicated to our fabulous 'Poet of the Week' Arshvin from Class 11. Here he is proudly sharing his amazing collage poem, which is a reworking of some of his favourite nursery rhymes, cut up and rearranged to create a wonderful and exciting piece of new poetry. Huge thanks to Miss Sherwin and all her class team for delivering such a fun and engaging lesson. Congratulations Arshvin!!!

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Christmas tips for autistic people and their families from NAS

It is hard to think Christmas will soon be upon us. Here is some useful information in advance, that may help support your child during Advent and Christmas. Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, but it can be difficult for some autistic people. The National Autistic Society have compiled a list of autism-friendly tips for the festive period with advice on preparation, schedules, decorations and presents. With good planning and clear communication, hopefully these tips will help you have an enjoyable Christmas. Click on the following link to view: NAS Christmas tips

Winter Coat Appeal

This year we are supporting 'The Wellspring Charity for Homeless'. The Wellspring supports people that are homeless or at risk of losing their home. We are asking for your support by donating any unwanted adult winter coats. If you have any coats that are still in good condition, but no longer needed, please consider donating them to help others stay warm this winter. Please send your unwanted coats into school by December 13th and we will collect them at School and then pass them through to the Charity before Christmas.

Your generosity will make a real difference to those facing hardship in our community. We appreciate your kindness and support in making this initiative a success. To find our more information regarding the charity click here.

The Great SJV Toy Appeal

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