St John Vianney School Newsletter 05.09.2025

Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

I do hope that you and your families have had a great summer break and you have recharged for the autumn and winter we have ahead of us.

The new academic year on Monday kicked off with a staff INSET day. It was a great way to start the autumn term with staff getting back to their classrooms and planning for the term ahead. It provided an opportunity also to remind all staff of SJV’s standards and expectations, with time given to plan for welcoming pupils back on Tuesday. The summer break has been very busy with the old site now completely demolished and the footprint of the second new building and the rest of the site starting to be visible.

It has been lovely to welcome back pupils of our School after the summer break on Tuesday. We welcomed 16 new pupils into school, who have now successfully begun their school journeys at SJV; they have already made a positive impression upon us and all appear a great ‘fit’ for our school. My assemblies again at the start of term focused on us all being better versions of ourselves and how we can improve in our contributions to school again this year.

Thank you for supporting us in ensuring pupils are in the correct school uniform and are well prepared for each school day. The children have again all been given a free uniform and PE kit this year, which will help us in continuing to maintain high standards in school. The pupils looked immaculate on the first day of term.

Once gain we have some events planned for the first half term. which we hope you are able to contribute to.

• A coffee afternoon in the school dining hall, in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity on Friday 26th September; 1.30pm.
• Open Afternoon planned for prospective parents to attend. This will take place in early October for parents of pupils looking for a school place for next September.
• Welcome Evening in School for all parents on Thursday 2nd October; starting at 4pm and finishing at 6pm; an opportunity for all our parents to come into school and meet with their child’s class team to discuss the start to the school year.

Please place these dates in your diaries and I will provide further details of timings over the forthcoming weeks.

I look forward to meeting you in the forthcoming weeks and should you have any concerns about your child in School please do not hesitate to contact the School office. The weekly newsletter is an excellent way of keeping up to date about events in School and the activities we plan to support pupil engagement in school. We send it home weekly through our email system and also post it on our Website and X (Twitter) feed, where daily activities are also ‘tweeted’ about. Please look to follow us on X (Twitter) @StJohnVianneySc.

We hope that you enjoy seeing your child and hearing of their successes in school. Please do let us know if you require any additional information.

Very best wishes for the weekend.

Mr A Moloney, Headteacher

Key information and Dates for your Diary

Dates for your Diary

• Wed 10th Sep - 1:45 - 2:30pm - Open Afternoon for prospective parents to attend.
• Fri 26th September - 1.30pm - Coffee Afternoon supporting Macmillan Charity.
• Thu 2nd October - 4:00 - 6:00pm - Welcome Evening in School for all parents.
• 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.
• Wed 11th Nov - 9:15 - 10:00am - Open Afternoon for prospective parents to attend.

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 8th September 2025:

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our prayer focus this week:

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no Law."

-Galatians 5:22

It is wonderful to return to SJV, to see everyone again and to hear all the great news from our school community. A very warm welcome to our returning students and families, as well as those joining us for the first time. We are delighted to have you with us.

For students and staff who may have faced challenges over the summer, please remember we are here to support you as part of our caring and welcoming faith community. If you need help with anything, our Family Liaison Officer Mrs Griffin is available, or you can contact the school office directly. We will do our very best to assist.

In RE lessons, students have been getting to know one another in their new classes and reflecting on their identity as children of God.

We look forward to a year filled with learning, growth and many wonderful moments together at SJV.

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott viewed the act of writing poetry and prayer as intrinsically linked, stating, "I have never separated the writing of poetry from prayer". He believed poetry was a religious vocation, a process of withdrawal into silence and a focus on gratitude and blessing, much like a benediction. I think this perfectly sums up a beautiful piece of writing by poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen, ‘God is Alive Magic Is afoot’ reads like a prayer or mantra that expresses resilience through faith and the enduring presence of a life-affirming spirit. As a proud Catholic school we encourage our young poets and writers to explore the crossovers between prayer and poetry, expressing their feelings and hopes alongside their faith, we look forward to sharing some of their amazing work here over the coming months. Read the poem below or click on the video to hear the poem spoken and performed by Leonard Cohen and Buffy Saint Marie.

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Keeping Children Safe Online – Introducing Qustodio

Qustodio, a leading parental control solution designed to support families in keeping children and young people safe online.

Qustodio helps parents and carers guide their children’s digital use in a healthy, age-appropriate way. With an easy-to-use dashboard, Qustodio gives you oversight of your child’s online activity and tools to manage screen time, filter content, and promote a better online-offline balance.

What can I do with Qustodio?

With Qustodio, you can:

• View your child’s activity timeline and usage summaries
• Monitor app and game usage
• Set daily screen time limits and schedule screen-free times
• Monitor calls and messages (on certain devices)
• Block inappropriate websites
• Track YouTube activity
• Monitor location and receive alerts
• Use the panic button feature for emergencies
• Supervise activity across multiple devices and platforms
• Access phone support and remote help with Qustodio Care Plus

What devices does it work on?

Qustodio works across most major platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and Amazon Fire. You can manage everything conveniently from your own phone using the Qustodio Parents App. You can sign up and protect one of your child’s devices for free just follow the link on our school website to get started: https://stjohnvianneyschool.co.uk/parents/e-safety/

Qustodio also offers families research-backed advice on setting digital boundaries, having online safety conversations, and understanding the latest apps and trends. Let’s work together to build safe, balanced, and positive digital habits for our children and young people.

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