St John Vianney School

Contents

• Assistant Headteacher's Message
• Key information and Dates for your Diary
• Lunches
• Stars of the Week
• Highlights of the Week
• Our Catholic School
• Spotlight
• Useful Information
• Links to Our Website and Social Media

Assistant Headteacher's Message

Dear parents and carers, This week has been a short week for everyone at SJV as we enjoyed an extra day off at the weekend for the bank holiday. Our older pupils in Post 16 and Key Stage 4 have entered into the exam season and are working hard in functional skills, entry level and GCSE exams. We have also entered into May which is celebrated by the Catholic Church as the ‘Month of Mary’. This will be reflected in our collective worship and liturgy in school. Our Year 11 Key Stage 4 pupils started the week with the first of their formal exams on Tuesday morning, the maths Entry Level exam. The pupils were well rested and ready for their exam after enjoying the Calvert Trust residential trip last week, as well as the extra day off on Monday. Post 16 pupils also sat exams this week completing their Functional Skills Maths exams on Wednesday and Thursday morning. The pupils all worked hard and focused on doing their best and I would like to wish them all the best of luck for the rest of their exams over the next few weeks. To celebrate May as the Month of Mary our pupils will be offered the opportunity to take part in Rosary sessions during literacy time, pupils will be offering their intentions to be prayed for in our Friday morning Masses and morning reflections will focus on the role of Mary and her importance as the mother of Jesus.

I hope that you have all have a lovely weekend and I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the school will break for the Whit half term on Friday 22nd May, returning to school on Monday 1st June for the second half of the summer term. Kind regards, Mr T Harris, Assistant Headteacher

Key information and Dates for your Diary

Dates for Your Diary

• Fri 22nd May - School closes for half term
• Mon 1st June - School reopens after half term
• Fri 26th June - INSET Day school closed for pupils

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 Monday 11th May 2026:

Stars of the Week

• Class 1 Mrs Jordan - Zakary - For taking new opportunities in his stride.
• Class 2 Miss Walsh - Jessica - For independent working in English.
• Class 3 Mr Healey - Jaylen - For always being positive and managing his emotions.
• Class 4 Mrs Garfin - Zackariya - For being a good friend and a good role model.
• Class 5 Mr Whelan - Kian - For being the good kid and being consistant.
• Class 6 Miss Shaw - Aidan - For having a brilliant week and showing great engagement.
• Class 7 Miss Graham - Riley - For good behaviour at the Calvert Trust residential trip.
• Class 8 Mrs Wood - Chael - For his fantastic attitude on the Calvert Trust residential, taking part in every activity and great teamwork.
• Class 9 Mr Donovan - Zack - For attending the Calvert trust residential, great behaviour and making it a great week for everyone.
• Class 10 Mr Wood - Rodger - For pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.
• Class 11 Miss Sherwin - Evie - For adopting better coping strategies for emotional regulation independently.
• Class 12 Miss Lord - Daniel - For trying hard, always being kind to others and excellent volunteering at The Bread and Butter Thing.
• Class 13 Mr Kanakides - Heaven - For doing well with her exams and completing some excellent art.
• Class 14 Miss Wilkinson - Nesrine - For being amazing at her work experience placement.

Employees of the Week

Congratulations to Mr Donovan & Mr Whelan!

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our prayer focus this week:

"Those who trust in God can do all things."

-St Alphonsus Ligouri

This week in our Catholic school, Class 3 took part in a retreat at the Spiritan Centre, lead by Fr. Nick. It was a wonderful experience, and the students thoroughly enjoyed it. The retreat offered valuable spiritual time; a chance to pause, reflect, and step away briefly from our busy lives at SJV. Our Chaplaincy/GIFT team have been working closely with the Eco Team, planning ways in which we can improve the school’s environment as well as working through their weekly list of responsibilities. These include leading prayers and ensuring that staff and student intentions for Mass are completed and returned.

In Religious Education this week, pupils have been exploring themes of forgiveness, as well as issues connected to life after death and prejudice, and discrimination. This has prompted many interesting questions and meaningful debates, just the way we like RE to be at SJV: spiritual, challenging, and engaging.

Mrs Garfin

Spotlight

Sharing Easter Joy and Kindness

Before the half-term break, and in the spirit of Easter; a season of hope, renewal and love, our Post 16 students created and sent handmade Easter cards to the residents of Abbotsford Care Home. Each card was filled with bright colours and heartfelt messages, showing the care and pride our students took in sharing joy with others. This simple act allowed them to live out our Catholic values, reflecting on kindness, compassion, and caring for those beyond our school community. We were delighted to receive a thank-you letter, along with several beautiful handmade cards from the residents. Their thoughtful response brought great smiles to our students and showed just how much their kindness was appreciated.

For the residents, the cards were a reminder that they are valued and held in the love of others. For our students, it was a meaningful way of living out their faith through acts of kindness, growing in compassion and understanding of the Gospel message. This lovely exchange shows how small acts of kindness can bring generations together and truly reflect the joy of Easter.

We are very proud of our students and hope to continue this special connection.

Useful Information

Internet matters.org have produced a parent/carers guide to AI.

In the guide to AI, learn about the different AI tools like ChatGPT and My AI. Then explore how to support learning, creativity using AI tools at home. Click on the following link to access the guide: https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/parent-guide-to-artificial-intelligence-ai-tools/

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

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.

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