St John Vianney School Newsletter 27.09.2024

Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are having a great week. We are now 4 weeks into the autumn term and it has been lovely to see most of our pupils settled well in school this week. Attendance has been fantastic at 93.5%.

We have a small group of pupils however, who are not always role modelling our expectations of behaviour and we have had to have some challenging conversations with pupils and parents this week. SJV is a lovely school community and we will not accept behaviour which persistently disrupts learning of others in school or is unkind to other pupils and staff. I am sure the pupils involved will be working to ensure they are more cooperative in being a positive pupil in all aspects of school.

The new build activity is coming on quickly and we are moving to a ‘weather tight’ school. Window frames have been put in this week and the damp course of brick work is really visible now too. The pupils are showing an interest in the changing landscapes at SJV and are coping really well with any noise and disruption. We anticipate more visitors to school, including the building teams and developing opportunities, with Kier Construction, to get the pupils over to site, when it is safe to do so.

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.

Thank you to those parents who joined us for Macmillan Coffee afternoon today, helping raise funds for a really worthwhile cause. It was lovely to meet you all informally over coffee today. I do hope you enjoyed your visit to school.

A reminder please;

• Next Wednesday afternoon from 1.30pm we are holding an ‘open afternoon’. A opportunity for prospective pupils’ parents to tour the school and see the school in action.
• On Thursday evening we have our Welcome Evening from 5pm-6.30pm. All parents are invited to join the staff team to meet staff and understand how we ask our parents to support their children in school during the academic year. We do hope you join us at this really important event.

Our pupils in school are currently planning for the Harvest Festival, which will take place on Wednesday morning 16th October. We require please food donations for our appeal. Can we ask please that you send in any donations with your child to support this charity event. We will once again be supporting a local food bank in Stretford to ensure our donations are supporting our immediate local community.

Best wishes for the weekend,

Mr A Moloney

Key information and Dates

Key Info:

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.

Dates:

• Wed 2nd Oct @ 1:45pm- Open Afternoon for prospective new pupils and parents.
• Thu 3rd Oct 5pm-6:30pm - Welcome Evening for all parents.
• Fri 25th October @ 3:15pm - School closes for the Autumn half term break.
• Mon 4th Nov @ 9am - School re-opens for Autumn Term 2.

Stars Of The Week

• Class 1 - Daniyal - For working hard with the goats at the farm.
• Class 2 - Tyler - For always setting a good example and being enthusiastic in all activities.
• Class 3 - Neo - For being consistently kind, calm and always on task in class.
• Class 4 - Will - For bringing lots of laughter and hard work into our classroom.
• Class 5 - Lee - For being an always child and for being kind and caring.
• Class 6 - Isabella - For showing a great attitude and work ethic in lessons.
• Class 7 - Jon-Paul - For being a great ambassador for school at football.
• Class 8 - Miya - For reading in the Welcome Mass in front of KS4 and fantastic effort in D of E.
• Class 9 - Kyan - For great lunchtime behaviour and an improved work attitude.
• Class 10 - Alfie - For having a fantastic week and supporting peers in IT.
• Class 11 - Evie - For working very hard in lessons and trying to make the right choices.
• Class 12 - Bruno - For being consistent in all lessons, a good role model and an excellent ambassador for school.
• Class 13 - Tomasz - For being a model pupil in Post 16.

Employees Of The Week.

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Within SJV, we have been focussing on the following message this week:

'Jesus leads us to go out from ourselves more and more, to give ourselves and serve others.'

-Pope Francis

In our Catholic school this week, we were very happy to be able to support a huge national event by holding our Macmillan Coffee Afternoon, which was a really nice way to end the day and the week. It was lovely to meet and enjoy some social time with the parents and carers and see them making new connections. The Chaplaincy Team and Ms Nesbitt’s Hospitality Team did a wonderful job hosting this event and providing us with some delicious treats.

Within RE this week, Key stage 3 have been looking at the story of Adam and Eve, whereas Key stages 4 & 5 have been discussing their dream jobs, learning about 'vocation' and what is means to have 'a calling'.

This week's Wednesday word is 'Goodness'

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

Black History Month, observed each October, is a time to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of all those in the black community. While we should all celebrate Black History every month, this dedicated time allows everyone to share, remember, and embrace the influence of black heritage and culture. To celebrate Black History Month here at SJV we have chosen an inspiring poem to explore the rich tradition of black poetry. Although this poem serves as just the tip of the iceberg of what needs to be commemorated, the lasting inspiration of literature allows for the injustices, accomplishments, and thoughts of the black community to always shine and be expressed.

Please enjoy ‘I Too’ by Langston Hughes:

This famous poem was written by Langston Hughes, an important writer and figure during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, encapsulating the deep history of oppression and racism for black men living in America. Hughes uses poetry to speak out about this blatant discrimination in the 20th century and convey that despite his darker skin colour and being constantly pushed aside by the white majority, he too is just as much an integral part of America. Although he speaks on the painful subject of racism, he still expresses that one day all will value the beauty and power of African American culture. Although written years ago, this poem embodies how the black community felt, and still feels in America.

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Workshops

Family Fund provide a range of workshops delivered by specialists and Family Fund staff. Workshops are a safe space to learn new skills with other families raising disabled children. To find out more click on the following link: Family Fund Workshops

Grants

Family fund also offer grants. To decide if your family is eligible for a grant, Family Fund looks at your income and the impact of disability on your child. Click on the following link for more information about eligibility : Am I Eligible? Generally, you can apply for a grant if:

• You are the parent/carer of a child aged between 0 and 24
• You are the parent/carer of a child with a disability or serious illness
• The child is not in the care of the local authority or in foster care
• You have lived in the UK for the past six months
• You are on a low income or receiving benefits

For more information about the grants available click here: How to apply for a Family Fund grant

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