St John Vianney School Newsletter 17.05.2024

Assistant Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to start by thanking you all for the hard work and support you offer in preparing pupils for school every day. School attendance has been excellent and the students have been arriving in a positive frame of mind, ready to work hard and learn from their teachers and peers.

The improvement in weather invariably seems to coincide with the start of the exam season, a critical time of year in any school calendar. We are incredibly proud of our upper school pupils who have been showing great resilience in facing the inevitable stress and pressure that comes with external examinations; we wish them all the best over the next few weeks. Please continue to ensure that they are in school every day, well rested and reassured that we are proud of the work they have done over the last five or more years. The JCQ inspector was impressed by our pupils and processes when he visited earlier this week.

Mr Wood and Miss Carney led a group of 12 girls to a City in the Community football tournament at the Etihad Campus earlier this week. All the girls performed magnificently and represented the school very well. Mr Wood has been impressed with how the team’s performance and skills have grown and developed this year.

We are extremely excited that this week has also seen the first print run of our School Poetry Anthology, see Poetry Corner below for more details. A fantastic testament to the hard work of Mr Lomax and the young poets he has inspired over recent years.

Following a rigorous two days of interviewing this week we are delighted to have made six, high quality, additions to our Teaching Assistant staff body. I am confident that they will add value to our offer and bring many exciting opportunities to our children and young people.

Finally, we would like to invite all our parents and carers to attend a coffee morning next Tuesday, 21st May at 11am, for an informal opportunity to meet each other and talk with Miss Nesbitt and Mrs Griffin.

Best Wishes,

Mr G. Damant, Assistant Headteacher

Key information and Dates

Dates:

• Tue 21st May at 11:00am until 12:00pm - Parents & Carers coffee morning.
• Fri 24th May at 3:15pm - School closes for the Summer half term break.
• Mon 3rd June at 9:00am - School re-opens for the final half term of the year.
• Tue 25th June at 9:30am until 10:50am - Key Stage 4 & 5 Careers Event.

Information:

• The Governors have again this year, for the new academic year in September 2024, generously agreed to provide all children and young people in Key Stages 3 and 4 with school uniform, free of charge. The Admin Team will be in touch with further information on when this can be collected from school.

Stars of the Week

Congratulations to our Stars of the Week!

• Class 1 - Aidan - For excellent behaviour and lots of engagement at CAFT.
• Class 2 - Cory - For joining in all his sport activities.
• Class 3 - Meera - For being very engaged at the farm.
• Class 4 - James - For being considerate with his peers and making good choices.
• Class 5 - Ayla - For trying something new.
• Class 6 - Cormac - For trying hard to communicate with staff.
• Class 7 - Charlie - For improved attitude around work and behaviour.
• Class 8 - Justin - For having a fantastic attitude and continued effort in lessons.
• Class 9 - Troy - For a positive week in school.
• Class 10 - Bruno - For his excellent residential, and helping to keep everyone in good spirits.
• Class 11 - Rayyan - For using his voice more and working very hard.
• Class 12 - Amy - For a brilliant residential trip and some great independent work this week.
• Class 13 - Leon - For being an always pupil.

Employees of the Week

Congratulations to Mr Wood, Miss Shaw and Mrs Griffin!

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our prayer focus this week:

‘It is Jesus himself who continues to care for his Church. Small gestures of tenderness and care, make people feel that the Lord is with us.’

- Pope Francis

Within our Catholic school this week, representatives of the Chaplaincy Team took part in the ‘Pentecost Retreat’ at the Just Youth Centre with all the schools in Salford Diocese that Just Youth work with. It was a lovely event and nice to connect with other chaplaincy teams in our area.

Our voluntary student Mass continues every Friday and around 25% of the school's student community attend every week which fills my heart. It's wonderful that so many of our children and young people want to express their faith and join us every week.

Within RE everyone had a ‘MAD’ time! We 'Made A Difference' to our work by reviewing the tasks and activities that have been undertaken this half term, reflecting and evaluating ways in which we can improve. All the classes did well with their 'green pen' work and they are proud of all their hard work over the past four weeks, rightly so!

This week's Wednesday Word is 'Pentecost'.

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

Some very exciting news in SJV Poetry Corner this week. Our very first School Poetry Anthology went to print! Featuring 20 stunning poems by our amazing young poets. Pupils are so excited to hold a copy of our very own first collection. We are looking forward to our own book launch on the 5th of July. More exciting news to follow on this soon! Please check out our wonderful book cover below and a sneak peek at a poem from the collection by Adam.

These poems have been inspired by a wide range of poetry workshops on themes such as climate change, poverty and homelessness, war poetry, the Peterloo Massacre and diversity and inclusion in the modern game of football. We have worked in collaboration with Manchester Literature Festival, Manchester Festival of Libraries, Poetry By Heart, The Working-Class Movement Library and the National Football Museum, using their rich archives to inspire these wonderful sessions. I’m proud to have been part of the journey of these young poets, as I have watched them grow in belief and confidence, and most importantly, find their own voice within these important issues.

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Universal Credit migration

'Managed Migration' is the process where claimants on existing means-tested benefits and tax credits are told these benefits are ending and are asked to claim Universal Credit instead. Until recently, Managed Migration only applied to people in receipt of tax credits. The Department of Work and Pensions is now sending Managed Migration notices to claimants on other benefits. If you are worried or confused about what this will mean for your family, the charity 'Contact' has lots of information that can help. This includes a new video where their benefits expert, Derek, explains what you should do if you receive a notice. Click the following link for information and advice from Contact.org.uk .

Don't forget to check out our Information Directory which has lots of information, including links to the Local Authorities Local Offer pages, there you find ideas on activities to do during the half term break.

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