St John Vianney School Newsletter 19.09.2025

Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you and your families have had a good week ?

It has been another good week in school, with pupils enjoying their school experiences, making the most of the opportunities we are providing. The autumn weather we have had has proved challenging, but the children have coped well when dealing with changes to the break and lunchtime routines. We had 2 Welcome Masses in the Chapel today which were lovely; a great way to welcome new pupils and staff into school, to give thanks for all we have and to ask for God’s guidance and support in the year ahead.

Can I remind you please of the forthcoming events we have planned that we would like you to be involved in. These include;

On Friday 26th September we invite you to join us for a Coffee afternoon in the dining room from 1.30pm. We will be selling refreshments in aid of MacMillan Cancer support. It would be lovely to see you in support our first fundraising activity of the school year, for a very worthy cause.

On Thursday October 2nd we have arranged our annual ‘Welcome Evening’ for Parents and Carers. The evening will provide an opportunity to welcome parents into school to see how the first month has gone and meet the staff who will be working with your child this year. The evening will start at 5pm, with a welcome from the Senior Leadership Team and then Mrs Griffin, our Family Liaison Officer, will provide parents with an opportunity to learn about how they can support their children, to get the best of their time at SJV.

Class Teachers will then welcome you into your child’s classroom to meet the class team and learn about what we have planned for them, in terms of their learning and events at School for this academic year. From 6pm we will meet informally over refreshments with staff and all parents in the dining room, to answer any other questions you may have.

Please make every effort to join us in school for as many of these events as possible.

We have started our class collections of foodstuffs for the local food bank in Stretford, which will help our local community. Pupils are asked to bring in produce over the next 2 weeks, which will be collated by class teams and presented in the Harvest Festival services on Friday 10th October. Please do help us in this very worthy cause.

I look forward to seeing you in school during the next few weeks. If you have any questions in the meantime please do contact the Admin team, who will direct you to the correct contact.

Best wishes for the week ahead!

Mr Moloney, Headteacher

Key information and Dates for your Diary

Dates for your Diary

• Fri 26th September @ 1:30pm - Coffee Afternoon supporting Macmillan Charity.
• Thu 2nd October @ 5:00 - 6:30pm - Welcome Evening in School for all parents.
• Tue 14th Oct 2025 @ 9:00 - 10:50am - College Morning for Key Stage 4 & 5.
• 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.
• Mon 3rd November @ 9:00am - School Re-opens after the half term break.
• Tue 11th Nov @ 9:15 - 10:00am - Open Morning 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 22nd September 2025:

Stars of The Week

• Class 1 - Caleb - For fantastic attitude and effort in Food Tech.
• Class 2 - Lee - For working hard and taking on every challenge.
• Class 3 - Lucas - For showing a mature attitude and working hard in all lessons.
• Class 4 - Benjamin - For speaking to adults and allowing them to deal with issues.
• Class 5 - Anderson - For making an effort with lessons and friendships.
• Class 6 - Ezra - For an excellent solo in music this week.
• Class 7 - Lee - For engaging well across all lessons and having a fantastic, positive attitude.
• Class 8 - Aiden - For his high standard of work in DT, creating a perfect 45° angle join..
• Class 9 - Zack - For five fantastic days in school.
• Class 10 - Rodger - For great attendance and great effort especially in English and maths.
• Class 11 - Finlay - For great independence and demonstrating maturity throughout the week.
• Class 12 - Harley - For working hard in all lessons and having a very positive week.
• Class 13 - Amanda - For a great start to Post 16.
• Class 14 - Micah - For handling an important transition, maintaining a positive attitude and staying as close to the 'green' zone as possible.

Employees of The Week

Congratulations to Mr Cooper and Mrs Griffin!!

'Out & About' Photography competition winner!!

Well done to Munir who was the overall winner of Vision for Education's 'Out & About' Photography competition in July. Munir's fantastic entry won him an insta mini camera. The runners up all received certificates for their photography entries too. Well done everyone, we are very proud of you!

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our spiritual focus in SJV this week is:

"It is in giving that we receive and it is in dying we are born to eternal life."

- St Francis of Assisi

The GIFT/Chaplaincy team are back in full swing, planning and helping the religious and Liturgical life of the school. We are now starting every meeting by singing hymns with Mr Dumville; it’s lovely to see the chapel filled with singing, which boosts everyone's wellbeing.

It has been lovely to welcome so many of our chaplains back and we also have had some new members joining us. They have been busy helping me and Father Nick with our first major event, Welcome Mass, that took place today. It’s important to us to welcome all new staff and students into our SJV family and to celebrate the start of a new school year..

Our next major event in school is our Coffee Afternoon. Which will take place on Fri 26th September @ 1:30pm. This event is in support of the Macmillan Charity, raising money towards vital support for people with cancer. We are asking for monetary donations rather than cakes this year as school will be providing refreshments to purchase on the day. Please support this worthy cause if you can.

Within RE this week we have been looking at the topic of Creation. We have been learning about how the world was made and discussing different viewpoints on this subject. With the older learners we have been exploring laws. We have debated what could be classed as a good or a bad choice and how we can ask God to help us when we are struggling.

-

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

Celebrating Oracy, Literacy, and the Power of Poetry at Saint John Vianney School

As we prepare to mark the National Year of Reading, St John Vianney School is placing a renewed focus on the essential skill of Oracy, which is the ability to express oneself fluently and clearly in speech. In a world increasingly shaped by communication, collaboration and creativity, Oracy is no longer a luxury in education, it is a necessity.

Developing strong speaking and listening skills empowers our pupils to think critically, engage meaningfully, and participate confidently in every area of learning. Whether it’s through class discussions, storytelling, debate, or performance, Oracy helps children find their voice and use it with purpose.

To celebrate this focus and kick-start the school year with inspiration, we are asking our poet in residence Oliver James Lomax to deliver special literacy sessions, Oliver will introduce pupils to Poetry by Heart, a national poetry-recitation competition designed to help children connect deeply with poetry through performance, memory, and emotion. Reminding us that poetry is not just something to be studied on the page, but something to be spoken, felt, and shared. Children will be invited to explore rhythm, meaning, and voice, bringing poems to life with their own unique interpretation.

Initiatives like these strengthen our belief that literacy is about more than reading and writing, it’s about communication in all its forms. We’re proud to be a school that values every child’s voice, and we look forward to a year filled with stories, poems, conversations, and the joy of reading aloud.

Please follow the link below to have a go at learning a poem by heart at home:

Poetry By Heart | Instructions For Growing Poetry

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Helping Your Child Stay Safer Online with EE’s Safer SIM

We know that keeping children safe online is a priority for families. To support this, EE has launched the EE Safer SIM – designed specifically for children and young people.

The Safer SIM helps protect children by:

• Filtering inappropriate content: Blocks adult websites and harmful material.
• Controlling spending: No access to premium-rate numbers or unexpected charges.
• Reducing risks: Stops scam texts and phishing messages where possible.
• Parental peace of mind: Gives you greater confidence when your child uses their phone independently.

This SIM is currently available through EE and can be used in most phones. It’s an easy way to add an extra layer of protection as your child begins to explore the digital world.

For more information, you can visit EE’s website and search for “Safer SIM” or speak to EE directly in-store.

Free Energy advice

Struggling with energy costs?

Scope have a dedicated Community Disability Energy Advice service that offers free advice around energy bills, grants, discounts and energy efficiency. They encourage families with disabled and/or neurodivergent children to get along to an advice session, with lots of free resources like carbon monoxide alarms and bag tags with safety tips.

Find sessions in your local area on the Scope website or by ringing 0808 800 3333, choosing option 3. You can also contact the team at CDEA@scope.org.uk. No need for referrals or proof of disability.

See their friendly leaflet – Energy Advice for Disabled People.

Supporting the wellbeing of children has never been more critical than it is right now. All custodians of a child, from parents, to teachers, governments and policy makers are more focused than ever on ensuring that children are protected from online harms.

The wellbeing outcomes of children are heavily influenced by their digital experiences. A child’s online activity, including what they view, who they interact with, and what they share can contribute to a deeply positive outcome, or pose a worrying threat to their wellbeing.

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.

- 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