St John Vianney School Newsletter 21.11.2025

Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers, I hope you have had another good week? It has again been busy in school. Behaviour and Attendance to school has generally been very good again this week. The pupils feel more settled into routines and activities and lesson drop-ins and observations are showing us really engaged learners, who are responding well to the challenges set in their lessons and by staff. This certainly helps keeping a settled school. Thank you for your support in encouraging correct behaviour in school and in ensuring your child is in school every day possible. Our attendance rates to school have been excellent since the start of term and we want this to continue through to the Christmas break, which is now only four weeks away. Can I remind you that school will close for the Christmas holidays on Friday 19th December at 3.15pm. We are now busy preparing for the season of Advent, which is always a special time in school, as we prepare pupils to have a fuller understanding of the real Christmas message. There are lots of opportunities planned for pupils to celebrate Christmas over the next four weeks. Additionally, we are continuing to look at the role of 'Saints' in the Catholic Church, during the month of November. Children are learning about a different Saint each day, identifying how they became Saints. We are learning that the Saints in the Catholic Church are inspirational and we are encouraging our pupils to follow the good work each of the saints demonstrated. Positive Noticing day on Wednesday was a lovely celebration of all the fantastic actions we see at SJV everyday. It was great to be able to reward pupils for their selflessness and kindness/ support of others. Well done to all.

 The following are some of the events we have planned for the remainder of the autumn term:

• Chaplaincy Team Retreat - Wed 26th November
• Deep Learning Day; Literacy - Thu 27th November
• Gulliver’s World Trip C2, C3 and C11 - Fri 28th November
• Coffee Afternoon Parents - Fri 28th Nov at 1:45pm
• Advent Launch - Weds 3rd December
• First Friday Mass - Fri 5th December
• Trafford’s Got Talent Comp - Fri 5th December PM
• CAFT Christmas Activity Day C3/C6 - Mon 8th December
• Come Dine With Me Experience - Fri 12th December
• Christmas Activities Day P3-6 - Mon 15th December
• Cinderella Pantomime for KS3 and C11 - Tue 16th December

Best wishes Mr A Moloney, Headteacher

Key information and Dates for your Diary

Dates for Your Diary

• Fri 19th Dec @ 3:15pm - School closes for the Christmas Break
• Mon 5th Jan 2026 @ 9:00am - School re-opens for Spring Term

Key Stage 5 Functional Skills Exam Dates:

The Admin team will be sending letters out next week to those students who are due to take Functional Skills Exams, confirming dates and times. On the day(s) in question, (see dates below), kindly ensure your child is well rested and attends school in good time for a prompt, calm and relaxed start to exam proceedings.

• Tue 02 December 2025 at 9:30am - English Reading
• Wed 03 December 2025 at 9:30am - English Writing
• Tue 09 December 2025 at 9:30am - Maths Non Calculator
• Wed 10 December 2025 at 9:30am - Maths Calculator

Key Info

Zones of Regulation - Parent Course

Our Zones of Regulation, online course for Parents and Carers is shared again this week with Module 6. The online course will run over ten weeks and each short module can be accessed via our website: Training for parents & carers. This course will introduce to you the ten concepts of the Zones of Regulation. The aim is to encourage the consistent use of language at school and at home to help regulate your child/young person's emotions and behaviours. We will set activities for you to do at home and introduce some strategies for you to use. If you would like some more information about this course, please contact the school office.

- Miss M Rodgers, Assistant Headteacher

Coffee Afternoon for parents and carers

On Friday 28th November at 1:45pm we will be hosting a Coffee Afternoon for parents and carers. If you would like to attend, please confirm your attendance by clicking on the following link COFFEE AFTERNOON FORM

Positive Noticing Day

We are delighted to have participated in Positive Noticing Day again this year. We spent some time during the day thinking about the power of positive noticing. It is simple, practical, and highly effective. Being positively noticed by others builds self-esteem, supports behaviour and promotes good mental health. We encouraged pupils and staff to positively notice one another and share their observations by writing a short message of recognition on a luggage tag.

There was a real positive vibe around school with many happy faces on staff and pupils alike. We would like to share some memories of the day that have been captured in the video below. If you would like to find out more about positive noticing and Positive Noticing Day, including strategies to use at home, click on the following link: POSITIVE NOTICING DAY

Shoebox appeal

Dear Parents and Carers, 73 Christmas shoeboxes are now on their way to children around the world! Your incredible generosity for Operation Christmas Child has left us speechless! Each colorful box, packed with love, will bring so much joy this holiday season. Thank you for making magic happen for children who need it most! The Samaritan's Purse team was absolutely thrilled with our SJV community's kindness. You've truly made a difference! Mrs Murphy.

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 24th November 2025:

Stars of The Week

• Class 1 Mrs Jordan - Hunter - For representing the school perfectly twice this week.
• Class 2 Miss Walsh - Meera - For resilience and working hard.
• Class 3 Mr Healey - Kymarni - For representing the school well and being welcoming towards our new pupil.
• Class 4 Mrs Garfin - Cory - For being more independent and trying his best.
• Class 5 Mr Whelan - Tyler - For managing himself well and an improved work ethic.
• Class 6 Miss Shaw - Khalil - For positive engagements in our assemblies.
• Class 7 Miss Graham - Zachary - For a fantastic attitude all week, and showing kindness and support to a peer.
• Class 8 Mrs Wood - Leon - For showing great improvement in almost all areas of school.
• Class 9 Mr Donovan - Thomas - For resilience and communication, and for always being kind to his classmates
• Class 10 Mr Wood - Scarlett - For great work in maths.
• Class 11 Miss Sherwin - Mia - For pushing herself in all of her lessons this week!
• Class 12 Miss Lord - Inaaya - For trying very hard to be more mature.
• Class 13 Mr Kanakides - Heaven - for excellent contributions to the life of C13
• Class 14 Miss Wilkinson - Tomasz - For being always pupil; he has been incredible this week not only in class, but with the Anchor of Hope too.

Employees of The Week

Congratulations to Miss Murgia and Mrs Murphy!

Welcome to our school.

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our prayer focus in SJV this week:

'God is faithful and if we serve Him faithfully, he will provide for our needs.'

- St Richard of Chichester

Our Chaplaincy Team meeting this week provided an opportunity for us to prepare for our forthcoming Chaplaincy Team Retreat. There will be 29 GIFT Team and Chaplaincy members attending this retreat, not including staff! We are looking forward to planning for Advent, which will involve lots of enjoyable activities for the whole school to take part in.

–

Mrs Garfin

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

Poet of the week; Jaylen from Class 3

This year’s Saint John Vianney School Poetry Prize brought forward an extraordinary range of creativity, emotion, and imagination from pupils across the school. But among all the wonderful entries, one poem stood out for its depth and heartfelt storytelling. We are proud to celebrate Jaylen, whose poem “The Flowers of Manneh” earned the prestigious Headteacher’s Special Award. Jaylen’s poem is a moving reflection on the Munich Air Disaster, a tragic event in football history that claimed the lives of players and staff of Manchester United’s “Busby Babes.” With remarkable sensitivity, Jaylen explored themes of loss, remembrance and hope, weaving together powerful imagery that captivated everyone who read it. “The Flowers of Manneh” paints a vivid emotional landscape, of flowers laid in mourning, the weight of a community’s grief, and the enduring legacy of those whose lives were lost. What impressed the judge, Mr Lomax, most was Jaylen’s ability to give voice to history in a way that felt both personal and universal. Mr Moloney was particularly impressed with the sensitivity that Jaylen displayed in his writing, especially as the poem tells the story of a critical episode in Manchester’s recent history, that affected so many people across our city. We are all really proud of you Jaylen, well done, and keep writing.

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Winter Coat Appeal

This year we are supporting 'The Wellspring Charity for Homeless'. The Wellspring charity supports people that are homeless or at risk of losing their home. We are asking for your support by donating any unwanted adult winter coats. If you have any coats that are still in good condition, but no longer needed, please consider donating them to help others stay warm this winter. Please send your unwanted coats into school by December 5th and we will collect them at School and then pass them through to the Charity before Christmas. Your generosity will make a real difference to those facing hardship in our community. We appreciate your kindness and support in making this initiative a success. To find our more information regarding the charity click here.

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

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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