St John Vianney School Newsletter 07.03.2025

Headteacher's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had another very good week in school and are pleased with the daily contributions made by our children and young people. Thank you for your support in getting them into school each day in their full uniforms and in a positive frame of mind. It has been a lovely week weather wise, and the pupils have benefited from a range of off-site and outside experiences again this week.

Lent started this week and we had our Ash Wednesday services, in the Chapel, to mark its beginning. Pupils will be supported in the period up to the Easter break in engaging with increased prayer opportunities, fasting and fundraising activities to support our Catholic Lenten promises.

Can I remind parents please that School will break up for the Easter break on Friday April 4th at 1.30pm. This will allow some final packing by staff on the last afternoon of term, as we will move over to the new building during the Easter break. Transport teams have been informed about the 1.30pm finish on this day. Additionally, please note the week from April 22nd to April 25th School will be closed for all pupils. This is to allow the staff to return to work a week earlier than our pupils, to help ensure we are ‘building ready’ for the start of the summer term on April 28th. If you have any worries or concerns over this please do let us know.

Another key date for your diary is the annual Parents Evening, which we have now moved to Tuesday 20th May from 4.30pm to 6pm. Please make a note of the date and time of this really important event, where you will have an opportunity to meet with teachers and class teams to discuss the progress made by your child and to look through the work that they have been undertaking this year. Spring term Interim reports will be sent to parents and carers in the final week of the current half term (WB 31st March 2025).

Yours sincerely,

Mr A Moloney, Headteacher.

Key information and Dates for your Diary

Dates for your Diary

• Fri 4th Apr - 1.30pm - (Transport teams have been informed) School closes for Easter break.
• Fri 18th Apr - Good Friday
• Sun 20th Apr - Easter Sunday
• Mon 21st Apr - Easter Monday
• Tue 22nd - Fri 25th Apr - School closed for pupils as we move to the new building.
• Mon 28th Apr @ 9:00am - School re-opens for pupils after the move.
• Tues 20th May 4.30pm-6pm Parents Evening

Residential Trips

• Thu 8th May overnight - Class 1 - The Wingate Special Children's Trust.
• Mon 17th Mar - Wed 19th Mar - KS3 - Classes 3, 4 & 6 - Bendrigg Trust.
• Wed 19th Mar - Fri 21st Mar - KS3 - Classes 2 & 5 - Bendrigg Trust.
• Mon 28th Apr - Fri 2nd May - KS4 - Classes 7, 8, 9 & 10 - Calvert Trust.
• Wed 26th Mar - Fri 28th Mar - KS5 - Classes 11, 12 & 13 - PGL.

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 10th March 2025:

Zones of Regulation Parent Course

Our new online course for Parents and Carers is now available. The online course will run over ten weeks and each short module will be sent out every Friday via email, it can also 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. I 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. This week is Part 8 of the 10 week course; we hope you enjoy learning with your child!

- Miss M Rodgers, Assistant Headteacher

Stars Of The Week

• Class 1 - Aidan - For really good participation in Music.
• Class 2 - Bradley - For making lots of good choices and regulating himself in tricky situations.
• Class 3 - William - For staying in class and using kind words.
• Class 4 - Victoria - For working hard, particularly in Maths and RE.
• Class 5 - Harry - For trying hard all week and super English work.
• Class 6 - Keldon - For being an always pupil and great progress in Maths.
• Class 7 - Rodger - For consistent hard work.
• Class 8 - Danyaal - For being helpful at DofE, resilient when completing work and for always having a positive attitude.
• Class 9 - Cormac - For his great behaviour and setting a good example for others to follow.
• Class 10 - Justin - For being fantastic all week and having a great attitude.
• Class 11 - Emilia - For having a very settled week and trying hard in English and Maths.
• Class 12 - Nesrine - For reading the prayer confidently and respectfully at the start of every day.
• Class 13 - Tomasz - For being a great and helpful Post 16 Pupil.

Employee Of The Week

Congratulations to Mr Whelan !

Highlights of the Week

Our Catholic School

Our prayer focus this week:

'As Pilgrims of Hope; Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.'

- St Anthony of Padua.

It’s been a busy start to March with Ramadan and Lent starting this week. The Chaplaincy Team helped support and deliver the Ash Wednesday service, which led us straight into our Lenten activities. We are completing 40 Acts of Kindness; the team are very busy supporting all the classes and making sure they have enough slips to write down all the wonderful acts of Kindness we see around SJV. Each class is also undertaking a pilgrimage to the chapel at the Hidden Gem to really focus our prayer time and spend time with God in Si' Lent reflection.

Within Faith in Action, we have been brainstorming ideas for our charity appeals and our acts of kindness during Lent. It’s going to be a wonderful run up to Easter at SJV in our final weeks in our existing building, our children and young people leading the way with good work and kindness, showing how much SJV lets them shine.

Mrs Garfin

Poetry Corner

At Saint John Vianney, poetry is a place of collective worship. The Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott once wrote:

"I have never separated the writing of poetry from prayer, I have grown up believing it is a vocation, a religious vocation."

The themes in his poetry run the gamut from love to elegy, celebrating life in all its natural beauty a supernatural fullness.

This is also true of the great English poet T.S. Eliot, and it’s fitting as we have celebrated our Ash Wednesday Mass in school to dedicate this week’s poetry corner to his beautiful and searching poem ‘Ash Wednesday.’ First published in 1930, the poem deals with the struggle that ensues when one who has lacked faith in the past strives to move towards God. To read the poem in full please click on the following link: https://englishverse.com/poems/ash_wednesday

Oliver Lomax

Useful Information

Safeguarding

You can access 'internet matters' My Family’s Digital Toolkit. There are 7 questions which take approx. 8 minutes to complete. Get personalised online safety advice, giving you everything you need to keep your child safe. What’s inside the toolkit:

• Get age-specific advice and tips to support your children online
• Learn about popular apps and platforms your children use
• Get information about how to deal with any online safety concerns
• Get recommendations for digital tools to support their interests and wellbeing

Click on the following link to get started https://www.internetmatters.org/digital-family-toolkit/

Manchester South Foodbank Lent appeal

As we enter the season of Lent, we are reminded of the importance of generosity, kindness, and supporting those in need. This year, our school is participating in the Manchester South Foodbank Lent appeal, helping us to focus on making a positive impact within our community. We are kindly asking for your support by donating non-perishable food items to our local foodbank. These donations will directly help families in need and make a real difference in their lives during these challenging times.

Please send in your donations to school. Some of the items that are most needed include:

• Tinned vegetables
• Tinned meat
• Tinned veggie meal
• Cereals
• Long life fruit juices
• Pasta sauces
• Tinned rice pudding
• Tea bags/coffee
• Snacks/chocolate
• Cooking oil
• Jam
• Pasta and rice
• Breakfast cereals
• Long-life milk

- 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