A message from our Headteacher
Dear Parents and Carers,
I do hope that you have had a good week and happy St Patrick’s day!
We have had another busy week in school and this half term is flying by very quickly. Key Stage 3 pupils have settled back into their routines well, after their Bendrigg experience. Having spoken to the children this week we know that they had an amazing time and are looking forward now to the opportunity to attend again next year. Our Key Stage 4 pupils are gearing up for their trip next week to Calvert Trust in Keswick; as you would expect they are really excited and looking forward to the opportunity to engage in a range of outdoor education activities with our team of staff, who are supporting them and the CT team who will lead them next week. We wish them well on the activity week.
We are busy in school preparing the second interim report of the school year. We aim to have this sent out to you by the end of next week and this will provide you with information on the progress your child is making across the curriculum, at SJV, since last September. As explained previously, we hope you are able to attend Parents Evening on Thursday 30th March, 4:30pm to 6:30pm, where we will provide you with an opportunity to meet with the class team and discuss the successes and achievements that your child has made this year. Please do make every effort to attend; it is a vital evening in your child’s development.
It was lovely today to welcome into school parents for our Lenten coffee afternoon. Thank you for supporting this event, it was great to be able to have our pupils prepare and arrange the refreshments, which supported their KS4 BTEC Hospitality and Tourism studies. It is always nice to catch up with our parents in an informal way and the coffee afternoon was a perfect way to end the week. It also helps raise some funds for CAFOD, which is our chosen charity for our Lenten fundraising. Pupils and staff are busy trying to meet their £100 fundraising target per class, which will allow them to buy CAFOD gifts for vulnerable people across the world, before the Easter break. Thank you for your continued support in their fundraising.
Additionally, we are undertaking a spring food collection over the next two weeks, with the intention of providing a local food bank with items that they can share with those in need. If you could please send into school any tinned foods and other non-perishables items, that you could donate, this would be really appreciated. All of these activities continue to ensure that our pupils understand the importance of looking after the most vulnerable in our society; a key message of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si (‘Care of our Common Home’) message.
I do hope you and your family have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Mr A Moloney
Headteacher
Cornerstone Collection
Just a reminder, our Chaplaincy team are still collecting food items for Cornerstone.
Some suggestions include:
• Cereals
• Coffee / Tea bags
• Biscuits
• Sugar
• Beans/ Beans and sausages
• Tinned meat / Hotdogs
• Soup/ Noodles
• Tinned fruit/ Vegetables
• Pasta /Pasta sauces
• Long life juice/Milk
• Tuna tins
• Shampoo/Deodorant/Soap
• Toothpaste and tooth brushes
All contributions are valued, and will be presented in the Easter service on 30th March.
Please send any donations before Monday 27th March.
Thank you in anticipation,
Mrs Murphy.
Class 8 Lenten Challenge
Pupil Voice
Name: Megan
What I’ve being doing this week:
Our Class went to Liverpool to visit the World Museum where we saw ancient Egyptian artefacts and some real 'mummies' Dinosaurs & Space exhibits.
What is the best thing about being in SJV?
Having such a good group of friends and all the teachers who support me.
It would be even better if…
It's impossible to improve this school for me!
Hopes and dreams for the future:
To be a play therapist, working with sick children in a hospital.
Class News
Class 3
The boys have had a busy couple of weeks!
At Cronkshaw Farm they have been helping farmer Dot and learning about tree maintenance.
In Science they've been learning about forces. They practically demonstrated gravity, friction and air resistance with the help of beautifully crafted paper aeroplanes!
Class 5
Class 5 enjoyed their topic lesson this week and presented a weather report to the class about their chosen tropical area!
Class 6
Class 6 had an amazing time on our residential at Bendrigg last week! Everyone behaved really well, tried new things and enjoyed all the activities that were on offer. Well done guys, you made us proud!
Class 7
Last week in Class 7 went to away to Bendrigg for 3 days and had an amazing time doing different activities.
Climbing wall; what was really impressive was how they challenged themselves & supported each other with the climbing & helping spot the ropes. We also enjoyed zip wire and archery.
We also went canoeing; we had great fun and enjoyed working together as a team and enjoying the countryside at Bendrigg.
Class 8
Class 8 had a great trip to the Trafford Centre on Thursday. We went to Waterstones book shop to use our book day tokens.
Class 9
This week Class 9 visited Liverpool Museum to reinforce their learning in History and Geography. They even completed an ancient Egyptian treasure hunt. Well done guys.
Class 11
Class 11 worked hard cleaning up our school garden and Louis serenaded us all while we did it!
Class 12
Class 12 thoroughly enjoyed their photography trip to Manchester Museum. They looked at the Golden Mummies and took lots of pictures of plants and animal specimens, which contributes towards their coursework and GCSE exam. Well done everyone!
Class 13
Class 13 Photography students have been working on their 'fusion' unit of work. They have been creating double exposure edits through layering and using filters.
They are making great progress with their editing skills.
Champion!
Leon was lucky enough to take part in an event organised by Basketball England to promote a new Hollywood movie starring Woody Harrelson - a comedy about a basketball team with special needs. His review was very positive! He also met Jamal, a Commonwealth gold medallist
SJV at Carrington Riding Centre
Another great day at Carrington Riding Centre, the boys are helping to get the horses ready for the summer.
Teens and Toddlers programme Graduation
Post 16 attended a graduation evening in recognition of their fantastic achievement in successfully completing The Teens and Toddlers programme with Power2. Our students were outstanding and left the Power2 staff, Mrs Rouse and I and their parents and carers in tears at the event. Four of our students astounded us when they got up in front of almost 300 people and shared their experiences, we were all in awe of their progress, confidence, and resilience. St John Vianney School was nominated for the School Partnership of the Year 2023 award for our partnership and commitment with Power2. We came in the top 7 out of 40 schools. This made us so very proud and in our eyes, we are the winners!
Our Catholic School
“We are asked on our Lenten journey to the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday to explore our relationships with God. St Augustine of Hippo reminds us ‘God loves each of us, as if there were only one of us to love’
We see in SJV staff, students, parents and carers facing personal challenges every day, the supportive caring Christian love of SJV and our families of parents and carers show how God’s love helps us.
Within our Catholic school we had our 'Reconciliation' and Stations of the Cross service for Key Stage 2/3 and 4/5, supported by the chaplaincy team. SJV is continuing its focus on the three pillars of Lent; almsgiving/charity work, fasting and prayer.
Each form class is trying to raise the most money in the ‘£10 Challenge'. Every form class starts with £10 and comes up with an idea to raise money from the £10 start. We have been fasting from unkind words and we continue to do our 40 Acts of Kindness; it’s been lovely to read through each of the kind acts that our staff and students have done.
We have been continuing to focus on our SJV pillars of prayer and using the Chapel for the Si-LENT campaign. We are trying to have some moments of silence during each day, reflecting on our lives and relationship with God and placing ourselves in God’s presence.
With RE this week we have been reflecting on our Lenten Journey so far. We are looking at how we have been doing on acts of kindness, who we are praying for and what we having been doing for charity. We are reflecting on God's words about the importance of kindness and love and treating everyone as our neighbour as part of our make a difference work. A key difference is getting pupils to look at how we can make a difference to people’s life.
Mrs Garfin
Enjoy your Weekend!
Credits:
Created with images by geralt - "board school done" • shersor - "chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream" • ActionGP - "Top view photo of st patrick's day decorations green shamrocks straws clover shaped confetti and pot with gold coins on isolated pastel green background with copyspace"