Headteacher's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
I do hope you have had a pleasant week?
With the onset of Advent this coming weekend, we are busy making preparations for the children to grasp a real understanding of the meaning of Christmas. This week we had 35 children who attended the Chaplaincy retreat with Father Nick and Mrs Garfin at the Spiritan Centre, in Salford. The children had a excellent morning and were tasked to prepare some of the liturgy services that will take place during the month of December. This will help ensure everybody is spiritually ready to reflect on the birth of Jesus, the coming of our Saviour. Additionally, Class teams are preparing for a number of celebrations and activities that will help our children understand that Christmas is a time of fun, for giving and enjoyment with others.
I am really pleased to report that the children this week have been really well engaged in their learning and some of the behaviour challenges that we have witnessed over the last few weeks have deteriorated. On Monday morning I spoke with the whole school about the importance of cooperation, respect and support for each other and requested to the children that they helped us ensure SJV was the best school possible on any given day. They have certainly responded well to my request and we have witnessed a much better week in school, this week. On Tuesday morning the Governing Body attended their annual training session in school and they fed back on so many positive aspects that they had seen in school, but were particularly impressed with the cooperation, engagement and participation of pupils in and out of lessons. This certainly bodes well for the rest of term.
Your Child’s interim school report is now being readied by the Administration team and we hope to have this sent to you in two weeks time. The report will identify the progress that has been made by your child across all the subjects, since September.
We have planned an Advent coffee morning in school for any parent who is able to attend on the 7th December in the dining room from 11am to 12 noon. This is an informal opportunity for you to come into school and help us celebrate the end of term and the onset of Christmas. Please put the date in the diary; it would be great to see you at this point.
Additionally, we are holding a Public Consultation event with our building partners, Kier Construction for the new build project on the 7th December. Parents are invited to attend to see the building proposals and ask any questions from 3.30 till 4.30pm on that date. We will be then opening to the general public until 7 o’clock that evening for those people who may not be able to attend the first hour. Again, please put this date in your diary and come along to see the really exciting proposals we have in place for the future of the St John Vianney School. We look forward to seeing you at one or both events in December.
I do hope you have a great weekend your family.
Mr A Moloney
Headteacher
Our 'Stars of the Week'
Renee; For a mature approach to independently managing her work.
Justin; For showing great resilience
Theo; Theo has eaten well in the dining room!
Jason; For being fantastic in lessons and off-site.
Daniel; For being a good friend to others and working amazingly in class.
Riley For trying his best and doing some brilliant writing in English this week - well done Riley!
Dylan; A fantastic effort in his BTEC communication studies trip. Communicating with unfamiliar people and overcoming his anxieties.
Leon; For his excellent contributions and participation in all of his lessons and for being a good friend to his peers.
Ayla; For answering lots of questions in lessons this week.
Rayyan; For an amazing retelling of 'We're going on a bear hunt'.
James; For showing great focus during lessons.
Amy; For being very helpful and showing great maturity in all lessons. Well done.
Liz; has been contributing well to lessons and developing some friendships
Well done everyone!
SJV Class News
Class 9
Class 9 have been working with great independence in maths this week; focussing on simplifying, and dividing fractions.
It’s great to see them working so hard. Well done Guys!
Class 8
Class 8 enjoyed printing their own wallpaper in art this week.
Class 7
Class 7, at the farm this week, collected leaves and willows to create Advent reefs. There's been lots of trips this week, which many students from C7 were involved in. There's been a Chaplaincy retreat and there's also a Poetry trip today. Our class have been busy and enjoyed this week so much!
Class 6
Class 6 have been working on tables for DT this term. Everyone is making a great start; we can’t wait to see how the project will look likes when it finishes. Well done Class 6; keep it up.
Our Catholic School
Our weekly focus in SJV is this important quote from Pope Francis ‘God is so merciful towards us. We too should learn to be merciful’.
What are we doing on our journey? How are we helping others? This quotes help focus our reflection time at SJV and need to work on our forgiveness.
We had a very exciting day on Wednesday with the whole of the Chaplaincy/G.I.F.T team went visiting Father Nick's home for a retreat day. This gave the Team a chance to plan for all the different activities we are doing for Advent and Christmas. SJV has the largest Chaplaincy team in the diocese (with 37% of the school on the team) we are very lucky and grateful that Mr Moloney allows us all to go. (We had to hire a very big coach!). We had a fabulous time, with lots of laughter, singing and dancing and some serious hard work as well! The team will be launching our Advent and Reconciliation preparation at SJV with two services next week. If you are sick of Christmas before the 25th of December we have been learning that you’ve not been doing Advent right. We need to prepare properly for Jesus and think of others- we will be looking as a school of what we can do each week in Advent to fully prepare for Christmas. There also needs to be time for reflection and reconciliation before Christmas; it will be wonderful that we as a school has time to reflect and say 'sorry' before Christmas and the birth of Jesus.
In RE this week we have been doing a lot of 'MAD' time! Which is making a difference to our work, we have been looking at our work on Holy Souls, Saints, Miracles and Forgiveness and after the students have read their written feedback they have all tried hard to improve their work.
Mrs Garfin
Gift for Ghana Appeal
Hello everyone.
Our Gifts for Ghana appeal is well under way; in fact, there is just one week left to get your donations in to school! We've had some very generous donations already, but would love some more! Whilst you are out shopping this weekend, if you can, please add in an extra little something for the pupils at the school in Ghana. By undertaking this task, we are supporting Pope Francis' 'Laudato Si' message about being the best Global Citizens and caring for others. Please help us to spread a little extra Christmas cheer and love this December.
Thank you,
Mrs Murphy.
Christmas tips for autistic people and their families.
Christmas can be an exciting and fun time. However, new activities can be overwhelming for some of us, we might have to adapt some of our usual plans; but that shouldn't stand in the way of an autism-friendly Christmas.
With help from parents and carers, the National Autistic Society have compiled a list of tips for the festive period.
Please click on the link to find out more…
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/leisure/christmas/tips
Help Paying Higher Energy Bills
Help Paying Energy Debt
With energy prices as high as they currently are, there is a danger that families will become unable to keep up with their bills and fall into debt. If you are worried about being able to afford energy this winter, ask for advice as soon as you can from organisations like Citizen’s Advice and National Debt Line.
It is also worth contacting your energy supplier to discuss payment plans and other options. There are organisations that can help you speak to your supplier, such as Scope’s Disability Energy Support.
Some energy suppliers have schemes to help their customers struggling to pay their bill. Each scheme will have different eligibility requirements. Check if your supplier has a scheme for customers facing energy debt by contacting them or checking their website.
Here is a list of some schemes
British Gas Energy Trust is open to anyone, not just British Gas customers –
https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/british-gas-energy-trust
Scottish Power Hardship Fund is open to Scottish Power customers who are either on certain benefits, have a low income, or other circumstances e.g. reduced income due to illness.
E.ON Next Energy Fund is open to Eon customers - https://www.eonenergyfund.com/
EDF Energy Customer Support Fund is open to EDF customers -https://charisgrants.com/partners/edf-energy/
The Fuel Bank Foundation - https://www.fuelbankfoundation.org/
The Fuel Bank Foundation is a charity dedicated to helping people who are struggling to pay their energy bills. They provide emergency financial support and advice to people who pre-pay for fuel and have run out of credit.
Paying Energy Bills Using your Benefits
If you are struggling, you may be able to pay your energy bills and any debt you may have, directly out of your benefit. This is also known as ‘Fuel Direct’, or ‘third party deductions’, and your energy supplier will be paid monthly. Your water bills, rent and service can also be paid from your benefits. Benefits eligible for this include:
Universal Credit
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income related Employment Support Allowance
Income Support
Pension Credit
For more information you can visit the Government website here, and to apply contact your Jobcentre Plus, if you are in receipt of Pension Credit you must apply via your Pension Service.
Improving your Energy Efficiency
Scope’s Disability Energy Support (England & Wales only)
The charity 'Scope' offer disabled people and their family’s free energy and water advice. Support can be given via email or telephone covering a range of topics such as managing debt, energy efficiency, free fuel vouchers (conditions apply), speaking to your supplier, and understanding your energy bills.
Book your appointment today on Scope’s website here - https://www.scope.org.uk/
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