The Vineyard School Parent Portal

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Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Friday 20th October 2023

Dear all families,

Unbelievably, today marks the end of the first half-term! It has certainly been very busy and flown by.

Our hearts go out to all who are affected by the continuing situation in the Middle East. We will make a donation to The British Red Cross, who is working with Magen David Adom and the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Thank you for your generosity - we raised £510!

This week we held our first geography fieldwork day. It was touch and go at points due to the gloomy weather forecast, but all year groups made it out and had a very successful time! Thank you to all the families that volunteered to help on this trip. Without you, these events cannot happen. Thank you to Miss Reilly for turning her vision into reality!

Thank you to the PTA for organising a wonderful disco for the children. The children had a fantastic time, and we saw some fantastic dance moves from the children and adults!

I would like to say thank you to all the school staff who have worked extremely hard this half-term and hope they all find some time for some well-deserved rest. Looking forward to seeing the children back at school on Wednesday 1st November at 8.30am.

Wishing you a wonderful half-term break,

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Safeguarding

We have been reminding children this week that when something is said or done, that makes them feel uncomfortable to tell a trusted adult in the school. This is really important so that situations can be addressed straight away. Please do also remind your children of this at home.

- Miss McArdle, Safeguarding Lead

EYFS Phonic Workshop for Families

Here are the slides: EYFS Phonics

The KS1 phonics workshop will be rescheduled due to a low turnout. Look out for the date in the next newsletter.

Lost Property

Please make sure you go through the Lost Property which can be found opposite the field, between the year 3&4 classrooms. We will dispose of any items not claimed by the end of the 3rd November. Thank you for your cooperation!

Geography Field Trip

Despite the weather, The Vineyard School headed out into our local area to find out about the human and physical features that surround us. Year 2 discovered that the most common type of building was housing, followed by places of leisure. Year 3 were very excited to see a "real-life meander" from Turner's viewpoint and explore the middle course of the river in detail. Year 4 enquired about the human uses of the river - noting the different signs of human activity as they walked a part of The Thames Path down to Petersham. Year 5 asked relevant and meaningful questions to find out about the local population and housing types. And, finally, year 6 were amazed to locate key landmarks in London from Richmond Park! They soon realised why Richmond Park is considered to be such a local wonder.

Year 1 had a super time mapping the most suitable location for a bug hotel- they even got to make one!

Thank you to all members of staff who put on their waterproofs and headed out with big smiles on their faces, and to all the parent helpers who gave up their time to help keep our children safe. We couldn't do it without you!

Over the next few weeks, I will be displaying our fantastic outcomes in the library. The children will have an opportunity to see how their enquiry fits into The Vineyard's bigger project. We are very excited.

Miss A Reilly - Geography Lead

Teaching and Learning at The Vineyard

Teaching and learning

We are excited to announce that we have launched our School Council nominations to form our new School Council to start in Autumn 2.

This year, our School Council will include two children from each class from years 1 to 6. Your child’s class teacher has explained how the nomination process will work and the responsibilities of the role. Nominations will take place by Friday 3rd November, when we will announce our school council members for this year to each class. Please see further details below so you can support your child at home if s/he is interested in taking part.

What is a School Council?

A School Council is a group of pupils who act as representatives of their classmates in discussing school issues with the headship team and staff

Support the development of the school

Work together to raise and address issues that can improve our school

Run projects, competitions and fundraisers

What skills will children develop when being part of the School Council?

Speaking and listening skills
An ability to think for others
Commitment - meetings will run once every 2 weeks for 30 minutes
An ability to work independently outside of meetings in their own time (break/lunchtime/after school)
Setting a good example
Acting as a good team player
Being solution focused
Generating ideas

How can my child apply?

If your child is interested in being part of the school council, they will need to prepare a speech (details below) which they will share with their class by Friday November 3^rd.

Write a speech at home explaining why you want to be a school councillor, why children should vote for you and what do you promise once elected?

Present this to their class by Friday 3rd of November (your teacher will let you know the exact date for your class to present)

Each child votes for 1 boy and 1 girl to represent their class
If your child would like help in structuring their speech, please click on this link.

Good luck to all those that take part! We can’t wait to hear the speeches.

Ms Reilly and Mrs Dempster

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

Black History Month Poster Competition

Entries for the Black History Month Poster Competition are due in school by 1^st November! Here is a quick reminder of the competition:

Who inspires you? We would like to invite all the children to create a poster to celebrate the achievements of an inspirational black woman! You could choose someone famous or someone you know in your life. Research your chosen woman and create a poster to highlight her accomplishments. The Headship team will choose a winner from Reception, Key Stage 1 and Key stage 2 and the winners' posters will be displayed around the school and in the newsletter. We can't wait to see your amazing posters!

Governor Update

The governors have been busy this half-term. We have already held a full governing body meeting, a school development and pupils committee meeting and a resources committee meeting. We also had a breakfast meeting to introduce ourselves to the new members of the staff team. Read here to find out more.

School finances and paying for trips - we need your help!

Thank you to all families who have either paid their £100 contribution to help us enhance the curriculum through trips and workshops or have paid the first instalment. We are only going to be able to book trips when we have enough funds to cover the cost. Here Is a letter which explains the situation fully.

Attendance

Well done to all the year groups getting above 96%!!

The classes that have got a slice of pizza on their chart (no lates) are Amethyst, Carnelian and Kyanite!

Miss McArdle- Assistant Headteacher

Secondary School Admissions

Closing date for Secondary school applications this year is Tuesday 31 October 2023

Link for the secondary application: https://forms.gle/jpu7QL88yg7jmc2Q6

Book bags - reception and KS1 -

Due to storage difficulties, please only send your child in with a book bag after half-term. These can either be The Vineyard one or a plain navy blue one. Thank you.

19 Oct 2023

PTA News

Thank you to everyone who helped make our school disco happen yesterday, and a special thanks to Sara for running the event. We hope all the children enjoyed themselves!

This week the PTA wants to remind your kids to get to work on their Christmas card designs! We need to receive all the designs by Wednesday 1st November, which is the very first day back after half-term. This is a great way to get your Christmas card shopping done - and it’s personalised with your child's design.

While in a festive mood, you or your kids might also have an idea for a craft or food stall you'd like to run at our Christmas Crafting Market on Saturday 2nd December. Email us on pta@vineyardpta.org with your suggestion.
More stalls = more fun classroom/playground stuff for your kids, funded by the PTA.

And if you were inspired by Mr. Jones last week, and you'd like to volunteer to read in school with other classes. Please let us know that too! Parent volunteers are the lifeblood of our PTA and every minute you can give makes a big difference.