Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear families,

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching two year 1 class assemblies this week and have heard how well the one I missed went. Our year 1 children stood up and proudly said their lines. They learnt a poem about each season and a song! They explained the meaning of the words ‘evergreen’ and ‘deciduous’ as well as the scientific terms ‘observe’ and ‘predict’. The knowledge they have learnt over the past few weeks is truly impressive!

Year 2 chose a great day for their trip to Bocketts Farm. They had a great day, the weather was fantastic, and they saw a lamb which was only a few hours old. The children were very well behaved for the whole trip. I am sure they slept well that night, I know the adults did!

I hope you are all getting ready for the Spin-Yard event coming up next Saturday. I demonstrated to all the children how to ride a spin bike, in assembly today. I don’t think I made a fool of myself but as it is all for a good cause (refurbishment of the school field) that doesn’t matter and it is all about taking part and having fun. See you there, but be quick, as I hear it is selling out!  Click here.

For those families celebrating, we wish you a happy Ramadan.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend,

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Ramadan Assembly

This week, Laila, Ismail, Maria, Ayden, Bashir and Ouby spoke to KS1 and KS2 in the assemblies about Ramadan and Eid. They spoke confidently and proudly about what Ramadan means to them and their experiences of these festivals.

In Ramadan, we don’t eat or drink until sunset so that we can understand how people, who are less fortunate than us, feel. We also give Zakat (charity) and try to be better people during the 29-30 days. Tarawih is an extra prayer which we have to do during Ramadan. As part of the post-Ramadan experience, individuals reflect on the lessons learnt and express gratitude for the spiritual journey. Eid-al-Fitr is a festive celebration that joyfully marks the end of Ramadan. It usually lasts between 2-3 days.

Written by Bashir and Ouby, Year 6

Attendance

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

A reminder to families that all non-emergency appointments should where possible be out of school hours. Routine dentist appointments, amongst others should not take place in the school day. 

Punctuality

Well done to Topaz, Onyx and Moonstone for getting no lates and a pizza slice added to their chart!

To support our year 6 children with their transition to secondary school, in the summer term, if a year 6 child is late for school they will miss that number of minutes of their break time. Families will be informed via email.

Miss McArdle- Assistant Headteacher 

Teaching and Learning at The Vineyard - Maths

NSPCC Number Day 2024 - 25.03.24

This year, The Vineyard will be participating in a fundraising event for the NSPCC. On Monday 25th March, we will be inviting the children to come to school dressed in maths-themed outfits, as they embark on a fun-filled day of maths activities and games. See here for some dressing up inspiration.

With this being a fundraising event, we will be asking for a small donation of £1 per child, which can be paid via School Money or in cash on the day. All money raised will be used to support NSPCC services, such as Speak out, Stay safe and Childline. The NSPCC come to our school every year to support our children with workshops so we would love to give back to this charity. 

Joe Jackson - Maths Lead

Ms Reilly and Mrs Dempster 

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

Earth Day 2024

This year’s theme for Earth Day is ‘Planet vs Plastics’ and the Green Team would like the whole school community to recognise the damage that plastic can cause to the environment and to think of ways to reduce the amount of single use plastic they use at school and at home.

Our Plastic Challenge

To help understand how much plastic we are using every day, we are asking the children to collect their used plastic over one week starting on Monday 22^nd April. Children can bring their used plastic from home to school to store in their classroom to see how much plastic their class has accumulated in just one week. On Friday 26^th April, the children will have time in the afternoon to reuse and upcycle the plastic to create something new and functional!

NB: Please make sure the plastic sent into school has been washed out and that it did not contain products with nuts.

Earth Day Poster Competition

There will also be a competition to design a poster that encourages people to reduce their use of single-use plastic. We will announce winners for EYFS, KS1, LKS2 and UKS2 in assembly and in the newsletter and the winning posters will be displayed around the school. The deadline for entries will be Monday 29^th April.

Dress Up Day

On Friday 26^th April, children can come to school dressed in blue and green clothes to show their support for Earth Day.

The Green Team

PTA News