Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear families,

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Teaching and Learning at The Vineyard - Exit Tickets 

At The Vineyard, assessment for learning is really important because it helps us understand what the children know and what they still need help with. One simple but powerful way we do this is through exit tickets, a technique from Doug Lemov’s book Teach Like a Champion. Exit tickets are quick tasks at the end of a lesson that show us what the children have learned. They help us spot any gaps and plan our next steps.

There are lots of fun and practical ways we use exit tickets in class. Children might write or draw an answer on a post-it note and stick it on the learning wall. In Find and Fix It, the teacher makes a mistake on purpose and the children correct it to show they understand. With Snowball, they write a response, scrunch it up, and throw it into a bucket! High Five is a quick way to practise keywords, spellings or timetables as the children leave the room. Other ideas include a short quiz, showing answers with ABCD cards or true/false cards, or writing One Small Change they’d make to improve their work next time. Sometimes we use Draw It, where children draw a diagram or label key parts of what they’ve learned, like the water cycle or parts of a plant.

We also use exit tickets during transitions at different points in the week. For example, if a group is struggling to remember the UK’s capital cities, this becomes the focus for a few days when lining up or coming in from break. Exit tickets at The Vineyard help make learning stick – and they’re fun too!

Ms Reilly and Mrs Dempster 

Assistant Headteachers for Teaching & Learning

The Vineyard Careers Day 

Last week, we hosted the first Vineyard Careers day.  Children were invited to come to school dressed as they would for a job that they might like to do when they are older. We saw firefighters, fashion designers and lots of artists and scientists.  Parents and other volunteers came into school to talk about their careers to the children in EYFS up to year 4; children heard about acting, journalism, architecture and a range of other careers.  For the children in Years 5 and 6, they had the opportunity to talk to more than 20 parents and other volunteers about their careers during the Careers Fair.  The children were fantastic at asking questions and were excited to learn about the careers that were represented.  Thank you to all our parent/carer volunteers across the school, our school chef, Spencer, our sports coach, Adam, the school nutritionist, Jolyon Coy (actor) and James Johnstone (artist), for the time and effort that you put in to attending the events, the preparation beforehand and for answering all the questions that the children had.

Mrs Darling

Career Day Lead

School Council Trip to The Houses of Parliament 

The School Council were lucky enough to be invited on a special trip to the Houses of Parliament last week. After making our way through the airport-like security, we met Lord Elliot in the oldest part of the building: Westminster Hall. He told us what it is like to be a member of the House of Lords and what he does day-to-day. The children were fascinated to find out how he got into politics, what he liked most about his job and whether or not he’d met a Prime Minister (it turns out, he’s met them all!). Next, equipped with headsets, we were given a grand tour. We were told many historical stories and ‘fun facts’ on our way around by the experts. They were so impressed by The Vineyard children’s enthusiasm and interest in the history of the building and all the fun facts they had to share too! After a lot of walking, we found a grassy spot with the Houses of Parliament as our back-drop to have a well-earned sit down, lunch and do some sketching. On arrival back at school, the children eagerly reported back all that they had learnt to their classmates. Thank you to the parent volunteers and everyone who made the trip possible. 

Drawings by Thaddeus in Y2 (top) and Olivia in Y6 (above)

Mrs Thompson 

School Council Co-Lead 

Approved ABRSM exam centre!

We’re delighted to announce that this week, the Vineyard Music Hub gained approval from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music to become an exam centre for instrumental and singing  exams. Families with children already in the grade exam system will know that this is excellent news for our children - any exams can now be taken in the Music Hub, rather than miles away.

This was made possible by fundraising from the PTA and the Friends of the Vineyard, and we are very grateful!

Theoretically, this means we could hold exams in July; however we need a minimum number of candidates to book an examiner so it’s likely the first exams will be in the autumn term.

Any questions, please email music@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk.

No Parking in Palmerston Court

Unfortunately, some Vineyard families are parking in Palmerston Court at pick-up time. 

Vineyard families are not permitted to park in Palmerston Court. This is residents' parking only.

Thank you for respecting our neighbours. 

Number Day

A big thank you also for everyone’s engagement with last Friday’s NSPCC Number Day. The children had a wonderful time playing number games and solving maths problems. So far, we have raised £644 for the NSPCC – thank you for your generosity! Our JustGiving page is still open. If you would still like to contribute, please follow the link here.

YR—Y3 Disco - Wednesday 2 July

Our exciting school disco returns, featuring two sessions.

• 3.15pm: Reception and Year 1
• 4.30pm: Year 2 and 3

With family favourite DJ Stuart spinning the latest tracks, don't miss out on the chance to create unforgettable memories on the dance floor!  Tickets 👉

🚨 Sunset Fun Fete News!

👧 Free childcare!

Anyone volunteering to help set up the Sunset Fun Fete next Friday can get a free hour of EDP childcare beteeen 3.15–4.15pm. Email edp@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk to claim this and let’s all pull together to make this an amazing event! (You will need to set up an account for your child first). This must be done by Wednesday at 12pm so we can sort out staffing.

🎮 Nintendo Switch 2 Raffle!

We are very fortunate to have been gifted a brand new Nintendo Switch 2, hot off the manufacturing line! Raffle tickets for this will be available on the day of the event only. Be in it to win it!

🔫Extra Laser Tag sessions added!

We’ve added two more laser tag sessions. Check out https://buytickets.at/thevineyardschoolpta/1673826

🎭 Turquoise Talent Stage!

There are just a handful of children’s performance spots still available for the Talent Stage. To secure your place, go to Classlist > Events and follow the instructions. You’ll also need to email us a short video of the act.

👨‍⚕️First Aiders needed!

We are short of first aiders after 5.30pm. If you hold a first aid qualification and can spare us an hour of your time, we would be very grateful to hear from you. Email or message us. Thank you!

🥰 Finally, a big shoutout to our wonderful sponsors Parkgate without whose generous sponsorship this event would not be possible! Come and say hi to them helping out on the BBQ.