Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear all families,

A highlight of the term was listening to year 1 perform their poem Nut Tree by Julia Donaldson this afternoon. They honestly did a brilliant job and I felt so proud of them. They and all the adults have been working very hard this week, and it paid off. I was also invited to a wonderful carnival today by Reception which was really fun. So lovely to see the children enjoying themselves so much.

Unbelievably, we are now at the halfway point in the academic year. Thinking about our priorities for the year: curriculum development; feedback and marking; handwriting and presentation, we have come a long way. The children's books are looking so much better as they take more pride in how they present their work. Thank you to Ms Reilly for the hard work she has done to help support the staff with how they teach handwriting - we are definitely making progress and will continue to work hard on this next term.

You will see below information on how we have marked Children's Mental Health week and Safer Internet Day. Also, our new behaviour posters.

I hope you all have a wonderful half-term. I haven't had the courage to look at the weather forecast yet, but I am hoping we will be able to enjoy some winter sunshine. My thoughts are with our Turkish and Syrian families who are going through a difficult time following the terrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. 

Looking forward to seeing the children on Monday 20th February.

Best wishes,

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher

Key Messages/Reminders

• All children should have healthy snacks only (fruit/vegetable/dried fruit) in Y1 after half term there will be no afternoon snack
• No snacks to be eaten at drop off or collection
• We have noticed some children not following our uniform policy. Please ensure after half term all children are adhering to the rules- no boots, colourful hair accessories or jewellery
• The children are really enjoying playing table tennis at lunch but we keep losing the balls! Please donate some if you can. 
• Flu letter from NHS which we have been asked to circulate

Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

Thank you to all who donated to the earthquake appeal at school today. So far we have collected £1007.00 which is a phenomenal amount.

If you would like to donate directly online you can do so through one of these links.

Turkey Mozaik Foundation

British Red Cross

Oxfam

Our thoughts go out to all who have been affected and we hope all our families are safe and well.

Homework at The Vineyard

Following extensive research, parent and teacher feedback and a review by our school governors, The Vineyard homework approach is now available on our school website here. Children from Years 1 to 6 will be receiving a homework book and their first piece of homework will be set on Monday 27^th of February. Homework expectations will be shared with the children on their first week back after half-term by their class teacher. This will include bringing their homework book into school on a Monday and taking it home on that same Monday with their new homework for the week ahead.

If you have any questions please contact Ms Reilly (Assistant Headteacher, teaching and learning) lreilly@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Behaviour at The Vineyard

We have designed child-friendly behaviour posters for expected and unexpected behaviour at school. There are some clear actions and consequences for certain unexpected behaviours. These will be introduced to the children on the first Monday back after half-term. If you have any questions about these, please get in touch. 

Miss McArdle (Assistant Headteacher, safeguarding and behaviour)

Parent Workshop Reminder

A reminder about the workshop on supporting big emotions on 22nd February at 7pm. More information and how to book can be found here. 

World Book Week

At the Vineyard we are very excited to announce our World Book Week 2023! World Book Week, which runs from the 27th of February to the 3rd of March, encourages our children to engage with reading, share their favourite books and discover new authors.

The week commences on Monday with children bringing in books that they have read and enjoyed which they can share with others and maybe swap to read. We are also hoping to run a pre-loved book sale.

The fun doesn’t stop there as on Wednesday 1st March the library will be open after school for adults and children to learn about this central part of the school. From 6.30 pm the PTA will be selling drinks and there will also be a chance to meet the incredible librarians, a reading presentation given by Mr Jones and more.

It wouldn’t be World Book Week without a book themed non-uniform day on Friday. We encourage the children (and staff) to dress up as a character from literature or even an outfit that they feel comfortable reading in. No football strips or pyjamas please.

Throughout the week there will be visits from award-winning authors, drama-workshops and fun book themed quizzes aimed at every pupil who attends our book loving school!

Thank you to the PTA for their support in organising this and Mr Jones who has been working alongside them.