Caring Curious Courageous

Enabling all children to learn and grow

Dear all families,

It is hard to believe that this is the final newsletter of the academic year. It has truly flown by, but I am sure the whole school community is ready for a break and some time to reenergise ready for September.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all your children who really do embrace school and everything on offer. They are caring, curious and courageous and have demonstrated our core values in many ways during the year.

Thank you to every member of the school staff team for all your hard work this year. Thank you also to the parent body who have worked very closely with the school to ensure all the children are able to make the most out of school. The PTA have done a fantastic job supporting our desire to build a real sense of community, raise some much-needed funds and organised many fun activities for the children to do.

Our governors have worked closely with all the staff and have provided the challenge needed to help us reflect and drive the school forwards - thank you.

Saying all of that we haven't quite finished. Next week there are the class parties, end of Year 6 assembly and guard of honour. Please note, on the day of class parties, children can wear party clothes but this does not include football kit. Not to mention the last bit of the curriculum to learn.

You will be receiving your child's school report and information on their new class today. Together we can support this positive change, so the children are ready for September. If you have any questions concerning the report please do email your child's year group inbox and the teacher will come back to you. 

Last but not least, I would like to personally thank Mrs Axbey for her hard work and commitment to all the children at The Vineyard. I would also like to say a personal thank you as Mrs Axbey has been a huge support to me in my first two years in my role as headteacher. I have learnt an invaluable amount from her about the community and the school. THANK YOU!

Wishing you a wonderful summer, hoping the sun shines for those staying in England and looking forward to seeing all the children at the school gate on September 7th at 8.25am,

Happy holidays!

Frances Bracegirdle

Headteacher - headteacher@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk

Safeguarding

This week, during assemblies I have been talking to the children about how to keep safe in the water. This included water safety in the sea, river and swimming pool. I would encourage you to speak to your children at home about this as well to ensure all the children are safe in the water this summer. 

A gentle reminder about driving to and from school

This is a reminder to park safely in the morning and afternoon. We have noticed that some people are parking their cars on double yellow lines, across driveways or letting children jump out of the car when waiting at the zebra crossing. We advise you park 5 or 10 minutes walk away from school to reduce the traffic congestion and ensure the area around school is safe for our children.

Alice McArdle- Safeguarding Lead

Teaching and learning over the Summer Holidays

We know that summer holidays are a time to be with our families and friends, enjoy the nicer weather (although not today), be outside and play boardgames.

However, if there are windows of opportunity for learning, these are our 5 gold star recommendations:

1. Read, read and read! Anything from stories to fact books to magazines and daily
2. Use White Rose maths app to keep on top of their number facts
3. Times Table Rockstar (Year 3 to 6) for times table practise
4. Download the Spelling Shed App to rehearse the stage 1/2 (Years 1 and 2), stage 3/4 (Years 3 and 4) and stage 5/6 (Years 5 and 6) spellings
5. Writing opportunities – postcards, letters to family/friends abroad, enter online writing competitions

To motivate your child/ren, use a timer to let them know how long they are carrying out any of these activities. Little and often is always best!

Ms Reilly- AHT Teaching & Learning

New Payment Module for Families

We are delighted to inform you that we have recently signed up to the online payment system SchoolMoney.

This tool will enable you to experience a more streamlined and efficient payment system in a secure and safe environment. You won’t need to sign up to this system as this is done automatically through the school and as long as you have provided us with up-to-date contact details we will send you a password within the next few days.

You will receive further communications from us in a few days regarding the login and guidance notes on the module.

Attendance

Well done to Reception, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 6 for all having attendance above 96%!

Miss McArdle- Assistant Headteacher 

Book bags for Reception to Year 2

From September, we are asking children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to bring their belongings into school in a small book bag.

This can be a Vineyard book bag or a plain navy book bag.

We are no longer able to store rucksacks in school.

PTA News

End of Term Party for adults - a time for us to say thank you!

The PTA invites all parents and staff of the Vineyard to the End of the Year party in the school grounds on Tuesday 18th July from 19:00 to 22:00. We will be saying our goodbyes to the staff leavers, including our beloved Mrs Axbey. We will also say thank you for the whole year of hard work to the entire staff team and our parent volunteers. All the adult school community are welcome (this is an adult only event). There will be a complimentary welcome drink provided by the PTA and then further drinks will be available to buy from the PTA bar.
We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 18th July!

One more goodbye...

I started at The Vineyard School as a newly qualified teacher back in 2017 and I am leaving with a wealth of experience from working in KS1, KS2 and most recently in early years. I feel incredibly fortunate to have taught children at each point of their learning journey and I have learnt as much from them as they have from me. I would like to thank them all and the supportive parents I have met along the way. It has been a wonderful 6 years working with such an inspiring and motivated team of colleagues. It is now time for me to focus on my own rapidly growing two-year-old. Although I’m not leaving to work in a permanent class teacher role, I will still be teaching and tutoring in the borough. Miss Neal.

Meet one of our new teachers-Sam Miller

Hello! My name is Mr Miller and I will be joining the Y4 team this coming September! I have  previously taught across UKS2 at a SEN primary school in Yorkshire before moving to London in 2021. As well as my time at primary schools, I have spent 4 years as a senior tennis coach at academies in Sheffield and London. I managed the mini tennis programmes following Great Britain’s Davis Cup win, developed young performance players and captained the Men’s 1st Team. Sport is but one of my passions: I love to read, play the guitar, produce short films, and you can usually find me out exploring on the weekends. I can not wait to join the Vineyard community, and I am incredibly excited to meet everyone in September - come say hello!