At the request of one of our families we arranged a #purpleday cake sale in break this week. Purple Day is a global grassroots event formed with the intention to increase worldwide awareness of epilepsy, and to dispel common myths and fears of this neurological disorder.
Vinehall’s Got Talent Update
Tuesday break time was busy for the Vinehall’s Got Talent participants as they had their pre-event meeting. Mrs Alderson and Mrs Payne heard about how the two bands were getting on with their rehearsals, whether the magician had managed to perfect his trick, that the Year 8 boys had their leotards (!!) and that the Year 5 script for ‘Behind the Staff Room Door’ was coming on nicely! It looks set to be a fun event! We have around 20 pupils who are willing to stand up in front of their friends and have taken time to put acts together and rehearse. Thank you to them!
Vinehall’s Got Talent is a charity event where we are hoping the children will bring donations to watch their friends on stage. Donations will be split between the children’s three chosen charities: Macmillan Cancer Support, the Red Cross and SUDC UK.
Pastoral Praise
Sebastian B, Isobel F, Arthur G and Grace W all received Merit badges for showing kindness to others. Well done.
Pastoral Praise:
Well done to Henry L who were awarded merit badges this week. Lots more to come next week…
Lenten Friends:
Year 6 were the stars of our Lenten Friends assembly this week, having recorded a video for the rest of the school during Life Skills lessons. 6PW also led the whole assembly with an interesting talk about what Lent is and the significant part it plays in the lives of Christians. Well done to them all. A brief look at the Fantastic Friends video can be seen below.
The letter sent to parents explaining Lenten Friends is also attached below.
Pastoral Praise:
Well done to Elizabeth G and Grace W who were awarded merit badges this week.
Lent Term:
Alive and Kicking has kick-started our ‘healthy’ themes for this half of the Lent term in Life Skills.
Year 4 are looking at healthy relationships and how they can manage difficult scenarios.
Year 5 have been looking at the harmful effects of smoking. They have been shocked and surprised to learn that over 450 children in the UK still try smoking every day! They obviously aren’t having Life Skills lessons that are giving them the correct information about smoking. Next week they will consider the effects of alcohol. Be warned, they may come home with some helpful ‘advice’ for you!
Year 6 have been busy preparing for next week’s Lenten Friends Assembly, taking place at the unusual time of 4:10pm on Thursday. We will look forward to seeing the latest in the adventures of the Fantastic Friends! After this they will be considering how drugs can affect the body.
Years 7 and 8 are spending the next four weeks looking at Holy Texts and Holy Places. This fits well with the beginning of Lent and they will consider what makes scriptures significant to different religions, as well as why people make pilgrimages to special places in the world. This is all part of the religious understanding side of Life Skills and equips them for the world in which they live.
Louise Payne
Pastoral Praise:
Theo E, Seren W, Elizabeth G and Miranda R were all awarded for showing kindness to others.
Children’s Mental Health Week
The pastoral theme of the week has been Self-Esteem, which has tied in nicely with it being Children’s Mental Health Week. In form times this week, from Nursery up to Year 8, our children have spent time thinking about three crucial elements of being “Healthy: Inside and out”; Food, Activity and Sleep. They have made bunting with examples of how they can be healthy and the older years have had conversations about how our healthy bodies link to our healthy minds.
Years 3, 4 and 5 have had “Healthy: inside and out” sessions where we have looked at the following video about how much sleep we should be having – click here to see it.
Years 7 and 8 have had lessons on Emotional Health and Wellbeing and have explored how being healthy is just as much about our minds as well as our bodies.
This has been a great week to help us all think more about how we look after ourselves.
Louise Payne
Self Esteem Team Visit
Self-Esteem Team Visit Vinehall
Safer Internet Day:
On Tuesday 5th February our team of Digital Leaders put their skills to good use and spent a large part of the day giving presentations to others. They began with Year 5, who came to be quizzed on their internet/game knowledge, given advice about cyber bullying and being a good online friend. Year 6 followed, and our team presented interesting information about Big Data. Pupils learned about what Apps know about us once we have given our consent to them. They were shocked to find out that Instagram collects information on how many times you’ve been on the app, the time of day you went on and how long for. Years 3 and 4 came along last and were excited to tell the team what games they love to play, many of which they found out are rated 12/13 years. They spent time talking about their Digital Footprints.
Years 7 and 8 have also had Safer Internet lessons this week and have talked about consent.
I was hugely proud of Oliver, Mia, Jack, James, Joe and Leo who had worked so hard on these presentations, creating their own activities for the children and powerpoints. Well done Digital Leaders.
Louise Payne
Pastoral Praise:
The following children received merit badges for their support of their peers; Charlie Pa, Alistair Mcl, Charlotte W, Artie L, Elizabeth H.
Well done to you all.
Rwanda Aid
On Sunday 3rd February a team of children (and their hard-working baking mums!) brought cakes-a-plenty in to be sold during the interval of a fabulous concert. Connie S and Ludo G, as Rwanda Aid Ambassadors, talked to the audience at the start of the concert about what Rwanda Aid is and how we are supporting this charity as a school. The audience came for tea and gave very generously during the frantic interval, where Victoria sponges, coffee cakes, brownies and biscuits disappeared before our very eyes – all washed down with cups of much-needed tea. Our team of workers (and their mums) were left exhausted as the last audience member returned to the concert. We raised a whopping £469.89!
Well done to Connie S, Ludo G, Noah P, Mia G, Margot F, Mary KB and Joe P (and their mums!) for doing their best for the benefit of others.
Louise Payne
Happiness:
Ethan S made a fabulous PowerPoint about happiness which he shared with the rest of the year group today.
You certainly made me happy Ethan – thank you.
Mrs Barrett
14th December
Life Skills
This term has seen the launch of our new-look Life Skills lessons. We covered children’s rights and responsibilities, Parliament, differences, self-esteem and peer pressure. Year 6 have given wonderful presentations on inspirational Paralympians; Year 4 have understood what makes them special and unique; and Year 5 have been considering how to treat each other with respect and care.
A new addition to Life Skills lessons is the Theology, Philosophy and Religion element for Years 7 and 8. In these lessons we have been considering serious questions that affect the world we live in and the way we relate to each other. Year 7 gave presentations about how different religions define what is right and wrong and considered the question “What is conscience?” Year 8 looked into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how these fit with different religions. More recently we have looked in both years at our identities; how these are shaped by our cultures, families, religions and peers. Year 8 have talked about socialisation and the portrayal of religion in the media. Year 7 worked out whether they are dualists or physicalists! Both year groups have looked into peer pressure and learned tools to boost their self-esteem.
It’s been a full term and an exciting start to our new curriculum. It has been great to think outside the box with Years 7 and 8. Thank you to all the pupils for their hard work and many interesting discussions!
Louise Payne
Charity Committee
Our Charity Committee have met three times this term and, having spoken to their forms and fed back opinions to the group, they have made a great start in raising awareness of the three children’s choice charities. We have already managed to raise a great sum of money which will be split at the end of the academic year three ways to support the work of these charities. Here’s what we’ve raised so far:
November’s Onesie/PJ day – £319.33
Year 3 and 4 cake Sale – £184.62
Year 5 Evacuee donations – £13.00
Year 7 Cinema Night – £303.21
Carol Service donations – £709.43
This makes a total of £1,535.20 this term alone!
This is incredible! Thank you all for the support!!
Coming up next term is a Vinehall’s Got Talent Show for Years 5-8 in March. We will also be holding another non-uniform day and let’s see what else the Charity Committee have in store for us!
Louise Payne
9th November 2018
Marshmallow towers – Year 4 worked together to make marshmallow towers. Their first challenge was not to eat them! The second challenge was to make sure the tower didn’t fall down. Some were successful. They collaborated well!
Differences and Similarities – Year 6 are looking at ‘Differences and Similarities’ this term in Life Skills. This week they worked together to make a paper plane or a jenga tower. They did this with each member of their team either blindfolded, with their eyes shut or their hands tied behind their backs. They proved they could work through their disabilities but were interested in just how difficult they found it. Great work and good thinking Year 6!
19th October 2018
Legal Learning for Year 8
5th October 2018
The Great Debate
Year 8 pupils have been looking at the process of making laws. They have been going through the stages of a Bill as it moves through Parliament before it becomes a Law. 8B debated a Bill which they had drafted – ‘To ban smoking in all public places’. Pupils wrote arguments for and against, used parliamentary language when referring to each other and gave opening and closing arguments. They did an excellent job at working through the ‘First Reading’ of the Bill and I really think we have some budding politicians among us! Well done Year 8.
28th September 2018
Committees Commence
It is Pupil Voice week this week so it is fitting that this is also the week that our School Committees met for the first time this academic year. We have three pupil committees where representatives from each form come along and tell us what their forms’ views are on various issues.
On Tuesday the Charity committee met (minus our Year 7s who were all singing at Eastbourne) and they were tasked with finding out if pupils want to support three whole-school charities or have a special charity for each form.
On Wednesday the Food Committee met and everyone agreed that they love the new menu at school. They requested the old favourites too (chips, sausages and banoffee pie!)
On Thursday the School Council met, chaired by our Head Boy and Head Girl and pupils were able to raise issues that are important to them.
Watch this space for updates!
Community – It was 4B’s turn this week to explore their school and find out who are the members of the Vinehall School Community. They found some of our hard working cleaners, our chef, our Head’s PA, the Headmaster and members of our admissions, marketing and bursary team. They met a brand new face (Ben De Havilland) and said thank you to all the people who work hard for our school.
You were brilliantly behaved as you tiptoed into offices 4B! Well done!
21st September 2018
Community Counts
Pupils in Year 4 have been considering how they are part of a large community at Vinehall and that each member of the community plays their part in making our school a better place. We all aim to do our best for the benefit of others! Here are some of the members of the community they met on their travels!
Digital Leaders are Go!
8 members of the school have been selected to complete Childnet’s Digital Leader’s Course. This is an online course that will result in these pupils becoming Digital Leaders who will teach their peers, parents and teachers how to stay safe online. We are currently on Module 2 and have learned what to do when someone tells us they are being cyber-bullied.
7th September 2018 – Life Skills Begins!
Year 8 kick-started Life Skills this week by looking at our Parliament and the process of making laws. They will be visiting the Houses of Parliament in October and will be learning about how laws are made in this country. They will also be spending time debating. We may have some future politicians in our midst?
Charity Thank You – Please see the attached document for our 2017/2018 charity roundup
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