Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS JONES

Dear Parents and Carers

As the term ends, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Vaughan community on a successful Autumn term.

The children have been their usual amazing selves at adapting to changes this term as we have endeavoured to return to a new form of normality.  They have risen to every challenge and still kept their smiles. They are a complete credit to the school and yourselves as their parents.

An extra congratulation goes out to all the children who won the Headteacher awards this term and the presentation awards.  Well done for all your hard work! 

To my staff, I would like it publicly acknowledge how proud I am to lead this team of staff and it's this incredible teamwork that has got us through some difficult times this term.  Your children have a wonderful group of adults to develop them and I'm sure as parents that you would support this point.

It is with sadness that we have to announce that Mr Elliot Bird will be leaving us on Friday.  He has been with this school for over 8 years with a range of responsibilities including sport.  He now ventures into an amazing position working for Watford Football Club and while we are saddened by one of our team leaving, we are all immensely proud as he takes up his 'dream' position. 

We have also said a sad goodbye to 3 members of support staff this term, Mrs Hansa Mistry and Mrs Bharti Mistry who have left us after 20 years of service and also Mrs Heena Patel, who has left to work for a charity organisation.  We wish them all the best for the future.

I hope that all parents have the opportunity to enjoy the Christmas concerts, as I have done.  It has been a disappointment that we could not be together in person, but we are delighted to give you the chance to watch them virtually.

Lastly, I want to thank all the parents and carers for their immense support and commitment to the school.  Thank you for all the cards and gifts we have received.  Wishing everyone a restful break as we lead into the Christmas period.  I hope everyone can spend time with their families this year and celebrate a more positive 2022.

Mrs Jones
Headteacher

UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

As 2021 draws to an end, the Governing Body would like to say a big thank you to the staff and volunteers at Vaughan.  It's been another year of ups and downs, with much uncertainty as the pandemic moves on but the dedication that the staff team have shown, under the leadership of Mrs Jones, has not waivered. 

To all the pupils and families at Vaughan thank you also.  To the children for the efforts they have put into their school work and the extra activities they get involved in, and to the parents and carers for their ongoing support.  The success of the Christmas festivities organised by Friends of Vaughan last week are testament to that.

However you celebrate over this seasonal period, the Governing Body at Vaughan Primary School wish you a restful break. 

Nerys Anthony
Chair of Governors

TANG SOO DO

For 30 years a Martial Arts class has been held for the children of this school (from age 6) every Thursday evening during term time.  The class runs from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm. 

The class is organised in conjunction with the “United Kingdom Tang Soo Do Federation”.  Training is given under strict supervision and techniques taught include hand and foot skills, sparring, free-fighting and self-control. 

The instructor is Master Meakins and the fee for each lesson is £3.00.  The students will join the Tang Soo Do Federation and take the examinations for the coloured belts.  This will, however, incur fees. 

If your child is interested in signing up, please come along with your child on any Thursday evening during term time at 6.15 pm to register.  Please ensure your child is wearing comfortable clothing.  The club is due to start again after the Christmas holiday on Thursday 6th January.

CROSS COUNTRY COMPETITION

Thursday 9th December 2021

The following children took part in a Cross Country Competition in West Harrow Park on Thursday 9th December 2021:

Year 5: Martina, Ellen, Lauren, Eliza, Isabelle, Henrietta, Jaya, Otis, Dhruv and Noa.

Year 6: Princess, Lea, Maja, Isla, Neha, Louisa, Luca, Max P, Abdalhadi, Jahere, Shay, Jayden, Tavish and Alvin.

Our team performed wonderfully in wet, boggy conditions against 150 other children from the Borough.  Although all of the children did well to complete the mile long run, the following deserve particular praise:

Year 5 Girls:  Lauren (4th place), Ellen (6th place), Team event (1st place!)

Year 5 Boys: Otis (5th place), Noa (7th place), Team event (3rd place)

Year 6 Girls: Lea (11th place), Team event (6th place)

Year 6 Boys: Luca (5th place), Shay (9th place), Team event (2nd place).

FRIENDS OF VAUGHAN

Merry Christmas everyone! We have had a brilliant end of term with a special visit from Father Christmas.  HUGE thank you to the amazing volunteers who have given up their time to make these fundraisers such as success and all of you for your support.

What’s New

Christmas Grotto

We were thrilled to have Father Christmas visit Vaughan last Friday and be able to give every child in the school the chance to meet him.  Our brilliant elfs entertained each class with bubbles and games, and Father Christmas encouraged the children to be good for the next few weeks!

Thanks to all of your support buying photos, activity packs and making donations, we have raised over £1,300!

Hopefully everyone has received what they ordered, but if there are any queries then do drop us an email at vaughanpta@gmail.com.

Christmas Cards

These should now have all been sent home and I thought they looked brilliant! We were able to raise over £500 thanks to your amazing generosity.

How we have spent the money

This month we donated over £1,000 to buy new books for the library which was refurbished last year!  These should arrive just in time for a special event planned for next term!

How to help Friends of Vaughan all year round

Raise Money While You shop for Christmas! 

You can support Friends of Vaughan without spending a penny extra by doing your shopping through easyfundraising & Amazon Smile. 

Sign up to Easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/vaughanschoolpta (or download the app) and use the links provided whenever you shop online with John Lewis, M&S, Ebay and more. 

 Please use Amazon Smile whenever you buy from Amazon and select Vaughan School PTA as your charity.  You can set this up on the app so you don’t need to remember each time.

Regular Giving

As with all charities, you can choose to support us through regular donations which are all eligible for Gift Aid.  If you, or a member of your community would like to do this then please contact our treasurer who can advise on the best way at fovtreasury@gmail.com.

Thank You!

Finally, a big thank you to all of you for your support so far this year!

Keep in touch: facebook.com/groups/VaughanPTA

vaughanpta@gmail.com

If you have concerns regarding a child’s safety and wellbeing during the summer break, below are services that will be able to help you.

During holiday time and the weekends, you can contact Harrow Children's Services by calling:

SUPPORT AND ADVICE FOR CHILDREN

If you have a worry or need some support and a trusted adult cannot help, you can contact the following organisations for help.

• Childline (0800 1111, www.childline.org.uk) – This is a confidential service for children and young people. No problem is too big or too small and they’re there to listen and support you with anything you’d like to talk about. Or you can have a 1-2-1 counsellor chat online.
• NSPCC (0808 800 5000, www.nspcc.org.uk)
• Harrow Children Services - 020 8901 2690.
• Harrow Children Services – Emergency out of hours 020 8424 0999
• Police – in case of an emergency - 999

Year 6 only

• Kooth – Kooth is a web based confidential support service available to young people. Kooth provides a safe and secure means of accessing mental health and wellbeing support. 
• Kooth offers young people the opportunity to have a text-based conversation with a qualified counsellor.
• Counsellors are available from 12noon to 10pm on weekdays and 6pm to 10 pm at weekends, every day of the year on a drop-in basis.  You can access regular booked online counselling sessions as needed.
• Outside counselling hours’ young people can message the team and get support by the next day.
• When you register with Kooth, you will have support available now and in the future. Support can be gained not only through counselling but articles, forums and discussion boards.  All content is age appropriate, clinically approved and fully moderated.

To find out more visit www.Kooth.com where you can register and find out more about the service.

You can also view a short video about the service at:

https://vimeo.com/318731977/a9f32c87de   

FESTIVE FOOTBALL FUN FOR FAMILIES!

To book tickets for this game, please click here. 

AFTERNOON NURSERY PLACES

We still have some spaces in our Afternoon Nursery.  If you have a child who is Nursery age (born between 1st September 2017 and 31st August 2018) or you know someone who is interested, please speak to the school office for an application form.

PARENTING WITH POSITIVE DISCIPLINE ONLINE WORKSHOP

MONDAY 10th JANUARY 2022

This workshop is taking place online on Monday 10th January, 7pm to 9pm.

This workshop is for all parents 

As a parent it can be exciting and satisfying seeing our children grow into unique individuals and also challenging when they decide they want things their own way.  We will look at parenting our children with respect, making sure it’s consistent and firm but fair, ensuring we create a long lasting positive relationship.

Topics include:

• Understanding and acknowledging the needs behind behaviour
• Negotiating and setting limits
• Finding different ways to communicate effectively
• Choices and consequences. 

Cost:    £15.00 / £7.50 concession (with proof in receipt of a means tested benefit)

Call 020 8863 7319 to register
Or email info@hopeharrow.org.uk
www.hopeharrow.org.uk

KEY MESSAGES FROM WELFARE

COVID UPDATE

COVID is still very much with us and any children displaying symptoms should not be coming to school.  Symptoms include cough, high temperature, loss of taste and smell, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea and general aching body.  We are still asking parents and carers to book a PCR test for their child with any of these symptoms, before they return to school.

We have also been advised that new symptoms have been recognised of the new Covid variant, Omicron.  These are sniffles, sore throat and achy muscles.  If your child experiences any of these symptoms, please can you do a lateral flow test for them, and if that test is positive, then please follow up with a PCR test. 

Please also remember that we have a 48 hour policy for sickness and diarrhoea.  This means that we ask parents to keep their child at home for 48 hours after the last time their child has vomiting or diarrhoea.  This is to minimise infection to other members of the school - children and staff.

Medication

If your child is prescribed medication which has to be administered at school, please complete a consent form which can be found on the school website with clear instructions.  It must come via the school office or alternatively, call Welfare tel: 0208 427 7222 Ext 2 and arrangements can be made to collect from outside the school office.

Any medical queries, please contact Mrs O’Rourke or Ms Goodspeed in Welfare.

Medical appointments during the day

And lastly a reminder about medical appointments.  If your child has a medical appointment during the school day, please remember to email attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk with the details and with proof of the appointment.  We do ask however, that appointments during the day are kept to a minimum and that you book appointments for outside of the school day.  Thank you.

HARROW FOODBANK

Further information is available from the following website:
https://harrow.foodbank.org.uk/

TERM DATES

School will close at 1.35pm on the last day of each term
(please see separate letter sent regarding the end of the Autumn term)

Afternoon Nursery will be closed on the last day of each term.

After School Club finishes at 4.00pm on the last day of term. 

Please do not book holidays for during term time as these will not be authorised.  If you wish to request leave from school, please complete a Request for Leave form and email it to attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk for Mrs Jones' attention.