Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS JONES

Dear Parents and Carers

We have come to the end of another term at school.

What a term it has been!  Jam packed full of events and information as you will see in the newsletter items.  There have been several great events culminating with a wonderful Dance Evening on Wednesday which was another fabulous opportunity to showcase how wonderful your children are!

Looking forward to the Summer Term, the school’s extracurricular club offer will be announced on return.  Look out for a range of activities – particularly those which are voluntarily run by the staff.  It will be a term of transition, and before we realise it, we will be preparing pupils for movement to their next year group and in the case of our Year 6 pupils, their transitions to High School.  It will hopefully be an upcoming term full of memory making and celebrating for everyone.

Thank you to all the parents who contributed to the parent survey and forum held recently.  One of the key take aways was trying to give parents a little more time to forward plan for school events.  We have taken this on board and are now populating the calendar that appears on the school website with several key events for the upcoming term so that parents can start pencilling them in now. Please remember, we are a school, and the calendar will continue to be populated over time, so as much as we wish that all events could be fixed from now, that is not quite the reality!

However, hopefully some useful information will be there to help you forward plan your lives.

To all our Vaughan families, have a wonderful Spring holiday and for all the families celebrating Easter, have a wonderful time.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday 17^th April at 8.50am.

Mrs Jones
Headteacher

UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

Governors have had a positive term, with our regular meetings taking place to produce effective support and scrutiny to the school leadership team. Different members of the governing body have been getting involved with different aspects of school life, including taking a look at health and safety, as well as undertaking specific visits focussed on certain areas - like curriculum and computing. 

Governors are interested to think more about how we can increase our visibility to parents and caters at the school. If you have any ideas please contact the school office and they will pass a message on.

As we draw close to the end of our Spring term  on behalf of governors we take a moment to thank all the teaching and support staff for the brilliant job they do. We wish them all a good break. 

Nerys Anthony
Chair of Governors

COMMUNICATION TO SCHOOL

In order to ensure communications are dealt with promptly and efficiently, we thought it may be worth re-capping the relevant contacts by subject / topic.

Please note that mailboxes are not monitored continuously as staff have other jobs to do in school and teachers cannot be monitoring class mailboxes when they are teaching. To manage expectations, under school communication protocols, we have approximately 2 working days in which to review and respond.

Here is a reminder of the class email addresses: Vaughan Primary School - Class email addresses

DANCE EVENING

On Wednesday 29^th March we held our first Dance Evening post the pandemic.  It was a great evening of dance across a range of curriculum areas and cultures.  Children from across Year 1 right through to Year 6 performed on the evening.

Our children put so much effort and passion into every move they made. It was amazing for everyone who was attending to be part of the evening.  The children taking part had all been involved in dance clubs or a dance in their year group and they made their teachers very proud.  It is events like this that allow us to celebrate the talents of our pupils. 

Thank you to all the parents who came to watch their child perform and thank you to our children and staff! You are all brilliant!

Here's what 2 of the children involved in the Dance Evening said ....

Jaya, Year 6:

It was a great experience for everyone to enjoy, I’m in the ECO group and I am going to share my experience with you.  I felt delighted to have an opportunity like this. Everybody had been practising since January. 

Now I am going to talk about my personal views, I thought the dance evening went great and we even bowed at the end!  We had numerous dances like the World War II Dance, the Wednesday Addams Dance, KDC Juniors and Infants, Sikhism, the Haka and even Bollywood!  I hope everyone loved it as much as me because it was amazing.  

Merush, Year 6:

Hi, my name is Merush, I like to dance and on Wednesday 29th March 2023, Year 6 did the WW2 dance which was absolutely fun.  There were so many dances like the Wednesday Addams Dance by the Year 2 (which was cool but very spooky), the KDC Juniors dance, the Eco group dance and many more.  Before the Dance Evening, we did lots of rehearsals, starting in January and it was enjoyable.  

When we were rehearsing, we had a  dance which was fun and cool like we were pop dancers.  We remembered our dance and it was scintillating.  We were wearing costumes like for the boys, they have to wear a shirt and school trousers and the girls had to wear dresses.  It was cool and we looked smart.  

When it was the day of the dance evening,  we were ready and there were so many people watching us like the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, parents and staff members.  We finished the dance and it was fun to do it again. 

YEAR 5 SHAKESPEARE PROJECT

On Monday 20^th March Year 5 “watched” a performance of Twelfth Night in preparation for the work they will do linked to this play, and Shakespeare’s life in general, in the Summer Term.

This was led by Phil McDermott from The Story Emporium, who led the children in their own retelling of the story.  This enabled the children to fully engage with the play and text in a way that watching a performance wouldn’t and hopefully will inspire them to produce some fantastic work next term!  Watch this space!

FRIENDS OF VAUGHAN

Dear Parent and Carers,

Hello again from the Vaughan PTA!  We wanted to update you about some changes within the PTA committee.

Himani and Rekha have stepped down as Co-Chairs

Thank you so much for all your hard work and commitment this year!  I’m sure we will still see them around volunteering and helping at events.

Lizzie O’Connor has stepped up as interim Chair of the PTA and Ashawali Singh has stepped up as interim Secretary.  The photo below is of Lizzie.

We are excited to announce some upcoming Events:

SPRING BAKE SALE

End of term bake sale!  We hope you managed to take a look at our Spring Bake Sale which took place on Friday 31^st March (Last day of term). 

SCHOOL DISCO

Hopefully you will now have received the emails regarding the School Disco on April 19^th.   Please purchase your tickets at pta-events and your children will dance the afternoon away with DJ John Johnny!

MOVIE NIGHT

The Junior School (Year 3-6) are invited to a movie night on Friday 26^th May. 

It will be taking place between 15.30 and 17.30.  Popcorn and drinks will be provided.  Film and event details to follow.

SUMMER FAIR

The Summer Fair is back on Saturday 24^th June!  Lots of fun to be had with the whole school community!  Details will follow and volunteers will be needed to help us run this brilliant event!

We would like to thank Mazars LLP who have generously donated £750 to the PTA!

Please find below some more information about Mazars LLP:

‘Mazars is a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm. Operating as a united partnership, we work as one integrated team, leveraging expertise, scale and cultural understanding to deliver exceptional and tailored services in audit and accounting, as well as tax, financial advisory, consulting and legal services’.

https://www.mazars.com/Home/About-us

PTA MEETINGS

We had a PTA meeting this morning at 9am (Friday 31^st March) in the small school Hall.  Thank you for attending! 

We are always looking out for new parents and carers so feel free to attend the next meeting (keep an eye on emails and the website calendar for the next date)

Take Care,

Lizzie O’Connor
PTA Chair
Friends of Vaughan

Keep in touch:

facebook.com/groups/VaughanPTA
vaughanpta@gmail.com

BARNET FC EASTER FOOTBALL CAMP

Barnet FC Foundation are running two camps this Easter at The Hive.

One is their regular football camp and the other is a multi-sports camp with HAF funding, free to children who are eligible for free school meals.

Please find both flyers below. 

Please book following the instructions on the flyer you are interested in.

KEY MESSAGES FROM WELFARE

Please remember that the hay fever season is beginning.

If your child suffers from hay fever, please administer an anti-histamine at home before school. This will ensure that they have protection during the school day.  Thank you.

If you have concerns regarding a child’s safety and wellbeing during the Easter break, you can contact Harrow Children's Services by calling:

FOCUS ON NURSERY ATTENDANCE

Here at Vaughan, we would all like our children to  

• be happy and confident  
• make friends with other children  
• be able to talk and listen, enjoy stories and start to read simple words  
• begin to investigate the world through Science, Design and Technology, History, Geography and information Communication Technology  
• develop physically through movement and improved coordination, gain confidence in what they can do, be healthy and active  
• be creative through visual art, music, dance, role-play and imaginative play, and start making connections between one kind of learning and another. 

But did you know that all the above form part of the early years curriculum provided by Nursery schools?  

Attending a Nursery school gives children a valuable introduction to school.  It gives children the opportunity to develop their skills and mix with others of their own age.  The relaxed atmosphere allows children to develop at their own pace.

Children are not of statutory school age until the term after their fifth birthday. However, establishing regular routines for your children at an early age is extremely important.  It will benefit both you and your children as they progress through their school life, and limit the chances of poor attendance, which will have a negative effect on their enjoyment and achievement. 

Evidence has shown that children who have a smooth and positive start at school remain high achievers throughout their Primary school education and beyond.  

If your child(ren) do not attend Nursery regularly they may lose their place.  If they cannot attend for any reason, always let staff know by either emailing attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk or leaving a voicemail on the attendance line 020 8427 7222 opt 1.  

Once a child reaches the age of five, regular attendance and punctuality at school become a legal requirement, enforceable by the local authority.  You can help your children to have a positive time at school by making sure they attend their Nursery provision regularly and on time. 

As we move into the summer term we shall be thinking about Nursery pupils transition to Reception, whether that be here at Vaughan or another local primary school.  As such, we want to ensure children are well prepared for this transition so they settle quickly into school routines, so your due consideration around attendance will promote this and ensure your child is off to the best possible start. 

SYNCING THE WEBSITE CALENDAR TO YOUR PHONE

Parents can click on the SUBSCRIBE button on our website calendar to sync to the calendar they are using on their desired device.  This will help parents keep up to date on all the things happening in school.   

See here: Vaughan Primary School - Calendar

HARROW YOUNG CARERS

What’s on offer for Young Carers

All services and activities are free for young carers 17 years of age or younger:

Harrow Young Carers define a Young Carer as someone aged 17 or under who helps someone with a physical or mental health problem. They support any child who has a family member with an illness, a family member with a diagnosis (eg ASD, ADHD, mental health)  and have now just added bereavement.

A young carer may undertake some or all of the following:

• Practical tasks, such as cooking, housework and shopping.
• Physical care, such as lifting, helping a parent on stairs or with physiotherapy.
• Personal and Intimate care tasks, such as dressing, washing, helping with toileting needs.
• Managing the family budget, collecting benefits and prescriptions.
• Administering medication.
• Looking after or “parenting” younger siblings.
• Emotional support.
• Interpreting, due to a hearing or speech impairment

What’s on offer

• They offer free clubs for children who qualify as Young Carers which take place after school, (Mondays for age 6 – 11, Wednesdays for 8- 15) activities and outings and holiday clubs
• free counselling to parents and children over 16
• Advice lines for parents on finance, benefits and all aspects of support
• Help with homework/tutoring through the Shafestbury Project at Harrow School for High School students ages 14-16
• 1:1 support and family home visits where appropriate
• An Archery club (Fridays any age)   (but children must be Young Carers)

For more information, referral forms etc please contact Harrow Young Carers : 0208 868 5224 (ext. 226). Alternatively, email youngcarers@harrowcarers.org

CROSS COUNTRY COMPETITION
YEAR 5 AND 6 BOYS

On Wednesday 22^nd March, a selection of Year 5 and 6 boys from Vaughan competed in the cross country finals, against 12 other schools in Harrow.

The boys represented the school extremely well and showed determination throughout their performances.

Otis in Year 6 ran extremely fast and finished in 12^th place, out of 43 runners! Alex also excelled and placed 6^th out of 37 runners in his race! 

Well done to all the boys who made it to the finals, a fantastic achievement!

HARROW FOODBANK

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

TERM DATES

Full term dates can be viewed here:  Vaughan Primary School - Term Dates 

School will close at 1.35pm on the last day of each term
(Friday 31st March 2023, Friday 23rd July 2023 and Thursday 21st December 2023).

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.

MORRISONS CAFE FREE BREAKFAST OFFER

This Easter Kellogg’s has partnered with Morrisons to launch a breakfast club where the whole family can request a free bowl of cereal.

Both adults and children can choose from a bowl of Cornflakes, Rice Krispies or Coco Pops, with a choice of dairy and non-dairy milk, when they order a ‘Kellogg’s breakfast’ before 11am, in any of Morrisons 397 cafés.

The joint initiative will run from 3rd to 24th April, while stock lasts, and aims to support families during the Easter holidays when many school breakfast clubs are unavailable. Please do feel free to share the below information with families at your school, helping to address holiday hunger in your local community.

Best wishes

The Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Team