Message from the Vice Principal
Mr Davenport wrote in the last newsletter of the light at the end of the tunnel shining brighter. Well, it has certainly felt even brighter this week as staff and students returned from the Easter break having had the opportunity to spend time with loved ones and perhaps do more of the things they enjoy doing. The easing of restrictions has meant that for many of us we have been able to once again start making those face to face connections with family and friends, which we have sorely missed. This brings with it a greater sense of optimism as well as a renewed hope for the future.
Track and Trace and Lateral Flow Testing
Despite the restrictions gradually being lifted nationally, we recognise that it is vitally important that we continue to implement and enforce our COVID risk assessment to ensure we are safeguarding everyone in our community. The positive cases of COVID we had in the last week of last term and into the Easter holidays is a reminder to us all of the need to follow the guidance and processes we have in place.
In that regard, students will continue to be given lateral flow tests whilst we continue to receive supplies in school. If you receive a positive test result at any time, it is important we are made aware as soon as possible. This can be done by completing the form on our website, or if it is during term time by contacting our absence line and speaking to our Attendance Officer, Mrs Way.
A time for celebration
We have had the opportunity this week to share in the successes and achievements of many of our students. It really has been humbling and a pleasure to see the many different ways that our REACH values have been, and continue to be, demonstrated by our students. We have had the opportunity to celebrate our daily REACH champions, praise those achieving their REACH and Excellence awards as well as sharing the Principal’s commendation for last term.
As a school, we have awarded close to 35,000 REACH points so far this school year. These points take form of individual REACH points for students when they demonstrate the values as well as the rewards as part of the competitions programme. We are committed to working even harder to identify and recognise when our students demonstrate the values and ensure they get the recognition they deserve. We therefore expect the total number of REACH points awarded to be significantly higher by the end of this term.
My congratulations go to Redgrave house who are leading the race for the House Cup. However, all is left to play for with Terms 5 and 6 still ahead of us!
Ramadan Mubarak
This month we aim to shine a light on Ramadan and celebrate diversity.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all those in our community who are observing this sacred time a blessed and generous month.
Recruitment
As a senior leader and a teacher at the school it always fills me with great pride when I see people outside of our community keen to come and work with us here at Manor School. In recent months we have advertised two quite different roles and received a significant number of applicants, close to 40 on both occasions. We believe this is an indicator of how great our school is as it grows from strength to strength and we achieve our aim to BE BETTER in everything we do.
As some of you may know, I have three young children, two of whom attend a local Nene Education Trust primary school. My eldest is in Year 3 and so is not that far off from joining us here at Manor School. As a prospective parent myself, I am thrilled to know that there is a thirst coming from people both locally and nationally to join us on our journey in building a great school here at Manor School.
Lee Towers, Vice Principal
Uniform update
As you will be aware, we have permitted students to wear an additional layer of clothing underneath their blazer in the winter months so that we can adequately ventilate the classrooms and learning spaces.
With the daytime temperatures rising and fewer and fewer students requiring the need for an additional layer as we approach summer we will be removing this from the uniform policy.
From Tuesday 4 May 2021 students will no longer be permitted to wear an additional layer of clothing underneath their blazer and hoodies of any kind will not be permitted on site. This change is a return to our uniform policy, as it was pre-COVID.
Please be assured that classrooms and learning spaces will continue to be ventilated and we will continue to heat our buildings until there is a significant increase in daytime temperatures.
On days where students have PE and arrive to school in kit, we will still be requiring students to wear their blazer over the top of their kit as they have been.
Thank you for your continued support.
Pastoral Team
Catering provision for Term 5
Year 7 to Year 11 have the option to purchase hot food and snacks at break and lunch time on one specified day of the week.
The table below sets out the day of the week each year group will offered this option.
For those families who have been ordering grab bags, this provision will continue. Please continue to order the grab bag for your child in the normal way using this link: Lunch Order Form Term 5. Your child will collect their food in the normal way from within their pod. Sandwiches will also be offered alongside the hot food options but will not be made to order on that day. Therefore, there will be no conflict with your order, using this form, and what your child collects on the specified hot food day.
Year 12 and 13 will have the option to order food in advance and it will be delivered to the Sixth Form Study Centre. More information for these two years groups will be shared with directly with the students.
Please ensure your child’s Wisepay account has sufficient funds on it.
Parking
A number of local residents have raised concerns about the way in which some cars are parked at drop off and pick. We have been informed that there have been issues with bin collection, leaving for work and missed appointments as residents struggle with the overwhelming number of cars parked in front of driveways and on the surrounding streets.
As a school we appreciate the parking is at premium on the school site and in the surrounding streets. Equally, we accept that there are three schools located on, or next to, Mountbatten Way and we continue to work with colleagues in the other schools to ensure we lessen the impacts where we can.
We continue to work on a long-term solution to this issue, however, we are asking colleagues in all three schools as well as parents/carers to be really mindful of where they park their car and the potential impacts on local residents.
As always, we appreciate your support in this matter.
Senior Leadership Team
Year 8 Parents' Evening
Our Year 8 virtual Parents' Evening is taking place on Thursday 22 April from 4-8pm. The deadline for parents/carers to submit their appointment requests is Tuesday 20 April.
If you have any queries regarding appointments or how the evening will work, please contact us by emailing mdupille@manor.school
Reading Canon
As part of our drive to provide students with high quality literature and texts, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 are completing whole-class reading for the first twenty minutes of their afternoon sessions. Year 10 are also allocated time to read in one of their English lessons. The reading is led by the classroom teacher who reads to the whole class, allowing opportunities for discussions and learning about new vocabulary.
The current rotation of Reading Canon books are as follows:
Student Executive: Head Student elections
We believe in giving young people a voice in helping to shape their school journey. The Sixth Form Student Executive team lead our Student Parliament made up of representatives from across the school in three areas - Work, World, and Wellness. They identify areas to be developed, then set targets which will help improve our school community. The Student Executive team meet with the Senior Leadership Team to feedback and discuss how to improve the school based on the student voice.
We are excited to announce that the process to elect our three sixth form 'Head Students' will begin next week. Follow the KS5 Twitter and Instagram social media accounts (@ManorKS5) to keep up to date with the campaign. Campaigning will commence at 3:15pm on Wednesday 21 April.
Attendance update
We recently received the most recent up to date data concerning school attendance. The figures published (up to 25 March, the day before breaking up for Easter) showed national attendance at 87%. We continue to work with students and their families in promoting outstanding attendance and are extremely proud that we finished the term with an attendance of 93%. Manor School remains well above the national average!
Thank you for your continued support.
Term 4 House Competition results
The results for Term 4's House competitions are in!
Academic: Sustainable Development
As part of their Work, World and Wellness lesson, students were tasked with coming up with an idea to help make Manor an even more sustainable school. The winners are as follows:
- KS3 - Brooke C, Thomas B, Faridah A and Tyrell D, all in Year 7
- KS4 - Adam O and Alex W, both in Year 10
- Most winning students - MacArthur
Sport: Speed Bounce
Students were challenged to complete as many side-to-side jumps as possible in 20 seconds. The winners are as follows:
- Brooke C in Year 7
- Most entries - Redgrave and MacArthur
Theatre: Eggstravaganza
Students were tasked with decorating an Easter egg. The winners are as follows:
- Emily D in Year 9
- Most entries - Redgrave
Science: Tassomai App
Students were challenged to answer as many questions correctly on the Tassomai app across the duration of British Science Week. The winners are as follows:
- Emily B in Year 11
- Most students in Top 30 - Redgrave and Johnson
Congratulations to all the winners. Each individual winner has been awarded 500 House Points, with an additional 500 House Points going to the House(s) with the most entries.
Term 5 House Competitions
The House Competitions for this term have been shared with students this week. The first competition is academic-based and is open for the rest of the month.
We would like students to write a review for a book of their choosing. The review should capture people's attention, give a basic plot summary (no spoilers!), their praise and critique, as well as how many stars they would give it.
Students can either handwrite or type their review, and then email it to house@manor.school, making sure to include their name and House.
The competition closes on Wednesday 28 April.
New Spanish app
We have launched a new app and learning platform called ‘Languagenut’ to support our students in learning Spanish. This can be used as a website and an app on a tablet and/or mobile device, which is free to download.
Students in Years 8-11 have been given a username and password from their Spanish teacher this week. Weekly assignments will be set using this platform and students can also use it in their own time to learn vocabulary or practice their language skills in a variety of fun, engaging ways.
Please contact kdonovan@manor.school with any questions.
Online safety
National Online Safety have produced a safety information poster for parents/carers about 'Discord' which is one of the most popular communication tools for gamers. Please download the poster below for information and advice about the platform.
Free football coaching
Northampton Town Football Club Community Trust in partnership with North Northamptonshire Council, Freedom Leisure and NSport are offering free football coaching to students in Years 7-13.
For more information and to register attendance in advance, please visit the Premier League Kicks website.
Manor Maths Challenges
There are five challenges in this week's maths blog courtesy of Mrs Radd's friend Paul Godding, who as well as being a teacher has created a number of maths games including 7puzzle. See if you can solve all five.
PE notices
Term 5 extra-curricular timetable
Please find below the updated extra-curricular timetable for this term.
Please note that on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 April there will be no clubs taking place for Year 11 and Year 8 respectively.
PE kit expectations
Students should only be coming to school in their PE kit when they have practical PE or dance that day. This PE kit should be the correct uniform as specified by the PE uniform policy which can be found on the school website. Students are expected to wear their blazer over their PE kit for the day.
Outgrown PE kit
Should there be instances where PE kit has been outgrown and you have concerns over buying new kit in light of potential PE kit changes for September, please ensure students are wearing as close to the PE uniform as possible. This should be plain navy shorts, skorts, tracksuit bottoms or leggings, plain navy sweatshirts or fleeces, and a plain light blue, maroon or white t-shirt/polo shirt. No multi-coloured items emblazoned with logos please. If parents could provide a note this would be appreciated.
Weather
Now that the weather is improving (hopefully!) please ensure that students are coming to school with appropriate sun protection and enough water for the day. All students are actively encouraged to check the daily weather report to ensure they are suitably prepared for all lessons and weathers.
