Welcome to this week's newsletter
Meeting different people is one of the greatest parts of my job. I enjoy meeting parents/carers, talking to students and chatting with colleagues. This is the best way of finding out what is important to people and what we need to work on.
I have had a full range of different conversations this week. I had my regular lunchtime chats with students, who like to suggest improvements we can make. This week I have been asked to change the sauce in the wraps, have a whole school culture day, and to have a wider range of iced drinks in the canteen. It is good to discuss these ideas and find out different points of view. On Thursday I met the Head Students from our sixth form and we discussed some projects that they are working on to improve the site and to help reward students. Their ideas are brilliant, and I am looking forward to putting some new ideas into action in Term 2.
I have also completed a number of tours with parents/carers and students in Year 6 to see the school in action. The Year 9 art & design lessons were brilliant and I'm sure there are parents/carers who will enjoy the food being cooked in these lessons. I have also enjoyed dropping in to see staff teach throughout the week and sharing great lesson ideas with other members of the Senior Leadership Team.
We have hosted Matt Coleman from Nene Education Trust along with headteachers from our partner primary schools at Manor this week. They all got out and about in lessons and were very positive about the conversations they had with our students and the learning they saw. I look forward to making return visits to their schools, to see the great work that they are doing as well.
I wish everyone in our community a relaxing weekend - I hope you have a great time.
Adam Crawte, Interim Principal
School nurse
School nurse drop-ins will start again on Wednesday 23 October. Students can drop in to speak to our lovely school nurse, Kayley, about any concerns they may have.
Kayley can be found in P1.
Year 7 maths assessment
Year 7 students will be having a baseline assessment in mathematics over their next 3 lessons. There is no preparation required as this is all based on their existing knowledge of the subject.
Students must have a black pen, a pencil, ruler and rubber for these lessons. No calculators are required for these lessons.
Thank you for your support.
Year 7 Settling in Evening
Thursday 17 October, 4:00-6:30pm
Bookings for meetings with tutors must be made using the Arbor app or online portal by following the link to the Consultation Evening on the dashboard.
You will be able to start making the appointments now and the system will close to new appointments at midday on the day prior to the event.
If you have not already done so, the simplest way to register is to sign into the parent portal - please visit https://login.arbor.sc/ and select 'Forgotten password'. You will then be sent an email containing further instructions. Once you have registered, you can download the app from Google Play or the App Store and log in with your details.
If you have any queries or concerns regarding this event, please contact Ms M. du Pille (mdupille@manor.school).
County music award
We are proud to announce that Year 13 student Amelia M was recently selected as a finalist for the NMPAT Fellowship Awards in the instrumental category. Following a first round of auditions throughout September, Amelia was invited to play in a special concert this week alongside the 10 other amazing musicians selected as finalists.
Amelia is principal flute in the County Youth Orchestra and has been involved in our school's music opportunities for many years, and so we are delighted with this news. Congratulations!
Bebras challenge
Manor School takes part in the international Bebras computational thinking challenge every year. The event takes place in schools in over 80 countries, with over 3 million students completing it last year alone.
This year the challenge takes place over the first two weeks after the half term break and students will be completing it in their computer science lessons. Our students in KS3 (and selected subjects in KS4 and 5) will have 45 minutes to complete a series of interactive tasks designed to encourage them to think logically and use their problem-solving skills.
In order to prepare and to feel comfortable using the Bebras system, we would like to ask you to spend an hour or so over half term exploring and supporting your child with the types of tasks they will be asked to complete. The puzzles can be challenging and real head-scratchers, so hopefully you will enjoy them too. Past challenge questions can be found here so that you can practice beforehand, with specific questions being set as homework over half term for our students. An explanation for each puzzle is provided if you find yourself stuck at any point. There is also an example below.
We hope you enjoy the challenge!
Sports results
On Monday we took our KS4 hockey team over to Wollaston where - despite a loss - they put on a good performance considering that not one of our players currently play for a club outside of school. There were some exceptional performances from Archie M in goal, Phoenix M in defence and Ethan R in midfield. They showed improvement as a team from the first time we played Wollaston, demonstrating resilience and positivity with each other, so next time they play we believe they will be even better!
The Year 9 netball team had their first games this week facing SCH and Rushden, having to move location to the sports hall due to the rain. They beat Rushden 5-2 and lost to SCH 1-3.
The KS4 netball team also had their first game facing SCH which they unfortunately lost 3-12, but they put in a particularly good performance in the second half with some excellent play by Brooke C at centre, Hazel M in defence, and Mia P in attack. Rushden did not have a KS4 team so the girls get the points from this fixture.
In the first round of the County Cup our Year 11 (U17) boys football team were up against Bosworth College from Northampton. In terribly wet conditions the boys played well and came out 6-3 victors. We have already been drawn against Latimer Arts College in the second round and the players are looking forward to the challenge.
Our U13 girls football team were also in action this week. Their first game was against Weavers Academy where they won 3-0 with all three goals scored by Amelia I, but it was a good all-round team performance. The second game against Ferrers ended in a 0-0 draw but it certainly wasn't a boring game as both teams hit the woodwork and showed a great level of commitment to the game. Our final U13 district games for the girls will take place next Thursday at Manor against Wollaston and Huxlow.
Extra-curricular timetable
Some students may have noticed that clubs they have attended so far have now appeared on their Arbor calendars. This is so that on the day of the club the lead teacher is able to take attendance and reward enrichment points using the Arbor platform. If a student chooses not to attend the club that day please be assured that an absent mark will not be sanctioned in any way - attendance at clubs is not compulsory but is highly encouraged.
A student will be added to the registers if they attend any club so if they were still thinking about joining in with one, please do tell them to come along.