Welcome to this week's newsletter
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you in my final message as the Head of School. This school has been a significant part of my life for the last four and a half years and I have loved every minute of my time here.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and positive encouragement of the young people in our community. We have a great cohort of students and staff at Manor School and I am incredibly proud of their progress and achievements. I have been overwhelmed with the volume of messages of thanks and support in recent weeks from parents/carers and members of the wider community. The students have been so lovely in their very kind messages today and all of this week. It has been a very emotional week and I will be sad to leave but I know that Dr Louise Newman will continue the positive journey of Manor School.
From this point forward I will be joining you as a prospective parent. My eldest, who has just finished Year 5 at Windmill, will coming to look around Manor School for a September 2024 start. He cannot wait to start at Manor School and I am very much looking forward to seeing him thrive at what I believe is a great school.
All the best for the future.
Lee Towers, Head of School
Uniform
As we have communicated over the past two years, all students will be expected to wear the new Manor School uniform. The legacy uniform has now been discontinued with our uniform suppliers.
This means that all students must wear grey trousers or the tartan school skirt from our uniform suppliers. No other skirts are part of our school uniform. This visual guide can help parents and carers to ensure they purchase uniform in line with our policy.
The updated uniform policy can be found here.
Return to school dates and new timings
- Monday 4 September 2023: Training Day
- Tuesday 5 September 2023: Training Day
- Wednesday 6 September 2023: Years 7-10 return to school
- Thursday 7 September 2023: All students in school as normal
The school day commences at 8:35am. Students should be in their tutor room at this time.
From September we will be removing the afternoon registration session. Students must be in their lesson ready to learn at the start times listed below.
Word of the Week
Each week, the English department focuses on encouraging students to use one ambitious word – it is displayed in classrooms and discussed during teaching. It would be great if adults at home could try to encourage the use of this word too. You could try to fit into a conversation or even question your young person on the meaning. It will be fantastic for the students to see us all working together to help improve their language. Thank you for your support.
The Word of the Week for 17-21 July is pungent.
Student destinations
Our careers advisor Mr Hill will be available on both GCSE and A Level results days for students and parents/carers to speak to if they are undecided on their post-16 or post-18 destination, or need any further support and guidance.
Measles information
In response to recent news about the risk of a major measles outbreak in London, Public Health Northamptonshire have written a letter containing important information about measles and vaccinations.
France trip
Many thanks to all the Year 7 and 8 students and staff who travelled to France in early July experiencing a wide range of the French language, history and culture as well as a number of excursions and activities.
Despite a very early start, 78 students and 8 staff travelling in two coaches and by ferry at Dover was for many students their first experience of an overseas school trip. However, this opportunity to explore and learn new skills away from the classroom was welcomed with excitement by everyone.
Throughout the week some discovered the monument at Vimy Ridge on the way to our hotel and everyone experienced a tour of an extremely busy Paris including the Sainte Chapelle, the area around the Louvre, Notre Dame and the base of the Eiffel Tower, as well as a boat trip along the River Seine. Students also visited the Air & Space and the Armistice Museums and enjoyed a tour of the Stade de France.
In addition, spending a day at Le Parc Asterix and the visiting the chocolate factory in Lachelle on the way to catch our ferry back was seen by many students as an exciting and delightful end to a fantastic week and summed up by one of our students who wrote on our return “Thanks so much to Mrs Thompson for planning and organising an epic trip”.
The “world of work”
As well as the cultural, historical and leisure-based activities, students also witnessed first-hand a wide range of employment within a variety of working environments within the transport, leisure and hospitality sectors. This included tour guides, booking office staff, museum staff, waiters in the hotel and a wide range of workers in the retail sector. In addition, students also saw how chocolate was manufactured and the complex production process and skills required by the chocolatiers to make the final product.
Students made the following comments on what they witnessed during the week:
- “To be a coach driver you need lots of endurance and patience”
- “The coach drivers needed to take a break when we stopped at the service stations”
- “I think it was difficult for the hotel cooks because they had to cook…for lots of students and other people to feed… I think it would have quite hard”
- “The tour guide at the Stade de France needed to remember a lot of information”
Competitions Week
Competitions Week saw students across all year groups participate in a variety of subject challenges. Over 750 enrichment points were awarded across the week, with students receiving one point per competition they entered. These enrichment points were then turned into raffle tickets for a draw as to who would get to attend the talent show on Friday afternoon.
It was great to see students engaging in the activities and expressing house pride. We hope to see just as much enthusiasm when Competitions Week returns in September.
House point totals
The house point totals were read for the final time at the end of last week and we can reveal that Quercus house were the winners, with Acer coming in second and Betula finishing third. Congratulations to all students for displaying our REACH values throughout the academic year, in particular to students in Quercus house who will get to celebrate at REACHfest in September.
Interestingly, the results are reversed when looking solely at enrichment points. This means that students in Betula house took part in the most amount of extra-curricular activities over the course of the year.
We have lots of exciting house events planned for the new academic year, so students are encouraged to work hard to gain as many REACH and enrichment points as they can in order to help their house win.
Summer activities
Northamptonshire Children's Trust have produced a newsletter compiling events, clubs and groups that families, children and young people can access across the county that are free or affordable to attend.
Summer online safety
Credits:
Created with an image by weerapat1003 - "Red rash on baby skin at the back / Roseola infantum / Exanthema subitum / rose rash of infants / sixth disease / baby measles / three-day fever"