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Our Manor 17-21 May 2021

Message from the Vice Principal

As we approach the final week before half term, I want to thank all parents and carers for your constant support to the Manor community. Students in Years 11 and 13 are continuing to work hard on their assessments. It has also been fantastic seeing students taking part in extra-curricular activities and we encourage students to take up the opportunities available to them.

Reading canon

As part of our curriculum and to support our students we have invested in the reading canon which takes place for twenty minutes every afternoon for Key Stage 3 and once a week at the start of Year 10’s English lesson. Please see below the texts students are accessing.

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The benefits of the reading canon are significant. Research by Kirsch comparing the engaged reading times of 2.2 million students has shown that:

  • 0-5 minutes per day = well below national average
  • 5-14 minutes per day = some gains, below national average
  • 15 minutes per day = accelerated reading gains
  • 20 minutes per day = likely score of better than 90% of their peers on standardized tests

Sutherland et al (2015) commented that “Reading a text aloud creates a community of readers who produce their own situated reading practice in the classroom over time.” We therefore continue to encourage our students to read, and appreciate your support in encouraging your child to read for pleasure outside of the classroom.

Learning apps

Alongside our excellent curriculum we have also provided the opportunity for students to access the use of the following apps to support their learning:

  • Science - Tassomai
  • Maths - Blutick
  • Languages - Languagenut

Using the apps little and often will bring about improvements in students’ knowledge and understanding. Any child who is struggling to access or login to these apps should speak to their subject teacher.

Inclusion

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the work that our Inclusion team play in supporting our young people. Lynette Brown and the team work quietly, patiently and tirelessly, and have such a big impact on the lives of our young people. The role of support staff is to encourage, remain positive and celebrate the marginal wins which are huge for each student’s development. As a school we celebrate the successes and we build for the future, which is why Manor School is a special environment and team to be part of. It is an example of the commitment and community spirit that makes Manor School such a fantastic place to be.

Best wishes and have a lovely weekend.

Glenn Martin, Vice Principal

Extra-curricular clubs

Next week there will be no clubs for Years 8 and 9 on their respective days.

After half-term there will be some additional clubs added to the programme, plus some old favourites, so be sure to look out for the new timetable in next week's newsletter. As a sneak peek, there will be some clubs run by external coaches thanks to some funding from NSport. These will include Futsal for Year 10, Archery for Years 7 & 8 and Basketball for Years 8 & 9 so we hope to see as many students there as possible! More details will follow next week, with clubs starting from Monday 7 June.

Year 7 Parents' Evening

Our virtual Year 7 Parents' Evening in taking place on Thursday 27 May. Information about the evening as well as appointment times are being emailed to parents/carers via schoolcomms.

If you have any queries please contact us by emailing mdupille@manor.school

Year 11 reminder

Last week we wrote to parents/carers of Year 11 students confirming the final arrangements for the coming weeks and next term. It is essential for parents/carers to return the reply slip before Monday 24 May in order for their child to leave school at the early finish time (13:10) on Friday 28 May.

The letter and its reply slip can be downloaded via this link.

Manor Maths Challenges

Four puzzles await in this week's edition of Mrs Radd's maths blog. The first puzzle uses triangles, squares and hexagons to create a fun factors challenge.

Design a lorry competition

To celebrate the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics, Aldi and Team GB are challenging young people aged 5–14 to get creative and design an Aldi lorry that celebrates fresh, healthy food. By taking part in the competition, students have the chance to see their designs come to life – with the two winning designs each used on their own Aldi lorry. The winning student will also receive a Team GB goody bag and £50 of Aldi vouchers to spend on fresh produce or kitchen equipment, and their school will win £1,000 of Aldi vouchers for kitchen equipment or ingredients.

The competition is now live and students can enter now via the Get Set to Eat Fresh website.

Students can submit their entries up until Friday 25 June. To download the Entry Template and Cover Sheet for Entries, please visit: getseteatfresh.co.uk/designalorry

Stanwick Lakes Junior Rangers

Stanwick Lakes is looking for young people, aged between 16 and 19, who are passionate about the environment and considering a career in conservation. Over the next few months, as part of the Natureworks project at Stanwick Lakes, they will be putting on a series of free sessions to give young people a taste of what it’s like to work in conservation.

For more information, please see the flyer below.

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Weekly REACH Champions