Welcome to this week's newsletter
You will not be surprised to see us comment on the ongoing situation in Ukraine this week. It has been overwhelming to see the school values of humanity and empathy being shown in abundance by so many in recent days. It is genuinely inspiring and a reminder that we preparing our students for life far beyond school and their place in the world.
In this week’s newsletter we will be sharing with you what we intend to do to support the people of Ukraine at this difficult time. This includes a non-uniform day to raise funds and also a collection of items to donate to families struggling with the upheaval abroad. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents/carers who have been in touch to offer the school a platform in which we can help. We appreciate that things are difficult at this time for people at home with the cost of living having a significant impact on people’s lives and so please donate only what you can.
Stay safe and look after each other.
Glenn Martin and Lee Towers, Interim Co-Principals
Meet the Principal
We hold regular Meet the Principal sessions and would welcome any families that would like to come and talk to us. The dates of our upcoming sessions are as follows:
- Friday 11 March
- Friday 25 March
If you are interested in attending, please send your request to principal@manor.school.
Non-uniform day in support of the people of Ukraine
We are all incredibly aware of the horrendous situation that is unfolding in Ukraine. As a family of schools across the Nene Education Trust, we would like to try to do our bit to support and continue to raise awareness. Many of you may have already donated money or goods to the cause, so there is absolutely no pressure whatsoever to feel compelled to do so as part of this initiative. We are also aware that other mufti-day and fundraising-type activities have taken place or are taking place over the coming weeks for different causes. However, we feel very strongly that we should do something in this regard.
On Friday 11 March we will be holding a non-uniform day across our family of schools in the Nene Education Trust. Children can choose to wear blue and yellow (the colours of the Ukrainian flag) should they wish. We will be asking for monetary donations – whatever you can manage (suggested contribution of £1) – and as an organisation we will be donating to the UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
Many thanks for your understanding and support.
Matt Coleman, Director of School Improvement, Nene Education Trust
Donations of vital items for Ukraine
To coincide with the Trust wide non-uniform day, we are also asking for donations of the following items:
- Nappies
- Baby wipes
- Small toys/colouring books/crayons
- Powdered baby milk/jars of baby food
- First aid kits/bandages/dressings
- Soap/shower gel
- Painkillers e.g. paracetamol, ibuprofen, Calpol
- Loperamide/Imodium
- Tissues
- Ladies sanitary items
- Torches/batteries
- Socks and underwear (children and ladies)
Any donations of any of the above would be greatly received and then sent to Poland via lorry where they will then be sorted by a group of volunteers and distributed to the Ukrainian refugees and direct those in Ukraine including Ukrainian soldiers.
We are asking that students take donations to main reception or pass them onto their form tutor.
Curriculum Day
Our second Curriculum Day of the academic year took place on Tuesday 1 March.
Year 7 – STEM
Year 7 students were given the challenge of designing a school laboratory. The first half of the day involved a series of subject sessions covering key skills and important things to consider:
- Science – finding out what requirements were needed in order to meet health and safety guidance, completing a rough sketch of their idea
- Technology – creating architectural drawings of their lab design, producing fine detail drawings of fittings
- Computer Science – producing 3D renders of their design using Sketch-Up
- Maths – working out the cost of materials and labour in order to produce a quotation
After lunch, students prepared presentations on their lab design and costs which they displayed in the LRC for a panel of teachers to judge. The day was rounded off with learning more about architectural careers.
Year 8 – Enterprise
Students spent the day participating in a day of business activities inspired by Young Enterprise’s Launch Pad challenge. After choosing from a selection of companies to buy and re-name, students went on to attend six workshops to help them develop the business:
- Market research – competition, reviews, unique selling points
- Branding – logo, uniforms, colour schemes
- Advertising – leaflet design, promotional materials, placement
- Perfecting a pitch – writing a script, presentation skills, preparation
- Making a profit – revenue, running costs, projections
- Future growth – customer retention and growth, mission statement
During the afternoon, students went head to head within their classes to pitch their companies, with awards given by their teacher for best pitch and best new business.
Year 9 – World of Work
Following a questionnaire which they completed before the day, students attended three workshops from across the following sectors:
- Charity work (Souster Youth)
- Childcare
- Engineering (Silverstone UTC)
- Fire service (Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue)
- HR (Greatwell Homes)
- Marketing (Tingdene Parks Ltd)
- Mental health (Northamptonshire NHS)
- Police (Northants Police)
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Navy
- Science (Unilever)
- STEM (Anglian Water)
In the afternoon, students participated in The Real Game, which is designed to help students develop knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to assess and make decisions about further education, training and career options.
Year 10 - Wellbeing
Year 10 students took part in a series of activities and workshops based around topics that the students themselves had raised as issues of concern:
- Belonging - KS5 mentors were on hand to talk with the students about how they can feel truly part of the school community
- Haka - learning about what the ceremonial dance involves and represents, creating their own dance
- Nutrition - discovering how nutrition intake can affect mood/brain function, attempting to identify ingredients in smoothies and how their effects may differ
- Circuits - completing fitness tasks such as stretching and jumping
- Team building - working in small teams to design and pitch a product
- Assault course - facing a series of physical tasks outside
Simon Aston, Online Safety Officer for Northamptonshire County Council, also spoke to students about online safety. Topics covered included the healthy use of social media, peer to peer messaging, and consent.
Year 11 – Political parties
Students spent the day learning about government and democracy, with a focus on discovering more about political parties. After an introductory session, students heard from representatives from the following parties (all major parties were invited to speak, with these the ones who agreed):
- Liberal Democrats
- Labour
- Green Party
- Conservative
The guests spoke about their party’s priorities and how they as individuals are involved. There was also the opportunity for students to ask them questions such as their opinions on education, climate and welfare spending.
After lunch, students were tasked with creating their own political party, complete with manifesto. They then had to give a short speech to the rest of their class, with the selected best party going on to compete against other classes in a virtual hustings. Finally, students voted for the best overall party, with votes counted up at the end of the day.
Key Stage 5
Year 12 focused on the contribution that they can make to society, which included having time to work on assemblies they will later be presenting to other students. They also discovered the impact they can have on the planet by cooking economically. Finally, industry expert Dave Willis gave top tips on how to secure work experience.
Year 13 students were preparing for university or employment by attending sessions on accommodation choices, freshers' year tips, budgeting and relationship advice. Staff were also on hand to support them in finding employment or training for next year. There was also a guest speaker in to raise awareness of road safety as many of our students are now driving or travelling in cars with friends. In the afternoon, students took to the kitchen to make pancakes, bringing in a variety of weird and wonderful toppings.
Punctuality
Encouraging regular school attendance and consistent punctuality is one of the most powerful ways we can prepare our students for success – both in school and in life. Punctuality is an important aspect of attendance here at Manor School.
At 9am the registers will be closed. If a student arrives after that time they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean they have an unauthorised absence. If a student has a record of persistent lateness they may receive further consequences and support provided to address punctuality.
Your child’s punctuality is important for the following reasons:
- If your child is late for school each day, they lose almost 2 weeks of education a year.
- Your child being late disturbs the whole class from learning.
- Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to over 3 days lost each year.
Where students have found themselves to be late upon arrival to school at any point so far this term, we please ask that considerations are made towards morning routines to ensure they arrive by the appropriate time.
We would like to continue to thank all students and families who continue to ensure students arrive on time to school each day.
Knife crime team visit
As part of our ongoing commitment to working in partnership with the police, we are hoping to welcome the knife crime and sniffer dog teams back into school before the end of the academic year. This helps our student body to understand the work the police undertake whilst supporting the safety of our community.
Handball championships
A team of Year 10 students attended the School Games Handball tournament held at Kettering Arena on Tuesday 1 March. The team performed extremely well and came second in the county, narrowly missing out on first place.
Performing Arts Showcase
The Performing Arts department are extremely pleased to be able to hold our first KS3 Performing Arts Showcase. This concert is a wonderful opportunity for our KS3 students to demonstrate their music, dance and drama talents.
If you would like to attend this event, tickets can be purchased via the link below. Ticket prices are £3, reduced to £1 for Manor students.
Manor Maths Challenges
It's the 50th edition of Mrs Radd's maths blog, and so there are challenges, a video and a song all about the number 50.
Online safety
This week's free online safety guide focuses on WhatsApp. It highlights a number of risks such as scams, strangers and location sharing.
Manor Sports and Leisure
As with anything our team do, we review everything across the centre and adapt where needed; The Den being no different.
We have decided that a 'drop in' format is not working to fully support our young people and therefore, a booking system in now in place to increase the safety, quality and overall enjoyment of The Den.
Please see the booking link below:
Please also note, we have young people regularly attending the premises with fast food and energy drinks, which we can no longer accommodate with our vision for a healthier community.
Sessions times have been condensed, with the new times being 5:00-6:30pm.
We will now be looking at other projects we can get our young people involved in over the next 12-months across the centre and wider Manor School, such as painting projects, building on our nature trail, and other life skills.
For anything ‘The Den’ related or for any safeguarding concerns, please email kgay@manor.school
To report an incident, please email thatton@manor.school
Thank you for your continued support.
MAN v FAT
Looking to get into shape in 2022? The popular men’s weight loss programme MAN v FAT Football is coming to the area soon with the launch of new clubs in Wellingborough and Corby – and there are funded places available thanks to Public Health Northamptonshire for residents in those areas of the county, meaning you might get your first fourteen weeks of MAN v FAT action paid for.
Last year, MAN v FAT helped men in the UK lose an incredible 43,418kg as well as improving their overall wellbeing.
By using the code NENE when you sign up at https://manvfatfootball.org, your school will benefit from a £10 donation from MAN v FAT, which we’ll be putting towards school sports equipment.
- Corby (starts 5 May): Lodge Park Sports Centre, Thursdays 6:30pm to 8:30pm
- Wellingborough (starts 13 March): Redwell Leisure Centre, Sundays 10:00am to 12:00pm
