Headteacher’s Update
Dear Families
We are starting to see the green shoots of spring now. It is nice for the students to arrive and depart school when it is a little brighter and with the sun starting to shine. It makes us all feel a little better when the sun is shining.
In school this week we have been focussing on Mental Health Week. Our assemblies have focussed around this theme and our student well being ambassadors have done a sterling job selling pin badges to raise awareness amongst our students. Our year 11 students have also been spoken to about managing mental health in the run up to examinations. Their second round of PPEs (mocks) start in earnest next week a separate email was sent to parents reminding them of this earlier in the week. It is hugely important that they try their best to perform in these. There is little time in between now and the final exams starting and teachers want to be able to know exactly what gaps in knowledge they need to fill over the coming weeks. These exams are a good opportunity to practise, as we know, practise makes perfect!
We have conducted some student voice around iPads this week and last. This is all positive and we are pleased with how these are being integrated into our curriculum- do please take a look and an interest in your child’s school work. Positively encourage your child and take an interest in their learning. The key is to support them to develop a positive mindset and passion for learning. Even if you found a subject difficult at school, it doesn’t mean that they will. Instead of saying ‘I was no good at this at school’, you could say: – ‘It’s a long time since I’ve done this, so you need to remind me…’ or ‘I remember doing this at school, tell me more…’ or even ‘This looks interesting, which is the best bit…’
I was pleased to host some visitors in school this week who spent a day with us, looking at various aspects of school life. The school is part of a national programme run by Challenge Partners called ‘Growing the Top’. This programme is only accessible to those schools that are the amongst the highest achieving in the country. the programme brings together small groups of top performing schools for individual and shared school improvement journeys. The visitors that were in school were most impressed by several aspects of school life- 1) the behaviour and conduct of students 2) the quality of education the students receive 3) the level of attainment the students reach after their 5 years with us. Whilst this is always great to hear I am mindful that nothing is possible without the support of parents and the community. Working together is the key to successes for your children and we are very much grateful for the support of parents on our journey to achieving “Excellent People, Excellent Results” for all students.
With best wishes
Mr S Greiff
Year 11 PPE Timetable
Please click below to view the Year 11 PPE timetable starting on Monday 10th February.
Year 10 DMU Trip
This week, Miss Hutchinson took a group of Year 10 students to De Montfort University where they participated in various ‘Gothic fiction’ workshops with senior university lecturer, Dr Alice Wood. The students were impressed with how informative these sessions were – they practised reading fiction closely, paying attention to narrator, setting, language, imagery and genre. Students particularly enjoyed crafting their own writing inspired by the Gothic genre. A big thank you to DMU for providing these opportunities for our students and giving them an insight into what it might be like to study English Literature at A-Level or degree level.
College Applications & PS16
Some students will be receiving invites to attend offers holding events / offers events at schools/colleges they have applied to. We can not let students offsite during the school day unless we have had consent from a parent / carer in the same way a students would need consent to attend a medical appointment etc. If you know that your child has been invited to an event during the school day you must contact the school in the same way you would for a medical appointment and also advise whether your child will be making their way to the school/college themselves or whether a parent / carer will be collecting them.
Many thanks
Leicester College Applications
If you have applied to Leicester College through Post16 they have emailed students (on ps16) to say they will be dealing with your application through their College Learner Hub. Please do not worry! They have said that they will email you information about how to log into the College Learner Hub and how to then manage your application etc. Please check your emails regularly (the emails you sent to them via your profile on PS16) to keep an eye out for their messages. If you have any concerns you must contact Leicester College and then also come and speak to Mr Croucher/Mrs Mahomed.
Simply put this means that Leicester College will manage your application through their College Leaner Hub. Any other schools/colleges you applied to will still be managing your application through Post 16.
Please can all year 11 be aware of these key next steps regarding Post 16 applications. Thank you.
Next steps:
- Regularly log into PS16 to see if you have had any offers or messages from schools or colleges. Be patient as different schools/colleges work with different time frames. You should hear back by the end of March latest.
- Regularly check your emails (the email address you gave on your PS16 profile e.g. school or personal email) as schools / colleges may email you here
- Do not worry if your friends have already heard from a school / college and you have not. This is totally normal.
- Accept all offers that are made to you. You can hold multiple offers. Do not ignore an offer whilst waiting for your favourite school/college. Accept any offers you are given. On results day you will choose where you go to (after you have seen the grades you get).
- If you wanted to make changes to any of your applications you need to call the school/college and speak to them. If you have any issues come and find Mr Croucher / Mrs Mahomed.
Safer Internet Day – Tuesday 11th February
Safer Internet Day 2025 will take place on the 11th of February 2025, with the theme ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online‘
Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety. Each year an online issue or theme that speaks about the things young people are seeing and experiencing online are covered. Created in consultation with young people across the UK, this year Safer Internet Day will be focusing on the issue of scams online and for young people, how to protect themselves and others, as well as what support is available to them.
Please follow the link for more information to support your child in staying safe online.
First Aid at School
We are experiencing a number of students deciding to walk to reception if they feel unwell. As a result, we have mapped out the following expectations for students to follow if they feel unwell during lessons or at the start of a lesson. We have communicated this with staff. Please can you remind our students as well. Many thanks.
Please can we ensure we all follow these expectations re first aid / illness.
– If a child has a minor injury before school or during break/lunch they should go straight to reception and ask for first aid.
– If they are feeling unwell during a lesson / need medical assistance during a lesson they must tell the class teacher and stay in class. The teacher will then contact first aid if it is needed.
– Students should not be leaving lessons. First aid will come to them (unless they have an underlying health condition the school is aware of ).
– If you are not sure about any of the above, please speak to your tutor who can reassure you.
Please note, in the event of a serious medical emergency, staff are aware of what is needed to be done.
Leicester Riders Ticket Offer
Manor High School have been given the offer of 50% off tickets for the next few home games. Simply use promo code ‘OAK50‘ at checkout to claim your discount.
Click here to view the Leicester Riders Basketball website
We have also been sent an additional promotion of 50% off for the Leicester Riders Trophy Semi Final home leg on Sunday 9th February. Simply use code ‘BBALL50‘ at checkout.
Alumni
We are really keen for former Manor High School students to share their experiences of the world of work with our students.
If you, a family member or even friend who was a Manor High School student and could possibly help us with this please email us via the Admin email (FAO Mr Croucher).
Many thanks.
After School Study Centre and Interventions
Please can you reinforce to students that if they are staying behind at school to use the study centre (either to work or to wait for a parent to collect them) they must not leave site first and then come back. We have had a number of students leave site at the end of the school day, head to the shop and then arrive back at school 15 minutes later saying they need to wait in the study centre. We cannot allow students to just come and go like this as it is not safe and also not fair to staff who are supporting in the study centre.
The same is the case for interventions. If a student has an intervention session after school they must leave session 3, stay on site and then head to their intervention. Some students have been leaving site at the end of the day, heading to the shops and then wanting to be let back onto site 15 minutes later. This is also not acceptable.
Thanks for your support with this.
Safeguarding Update
Childline has launched a new campaign, Behind the Screen, raising awareness of the sexually coerced extortion of boys and young men. Sexually coerced extortion or ‘sextortion’ is a form of online blackmail involving a threat to share intimate or explicit images or videos to extort money or get someone to do something against their will. The campaign resources include a new film aimed at young people which involves an AI generated image challenge and a guide for professionals which looks at what sexually coerced extortion is and how to support young people.
Find out more: Childline: Our latest campaign – Behind the Screen
Manipulative marketing in games
Children are increasingly becoming major components in the online games industry. Many games are deceptively pay to play, whilst claiming to be free. For most of these apps the download is free but most of the gameplay is locked. Free in the context of apps is a highly flexible term. Online gaming firms use the ‘free’ label to draw in players, whom when talking about minors may be attractive due solely to that quality. Money making tactics such as these, can be hard to detect even for adults. Their use of bright colours, distracting music and other methods can be highly persuasive in gaining players. Better Internet for Kids has crafted a learning module designed to explore digital marketing tactics. You will learn why companies use these tactics and how they can impact your child and their rights. You will also learn how you can support your child to spot and avoid these issues, as well as where you can seek help and support. If interested, please follow the link below:
https://better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/learning-corner/parents-and-caregivers/marketing-games
NHS Mental Health Drop-ins
