Manor High School Parent Portal - SPRING TERM

Instead of our usual update this week we have put together a newsletter to really give you a flavour of some of the events that have been taking place this over the recent weeks. We are particularly pleased with the fundraising efforts of our students for the Turkey and Syria Earthquake appeal. Please read on to find out more.

I would also like to take the opportunity to remind parents about our school uniform. We have high expectations of our students. I wanted to write to you to outline why it is important to do uphold the highest standards with our uniform.

School uniforms promote a sense of equality amongst students. Regardless of their socio-economic background, every student is dressed in the same attire, eliminating the pressure to conform and the distraction of personal clothing choices. This allows a level playing field for all students. Uniforms also foster inclusivity by reducing the visibility of economic differences and promoting a more cohesive environment. There is also sufficient variety in our uniform to respect different cultural and/or religious beliefs.

Equally as importantly, research has shown that school uniforms contribute to a more focused and productive learning environment. When students are dressed uniformly, it minimises distractions and creates a sense of professionalism. This, in turn, helps students to concentrate on their studies and encourages a positive academic atmosphere.

Uniform also instils a sense of discipline and pride in students. By adhering to uniform expectations, students develop a sense of responsibility, respect, and self-discipline. It also includes specifics that distinguish students from others. This helps school staff quickly identify individuals who do not belong on the premises, as well enabling them to be identified in the school community.

During this final term I ask that you support the school and your child by ensuring they leave the house in perfect uniform. Students must wear their school tie and blazer every day.

Finally, if purchasing any school uniform for your child over the coming weeks, either for the start of the final half-term, or for the start of the new academic year it is important that it adheres to our school uniform guide which can be found here: Manor High School - Uniform. There is also information about piercings and prohibited items. If your child is at school and not in school uniform you can expect to hear from your child’s form tutor about the steps necessary to address this.

We do offer a preloved uniform service run by Friends of Manor High School, this can be found here: www.uniformd.co.uk/fomh.

We hope you enjoy reading about the events of the last half-term and wish you a restful break.

Mr S Greiff

In the Modern Languages department we buck the national trend and successfully enter 96% of our students for a GCSE in a Modern Language (French, Spanish or both) compared to 39% of students in the rest of the country. It is therefore important that we give our students every opportunity to make marginal gains and, further to one full round of PPEs in November, in February we organised another round of speaking PPEs for over 200 students to give them further practice before they successfully sat their real GCSE speaking examinations between 2^nd and 5^th May, which are worth 25% of their grade this summer. We are also entering our bilingual students for GCSEs in German, Italian, Arabic, Urdu, Mandarin and Russian, and look forward to seeing them celebrate their results alongside our French and Spanish GCSE cohorts this summer.

To further increase students’ chances of achieving their potential in the summer examinations, last Saturday 20^th May, 120 French and Spanish GCSE students were invited into school to complete walking, talking reading and listening examinations in preparation for the forthcoming exams with our five French and Spanish specialist teachers, including our newest member of the team, Mrs John, who has joined us as 2^nd in Department in Modern Languages this term.

Mi Personalidad - Onatti Productions

La Maison Hantée - Onatti Productions

In the Spring term students in Y9 and 10 had the opportunity to watch theatre productions in school performed by native French and Spanish actors from the fabulous Onatti Productions. Y9 and 10 Spanish students enjoyed a performance of Mi Personalidad in February and, last month, Y10 French students were treated to a fantastic production of La Maison Hantée. In both plays there were opportunities for audience participation from our students, who were excellent ambassadors for the school, and made this most of this fantastic, culturally rich experience. We look forward to welcoming Onatti Productions back to Manor High School in 2024.

Keen to give our students as many opportunities as possible to broaden their cultural horizons and make use of their language skills first-hand, the department is currently putting together final preparations for two foreign residentials to Barcelona and Calais, which will take place next half-term and will involve students across years 8 to 10. Parent information meetings are taking place on Thursday 8^th June (Spain) and Thursday 15^th June (France) at 5:30pm, and parents of students who are involved are politely reminded to confirm your attendance via the Microsoft Forms link that was emailed to parents last week.

Our Wednesday lunchtime Duolingo club is offered to students in years 7 to 9 and has been growing in popularity this term. If students would like to broaden their horizons and learn a new language of their choice they can come along each Wednesday from 12:40 to 1:10pm in room 16. Mrs Moseley and Miss Patel look forward to welcoming them!

Mrs P Rodriguez

The Mathematics Department continues with its final preparations for the remaining two GCSE papers with a Saturday morning revision session this weekend. This, coupled with the work that has already taken place, has seen students complete after school intervention sessions, an Easter school session, multiple ‘Walking Talking Mock’ exams and revision packs. They have worked extremely hard, and we feel proud of their efforts. We hope that this work has supported their independent revision and raised confidence and exam technique, as well as boosting their recall and application of core knowledge. The very best of luck for the final two exams and a huge thank you for all the support that we have received in allowing students to participate in these sessions and engage in the revision programme.

Further to the work taking place within school for Year 11 students, Mr Lansdale accompanied a group of Year 11 students to a regional Maths conference in Northamptonshire which further built upon the exam preparation that students had undertaken in class. The feedback from students was that they very much enjoyed the experience, and we are confident that they will have benefitted from the opportunity and expertise that was shared with them during the day.

For all other year groups this has also been a busy term, and we have seen the Maths Homework Club continue to gain numbers and popularity. We have seen a large number of our Key Stage Three students making use of the support that is provided in these sessions whether it be with homework or catching up on classwork. It continues to be a useful resource for our students and also offers an opportunity to extend their understanding and support one another. This takes place weekly on Monday at lunchtime and Thursday after school until 3:50. All are welcome.

Finally, this term we saw students compete in the Maths House Competition. This annual event provided the opportunity for students to compete as teams within their houses and work together to complete several rounds of challenging questions. Competition, as always, was fierce and Bradgate were victorious in both the Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four competitions.

As this academic year enters its final half-term, we have no opportunity to slow down and upon the return from the half-term break we will see the final two Maths exams take place as well as the Pre-Public Exams for Year 10 students. We would like to wish all taking exams the very best of luck and to let them know that we are here to support with any last minute revision or questions that they have and thank them for their hard work throughout this academic year so far.

Mr B Patel

What is Misogyny?

Misogyny is the dislike for, contempt of or belief in the inferiority of women. It can also refer to social systems or environments where women face hostility and hatred because they’re women in a world created by and for men — an historical patriarchy.

Where are these attitudes being expressed?

Displays of misogyny among children and young people occur in a variety of forms and are demonstrated verbally, non-verbally and physically, in classrooms, corridors and social spaces within educational establishments, in the home, in non-educational social spaces, in public and online.

Misogynistic behaviour can include:

Casual use of mildly misogynistic language - ‘girly’ as an insult or pejorative term; ‘man up’ implying that masculinity is preferred to femininity
Casual though often vindictive use of overtly sexualised and derogatory language
‘Feminist’ and ‘feminism’ considered as negative terms
Dismissive, contemptuous attitudes of some boys towards female peers, other adults, and towards their mothers (and sometimes acceptance or endorsement by male adults of such attitudes)
Objectification of women and girls on the basis of their looks
Dismissive attitude that women and girls should have responsibility for menial domestic chores
Mockery and derision when women and girls adopt non-stereotypical gender roles, for example as football fans, footballers, surgeons
Criticism of young women who are sexually active compared with acceptance that young men are and/or should be
Sexual entitlement issues, for example overt sexual propositioning of girls and young women and boys pushing, grabbing and groping girls
Joking about the sexual abuse of and physical violence against, women and girls, or framing conversations about the issue in such a way as to blame victims
Engagement with computer games which are demeaning in their portrayal of women and often normalise violence against women, for example the Grand Theft Auto series of games
Sending/sharing through social media sexual images of women and girls either with or without consent
Use of social media to target sexual innuendo at girls and young women

Much of what is described as misogyny constitutes bullying, the effects of which upon victims are well documented. Faced with sexual bullying which is offensive, abusive, intimidating and malicious in nature, and which represents an abuse of power, victims experience fear, anxiety and stress, loss of dignity, humiliation and low self-esteem. The threat that this poses to victims’ health and wellbeing and on their educational outcomes, is undeniable.

Within school we want to ensure that all students are able to exist in a safe, happy and healthy environment. Staff will challenge misogyny and concerning attitudes where they are observed and pastoral staff will work with those affected by it. However, sadly we know that these attitudes may not be expressed where staff can observe it and so it is important that we keep lines of communication open. It is good to maintain a regular dialogue with your child about their experiences and if any concerns are raised with you, please get in touch with the tutor.

Throughout this year we ensured this is taught as part of the PSHE curriculum, have listened to the views of the students and we have hosted an experienced speaker Andrew “Bernie” Bernard to consider the topical issue of “What Makes a (hu)Man?” with our students.

Bernie will be returning to the school after half-term, to do some focused work with boys and to offer support to parents.

The boys will discuss masculinity that encourage toughness, power and strength and to what extent this might be at the expense of empathy, consideration or emotion.

He will encourage them to think carefully about why they do what they do and to be more conscious about the decisions they make and the actions they take. He will offer a series of alternative role models who were recommended for their honesty, advocacy of others, positivity and willingness to be different to stereotypes:

Bear Grylls – British adventurer, writer, television presenter and businessman
Munya Chawawa – a twice BAFTA nominated satirist
Musa Okwonga – author and broadcaster, co-founder of @stadiofootball
Ian Wright – Footballer and broadcaster, for his honesty in talking about overcoming his difficult childhood and understanding its impact
Musician Harry Styles for eschewing gender fashion stereotypes
Marcus Rashford – footballer, for the use of his platform to help disadvantaged children

As a school we will continue to explore these themes with both boys and girls as we support them to understand how they can navigate the in-person and online world in which they are growing up, working out who they want to be and how they can become the best version of themselves.

Manor High School Newsletter

Headteacher's Update

Update from Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

Update from Mathematics

Update from English

Update from Design, Technology and Art (DTA)

Update from Computing and Business

Update from PE

Update from Performing Arts

Update from Science

Update from Humanities

Update from Duke of Edinburgh

Update on Reading

Update from Careers

Special Recognition - Swimming

Safeguarding Update

Fundraising Update

House Points