Comings and Goings

As we reach the end of term, we will be bidding a fond farewell to a small number of children who are moving to other parts of England and abroad. We will also be saying goodbye to a couple of other important members of the Manor family.

Mrs MacAusland, who has taught music to Penguins and Owls for the past year, as well as tutoring some children who are learning woodwind instruments, has secured a post as a music teacher in a school to start in January. We wish her the best of luck. Entrust Music Service have an experienced replacement ready to go, who we will confirm shortly.

This term we have been lucky to have two trainee associate teachers from Birmingham City University. Next week will be the last week for Miss Waheed, who has worked with Mr Lloyd in Owls class. Miss Ennis will complete her block with Mr Culff in Swans next week but will return after Easter for her final placement in Penguins with Mrs Armstrong. 

We are also sad to say that Fiona Simkins is moving away from the area, so we will also be saying farewell to her. Mrs Simkins is like an unpaid member of staff and has been very much at the heart of the re-emergence of the PTA. As chair, she has put in a huge amount of work and has been the driving force behind the excellent events and organisation of the group. Like any good leader, though she will be sorely missed, she has built a great team that will sail on without her.

Mrs Simkins has also been a governor for the past year so we will be holding elections over the next few weeks to appoint a parent as a replacement. Do look out for nomination forms coming out soon.

Meanwhile, we also have new children joining us in Ducklings, Robins, Swans and Owls after Christmas. I'm sure everyone will make the new children and families welcome in our Manor community.

Christmas Jumpers and arrangements for the last day

Next Friday 20th is our last day before we break up for Christmas. In the morning each class will have a class Christmas party with games and there may be a special visitor! There will be party-style food for school dinners and then the afternoon will be Carol Service in the church.

We aim to be ready to start by about 1:30pm if any parents or carers are able to join us. If you are able to help with walking the younger children over to church and back afterwards, then please let the office or class teacher know. We estimate that the service will take about 45 minutes to an hour. 

All children will return to school to collect their belongings, then we will dismiss them to any parents who are there from about 2:30pm. If you can't make it for an early finish, please don't worry. We will obviously look after the children until parents arrive for the normal finish time.

The last day will be a 'Christmas Jumper Day'. This means normal school uniform with a Christmas jumper replacing the school jumper. This is instead of children getting changed into or out of party clothes in school and will still be reasonably smart for the Carol Service.

E-Safety - Gaming

As we approach a winter holiday, the time spent online for some children can tend to increase with less time spent outside. There will also be fun new games given as Christmas presents. Whilst this is great fun and many games have positive benefits, they also come with risks from being online. As parents we need to understand the world our children are living in and how to protect them from harm. The link below offers some excellent insights into the world of gaming, its risks and benefits and how to safeguard our children against any dangers.

Topic - Online Safety and Gaming | SWGfL

Christmas Tree to a good home!

We have a beautiful 7 foot Christmas tree going spare from Friday next week if anyone is interested. The tree donated by the Berekis family still has all its needles (despite dodgeball being played in the hall!) and would probably last another couple of weeks over Christmas. If you can find it a good home and are able to transport it away on Friday afternoon, then please get in touch with the school office.

PTA Film Night

Another successful Film Night was held this week with the PTA machine running it smoothly and efficiently. There was a great turn out of children who enjoyed their snacks and 'cinema experience'. Amazing profits of £288 were made that will be used to support the school with those extra 'nice to have' items that the school budget can't quite stretch to cover. Thank you for your support!

PTA will also be serving refreshments at the nativity plays in school and at the Carol Service in church. Why not arrive 10 minutes early to make the most of this. Cash is preferred but a card reader will be available.

Request for a Book

Mr Forman has been trying to find the below book, Little Red, A Fizzingly Good Yarn by Lynn Roberts. Unfortunately it is out of print and we can only find very expensive versions for sale. If anyone has a copy Mr Forman could borrow he would be very grateful. Thank you!