ASPIRE

The news magazine of Manor College of Technology
08 ASPIRE
09
Design
for life
THE summer term provided our
talented Key Stage 3 pupils with a
challenge to design and make a
product that could be used by a
company for promotional purposes.
Pupils developed a wide range of
artefacts, including kites, soft toys,
novelty biscuits, pastry products and
stationery holders. The standard was
fantastic. Planning sessions allowed
pupils to model ideas and practise
techniques before making their product
independently. Winners for the best
design folder and product were awarded
prizes and the title ‘Designer of the
Year’. This experience gave the pupils a
valuable insight into how products are
manufactured in industry.
Journeys into Science
YEAR 7 pupils have shown both enthusiasm
and dedication this year in Science.
During their investigations into
alternative energy, they built some superb
model wind turbines and explored new
Science-related TV programmes and
websites. Reliving the Dark Ages, pupils
also created ‘wanted’ posters for Galileo
and Copernicus who went on the run for
being true to their science.
During the summer solstice, we tried
to watch the alignment of Mercury
and Venus, but cloud cover made this
impossible. However, for one pupil who
THE annual Primary Maths Challenge took
place on 19th April, with Year 5 pupils from
Golden Flatts, Kingsley, Fens, Rossmere,
Greatham and Grange primary schools.
The pupils were placed in small groups,
where they worked alongside Year 7
pupils from Manor. Under the guidance of
was in the West Country, clear skies
enabled her to take some amazing
photos, which she shared with other pupils
on her return.
Other activities included testing particle
theory by instantly freezing water with a
super-cooled bottle. We also studied the
impact of humans on polar bears and
enjoyed finding out about pizzly bears,
which are a cross between polar and
grizzly bears.
For our final project this year, we looked
at the technology behind the proposed
mission to land on Mars.
Mathematical whiz-kids
pupils from Year 9, each group was
given a series of number and shape
problems, for which they were awarded
points for finding the correct solution
and for teamwork.
A group of pupils from Golden Flatts
were the overall winners.
Parlez-vous Français?
Modern Language pupils excel
YEAR 7 pupils at Manor College have attracted national
interest with the quality of their French, thanks to a project
called Phonemia.
Each week pupils learn a new French phoneme and
practise their pronunciation throughout the lesson.
Observers at Manor’s MFL department have been
impressed by pupils speaking French to explain why new
words match with certain pictures and then practising
French tongue twisters.
A regional languages expert who saw Manor pupils in
action recorded them speaking and has since used the
videos at nationwide languages events.
One pupil commented: “I feel more confident now
when I speak French.”
YEAR 7 French pupils joined the first round of the North
East Modern Foreign Languages Spelling Bee competition.
The winners from each class took part in a final eliminator,
which whittled the team down to Katie Steele, Jessica
Crannage, Brynley Hudson and Liam Everett.
The regional final took place at Sunderland University,
where more than 20 schools from across the North East
were represented. Our competitors stood in front of
hundreds of people and spelled words against the clock –
in French.
Mrs Welsh commented: “Although we didn’t win, I was
very proud. Katie was our best performer with ten words
spelled correctly in one minute.”
Musical
medley
THE Music department had two successful
evenings this term.
Firstly, our Summer Concert on 4 th July
gave some of our Year 11 Music pupils the
opportunity to perform for the last time.
Emma Simpson, Natalie Henderson, Callum
Rayment and Bethany Collin all sang solos,
and Matthew Napper and Amy Wilkins
played guitar. We had two lovely duets from
Anna Llewellyn and Alex Todd in Year 10,
and Year 9 pupils Josh Wright and Lehi Reid,
and a wonderful performance of Hedwig’s
Theme by the String Group. We also had
performances by both Senior and Junior
Choirs. We finished the concert with a very
challenging arrangement from Les Misérables.
Manor’s Got Talent was also a great hit
with both pupils and parents. Our winners this
year were: Alisha Young and Olivia Crawford,
Year 7, Abbey Cowan, Siobhan Horton and
Sarah McKie, Year 8, Erin Hanson, Year 9, Demi
Apedaile, Amy Grylls and Holly Parkinson,
Year 10, and Hollie Nelson, Year 11.
A DOZEN fortunate Year 8 boys took part in ‘Languages for
Lads’ in June at Newcastle United FC’s St James Park stadium.
The annual event is organised to highlight the opportunities
that studying languages can create.
It was a fabulous day. Activities included a tour of the
stadium (with French questions), an Italian taster session,
talks from pupil ambassadors currently studying MFL at
university and, the highlight of the day for most pupils, a press
conference with a professional French footballer.
Particular thanks to Andrew Foster and his staff at the
Newcastle United Foundation and Simone Santabarbara and
his team of pupil ambassadors.