Manor Primary Academy Newsletter

Issue No 31

June 27th 2025

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In this issue

Messages from Manor

News

Stars of the Week

Attendance Champions

Dates for your diary

Messages from Manor

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been a quiet week in school and eerily quiet for many Penguins parents at home with Year 5 and Year 6 out all week on their residential visit to Laches Wood. The children have had a fantastic week of adventures and memories that will last them a lifetime. Thank you to Mrs Armstrong for leading the visit but also to Miss Ennis who supported her all week. We also had staff who were keen to join them, and we managed to get Mrs Viollet there for the beginning and end of the week, as well as Mr Culff and Mr Lloyd spending a day and a night there with the children. The photographs shared on our Facebook page showed the full range of activities from sailing to climbing, BMX biking to axe throwing, fire lighting and bush craft to search and rescue. For many children it is their first time away from home for any length of time and the resilience and independence they develop in the week is huge for their self-confidence.

They will all sleep well over the weekend including the staff!

Tamworth Arts Festival - Kaleidoscope of Dreams

As mentioned in previous weeks, Saturday 5th July is the date for the Tamworth Arts Festival that is themed on 'Kaleidoscope of Dreams'. This promises to be a great day with about 25 Tamworth Schools taking part including some secondary schools. It will be located in the Castle Grounds with the Lower Grounds hosting the main stage where each school will be dancing, choirs and bands will be singing and playing, art will be displayed and picnic benches set up for picnics.

The Upper Lawn will host a kite maker, community groups including the fire service, inflatables, trampolines, face painters, bubble artists, balloon artists, entertainers and magicians.

Food providers such as Manor Farm Fruits, ice cream vans, coffee and breakfast vans (maybe Spud Man?) will be available too.

There will be African Drumming and a blacksmith sculpture that visitors can get involved with.

There will be an art trail including work from the schools taking part from samples of Reception art to A level course work that will be housed in the Assembly Rooms, the library, St Editha's and Ankerside.

The library will be doing story reading and giving away books and bags to launch the summer reading challenge.

All of Manor along with the other schools taking part are learning 4 songs that the festival will close with at 4:30pm in a 'Flash Mob' style choir on and around the stage. Owls are also learning a dance that they will perform. We have been given a slot at 3:40-3:50pm.

It is an open, free event that Tamworth Council have supported and it would be great to see as many Manor families down there as possible. Mark the date in your diaries!

Summer Safety

As the hot weather continues Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is asking parents to ensure their children are safe around water. Whilst it might be tempting to take a dip in canals, rivers and lakes this can be dangerous due to unknown hazards.

Ensure your child knows how to “float like a starfish” should they get into difficulty. There is a short animated video they can watch The RNLI's Seaside Safety Song - YouTube

If you have a mobile phone download the free What3Words app which can be used to report a precise location in an emergency: Download the free what3words app | what3words

For more safety advice, visit their website here: Water safety

Office Request

The lovely ladies in the Manor office, Mrs Everett and Mrs O'Brien, have requested that parents keep an eye on Arbor for any payments due as we reach the end of the year. It would make their lives so much easier if dinner and snack balances, payments for wraparound care or music lessons, could all be settled by July 19th when we break up. This especially relates to Year 6 leavers.

The ladies will be sending weekly reminders from now until the end of term. Please save them from having to chase debts; part of the job they never enjoy! Thank you for your support.

Can You Help Us Build for Robins Class?

We’re reaching out to our wonderful school community to see if any parents, grandparents, or family friends have carpentry or DIY skills and a little bit of spare time!

For Robin’s Class, we’re hoping to have a mud kitchen and a busy board ready for the children to enjoy in September.

We’d love to use recycled wood to keep things sustainable (any donations of wood or pallets would be much appreciated). We can provide any materials you may need.

A mud kitchen is a fantastic outdoor play resource where children can mix, pour, and pretend to cook; brilliant for imaginative play and social skills.
A busy board is a sensory board filled with items like locks, zips, handles and switches to help develop children’s fine motor skills through hands-on play.

We’ve included a few photos for inspiration. If you or someone you know would be willing to help us build one (or both!), please get in touch with Mrs. Armstrong via the school office.

Thank you for supporting our little learners. We can't wait to see what we can create together!

Transition Week

Next week is transition week for our Year 6 children. Those going to Rawlett will be out on transition visits from Monday to Wednesday and those going to QEMS will be out from Tuesday to Friday. This gives us the opportunity to have our school 'move up day' on Wednesday when children will come in as normal but then move up to the classroom and teacher they will be having in September. This is a great opportunity for them to get to know their new teacher and allay any anxieties about changes over the summer.

Teachers will also be available for parents to 'meet the teacher' at after school meetings next week. This will be at 3:30pm:

Mr Forman for Year3/4 on Monday

Mr Culff for Year 5/6 on Tuesday

Mr Lloyd for Year 1/2 on Thursday.

Mrs Armstrong has already had her induction meeting but will be doing home visits to new starters in EYFS next week.

News

20 Jun 2025

A Musical Triumph at Symphony Hall!

This week, our talented pupils had the incredible opportunity to perform at the prestigious Symphony Hall, joining hundreds of children from across the region in a spectacular celebration of music. It was a truly unforgettable experience, and we couldn’t be prouder of our young performers...

18 Jun 2025

Swans Trip To RAF Cosford

This week, year 1 and 2 children flew back in time on a trip to RAF Cosford tying into their current history topic - The History of Flight. Throughout the day they explored the impressive aircraft displays. The children were amazed to see planes from all over the world from different periods of t...