The Courier

Dear Parents

As I look out my window this Thursday afternoon, I see pouring rain, which is not quite what was forecast, and I hope will not affect too much the cricket match that is going on over at Bilton Grange. Hopefully it is just a brief wet interlude.

The sun certainly shone on our Pre-Prep sports day on Tuesday afternoon, with a large congregation of parents, uncles, aunties, grandmas and grandads out in force to watch the younger children race, jump, throw and generally have a good old sporting time. It was a narrowly fought contest between the three houses, but the most important thing was the spirit of the competitors and the support they showed for one another. With just the Reception sports day still to come, we are hoping for three out of three in terms of good weather and judging by the forecast we might just be okay.

There is lots of hard work going on here in school as I speak, much of it of it geared towards getting ready for next year and the rest getting things just right for the remaining two weeks. Reports are being written and checked, preparations are being made for the Leavers’ Service and Welcome Evening, as well as staff preparing for the children’s move-up day. I hope you will be keeping a close eye on this week's Courier for all of the dates and details.

On that theme, we work hard to make communication easily accessible and we are currently putting together a parent survey to find out what works for you. We want to know how we can best get the communication when you want it, where you want it, as we move forward towards another school year. I will say a little more about this at the Welcome Evening next week, but please look out in your inboxes for the survey before the end of term.

I have a drive up the motorway planned for Saturday morning this week to collect my daughter’s belongings after her second year of university, only to have to return them a week later as she moves into a new flat. The good news is she will be with us in the meantime, and it will certainly be nice to have her back home for the week. With my son’s GCSE exams now all done, there will be some end of term vibes at home, but not for me just yet.

Have a great weekend.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Dear Parents

Following my previous message regarding the vacant position of Chair of the Friends of Crescent, I am delighted to announce today that Inez De Koning has kindly volunteered for the role and will take over from September of this year.

Inez has two children in the school, in Year 1 and Year 4, and is keen to get started in the role and get to know the rest of the team. Given that we are so close to the end of term, Inez has very sensibly decided to wait until the new school year starts before calling her first meeting. Please keep an eye out in the school calendar for all of the details for meetings and events planned for next term.

Inez will work alongside our existing committee members, Laura O’Connell and Donna Sheppard, who will continue to serve as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. Each class also has two nominated representatives. All of the work that the FoC does is entirely voluntary, with the core purpose of providing memorable and fun activities for the children alongside some gentle fund raising for those extra treats in the classrooms and playground.  

My sincere thanks go to all of you, and to Nick Brosnan our outgoing Chair, for your continued support of this important part of school life and I hope you will join with me in wishing congratulations and the very best of luck to Inez in her new role.