The Courier

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Nigel Lines on Thursday, 10 May 2018. Nigel joined the board of governors of Crescent School in 2000 after he retired from his role as a bank manager. He served as Chairman from 2006 until 2013 and eventually stepped down from the board in July 2015.

When he joined the board he was almost immediately involved in the biggest decision a governing body has to make – the appointment of a new Head. I was very fortunate that the board decided to appoint me so I worked with Nigel for 13 years and came to regard him as a very good friend and a wise counsellor.

Nigel was remarkably well-suited to the role of Chair of Governors because his professional life as a bank manager meant he understood the business side of school very well. Perhaps even more important was his understanding of the educational side of the school through his marriage to Pat who taught in infant schools in Coventry. He also clearly loved and understood children.

In his seven years as Chairman Nigel came into school at least once a week to talk through with me anything and everything that was happening in the school; an invaluable support to me as Headship can be a lonely position.  I was always confident that he was there to offer every support, encouragement and guidance he could whilst also feeling I enjoyed his complete trust. No Head could ask for more of their Chair.

He came in at other times to meet with the bursar to ensure the school was keeping within budget – no easy task during some very difficult financial times – and to keep on top of Health and Safety or general maintenance issues. Although perhaps his favourite job was standing in for Father Christmas at the Christmas Bazaar!

At his last governors’ meeting he very bravely told us that he was stepping down because he had been diagnosed with dementia.  He was succeeded as Chair by his wife, Pat, who equally bravely carried on in the role despite this very difficult and distressing situation. It would be difficult to overstate the debt of gratitude I, and all members of the school community in recent years, owe to Nigel and Pat.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Pat, and her son, daughter-in-law and family, at this sad time.

Pupils at the Crescent School have wholeheartedly embraced the Junior da Vinci programme.  Over the school year they have worked hard to achieve creativity, practice and mastery in their different school subjects.  When they have received all three awards in an individual subject they are named as a Junior da Vinci student and a postcard is sent home to celebrate their achievement.  The school also enjoys celebrating their success in assembly and in The Courier.

This week Mr Thackway began awarding Junior da Vinci badges of honour.  From now a badge will be presented to the children when they achieve their first Junior da Vinci student award.  With its distinctive, three ring design the badge will be a fitting permanent record which can be worn proudly on their blazer lapels.

All the children who have already achieved Junior da Vinci student status will be presented with the badge. 

A number of pupils have already achieved a Junior da Vinci award in more than one subject.  So competition for the Crescent School shield, which will be awarded to the boy and girl in the school who achieves the most number of complete awards, is really hotting up.

Senior Teacher, Ms Lowe, commented, "The school is delighted with the success of the da Vinci programme.  The children have enjoyed the challenges it presents and our new badges of honour are a deserving extra recognition of their achievement. I know there will be plenty more awarded over the remaining weeks of the school year.”

On Tuesday this week the school enjoyed Crescent’s first ever house Geography final. The children in Class VI have been working hard all term learning about the mountains, seas, rivers and countries of the world and the highest scorers in the class quiz got to represent their house in the final. It was a close fought affair with the three houses neck and neck throughout.

Not many Class VI children around the country can locate St George’s Channel or the River Elbe on a map or name the capital of Ecuador, but ours did with some ease.

We finally had to go to a tie breaker to find a winner. Red house prevailed, accurately naming Ottawa as the capital of Canada, to win the brand new trophy.

Congratulations to all those who took part; and good luck to the Class V when your turn comes around next year. 

Class VI pupils Oliver Bell and Chris Gibson were part of Rugby and East Warwickshire Hockey Club’s Boys’ U12 Team that won the national title in the In2Hockey National Championships on Saturday 12 May.

Playing at the Nottingham Hockey Centre, the REW Team cemented their place as the best U12 club hockey team in the country. The boys played superbly to win 1-0 vs Old Loughtonions, 4-1 vs Harrogate, 3-2 vs Guildford and 2-1 vs Clifton Robinsons.  They faced a very capable team from Surbiton in a hard fought, nail-biting final, in a match that ended in an incredibly tense 2-2 tie.  The game went to penalty flicks, which REW then won 5-4. Chris as the goalkeeper saved the penalty flick that delivered the national title!

The trophy is now going on a tour of the boys’ schools and we look forward to seeing the silverware at Crescent soon.

Two other members of the REW Hockey Club U12 Team currently attend the Foundation senior school Princethorpe College. James Robinson and Will Antrobus are both in Year 7.  Another member of the team Edward Thomas is an Old Crescentian.

The Foundation saw success in the REW U12 Girls' team too, they performed nearly as well, coming a very respectable ninth in the country!  Several of the girls in the team also hail from Princethorpe including Jess Evans, Sophie Gray, Tilly Houghton and Alice Whittaker.

Getting to the Nationals was a great achievement in itself, what a brilliant day for so many pupils in the Foundation!

Class VI received their Leavers Hoodies in Assembly this morning.  They will all look smart in Slapton next week wearing them!

Thank you to the Friends of Crescent for this wonderful gift to remember their days at Crescent School.  

Monday 4 to Friday 8 June 2018

We want to invite you in to school to work with and support your child through quizzing on Accelerated Reading, Spellzone and Abacus.

You are welcome to join your child in the computing room and experience their opportunities on our learning platforms on any day of the week of Monday 4 to Friday 8 June from 8.15am - 8.35am.

A member of staff will be present to welcome you and show the support we offer your child.

There is no need to make an appointment, just drop in, even if it is for a few minutes.

Ms Lowe
Senior Teacher

Dear Class V Parents

As from this week, it is now possible for you to register online for your child to sit the 11+ exam for the local authority selective grammar schools. The deadline for these applications is 4pm on 29 June 2018 so you have plenty of time, although the best advice is always to get it done as soon as you are sure that you will be applying. You can find full details on the link below, where you will need to set up a user account in order to apply to sit the test:

https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/admissions

Please also note that the next significant date in the school calendar regarding this process is Monday 18 June when we hold the transition meetings for Class V. This will be a meeting with Ms Forth and Ms Lowe, where they will discuss with you the different options for secondary transfer and which schools would be a good match for your son or daughter.