The Courier

Dear Parents

It has been wonderful to have the children back in school this week. Whilst the weather has been up and down, the children have got straight back into things and it is great to have the first five days of learning under the belt and everyone feeling energised and ready for the remainder of term. I know there were some nerves on Monday morning, but the children deserve great credit for their enthusiasm and resilience on the return and many thanks to all of the staff for making them all feel so welcome. Long may it continue!

I spent a very useful session with the Year 1 class on Thursday, observing a lesson focused on adjectives, but requiring free writing skills. The level of handwriting, spelling and grammar for a Year 1 class in mid-year were really impressive, as was the class's ability to concentrate on their learning. It was only a snapshot of course, but it was great to see them all fully on task so soon after their return and this speaks volumes for the efforts of everyone to keep the children focused throughout the home learning period.

It has been great this week to welcome two virtual visits to the school, in the form of Michelle Robinson the children’s author and the zoo workshop on Thursday. The children welcomed these opportunities to see and do something different and I know they will have inspired some immensely valuable follow up activities in the classroom. Engaging the children with the subject matter is invaluable and when they are really into a subject, it hardly seems like ‘work’ at all when it comes to reading and writing.

Nursery Building Update

I spoke to you all recently about our plans for the nursery building and work on this has continued to go on behind the scenes. Further to this, I am now able to announce that we have submitted our designs for planning permission, largely in line with the plans I shared with you on February 11.

In essence, at this stage we want to achieve the following:

• Join the two buildings together
• Create new hall storage, freeing up the hall for use as a sports hall
• Create a large open plan teaching space suitable for a class in September
• Make a new space for music and drama lessons during the day and wraparound care, before and after-school

There is still a great deal to be done but we are a step further down the path towards these goals. In any event, we will certainly have the two teaching spaces in full use for next year and we will continue to develop the new building and the rest of the site over the next 5 to 10 years in line with our mission to provide an outstanding all-round education for our pupils in a caring, nurturing, and supportive environment. These are exciting times for the school.

Have a great weekend.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

The weekly calendar can be viewed by clicking on the link below.  It details all the clubs, events, fixtures and additional information for the week. 

Weekly Calendar - 15 March 2021 

Please note:

• Class 5F Orchestra - please bring instruments in

All the co-curricular clubs can be viewed on SOCS, where you can find details of all the dates the clubs are running.  

SOCS Co-Curricular

Crescent School

Princethorpe College will finish for the Easter holidays as per their published Term Dates on Friday 26 March. Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 March are in-service training (INSET) days at Princethorpe. These days will be used by the teaching staff for important safeguarding training, to revise our curriculum and schemes of work for all year groups in the weeks and months ahead and critically, to progress the work of gathering evidence, analysis and preparing the assessments that are required by the government to produce Teacher Assessed Grades for Year 11 and Upper Sixth in order to be able to award their GCSE and A-levels in the summer.

Both the Foundation preparatory schools, Crescent School and Crackley Hall School, have decided to forego their planned training and extend their term by two days to enable the children to have additional in school learning and will finish on Tuesday 30 March.

In September 2021 there will be two new items of sports clothing available to purchase. A new polo shirt and games top.

Photos are attached so you can see what they will look like - Mr Thackway wore the Games top in a recent assembly.

More details will be provided in due course.

Crescent School

After the huge success of the Foundation-wide performance of The Climb last summer, Mr Cowlishaw is producing another recording.

Entitled You Will Be Found this song has an inspiring message for the present times and will provide a welcome opportunity for singing and playing together. It is open to anyone from the school who wishes to take part, and anyone submitting a recording will earn House Points for their House.

All the details have been uploaded to SeeSaw under Music. There are video rehearsals for singing and you can download your singing or instrumental part from this site too. Mr Cowlishaw will also be recording a video for the singers to perform with to make their recording easier to manage.

All recordings need to be with me by Monday 5 April 2021.

Any queries do contact me.

I would like to remind parents that Crescent School, along with the other schools of the Princethorpe Foundation, aims to be a nut-free zone. Whilst we cannot guarantee that children won’t come into contact with nuts or products with nut traces whilst at school we endeavour to reduce this risk as far as we can.

The aim of this strategy is to reduce the risk to those children and adults who may suffer an anaphylactic reaction if exposed to nuts to which they are sensitive. The school aims to protect children who have allergies to nuts yet also help them, as they grow up, to take responsibility as to what foods they can eat and to be aware of where they may be put at risk.

Our 'Nut-Free Zone' means that the following items should not be brought into school:

• Packs of nuts
• Peanut butter sandwiches
• Fruit and cereal bars that contain nuts
• Chocolate bars or sweets that contain nuts
• Sesame seed rolls (children allergic to nuts may also have a severe reaction to sesame)
• Cakes made with nuts and marzipan

No nuts are used in any of the food prepared on site at our school.  Our suppliers provide us with nut-free products. However, we cannot guarantee freedom from nut traces.

It is worth noting that there are currently children in school with a known nut allergy.  Exposure to nuts for these children could result in serious consequences. I know that you, like me, would do anything reasonably possible to prevent this from happening.

We ask all parents to support us in this policy by providing nut-free mid-morning snacks and not using nuts in cakes provided for bake sales or fund raising events.

There are only a few days left to order from our latest Scholastic Book Club.

Please visit https://schools.scholastic.co.uk/the-crescent/digital-book-club to browse the latest books and order online.

For every £1 you spend on this month’s Book Club, our school will earn 20p in Scholastic Rewards.

Please place your order online by 15 March 2021 and they can be delivered to school.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Please remember that St Mark's Church have confirmed that parents can use their car park for drop off and collection from school.  It is a large car park and there is a short cut from Church Walk which brings you out onto Bawnmore Court beside the school.

A short walk and a breath of fresh air is excellent at helping children get ready for their morning's learning. 

Crescent School

Monday 15 March 4.00pm - 6.30pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to discuss your child's academic progress.

In order to keep everyone safe we will be running these via Teams meetings.  An email with the booking instructions was sent out by Mrs Tucker on Thursday 25 February. 

Thank you for your support on this matter.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Wednesday 17 March 6.00pm - 8.00pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to discuss your child's academic progress.

In order to keep everyone safe we will be running these via Teams meetings.  An email with the booking instructions was sent out by Mrs Tucker on Thursday 25 February.

Thank you for your support on this matter.

Tuesday 30 March 2021

As is tradition, we will be holding our Easter Service on the last day of Lent Term.

Class 5F will share the Easter story with you through poetry, readings, prayer and music, supported by members of Class 6W and Choir.

It will be a recorded online event as public performance guidelines are still in place regarding audiences in school. Pupils and parents will be able to watch the service thorough the link sent out 30 March 2021.

Congratulations to Caspar for becoming a JdV student in Maths.  He achieved this just as we went into lockdown so we can at last give him his badge.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Another week where lots of reading achievements have been reached.  This week congratulations go to:

500,000 words:

• Hattie (3Y)

2,000,000 words:

• Poppy (4M)

Keep up the good reading!

Top Quizzers this week are:

• 3Y  Roisin
• 4M Zahra
• 5F  Sophie
• 6W Caitlyn

Word Wizards this week are:

• 3Y  Hattie
• 4M Mya
• 5F  Katherine
• 6W Sahana

Weekly Class battle 5 - 11 March 2021

All classes against each other the winners were:

• 1st place - Class 4M with 8,982 points
• 2nd place - Class 3Y with 5,273 points
• 3rd place - Class 5F with 2,075 points

Well done Class 4M who continue to dominate!

Most valuable players contributing the most points to their class were:

Please note only the children should play on their account or it influences the level appropriate to them.

Stay Calm and Rock on!

This week Playground Conduct Awards are presented to:

• Charlie (4M) for being kind to his friend in the playground when they had fallen over

• David (Reception) for being kind and helping his friend to learn how to zip up their coat

Lunchtime Supervisors

Pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 welcomed a very special guest on Wednesday when they enjoyed a virtual visit from children’s author Michelle Robinson. Michelle is a prolific writer having written over 40 books including her brilliant books The Day The Banana Went Bad and She Rex, which she read aloud and performed to the children during her visit.

Michelle explained to the children what it is like to be an author and how you just have to practise. She told them that she really loves being a children’s author which is a good thing really because it is what she is good at, and how she believes that books can take you anywhere. She also answered their many questions, including “Where do you get your ideas from?”, “How hard is it to think of ideas?”, “How long does it take to write a book?” and “Where is your most favourite place to read?”

Michelle entertained and inspired everyone in what was a very lively session and the children are all now eager to put her words of wisdom into practise writing their very own funny tales.

Pupils in Year 2 at Crescent School had a fantastic virtual zoo visit on Thursday afternoon when they got to meet some furry – and not so furry – friends.

Educational organisation Zoo2U joined pupils in their very own classroom to introduce them to a range of animals, insects and birds. The children learnt about where the different animals live, what they eat, how they are adapted to their habitats and got to ask lots of questions about owls, parrots, stick insects, kookaburras, snakes, a bearded dragon and even a very cute baby meerkat.

Head of Pre-Prep, Alan Webb, said, “We had a wonderful time learning all about the animals. We are always eager for the children to participate in a wide range of fun learning experiences and as we currently can’t go out to visit a zoo, having a virtual visit was the next best thing.”

It was a fascinating session for everyone, and the children were really engaged. They enjoyed meeting the animals and watching the amusing antics of the meerkats who were keeping a beady eye on all the fun.

On Tuesday morning Drama Teacher, Miss Thompson, who has been back teaching with us since January, was delighted to actually meet her Year 3 class face to face. Working in the school hall, they all enjoyed reciting poems beautifully including Pancake and My Puppy. It was really great to have the children back in school.

Crescent School

Class 3Y said goodbye to the end of Home Learning last Friday, with a little mixology. In Geography they have learned about different global biomes. This lesson was focussed on the different fruits that will grow only in tropical conditions.

Pupils (and parents) designed a mocktail, put on the calypso music, a pair of shades and got in the beach party spirit.

Cheers!

For a two or three week period this year we will be focusing on one of the sayings in the School Promise. We will talk about this in assembly and in form period. It would be great if you could discuss this with your children at home and support the messages we are emphasising in school.

From now until the end of term we will be looking at a very important idea from the Good Citizens section of the Promise:

‘We are honest and tell the truth’

Mr Webb
Head of Pre-Prep

The FoC are inviting children to create an Easter Bonnet to bring into school on Monday 29 March. All designs welcome (an FoC child has already declared plans to use a viking helmet as a basis for theirs!).

Everyone who enters will receive a prize and there will be house points on offer. All being well the school is also hoping to do a parade for the children to share their creations.

FoC is asking for a £2 donation per entry to be paid on the day or preferably transferred electronically.

FoC Committee

We will happily accept any of the following Crescent pre-loved uniform:

• School Blazers
• School Coats
• School Cardigans and Jumpers
• School Dresses (winter and summer) and Skirts
• School T-Shirts/Polo Shirts/PE Shorts/Skorts
• School Boaters
• School Bags
• School Tracksuits

Please do not include anything not on the list above e.g trousers, shirts etc. 

Uniform should be put into carrier bags and left by the box outside the main school entrance.  It will then be removed and kept in quarantine ready to be used when safe to do so.

Preloaded uniform enquiries can be made by emailing Vicky on the link below:

Preloved Uniform

Below are the details of the FoC Year Group Representatives. These reps will communicate with you on all our events via email, whatsapp or facebook. 

We'd love to introduce you to the new Friends of Crescent team. Supporting the Committee members we have:

Friends of Crescent Facebook Group

We're hoping to announce some exciting initiatives shortly so please join to avoid missing out! 

Nick Brosnan
Friends Of Crescent - Chair  

Please click on the link below to view the lunch menu for next week: 

Lunch Menu - 15 March 2021 

Children are able to have either of the main options.

Olive Catering

Please see below for useful school contact information:

Please find below term dates for 2020/21 and 2021/22:

Cyber-crime – please be extra vigilant

Parents are asked to be vigilant when reading emails relating to the payment of school fees and any other items to the Foundation. You can protect yourselves by only making payments to us in line with our normal, published methods. Any email offering a large discount on fees for the coming academic year if paid immediately is fraudulent.

There has been no change to the bank details of Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall or Crescent and there is no intention to make any changes in the foreseeable future. Any electronic notification that appears to be from any of the Foundation schools changing these details may be fraudulent.  Our bank details are available on the Parent Bills, the Online Payment Portal and in the Information Booklet for each school, and only those details should be used.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues in the Bursary if you are have any doubts about the correct details or indeed if anything appears suspicious.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

• Princethorpe College - Teacher of Maths (maternity cover)
• Princethorpe College - Teacher of English 
• Crescent School - Teacher of Science and DT

Full details and information on how to apply are available on the Foundation website here:

www.princethorpe.co.uk/join-us

Should you know anyone who might be interested in these posts, please do share this information with them.

In line with other local schools and Warwickshire County Council’s message below, please wear face coverings on school grounds (if you are able) when dropping off and collecting children. 

Please remember there is plenty of space around school to socially distance.

Many thanks for you for your co-operation.

Children or adults with symptoms must not enter school. Parents must check for symptoms each day before bringing their child into school.

The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:

• a high temperature – please, if you have not already done so, source a thermometer to check temperatures at home
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Any children or adult who develops symptoms will need to leave the building as soon as possible and be tested for Covid-19.

Details on testing can be obtained at www gov uk/get-coronavirus-test or call the Test and Trace Helpdesk on 119.

Hand held thermometers will be used to check the temperature of any individual feeling unwell. Children who develop symptoms during the school day will be taken to the Meeting Room and their parents called to come and collect the child, as well as any siblings of the child.

Other members of the household should self-isolate for 10 days from when the symptomatic person first had symptoms, or until a negative test result is returned.

In the event of a positive test result the full protocols of test and trace will be followed www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#

Children returning from restricted areas outside UK must self-isolate as advised by the government guidance before returning to school.