The Courier

Dear Parents

In this final Courier of 2022, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me personally, and from everyone here at Crescent.

We have finished the term in fine style here, with two more parent events this week that have gone down beautifully. Firstly, on Monday was the Year 2 Christmas Cracker production. We piloted a new format this year, with songs and poems being shared by the children that they had learned in their music and drama lessons. It was wonderful to see them so happy and embracing the opportunity to perform to an audience. It was a particularly friendly and receptive audience, I have to say.

On Tuesday evening at Princethorpe Chapel we enjoyed the upper school Carol service. The attendance was excellent despite the dreadful traffic conditions in the area on the day, not to mention the sub-zero temperatures. The children performed beautifully in a wonderful location that presents its own challenges, particularly as we don't get to rehearse in there very often. The singing, the music, the acting and the readings were all expertly delivered, and I hope parents left with a warm Christmassy feeling.

We now have a well-deserved break to look forward to and I hope you are able to find time to decompress after an autumn of hard work, and a fortnight of very cold weather. As a family, we don't have any great plans but hope to keep things nice and quiet. Our son James is about to start officer training with the Royal Navy in Dartmouth at the beginning of January and he has quite a long list of things he needs to get together. This will at least make choosing his Christmas presents easier. We are also looking forward to having our daughter Lorna back at home following her final autumn term at university.

Whatever you have planned, I wish you all a restful and peaceful time with your families.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

The Crescent Year 6 Podcasters have pulled together this video from Crescent School:

Crescent School - Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Remember Co-Curricular will not start until Monday 9 January, next term, this is our second week back. We do this, so we can run a full week from the start. Make sure you have signed up for the activities that interest you.

Please remember to sign up for After School care if you require it.

Weekly Calendar

There isn't a calendar to print this week due to a short first week back at school. 

Co-Curricular Clubs start on 9 January 2022. 

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

Please click below to view the lunch menu for next school week, children are able to have either the Main or Vegetarian option. 

Lunch Menu 4 January 2023 

Crescent School

Please click on the link below to view the Music Lesson timetable for week commencing 4 January 2023.

Lessons may not be able to be rearranged if children do not bring their instruments to school.

Music Lessons - 4 January 2022 

The password has been emailed to parents. 

Today we say goodbye to a much loved and valued member of staff. Mrs Brazier has been with the school for the last 18 years in different roles and has worked as our SENDCo for the last 14. This term she has played a really important role in handing over duties and responsibilities to our new incumbent Mrs Yates, who I know has really appreciated the knowledge and expertise of her predecessor.  

Mrs Brazier has spent many hours working with children in the Learning Support department offering love and expert care in equal measure. Her knowledge and experience have been a great asset to us all during her time at the school and we wish her a long and happy retirement. I know she has plans to bring down her already impressive golf handicap, and with the extra practise hours she can now put in, the local golf courses will be at her mercy. 

Thanks and farewell Lynda, from everyone at Crescent. 

Our traditional school carol service took place on Tuesday 13 December, in the glorious setting of Our Lady of the Angels Chapel at Princethorpe College.

Parents were warmly welcomed to a wonderful evening of carols, readings and the re-telling of the Christmas story.

The traditional festive service did not disappoint, the orchestra played superbly and the voices of the choir sang out with much loved music that brought our community together to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas period.

It was a lovely celebration as we come towards the end of the Michaelmas term.

Thank you to parents for their generosity in our retiring collection for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, together we raised £237.25.

What a fantastic festive final day of term. As is traditional we held our annual Christmas Jumper day in school in aid of this term's charity Birmingham Children's Hospital. The School Council also organised festive games for the children to play before school, to raise extra money.

Then our wonderful kitchen team cooked and served a sumptuous and delicious Christmas lunch that was very much enjoyed by everyone.

To finish off the day in school, the children had a very special visitor accompanied by Mrs Claus and the helper Elf. Ehat a wonderful surprise.

Merry Christmas to everyone - see you next term.

Year 2 shone brightly on the stage on Monday 12 December in a school hall full of parents and families who had gathered excitedly to enjoy a celebration of festive songs, music and poetry. A Christmas Cracker showcased the skills and talents our some of our youngest pupils providing a really valuable experience for them all.

The performance opened with two songs sang gustily Ho Ho Ho and Ring Out. It then featured a series of poems performed by the children, some individually some in groups. Year 2 Mini Brass took to the stage and made us chuckle with their rendition of Jingle Bells on the hose-a-phones. More poems and songs followed, including I Will Rejoice and the much-loved tale Twas The Night Before Christmas before a fantastic finish with two more jolly songs Mince Pies and Where’s Rudolph?

Our enormous thanks and congratulations go to all our accomplished performers who took to the stage in front of their proud parents, and of course to Miss Bowdige and Mrs Barnes and all their teachers who helped them achieve so much.

Thank you to everyone who used our Christmas post box, it had to be emptied a number of times during the week. The Year 6 elves have been busily sorting the cards into classes and then each class into individual piles that have been shared out to all the children.

Enjoy the lovely display that the cards will create in your homes this Christmas.

Promise Badges are very special and are awarded at the end of each term to one child in Pre-Prep (PP) and one child in the Upper School (US) for each of the three promise strands: Good Friends, Good Learners, Good Citizens.

The children listed below have embodied the qualities of the school promise this term and can wear their new badges with pride.

Pre-prep

• Nellie is a good learner, for her motivation and desire to try her best in every aspect of her learning.
• Erica is a good friend, for her constant smiling and help for everyone.
• Iris is a good citizen, for her self-responsibility and always being respectful of others. 

Upper School

• Bella is a good learner, for her focus and enthusiasm in class.
• Harry is a good friend, for being caring and supportive to all.
• Finlay is a good citizen, for always finding solutions to problems and his willingness to work with others.

In our Good News Assembly this morning we awarded School Promise certificates to recognise the children’s excellent behaviour as Good Friends, Good Learners or Good Citizens. 

Well done to:

RP

• Mikael - Good Learner - For embracing new learning challenges with determination 
• James - Good Citizen - For always helping to keep our classroom tidy 

1S

• Vihaan - Good Learner - for a fantastic attitude towards his learning, his readiness to learn and an increased independence in his work
• Marcie - Good Learner - for her fantastic ideas in her creative writing and her enthusiastic contributions towards our whole class learning

1Q

• Hannah -Good Learner - For being a fantastic learner, always listening and following instructions
• Jed - Good Friend - For being a super friend, always looking out for others

2E

• Sophia - Good Citizen - For following all aspects of the school promise and showing respect and good manners every day
• David  - Good Learner - For much improved effort in Maths resulting in super progress

2W

• Alice - Good Learner - For her desire to be the best learner she can be
• Finn - Good Friend - For being a fun, kind and thoughtful friend to all

3S

• Lilah  - Good Learner - For sustained good effort and thoughtful approaches to learning tasks
• Thomas - Good Citizen - For his helpfulness with the younger children at lunchtime and showing a consistently mature attitude towards both is learning and his presence within school as a whole

4C

• Alex W - Good Learner - For always being enthusiastic 
• Edward M - Good Friend - For looking out for his friends 

5F

• Oliver - Good Citizen - For always being respectful and responsible
• Sam B- Good Learner – For always trying his best and showing resilience in his lessons
  
  

6W

• Erin - Good Friend - For being helpful to staff and children
• Harry - Good Learner - For encompassing all areas of being a good learner

Well done all. 

In the Celebration Assembly on Friday 16 December, the House Point winners for each class were awarded with a book token.  

Congratulations to the following children:

This week has seen a number of children achieving their full Junior Da Vinci student status. Congratulations to Aria in 3S who receives hers for English. Amber and Isabella, also from 3S, achieve theirs in Science and DT, as do MingYi, Samuel and Sophia in 4C and Harry, Shayla, Grace and Alex G in 5F and Felicity in 2W. James in 5F achieves his in History.

Congratulations to you all.

Mrs Symons
Junior da Vinci Lead

Congratulations to this week's book worms:

• 500k words – Lilah
• Millionaire – Matthew

This week's Accelerated Reader Superstars are:

Top Quizzers are:

• 3S  Aria
• 4C  Zac
• 5F  Alex G
• 6W Ellie

Word Wizards are:

• 3S  Everly
• 4C  MingYi
• 5F  Edward G-H
• 6W Esme

This term's overall TOP QUIZZER, having quizzed successfully on an impressive 55 books within suggested book band, is Lilah.

This term's overall WORD WIZARD having read just over 1.9 million words, is Poppy.

Each week we have a Scientist and Artist of the Week who is recognised in assembly with their work displayed in the school corridor.

Well done to this week's Scientists and Artists of the Week:

Scientists

• Amber (3S)
• Isabella (3S)
• MingYi (4C)
• Samuel (4C)
• Sophia (4C)
• Alex G (5F)
• Grace (5F)
• Harry (5F)
• Shayla (5F)

Artists

• Eve (2E)
• Joshua (2E)
• Everly (3S)
• Harry (3S)
• Lilah (3S)

Well done all.

Crescent School

Pre-Prep reading certificates have this week been awarded to:

• Elliott
• Gwen
• Hannah
• Olivia-Rose
• Keevie
• Vihaan

Some of the lovely things the children have been doing...

There has been so much excitement in Reception over the last couple of weeks. Our theatre trip to see Twas The Night Before Christmas was brilliant. The performance was enjoyed by all and the children’s behaviour was impeccable. We have written letters to Santa and to our surprise he wrote back! He assures us we are all on the good list and will be getting a visit from him very soon. One of the highlights of the last couple of weeks was without doubt our performance of Baarmy Bethlehem. The children all performed and sang beautifully, and we are so proud of them. Well done Reception super-stars!

Our class party was a lovely celebration. We danced and played traditional games; pass the parcel, musical statues and stick the nose on Rudolph to name a few.

In phonics we have introduced digraphs and trigraphs;

oi as in boil      ow as in cow   or as in born    ur as in turn

ear as in hear    air as in hair       ure as in sure            

er as in jumper

Some of the things the children will be learning in the coming weeks;

Our topic ‘Hot and Cold’ will begin as we explore hibernation using Bear’s Winter House as our focus text.

In Maths we will start learning to recognise teen numbers as 10 and some more, exploring the value of each digit.

How to help your child at home…

• Encourage children to write… anything! (cards, lists, letters etc.)
• Practise counting to 20 and beyond – thinking about the value of two-digit numbers
• Share Christmas stories – identify familiar words in the text and ask to children to read along where possible
• Keep a simple holiday diary to share in class when we return

What’s coming up/notices/information

Thank you from the Reception team for your continued support this term. We wish you and your families a safe and happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in January.

Class 1S have been learning about the grapheme 'ch' that makes the sound /c/ or /sh/ so we took a parachute and played games listening out for the different sounds in our spelling lists last week.

We had lots of Christmas fun, shouting so loud there might have been an echo!

Class 1Q were very busy getting into the Christmas spirit this week. We painted paper bags to bring home our arts and crafts in at the end of the week. We made Christmas cards and had lots of fun at the Christmas party. We also had a very exciting trip to a theatre in Birmingham, where we watched The Snow Queen.

We went to the Theatre to see The Snow Queen. It was lots of fun. 

Kai was stolen by the Snow Queen and Gerda tried really hard to find him. The characters were really good like the crows, the robbers, the princess and the reindeer. The funniest ones were the soldiers who kept getting everything wrong. We liked the happy ending when the Snow Queen let them all go. 

It was all really great.

Written by the children of 2W

Both Year 1 classes joined together today to play party games, had fun doing 'Dance Freeze' and enjoyed celebrating this festive week together. The highlight being Pass-the-Parcel where the children were happy taking turns and checking no-one was left out before celebrating the winners at the end. 

This week has been lots of fun in 2E in the build up to Christmas. Our highlights were the theatre trip to see The Snow Queen, where the children made us very proud with their behaviour both on the coach and in the theatre itself. It was a long morning so a class picnic on return was very much appreciated.

Today we had our class Christmas Party which the children loved. We made party hats, played pin the star on the tree and pass the parcel along with lots of singing and dancing. A super proud moment when the winner of pass the parcel opened up the prize and automatically shared it with every member of the class.

Our last history lesson on Guy Fawkes allowed a creative lesson where the children used paint, glue, craft materials, eco-friendly glitter and felt tips to make a picture showing their understanding of how we celebrate the failed plot on the 5th November each year.

Lots of mess but lots of fun this week. We did some maths assessments too but they weren't so much fun!

Year 2 have been investigating a mystery material in their Science lessons. There were lots of predictions about what it could be and great excitement when they found out it was snow!

Fun and games at 2Ws Christmas party this week!!

Chess Club started back in September with all types of players, from beginners to a very decent level. Age does not matter and Years 3-6 all play against each other and swap opponents during the hour. It has been wonderful to see children teaching and learning from each other. We held our first termly tournament after half term where everyone entered. A little bit of seeding was established; Shiv, Lewis and James ended up in a round robin final. Each played each other with James winning both of his matches and being declared Chess Champion! 

Chess club will move to Wednesdays after Christmas, but numbers are limited on space. All levels in Years 3-6 welcome.

I am sure the words ‘educational toys’ will fill most children with dread at Christmas time, with the thought of unwrapping a calculator or 11+ Revision Guide enough to bring most to tears… but if you are looking for a late gift or something to spend Christmas money on, there are some fantastic (and fun!) coding related toys on the market.  Here are a few examples to whet your appetite, but there are plenty more on the market to consider.

Botley the Robot

For younger children (4-7) I would thoroughly recommend Botley the Robot (botleybot.com), a fully programmable, cheery little robot with detachable arms and light-up eyes. Botley works in a very similar way to the Bee-bots we use in school, it can move up to 150 steps in six directions, including avoiding objects, making sounds or going in a loop. It’s absolutely brilliant for learning the basics of algorithms, logic, repetition loops, prediction and comes with a great remote control (so no need for additional apps or iPads) and a set of challenge cards that keeps things interesting. 

Osmo Coding Starter Kit

Another superb piece of technology for getting younger children (4-8 years) into coding is one of the fantastic Osmo coding kits. Using an iPad or similar, Osmo is a coding set that's all about using colourful magnetic coding blocks to control on-screen characters to solve puzzles, create music and much more. Most sets come with a base for iPad or FireTablet (be sure to order the kit that's compatible with your tablet), a 31-piece Tangible Coding Block set, stackable storage, and access to multiple coding apps. It can be used to develop a wide range of computational skills including logic, coding fundamentals, basics of programming, solve coding puzzles, teamwork, listening, critical thinking, observation, creative problem solving, music creation and pattern recognition. 

Lego BOOST Creative Toolbox

There are few educational toys that come close to Lego for fun and creativity, and the BOOST Creative Toolbox is no different. Aimed at ages 7+ years, it allows you to build five robots and vehicles, one at a time, and then control the finished creations using the app. Kids will learn mechanics thanks to the building stage, and programming through the dozens of challenges in the app for which users must direct the robots to complete various tasks. All without realising they are learning at all – genius! 

Wonder Workshop Cue Robot 

Finally for older children with a passion for coding and looking for the next challenge, comes the Wonder Workshop Cue Robot. Cue is designed to take coding enthusiasts to the next level, transitioning from beginner-level block-based programming to text-based and state-machine programming, including JavaScript. Once kids have chosen their custom avatar for the robot, Cue comes alive with 40 challenges to complete on the accompanying app. Through the app, you can use the powered wheels to direct Cue around, and watch the robot avoid obstacles with the proximity sensors. And if you master all of the built-in features, you can buy accessories that will let you use coding to draw, pick up objects and even fire projectiles. Its pricey, but in my opinion well worth it!

Have a wonderful Christmas.

Well, what a term! A huge thank you to everyone who helped and supported our events - we really couldn't have done it without you all.

We've had yummy cake at bake sales, sausage sandwiches at the Macmillan Coffee morning, got rid of unwanted clothes at Bag2School, had our knowledge of Girls Aloud tested by Ms Forth at the quiz and tested our aiming skills at the Christmas Bazaar. We've also raised lots for Birmingham Childrens Hospital and given literally hundreds of toys to the Salvation Army for those children in need in and around Rugby. Phew! 

Thanks also to those who completed the parent survey. It has already proved incredibly helpful (parents who can't get out of work early to attend events - we hear you!). We're already planning for next term so please pop the Disco in your diary for Friday 10 February. 

We're finishing the term with a little present to each child given by Santa and Mrs Claus, accompanied by their magical Elf on a tour of the school today. We hope they like it!

Have a wonderful Christmas break and see you in the New Year

Friends of Crescent 

Please see below for useful school contact information:

• My School Portal: MSP Login
• SOCS: SOCS Login

Click here to view the term dates for 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Crescent School

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

• Head of English - Princethorpe College
• Head of History - Princethorpe College
• Head Librarian - Princethorpe College
• Teacher of Maths (maternity cover) - Princethorpe College
• Sports Coaches - Hockey, Netball, Football and Cricket - Princethorpe College

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.