Welcome to The Courier, Crescent School's e-newsletter.
The last full week of term has been a busy one. Term finishes next Wednesday, and there will be a mini-Courier on Wednesday to round up all that has been going on.
Please do read the calendar to stay up to date with what is going on next week.
Our cover photo is of Year 6 who visited Princethorpe this week to launch their brilliant boats!
Transport Survey Reminder from the Foundation Principal
A reminder that we are eager to get as much information as we can regards how our pupils get to and from school as part of our sustainability planning.
Many thanks to those parents who have already filled in the survey, if you have not yet done so please could you complete by Friday 7 July. The link is here.
With best wishes for a relaxing summer holiday.
Ed Hester
Foundation Principal
Dear Parents and friends of the school
As we come near to the end of the school year, it was great to see so many of you attending yesterday’s welcome evening. Crescent School is a vibrant and friendly learning environment for all of your children and I hope you got a taste of that on your visits yesterday. We will make sure that the PowerPoint presentations for the sessions are sent round to everyone to have a look at home.
As I look back through the week it is very difficult indeed to pick out key highlights. There has been so much going on with welcome evening as I have mentioned but also Reception Sports Day earlier in the week, which followed on from their first swimming taster day on Monday. Year 6 have been busy all week with their community service, learning about the work of the RNLI as well as preparing themselves for first aid action, and finishing off today with a walk around Draycote Water.
Perhaps the key event for the children would have been move-up morning on Wednesday when they all spent some time with their teachers for next year. These sessions went really smoothly and the children were happy and excited to go to their new classes and start looking forward to another year in school. It is a time for some pride in this year’s achievements and anticipation for adventures still to come. Even next year's Reception class came in very calmly and without tears, which always bodes well for the year ahead.
Good luck to the Crescent parents who are playing in a charity fundraiser football match tomorrow against the parents from Crackley Hall. There are details elsewhere in the newsletter for you to either go along and watch or contribute to the fundraising, which I know would be most welcome.
Next week is a shortened week for the children but there is still plenty on the schedule to keep us busy up until the end. I particularly look forward to the Leavers’ Service for the children and parents in Year 6 on Tuesday, where we will have a chance to say our fond farewells to this wonderful year group.
It won't be too long now before we can start looking forward to our summer holidays and some time away from school. In the meantime, I hope you have a restful weekend with your families.
Joe Thackway
Headmaster
When parking around the school site to drop off and collect your children please be mindful of the needs of other road users and in particular the safety of pedestrians.
In particular, please avoid parking at or near to road junctions or over entrances to driveways.
I have also included below the article from Warwickshire Police which they asked schools to circulate earlier this year:
Good Afternoon
Just a friendly reminder, now that schools are back can all parents/guardians dropping off or collecting their children, please adhere to all parking regulations. If you do not do so and park where you should not, you can end up with a parking ticket.
If you have an issue with parking then please contact Rugby Borough Council.
Warwickshire County Council have also authorised a vehicle to drive around and observe school parking, ticketing anyone who causes any traffic offences.
Here is a flyer with some parking information.
Warwickshire Police
Dear Parents
We have been reviewing which pens are suitable for children in school. As I am sure you are aware having the correct pen can make a big difference to handwriting and presentation, both of which are very important in all written subjects.
Each child will have different preferences, so we are recommending a range of pens for the children to have in school from Year 4. In Year 3 they are awarded a pen licence which comes with its own pen (Berol handwriting pen).
The options we expect to see in school are:
These are all to be used with blue ink only. Please do not buy pens that have an erasable rubber- making mistakes is very much part of their learning.
Each child is an individual and certain pens will suit your child more than others; the summer holidays will be a good time for you to buy and try in readiness for the new term in September.
We have been specific as we feel this will be of help to you and beneficial to the children and their work. They should not be using biros at all in any of their schoolwork and fine liners are only allowed for additional presentation of work.
Thank you for your support with this. We look forward to seeing all the new pens (named of course) next term.
Best wishes
Monday 3 July - School uniform and blazers to be worn. Please send in a large shopper bag, so all belongings from in desks and around the school can go home
Tuesday 4 July - School uniform and blazers to be worn, no PE kit needed. Parents to enter the school field from 2pm for light refreshments and the Leavers' Service will commence at 2.30pm.
Wednesday 5 July - PE Kit to be worn to school with an old T-shirt/shirt/PE T-shirt that will be signed. They can wear this all day and to go home.
With the end of term approaching, we are so very proud of the children and their reading progress within Pre-Prep; our reading schemes have supported them well. We are intending to take a full stock take of the books in our scheme to ensure they remain both supportive and challenging for all and so we will collect in all the reading books from our Pre-Prep children in order to achieve this. We will then pass their folder to their next teacher in readiness for September.
Dates for your information.
Of course, Reading Bugs remains accessible, with levelled reading books for all during this time.
Hope you have a great summer.
Please click below to view the lunch menu for next school week, children are able to have either the Main or Vegetarian option.
Crescent School
The final Music lesson timetable is below, this is a mop up for any lessons remaining:
Lessons may not be able to be rearranged if children do not have their instruments in school.
In our whole school assembly on Tuesday, the children from Year 5 spoke to the rest of the school about this year’s celebrations of Windrush Day.
The children learned about the very first migrants coming over from the West Indies to start their new lives in the UK after the Second World War. They brought with them much optimism and aspiration for a better life, and they came at the behest of the British Government to help out in key worker areas where there were shortages at the time.
Many of these people then settled here and went onto forge a unique and strong identity in this country and enhance our national life in so many ways. Windrush Day is a day to celebrate this and give thanks for those contributions, whilst also reflecting on the racism so many of them experienced when they first arrived here.
The children listened and considered all this information very sensibly in what was a thought provoking assembly.
This week saw celebrations of Eid-al-Adha for Muslim communities across the world. If you were celebrating this week, we hope you had a lovely time with your families.
On Thursday 29 June we invited parents into school for our annual Open Book Afternoon. It is one of our most popular ‘curriculum’ events and yesterday we were delighted to welcome over 110 visitors into school.
Parents always enjoy the school’s Open Corridor sessions when they have the chance to look at the displays around school but the Open Book Afternoon offers the opportunity to get a much deeper insight into the children’s learning.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for the children too, who are always so very proud to share their endeavours and just how much they have achieved across the year.
We were delighted that so many of you were able to join us. Thank you for all the positive feedback and for your continuing support.
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Crescent took 36 pupils to compete in the Rugby Athletics Championships at The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Track on a very hot and sunny Friday 23 June.
Pupils from Years 4–6 competed in the High Jump, Long Jump, Throw, 75m Sprint, 600m and team relays.
Together the children brought home 15 medals across all years and all disciplines, a super effort from them all at this always competitive event. In the relay Crescent won Bronze medals in both the Girls' and Boys' races.
The children have all worked hard on improving their athletic skills this term and competed brilliantly in their events.
We are still waiting on the final school results but are delighted that Rugby Athletics Club have offered three children, Roisin, Zac and Ava, a free trial and discounted summer camp places.
A huge well done to everyone who took part.
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The latest issue of the Minnacle has just been published, showcasing our pupils' excellent work. The Minnacle celebrates our pupils at their best and the Summer 2023 edition includes plenty of examples of their outstanding efforts. From amazing reading and writing in Reception, dazzling drawings in Year 1, creative calligrams in Year 3, spectacular Spanish in Year 4 to fabulous Geography in Year 6 and much, much more.
The next copy of the Pinnacle is available now too, with equally impressive work by pupils at the Foundation's senior school, Princethorpe College. It's wonderful to see and celebrate their talents too!
Printed copies will be sent home with pupils for you to enjoy, or you can read a copy of the Minnacle on our school website here.
It was second time lucky for Reception’s Sports Day with the weather just perfect for our afternoon of fun – not too cold or too hot and with the wind behind them for those simply enormous leaps in the standing jump.
Our Reception class really enjoyed taking part, sprinting, jumping and throwing their way through their activities. Their events included the 40m sprint, the obstacle course, the standing jump, the bean bag throw and of course the challenge of the relay race.
Reception’s Sports Day is all about participation. Every child tried their hardest to do their very best, so everyone was awarded stickers and then at the end received a special certificate to congratulate them.
A huge well done to Reception and a big thank you to our Year 6 children who supported the children throughout the event.
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Our Year 1 classes enjoyed a Mini Brass taster session on Tuesday morning. It’s always a popular activity and the children had great fun finding out about brass instruments and playing the hose-a-phones! Mrs Fisher has been running Mini Brass Club for Year 2s for a few years now and it is a great introduction to future musical opportunities in the school. Many of our talented brass players first picked up their instruments in Mini Brass. Huge thanks to Luca and Uma from Year 2 for showing Year 1 how it is all done.
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Dear Parents
If you are having a tidy up over the holidays and no longer need any of your banded reading books then we will be grateful for them. We are looking especially for Oxford Reading Tree books, but any school reading scheme books you no longer use will be appreciated.
Many Thanks
Pre-Prep Teaching Assistants
Tuesday 4 July 2023 - 2pm - 3.45pm
Crescent School would like to invite the parents and families of Class 6W to join us for the Leavers' Service of the Class of 2023 on Tuesday 4 July from 2.00pm to 3.45pm.
You are welcome to join us for light refreshments on the school field at 2pm, followed by a service in the school hall which involves the presentation of Leavers' Books and a book from the school. Alongside this, Year 6 and Mrs Webb will share memories interspersed with musical interludes from this talented class.
We hope you will be able to join us.
Sunday 17 September 2023 - 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Princethorpe will be holding its annual Open Afternoon on Sunday 17 September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. All are welcome to visit the College and for younger visitors, there will be many fun subject related activities organised by the departments.
The Headmaster will address visitors during the afternoon and refreshments will be available.
To book your place please click here.
Dear Year 5 Parents
As you will no doubt be aware, the local authority 11+ exams for entry into Year 7 in 2024 are scheduled to take place on 16 and 17 September 2023, most likely on the second weekend of September. Registration for the exam opened in May 2023 and will close on 30 June.
With this in mind, we would like to invite this year’s Year 5 children in for two days of Pre-Season Brain Training Sessions on Wednesday 30 August and Thursday 31 August 2023. These will run from 9.00am until 12.45pm each day.
The children will spend each morning with their familiar Crescent teachers, including Ms Forth, Mrs Webb and Mr Adkins, getting them back into gear and ready for their exams. Each day there will be taught sessions focusing on the four strands of the 11+; verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, Maths and English comprehension. Needless to say, these skills will also be useful for their Princethorpe exams on Saturday 11 November, as well as any other independent school exams they may be entered for.
Children will be expected to arrive in school smartly dressed with a mid-morning snack. They do not need to wear school uniform.
These sessions will be in addition to the revision packs that we send home at the end of the Summer Term. I am pleased to say that there will be no charge for attendance.
Best wishes
It has been a busy final week for Junior da Vincis this week. Here are the children who have become full students. I have brokem them down by subject:
Computing
MFL
Science and DT
PE and Games
RE
Geography
Mathematics
Drama
Mrs Symons
JdV Lead
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Our final reading awards of the year go to:
Keep on reading.
It is always an exciting time for the children when they gain their pen licence, enabling them to make the move from writing in pencil to pen.
For this rite of passage, the children have to show that they can write neatly and consistently in cursive, joined handwriting in all of their work, not just handwriting tasks.
Lilah has shown pride in the presentation of all of her learning tasks and has been awarded a Pen Licence and her first handwriting pen.
Well done!
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Pre-Prep reading certificates have this week been awarded to:
Well done to you all.
Mr Webb
Head of Pre-Prep
Age and ability do not matter in Chess Club; 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. Following a nail-biting semi-final between Timi and Albert that took an hour of play, Albert made it through to the final against Alex T. Intense play resulted in Alex T as this half term's champion.
Chess club will be on Wednesdays in September, but numbers are limited to 20 due to space. All levels in Years 3-6 welcome.
Well done to this week's Artists of the week:
Artists
Scientists
Crescent School
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Garage and Gigs are the most important games to show your progress.
Pupils who have reached landmark % on automatic training mode in the Garage and Gigs and therefore are awarded JDVs for Maths Practice:
Henry 4C completed 72% of the course
Results for Battle 22-29 June 2023. All classes against each other - average score per class member.
Most valuable players in the whole competition:
Well done, 1Q! 🏆
Last week most improved speedsters in the studio are:
2W - Oliver - Gigger!
END OF YEAR AWARDS:
Most Improved Accuracy
Most Improved Speed:
No Battles over the summer, TT Rock stars is still open to improve scores and will be saved in September to your new classes.
TT Rock stars will block 2x,5x,10x,11x on jamming if you are efficient at them, so you cannot pick easy ones just to score more points in the completion!
There’s been a lot of excitement in Reception during the last couple of weeks. We’ve planted beans, observed their growth daily and sequenced a bean life cycle. Reception Sports Day was exciting for us all and the children were thrilled to have ‘real’ spectators cheering them on. On Wednesday we had ‘Move up Morning’ when the children spent time in their new classrooms with their new teacher and teaching assistant. We went to Stratford Butterfly Farm to see our learning come to life and observed beautiful butterflies and each stage in their development. We released our own butterflies and wished them a ‘safe journey’ to wherever they go. It’s hard to believe where the year has gone – time flies when you’re having fun!
In phonics we have been revising...
Regular and irregular key words
Tricky words
How to help your child at home...
Read, read, and read some more. The children have made amazing progress this year. To keep their love of reading alive take every opportunity to read or share stories. There are lots of electronic stories available online to supplement your bookshelves at home.
Most importantly enjoy some down time and have fun!
Thank you...
This is the final ‘Round Up’ this academic year- it’s hard to believe where the year has gone. Thank you for your continued support and for making this year such a special one.
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It was a very exciting day on Monday 26 June for our Reception children when they took part in their first swimming session.
The taster was a well structured short course to introduce the children to all aspects of our swimming lessons including the travelling, changing, swimming pool and teachers. Each Reception child had a helper from Year 6 and the older children sat with the Reception children on the bus and stayed with them in the water.
Various introductory activities took place and the teachers assessed each child ready for next term’s lessons.
Here they all are as they were ready to set off - we hope they all had a lovely time!
Our marvellous Reception children have been exploring the topic of ‘Growing and Changing’ and as part of their studies have loved learning about butterflies. Today they visited Stratford Butterfly Farm and saw the most amazing butterflies first-hand. They were fascinated to find out all about their life cycle. It was a wonderful way to bring their learning to life.
Crescent School
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In 1Q this week, we continued to learn about castles in humanities. We spent time making our own castles from recyclable materials including features such as a moat, battlements, towers and arrow slits. On Tuesday, we had the pleasure of working with some of the Year 6s in our Maths learning and in games outside which was lots of fun. We had a wonderful 'Move Up Morning' in Year 2 with Mrs Emery and have discussed our goals and targets for the coming academic year. We are really looking forward to visiting Warwick Castle for our end of year visit.
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Class 1S have been extending their Maths objectives by looking for patterns in 2-digit numbers using place value cards, number fans and 100 squares. We have played guessing games, bingo and worksheets to demonstrate our learning. We've also been exploring ways of adding three numbers together using our number bonds and doubling facts.
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As part of Community Week Year 6 helped out in Pre-Prep this week. Here are some photos of them with Class 2E.
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Year 2 completed a final test on their moving vehicles before they took them home. All went to plan and only a few adjustments were needed!
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A closer second match against BG with - 268 v 244 with POM fielding to Poppy and batting to Zara.
U10A Mixed
Great communication and organisation from captain Alice with best batter Sofie and best bowler Emily as nominated by the opposing team. A very enjoyable match culminating in a win by about 20 runs.
U10B Girls
Fantastic game played in a really nice competitive spirit. Crescent won the toss putting BG in to bat first, with standout bowling from Harry, 4 dot balls and 2 singles, and wickets from Leela and Hattie, BG scored a total of 257. It was a nail-biting batting innings coming down to the final pair of Leela and Shayla needing to score 9 off the final 2 overs, a valiant effort but a wicket was taken, losing 5 runs, leaving Crescent 7 short of the win. A great game. Hattie was voted POM by BG.
The U9s side gave a truly fantastic account of themselves at the U9s ISA cricket, bowling, batting and fielding superbly, improving with every game. They began the group stages with a very convincing 90 run victory against Dixie 'B', followed by another massive 70 run win against Chase Grammar.
Crescent then played their best cricket of the day in a very tough match against the hosts OVS, the game going down to the final over, narrowly losing out by just 10 runs. This unfortunately meant that Crescent moved on to the Trophy competition rather than the Cup, but despite this continued to play skilful, clever cricket, firstly dispatching Dixie 'A' by 50 runs, then Twycross House in the final with a 30 run victory.
Crescent left the competition with their heads held very high, winning the trophy, winning four out of their five games, and finishing with a 'net runs' score of +230, the far highest of any team on the day! Player of the tournament went to Lewis for his consistently excellent batting, with Zac, Matthew and Ed M close seconds for their super bowling displays.
On Monday the U9 and U11 Tennis teams travelled to Sutton Coldfield Tennis Club for the ISA tournament. Teams started off in different pools with winners and runners up moving into semi final games. There was some great talent to be seen in all competitions.
U11 Boys and U9 Girls teams made it to the semi finals playing in hotly contested games before moving into playoffs.
Great games for all players seeing some fantastic rallies but unfortunately on countback of scores both teams finished just outside the medals in 4th place. A wonderful day had by all, everyone giving their all and representing the school fantastically.
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On behalf of FoC I'd like to say a huge thank you for all the support you have given us this past year. We have held some fabulous events and it has been a privilege to see the smiles on the children's faces while they enjoyed activities which ranged from pulling out a winning carrot to seeing who had the best dance moves! I've said it before (many times!) but FoC couldn't exist without all the parents and teachers who give up their time to help at the aforementioned events, so huge thanks to them too!
We already have the Michaelmas term calendar planned and can't wait to crack on with the events. We are still implementing the findings of the parents' survey and are excited to be hosting our own Christmas Crafts evening!
We hope you have a fabulous summer holiday and don't forget to keep any outgrown clothes either for Preloved uniform or our Autumn Bag2School Collection!!
As you will be aware FoC is entirely dependent on parent volunteers to help run the events we organise. They also pay a crucial role in ensuring that classes are aware of relevant communications regarding events and collections. While it doesn't require a large scale time commitment, we do need parents who volunteer to be a Class Representative to be present when we need them! We aim for two representatives per class and currently need one Rep for our new Reception class and one for our new Year 1 class.
Meetings are held once per half term with occasional online meetings in between. While we appreciate it is hard for some people to attend the meetings we aim for at least one representative per class. The main events we hold are the Christmas Bazaar and Summer Fete when it is literally all hands to the pump and sees parent volunteers working alongside the teachers. For other events we require fewer volunteers, but help is still appreciated!
Role expectations:
Please contact me if you are interested.
Please see below for useful school contact information:
Click here to view the term dates for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Crescent School
The Foundation has the following vacancies:
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.
