The Courier

Dear Parents

We have enjoyed a wonderful week of sunny weather following the half term break, with the children settling in quickly to their school routines. All of the exciting lessons and sports events have all gone ahead and have been much enjoyed by all of the children.

I particularly enjoyed an afternoon over at Crackley Hall watching the girls and boys play cricket and rounders, showing true Crescent sportsmanship and a simple love of competing.

Building work on the new Horton Centre is now well underway and the progress has been really impressive so far. The children have all been interested to see the new and exciting contraptions coming onto the site and it is particularly interesting to see the techniques that the builders use to establish the foundations for the brickwork. I will talk quite a bit about this project at the Welcome Evening later in the term but for now progress is very promising.

In assembly earlier in the week I talked about the importance of staying safe in sun with a reminder for the children of the old slogan ‘Slip, Slap, Slop’. Thanks to Mr Egg for his special appearance. Please do send your children in with the right protection, both in the form of sun hats and sun cream.

Next week this will be particularly important on Tuesday, when we have the Upper School Sports Day over at Princethorpe College. Lots of planning has gone into this and I am sure it will be an enjoyable event, despite the absence of parents this year. We will do everything we can to provide as many action shots to keep you informed of everything that happens.

In the meantime, I wish you a happy and peaceful weekend.

Best wishes

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

I started the week in my assembly, talking about all of the wonderful wildflowers that can be seen in the countryside at this time of year. I went on a marvellous walk up to Bredon Hill in Worcestershire with my family during half term and as we went we took photos of all of the wildflowers that we saw.

I have recently downloaded a brilliant little app that enables you to identify the different species with a quick photo. I am sure there are other apps out there but the one I’ve been using is called ‘Picture This’. If your children are interested, you might want to have a look.

To follow up from the assembly I have been running a wildflower competition and the children have been identifying different local wildflowers from photos on a display in the corridors of Pre-Prep and Upper School.

Lots of children have taken part and stickers have gone out to all of the entrants, of whom there are too many to mention.

Well done and thank you for everyone who had a go.

As we look towards the final weeks of this school year, there are number of important events coming into view where we would normally welcome parental attendance.

When planning these events, we need to work alongside the other schools of the Foundation and I think there is a common feeling that, having got this far, we don't want to jeopardise any of the gains we have made in the final weeks of the year. That is not to say we are putting a blanket ban on parental attendance, but we are adopting a cautious approach that I do hope you will understand.

We should know more later in June as the government announces details of the final stage of the road map out of lockdown, with 21 June a potentially significant date. It is important to note that although restrictions may (or may not) be relaxed, or completely removed, it is most unlikely that the test and trace system will go.

We are mindful that families are about to go on summer holidays and that a call to isolate following close contact at a school event would be most unwelcome at the end of the term or the beginning of the break.

The first such event is Sports Day at Princethorpe College on the 15 June. This falls before the 21 June date and we are not intending to invite parents to this event, in line with a Foundation-wide agreement on sporting fixtures. In particular, this event would create problems around access to toilets and parking, on what is a normal school day at the College.

In terms of other events that occur later in the term, and after the key date of 21 June, we are hoping for some level of parental attendance in a managed and safe way but can’t make any firm commitments at this stage. There are quite a number of events that this will affect, including Pre-Prep Sports Day, Welcome Evening, Open Book Afternoon and Leavers’ Celebration Assembly. We will share the full details of our final plans with you as early as we can next half term to allow you to make your plans.

Best wishes