The Courier

Huge thanks to former Foundation Trustee and Crescent School Governor, Pat Lines, who has kindly donated the funds to purchase new benches and tables for the quiet area at the front of the school’s Horton Centre. The brightly coloured new furniture is a wonderful addition to the school playground that the children have been quick to put to good use.

Many of the older children and staff will remember Pat well, as a retired teacher with years of experience she supported the children with their reading here for a number of years. She was also a much respected and invaluable member of the governing body, both here at Crescent School and for the Princethorpe Foundation.

Throughout her 15-year association with our community, Pat was a volunteer, sharing her skills and expertise freely, and we are incredibly grateful that even now she has moved away, she continues to support the school. Many thanks to Pat from everybody here, the playground furniture is the perfect addition to the quiet area.

Year 6 pupil, Charlotte, who has attended Crescent School since she started in Reception, has just been awarded a Merit in her ABRSM Grade 7 trombone exam. 

Charlotte first started learning trombone in Year 2, when she joined the school’s Mini Brass club, an initiative that encourages 6 and 7-year-olds to play a brass instrument. She picked up a tiny trombone and has never looked back.

Charlotte takes lessons at school and regularly performs with the school’s music groups in Spring and Summer Concerts each year. She also plays for the local Bilton Silver Training Band, the Bilton Silver Evolution Band and her prodigious talent has been recognised by the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain which she successfully auditioned for last school year. 

Charlotte said, "I was so happy to hear that I had merited my Grade 7. My ambition was to hopefully achieve my Grade 6 by the end of Year 6 so I’m thrilled that I’ve managed to get my Grade 7 in this time. Thank you to Mrs Fisher and Mrs Barnes for all your help and support in helping me to achieve this."

Director of Music, Julie Barnes, explains, "Charlotte is a superb example of the musical talent at Crescent School. Her musical abilities were fostered at an early age by Di Fisher's Mini Brass group and nurtured over the following years in Brass Group and Orchestra. She has worked incredibly hard to reach such an amazingly high standard, the highest grade ever reached by a pupil at Crescent School, and we are so proud of everything she has achieved at such a young age." 

Charlotte is a promising young musician, only just taller than her instrument, and we are all blown away by her latest examination success.

Congratulations to the following Year 6 children who have been appointed as Sports Captains for the season.

This year the Sports Captains are:

• Athletics and Cross Country - Evie and Rohan 
• Hockey - Katherine and Aryan 
• Football - Charlotte and Sachin 
• Swimming - Stephanie and Caspar  

Well done to all the Captains.  Fingers crossed you get lots of opportunities to lead your teams, we look forward to hearing of your teams' successes.

You may recall that in September we replaced our previous system of losing privilege minutes with 'Low Level Concerns' (LLC).  These were designed to encourage children into making better choices for very low level classroom or playground misdemeanours.  

At the end of last term Form Tutors reviewed how children are feeling about this new system with their class and, as Pastoral Head, I have collated all of this and, on Monday, took the findings to our first School Council Meeting of the term.

Children throughout school feel that low level concerns are good at encouraging children to make better choices.  They like how fair it is that everyone gets a look warning, then a verbal warning before a LLC.  They understand the information is private and only goes to their Form Tutor. 

However, many children have shared that they are not keen on the words 'Low Level Concern' (LLC).  Many suggested their choice of alternative.

As such School Council have now voted and unanimously selected 'Chance to Change' as the new wording.  From now on we will all be using this terminology as we encourage children to make choices that reflect them as good friends, learners and citizens.

I'd like to thank School Council for their support and advice and see this as an excellent example of the voice of the children impacting positive change in school.

The children from Years 1 to 6 will be participating, in their normal lessons, in the Big Garden Bird Watch towards the end of January. The RSPB organises this annual event, and over one million people took part in 2021. The new Ornithology club members are getting prepared, by making bird feeders and bird spotter sheets. 

Why not put the date in your diary as an event to do as a family as well? Shockingly, 38 million birds have been lost from the UK skies over the past 50 years.

The RSPB needs lots of help to record the different species and numbers of common UK birds spotted over the weekend - 28 to 30 January 2022. They simply ask you to spend one hour in your garden, on your balcony or in the park to observe and record the birds that land during that time. You register and then enter your results online (see link below). Why not be one in a million for 2022!

Big Garden Bird Watch

If you have any links with a regional or local ornithology club please do get in contact as we would be delighted to access different resources.  

Library Club is open to Years 3-6 for the first half of Lent Term on a Tuesday lunchtime, over both lunchtimes, so the children can come in and read quietly by themselves.  After half term it will be open to children from Years 1 and 2.

Year 6 children will carry out the role of Library monitors  and will sort the books and also read to the Reception children.

Edward in Year 3 entertained us this morning in assembly with his brilliant piece on the trumpet.

Parents are discouraged from taking pupils out of school during term-time because of the impact it has on their learning. Should this be unavoidable, permission should always be sought in advance from myself. I am able to pre-authorise absences on certain grounds such as religious observances and special family occasions.

Please ensure you submit any absence requests in good time, through either My School Portal or via the office email admin@crescentschool.co.uk.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

From Thursday 20 January, we will have the privilege of welcoming and working with a Warwick University PGCE Trainee Teacher, Niamh Quirke. Niamh will be working with Year 6.

It is so important to support the future of teaching and it is a great opportunity for us to learn from them while they learn from us. 

We have been kindly informed that St Marie's church is starting its next First Holy Communion course on Monday 17 January 2022 between 5.00pm and 6.00pm.

If there are any Catholic families interested, please contact the church and Fr. Shinto Francis via their website www.stmaries.co.uk or phone 01788 542703.

Alternatively, email: stmaries.rugby@rcaob.org.uk.