The Courier

Crescent School was delighted to welcome Major Catherine Rand from the Salvation Army into school on Friday 9 December to collect toys and gift donations for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal.

Major Catherine spoke to the children, explaining about the work of the Salvation Army and of the annual present appeal, she said, "The Salvation Army has, for many years, helped to give Christmas presents to children who otherwise wouldn't get anything for Christmas. We are contacted by schools, children's workers and social workers who know children in need, and we provide presents and gifts for their families to wrap for them to enjoy on Christmas Day.”

Many thanks to our wonderful Friends of Crescent for co-ordinating the collection, and to all of our Crescent parents and pupils for their donations to the appeal. The gifts were laid out in assembly for all the children to see. Major Catherine was extremely pleased and thanked everyone, saying what a difference they will make to children who have little or nothing to open on Christmas Day.

The Christmas spirit is alive and well in our Crescent community!

For their traditional nativity, Reception and Year 1 performed Baarmy Bethlehem, a story about the ‘party sheep’ who love to ‘Baa Baa Boogie’!

Cheeky, Rascal and Scamp the sheep are real party animals! So, when they see Bethlehem filling up for Caesar’s census, they assume it’s for a big celebration and they do not want to miss out. They escape from the flock and make their way into town, but although they find lots of things they love, like noise and crowds of people, there can’t find any party.

As they continue their search, they come across the angels, the shepherds and the three kings and eventually, in a peaceful, quiet stable they find Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus, the real reason why we celebrate.

After all their hard work rehearsing, learning the songs, and memorising lines, what a spectacle it proved to be. The children all sang and danced baa-utifully, and we hope you all enjoyed the performance.

Crescent School has appointed a Sports Council who will be working with Mrs McCollin to develop the ethos and vision for sport within the school community. The Sports Council will help Mrs McCollin collaborate and reflect on the PE and Games curriculum, developing and building on pupils’ current engagement with and enjoyment of sport in everyday school life.

The sports council is made up of representatives from Years 4, 5 and 6. Children who wanted to be a part of the Sports Council were invited to write a letter to Mrs McCollin explaining the reasons why they should be involved. 

Head of PE and Games, Rachel McCollin explains, “It is my hope that the Sports Council will provide pupils with the opportunity to have a real voice in school sport. Our new councillors had plenty of ideas and I was impressed with their enthusiasm. I am looking forward to working with them to make sure PE and Games inspires and engages all members of our school community.”

Working with Mrs McCollin on the Sports Council from Year 4 are Ming Yi, Edward W, Edward M and Samuel, from Year 5 are Sofie, Timi and Shayla and from Year 6 are Poppy, Saira and Ava. A big thank you to them all.

A few weeks ago, all the children in Years 2 to 6 took part in the fantastic Brebras Computing Challenge, a global competition, with children taking part from over 50 different countries. The challenge gives learners a taste of the key principles behind computational thinking and logic by engaging them in fun problem-solving activities and puzzles.

This week we received the results back, and I am delighted to share with you just how well our pupils did! Over 70% of our pupils scored above the national average (and international average!) score, many of them finishing in the top 10%, a superb achievement I’m sure you will agree! Everyone who competed will receive a certificate, some a Merit or Distinction (top 25%).

Huge congratulations to everyone who took part, but particularly to our top performers in each category:

Kits (Years 2 & 3) – Alice 
Castors (Years 4 & 5) – James 
Juniors (Years 6) – Yash 

A special mention to Alice, who came 55th out of 9,000 competitors from across the country - an amazing achievement.

Winter hats, gloves and scarfs are optional to wear to school, but they do need to be school provided ones if children wear them.  Please order using the form below or pop into the office to collect:

Winter Hat, Scarf and Gloves

Crescent School