The Courier

Dear Parents

As we arrive at the end of the sixth week of the term, the half term holiday starts to come into view. In the final week we have plenty to look forward to as usual, culminating with the non-uniform day in aid of the Bwengu project on Friday.

On Tuesday of this week, we had a visit from a representative of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital who came to accept a cheque of £3,783, raised by the school. It was pleasing to have Mrs. Williams in attendance, as well as Mrs O'Connell who represented the Friends of Crescent, who have done so much to coordinate the school’s fundraising.

You will be able to see some lovely photos of this event elsewhere in the Courier. Three children from Year 6 introduced the assembly with a talk about the role and history of the NHS, by way of background. Our school promise of the week was to be gentle and caring and this message fits in so well with everything that the NHS does for us and for our country.

One interesting snippet from the presentation was the fact that the NHS was founded in 1948, the same year Crescent School was founded, of which we are particularly well aware this year as we celebrate our 75th anniversary.

In that assembly we also shared a quiet prayer for the desperate situation that is occurring in Turkey and Syria. We repeated a similar sentiment on Friday. The children have a limited understanding of a disaster on such a terrible scale, but it is important to recognise the desperation and suffering of so many people in that part of the world, and to share our deepest sympathies.

It is a significant weekend ahead for me, as we are travelling down to Dartmouth to see our son James, who has completed the first six weeks of his Royal Navy officer training. By the sound of it, it has been very intense, both physically and mentally, but all the signs are that he is really enjoying the challenge. We will get to see him parading and exercising as well as taking part in various services. He does also get a little bit of ‘shore time’ when we will be able to share a meal and stay overnight in a local inn.

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope you are able to enjoy some rest and relaxation with your families.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

This term we will be raising money for Bwengu Projects Malawi. Our first event will be the non-uniform day next Friday. Please bring donations of a pound or more that will go towards this year's project led by 4C. More details and events will follow next half term.

Many thanks in advance for your support with a charity that Crescent have a long relationship with.

bwenguprojectsmalawi.org

Thank you to all the families that responded to our question on our Destinations meeting being on Teams or Face to Face.

The majority was for a Teams meeting; this will involve a link being sent to all families in Years 4 and 5, so they can have opportunity to watch live a presentation by Mr Thackway, Ms Forth and myself on the senior school destination process.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions as well through the live chat function. If you are unable to watch it live, then there will be a recording for you to watch at your leisure.

We look forward to you joining us online on Thursday 23 March at 7pm. 

As you will have noticed on SOCS, this club will not run on Wednesday 1 March due to Parent Consultation evenings taking place in the school hall. You have not been charged for this club and it will not be rescheduled. If your child needs Afterschool then please make sure that they are signed up in the usual way.

Thank you for your understanding with this.

Weekly Calendar

Please click on the link below to view next week's calendar:

Weekly Calendar - 13 Feb 2023 

Please ensure children have the correct kit for their afterschool clubs. 

Please ensure children bring their swimming survival clothes each week with their swimming kit.  Also a carrier bag will be needed to put the wet clothes in after.

Thank you.

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 - 13 February 2023 

Crescent School

Below is a link to view the Lent Term Calendar.  Please note the following changes:

Click on the link below to view the Music Lesson timetable for week commencing 13 February 2023.

Please ensure Children have their instruments in school as lessons may not be able to be rearranged.

Music Lessons - 13 February 

The password has been emailed to parents. 

Over the last year, the kind-hearted children at Crescent School, have gone the extra mile for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, a charity they hold close to their hearts.

Pupils began fundraising for the charity back in May 2022, running a host of different events to say thank you to the hospital for the support and care they are providing to families within the school.

Amongst their many different fundraising activities the children took part in ‘Move It’ Day, where the whole school ran 90 laps of the school’s fields on what turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer, to represent the 90,000 poorly children helped by the hospital each year. To raise further funds there have been whole school non-uniform days, with the children wearing red (the charity’s colour), football kit and even Christmas Jumpers. Individual pupils have also undertaken fundraising activities, most notably in December when five-year-old Alexandria and Niamh, both in Year 1, completed a sponsored 25 lap run of the playground raising over £600.

The School Council has also organised lots of fundraising games and competitions for the children to take part in, including the unusual but popular ‘Distance potato throwing’ and ‘Guess the name of the pig?’, as well as collections at the school gates and after concerts and events. Donations were even given for the school’s internal Christmas card postal service.

The school's Parents Association, Friends of Crescent, has supported the children’s fundraising too with a grand prize raffle at their Christmas Bazaar.

After all that fundraising was totalled up the children were delighted to find out that they had raised £3,783.37 and this week, on Tuesday 7 February, the children warmly welcomed Birmingham Children’s Hospital representative, Will Graves, into school to receive a cheque.

Joe Thackway, Headmaster at Crescent School, said: “No fundraising stone was left unturned for this worthy cause. Every single pupil at our school was keen to get involved with supporting Birmingham Children’s Hospital, wanting to do something to show how much they care. We’re so proud of them, and the wider school community, who have come together to do their bit to support the important work that Birmingham Children’s Hospital does.”

After three years of feeding Crescent’s hungry hordes, our much-loved Chef Stephen Moore is moving on. Stephen is taking on a new challenge as the Executive Chef of the Queens Arms in Leire and The Social in Lutterworth. We are all sorry that he is dessert-ing us but are delighted that his new role will allow him to take his daughter to school. Next week is his last week here at Crescent.

Olive Catering have appointed a new Chef Manager for Crescent School and we are all looking forward to meeting Dawn who will start in early March but who will be here next week for a few days as part of the handover process. One of Olive Catering’s Support Managers will cover temporarily until Dawn is in place.

During his time with us Stephen has championed foods grown in the UK, and cooked food that parents want their children to eat and that the children want to eat too. His themed days have always gone down well, and we will never forget Jedi Master Mr Moore and his team of storm troopers cooking up our very special Star Wars themed lunch.

We are sure you will all join us in wishing Stephen the very best.

Crescent’s fingers have been flying across the keyboards over the last week as the children have battled it out in the Foundation’s inaugural Typing Challenge.

The competition involved the children in Years 3 to 6 from Crescent School and Crackley Hall School going head to head in a speed challenge during their Computing lesson. They carried out several ‘5-Minute Typing Challenges’ designed to measure just how much they were able to type in five minutes. The challenge tested their typing speed in WPM (words per minute) and also their typing accuracy.

Crescent School was delighted to be crowned champions in the overall competition, winning hands down with an amazing average pupil score of 10 words per minute faster than their Crackley counterparts, all that pre-competition practice standing them in very good stead.

St David’s House took the in school House competition, a long way ahead of St George’s and St Andrew’s.

In the unofficial staff competition there was only ever going to be one winner, as anyone who has seen her typing can attest to, Mrs Clarke has fingers so fleet they are almost a blur. Her score of 79 words per minute was applauded by all.

The school’s speediest typists were heartily congratulated, a huge well done to Year 5 Grace who scored 48 wpm, and was the Foundation’s overall winner, Year 6 Zahra who finished second with a score of 46 wpm and Year 6 Zara who was third with 43 wpm.

Typing is an essential life skill today as we interact with the online world and speed competitions have seen a resurgence in popularity. The world record is currently 216 wpm so our youngsters need to keep practising as they have a little way to go yet!

Wanted; pre-loved Puddle Suits for our Forest School.  If you have any that you no longer need, please drop into the school office.

Crescent School

Friday 17 February 2023

We will be holding a non-uniform day on Friday 17 February with all proceeds going to this term's chosen charity, Bwengu Projects. 

Please send a £1 donation with your child to be given to their form teacher.

Thank you.

Wednesday 1 March 2023

Children in Yellow House can wear one item of yellow clothing with their unform on St Davids Day.

Crescent School 

Wednesday 1 March - 4.00pm to 6.30pm

Thursday 2 March - 5.30pm to 8.00pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to share and discuss your child's academic progress.  

The booking system is now live for you to book your Year 6 Parent Consultation Evening appointments. All details can be found in the email circulated this week.

We look forward to meeting with you.

Monday 6 March - 4.00pm to 6.30pm

Wednesday 15 March - 5.30pm to 8.00pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to share and discuss your child's academic progress.  

The booking system is now live for you to book your Pre-Prep Parent Consultation Evening appointments. All details can be found in the email circulated this week.

We look forward to meeting with you.

Wednesday 1 March - 4.00pm to 6.30pm

Thursday 2 March - 5.30pm to 8.00pm

These are important meetings to share and discuss your child's academic progress.  

This is your chance to talk face to face with your child’s specialist teachers. I won’t be available for Year 5 appointments as I am a specialist teacher for Year 6 and will be seeing those families on that evening.  However, Year 5 will receive their full midyear report at half term and there will be an extended consultation in Trinity Term with me and Mrs Webb.   

The booking system is now open to book your appointments. All details can be found in the email circulated last week.

We look forward to meeting with you.

Friday 3 March 2023

It seems such a long time since we have dressed up for World Book day in school. This year we are celebrating it on Friday 3 March. To celebrate this we are asking the children to come to school dressed as a character from a book. Perhaps this is something you could create over half term.

We love our reading at Crescent school and hopefully this will encourage the children to be further inspired.

All we ask is that the children are dressed appropriately and safely for a day of learning.

Crescent School is hosting the annual Orchestra Workshop in conjunction with Crackley Hall on Tuesday 7 March. There will be a concert for parents of those playing at 4pm on that day.

Further details will be sent in due course.

Wednesday 8 March - 5.30pm to 8.00pm

Monday 13 March - 4.00pm to 6.30pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to share and discuss your child's academic progress.  

The booking system is now live for you to book your Year 3 and 4 Parent Consultation Evening appointments. All details can be found in the email circulated this week.

We look forward to meeting with you.

Thursday 9, Friday 10 and Monday 13 March 2023

LAMDA exams will be held on the above dates for those children who have registered.  

I will advise children of their date and time in due course. All exams will take place during the school day.

Saturday 11 March 2023 - 10.00am to 12.00pm

We are opening our doors to prospective families for a Spring Open Morning on Saturday 11 March 2023 from 10.00am to 12.00pm. So please do share news of the Open Morning with family and friends.

It is a perfect opportunity to come and have a look around the school, meet key members of staff and find out why the school has been awarded excellent in all areas by the ISI in their recent inspection. 

Families are invited to book on to one of two sessions, 10.00am and 11.00am. After a short welcome presentation by Mr Thackway, Headmaster, visitors will be guided around the school where they will be able to watch sporting displays and listen to instrumental performances; there will also be the opportunity to visit classrooms and children can participate in activities.

To book a place please click here.

For more information about availability or about the Open Morning please call Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 523851 or email admissions@crescentschool.co.uk.

Alternatively please visit our website www.crescentschool.co.uk for more information.

Tuesday 14 March 2023 10.30am to 12.30pm

The College's Open Morning will give prospective families a chance to visit the school on a normal working day, with Year 8 and 9 pupils acting as tour guides. The Leadership and Admissions Teams will be available to answer any questions visitors might have. Light refreshments will be available.

All are welcome, please book your place by clicking here.

Entrance Examinations Day for September 2024 entry will take place on Saturday 11 November 2023 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. The deadline for registrations, scholarship and bursary applications is Friday 29 September 2023.

If you have any questions please contact the Admissions Team on 01926 643201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

A great week for amazing learners achieving full Junior da Vinci student status. Harry in 6W achieves one for Latin and another for English, Zac and Maxi in 4C both achieve theirs in Science and DT.

Anaya and Joshua in 2W achieve theirs in swimming as do Penelope and Felicity in 2W.

Alex T, Alex G and Hattie in 5F gain theirs in Geography and finally Olivia-Rose, Iris and Isla in 1S gain theirs in Art.

What a fantastic week!

Mrs Symons
JdV Lead

This week's reading champions is Alex G who is a word Millionaire.

Well done.

This week's Accelerated Reader Superstars are:

Top Quizzers are:

• 3S  Aria
• 4C  Shaylan
• 5F  Hattie
• 6W Bryson

Word Wizards are:

• 3S  Charlotte 
• 4C  Matthew
• 5F  Remi
• 6W Zahra

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

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

• Daniel
• Dudley
• Emmy
• Eve
• Felicity
• Harriet
• Lara
• Reegan
• Sofia
• Uma

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

Scientists

• Class 5F for their Parachutes

Artists

• Aryaan (4C)
• Matthew (4C)
• Maya (4C)
• Ella (3S)
• Evelyn (3S)
• Kian (3S)
• Kiran (3S)

Well done all.

Crescent School

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:

• Mithun 3S completed 24 % of the course.
• Olivia 6W completed 24 % of the course.
• Ed G-H 5F completed 48% and then 72% of the course
• Mya 6W completed 100% of the course
• Emily 5F completed 48% of the course

Results for Battle 2-9 February 2023. 1Q, 2E, 3S, 5F against each other- average score per class member.

• 1st 1Q 116
• 2nd 3S 101
• 3rd 5F 28

Most valuable players in the whole competition:

• 1st Daniel 1Q
• 2nd Kian 3S 
• 3rd Alfie 3S

Well done, 1Q! 🏆

Last week most improved speedsters in the studio are:

• Feramni - Wannabe!

• Alice - Wannabe!
• Eve- Wannabe!

3S

• Esme - Support Act!

6W

• Erin- Headliner!
• Saira - Headliner!

Random Battle between 1S, 2W, 4C, 6W, 9-16 February 2023. 

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! 

Please note only the children should play on their account or it influences the level appropriate to them.

Last week our Wellbeing Champions shared how important it is to connect with each other to promote positive mental health. This week we have all taken time to consider who we connect with and how we can connect better through in form time, in PSHE and even our in our Art lessons!  1S used their creativity to create this collaborative piece or artwork to remind us that we're all in this together.

Look out for next week's Courier to see what else has been learned and, of course, our whole school fun activity of 'Connect Bingo' which is being held on the playground this Monday. 

Class 3S have been exploring portraiture in art and observing closely their own faces. They have been using different tonal effects to add contrast and depth to their sketches.

Year 3 enjoyed a very interactive and hands on workshop at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History today. They learnt about how rocks are formed and how to identify the different types. The session was full of fun and surprises. The class then explored the museum and had the opportunity to draw some of the amazing fossils. 

Here is a link if you ever want to visit.

https://www.oumnh.ox.ac.uk/

In recent weeks I have been helping out with Year 4 and I have been so impressed with their developing written English skills. Through a carefully planned series of activities, they have produced an amazing piece of writing about the Kapok trees that grow in the Amazon rainforest. The children worked carefully on their plans, sharing good ideas with each other along the way, and came up with some amazing finished pieces of writing.  

Mr Thackway 

On Wednesday afternoon, Year 4 visited Princethorpe College to watch a preview of this year’s College Musical production The Addams Family. The children were welcomed by new headmaster, Grove du Toit, and then enjoyed a super scary show. The production was filled with plenty of humour and haunts as the talented cast of pupils, from Year 7 right up to Sixth Form, brought this legendary, quirky family to life.

We met Wednesday, Morticia, Gomez, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley and more for a heart-warming story of love, family and friendship in this creepy but charming tale. We even spotted a familiar face or two as the show starred some of our Crescent alumni! It was a fantastic fiendish feast of fun.

Class 5F have been exploring the way that stories are communicated visually. They have been looking at how artists use props and visual clues to help tell a story. The children did an excellent job of creating their own version of a narrative painting.

Mrs Thackway
Art Teacher

Will and Tom from Rugby Fire Service joined 5F on Wednesday. In their Fire Safety Session they taught pupils how to avoid fires and injury by spotting hazards around the home. Year 5 also learned what to do in the unlikely event of a fire at home and also the troublesome practice of 'hoax calls'.

Pupils were given a Fire Plan Checklist to administer at home this week. The firefighters were extremely impressed by 5F's knowledge, relevant questions and engagement in this very serious subject.

Class 5F have started studying Shakespeare this week, and they have enjoyed exploring some of the difficult language and are beginning to understand some of the stories.

Every Wednesday morning, Memory Club try and expand their memories a little more. They try different strategies and play games. This week they played the tray game. Pupils had some great ideas for ways to remember the many contents.

Class 6W have been studying the block painted landscapes of David Hockney. They have been learning how to simplify a landscape sketch and how to use block colour to emphasise the shapes of the landscape.

Mrs Thackway
Art Teacher

The boys played against King Henry at Rugby College. All players worked hard and contributed to a close game. A goal was scored within the first few minutes which prompted Ava (in goal) and the Crescent defense to knuckle down, only conceding a second goal throughout the match. Sam B was nominated player of the match by the opposition for his excellent attacking. Final score 0-2 to King Henry.

Excellent behaviour all round. 

U9A vs Bilton Grange and Kimbolton

The U9 boys first hockey fixture of the term was a fabulous afternoon. Our first match was against Bilton Grange and was very even, with both sides having chances. Matthew, Alex B and Sam stood firm in defence distributing the ball nicely to the midfield of Zac, Maxi and Henry. They, in turn, linked up with Ed W and Lewis up front. Crescent broke the deadlock first with a lovely goal, but BG equalised leaving the final score 1-1. The second match saw the boys grow in confidence, defending higher up the pitch and putting lots of pressure on the Kimbolton defence. Against the run of play, Kimbolton broke through and scored. However, after lots of near misses, Maxi slotted the ball into the goal with a lovely finish and followed up with another strike on target, leaving the score at 2-1. Matthew was voted player of the match by the opposition. I was really impressed with the team on their first outing of the season and the progress they made throughout the afternnoon. Well done all.

U9B vs Bilton Grange and Kimbolton

This triangular against Bilton Grange and Kimbolton saw effort and determination from every player. Considering this was their first match of the season, the boys worked together to put on a strong defence against Bilton Grange. It was a close game: one goal was conceded leading to a 0-1 final score to Bilton Grange. It was clear that the boys were getting back into the flow of the game towards the end of this match, and this followed through into their second match against Kimbolton in which they secured a 2-0 win. Players of the match were Akaal and Aryaan, but special mentions could go to every member of the team. The boys demonstrated great attitudes all round.

Mrs Dowling and Ms Clark

Friday 17 February 2023 - 3.30pm to 4.45pm

Please come along and support the FoC by buying cakes and sweets, all priced at 50p each. All the money raised at these market day events goes towards privilege time for Year 3.

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 following items are stocked in the School Office and can be added to your account:

• Winter hats
• Scarves
• Gloves
• Ties
• Swimming hats
• Sports socks
• Hair bands
• Hair scrunchies
• Hair clips
• Sun hats
• Music group badges - Choir, Orchestra, String, Brass and Wind

Please do contact admin@crescentschool.co.uk in if you need any of the above items.

Crescent School Office

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

Princethorpe College

• AV and Theatre Technician
• Grounds Supervisor
• Admissions and Marketing Administrator

Crackley Hall

• Aftercare Leader

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.