The Courier

Dear Parents and friends of the school,

Well, what a week it's been. We have had school events coming thick and fast throughout, both for the children to enjoy and for parents to come in and see the children in action. 

We started with sports day on Monday for the Year 1 and 2 children. This went really well and there was so much fun to be had watching the children race and run and throw and jump. 

It was then the turn of the drama department (in the person of our wonderful new drama teacher Miss Bowdige) to take centre stage, with the performance to the parents on Tuesday morning from Year 3 and 4, and then again in the evening for the Year 6 production of The Tempest. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these events and I know that those attending did the same. Watching your child perform in a play like this can be quite emotional, I remember that as a parent, seeing their growth and their confidence. It can be a moment when time seems to stand still and you can get a glimpse of their future. That was particularly true in the Year 6 play as they just looked such a together group, supporting each other and having a good time, with bonds that have been built over a number of years. The rendition of the last song of the evening, which was entitled ‘There's a sea change a-coming’ bought it home to me, and I suspect many of the audience, that we are finally preparing to say goodbye to these wonderful children. 

But the wheel keeps on turning and on Thursday and Friday this week we have enjoyed our final music concerts of the year. Once again, the variety and talent on show was wonderful to see, with so many children involved and clearly enjoying another aspect of both school life and hopefully pleasures and interest that will sustain them as they grow in school and beyond it. 

There is more to come next week of course with some important annual events, notably Move-up Day on Wednesday and then Welcome Evening for parents on Thursday. The children will experience a combination of a little anxiety perhaps but mostly excitement as they look forward to their next moves and I hope you are able to come along and hear about the plans we have in place for school next year. Ultimately, we want this to be a caring and nurturing environment where the children feel secure and looked after, where they can spread their wings and experience all that childhood has to offer in the safety of their primary school years. I hope that will be the central message that the children go home with by the end of next week, and you do as well. 

I will finish with some more personal news, as my son this week, who is currently coming towards the end of his Royal Navy officer training, has travelled over to Darwin in northern Australia to join a patrol boat that then sets sail for the islands of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. What an amazing opportunity for him. I must admit I am really quite jealous, but I'll be with him in spirit. 

We probably need to draw breath this weekend with so much going on in school and I hope you are able to do that with your families and relax find some sunshine to enjoy.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Co-Curricular has now come to an end for this term, apart from:

• Monday - Y5/6 Archery
• Tuesday - Pre-Prep Multisports
• Friday - Didi Rugby 

Sign up links for next term will be sent out in early August.

On Friday 30 June, 6W will be enjoying a walk to Draycote Water and then some more fun at the end of the afternoon in our activities back at school.  They may get a little (a lot) wet so please ensure anything they are wearing is fine to get wet.  Also please be mindful of light colour clothing and its transparency.

Collection for Year 6 will be from the playground gate at 3.45pm so they do not come back into school and I would recommend a towel for the car seat and journey home. Any child in after school will need a change of clothing.

Thank you for supporting our fun.

On Monday 3 July, Class 6W can bring in with them an old PE T-shirt, or a T-shirt that they would like their peers to sign as a memory of their time at Crescent.

Once they are in school, they can wear it over their uniform if they wish before school and at breaktime for children to sign. They will need to bring their own pens for people to use and they will need to be aware that pens can sometimes leak through to their uniform and we do want them looking smart on the Tuesday.

Parents of children in 5F will be given their holiday work at the Welcome Evening on Thursday 29 June.  If not it will be sent home on Friday 30 June. 

All the instructions (and answers) are contained in the pack. I recommend that they have a good break and then start their brains working again in the final two weeks ready to start school. I do not expect the work back.

We (a group of Crescent Parents) have organised a friendly, charity football match against our counterparts at Crackley Hall.

The match is to take place at Rugby Borough Football Club on Saturday 1 July, kick off is 1.00pm. The event is in aid of the Birmingham Childrens Hospital charity, we aim to raise as much money as possible through our Just Giving page, any donations would be very well received.

We are hoping to get some spectators along to cheer on the respective teams, everyone is welcome, all that we would ask is that a donation is made via our Just Giving page.

There will be some limited refreshments available on the day, mainly cakes, savouries and soft drinks.

Hope to see you all there!

Just Giving Page

Dan Sheppard (Parent of Ava in Y6)

• Monday - Y5/6 Archery
• Tuesday - Pre-Prep Multisports
• Friday - Didi Rugby

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 26 June 2023

Crescent School

Below is a link to view the Trinty Term Calendar.  

The Music Lesson timetable for week commencing 26 June can be viewed below:

Music Lessons - 26 June 

Lessons may not be able to be rearranged if children do not have their instruments in school.

Crescent’s Year 6 were simply magnificent this week when they performed Shakespeare’s classic, The Tempest. In their final end-of-school production, they superbly portrayed the comedic story of revenge, magic, love and forgiveness. Their rendition just wowed their parents and teachers.

On the big night pupils were nervous but excited having really enjoyed their dress rehearsal in front of the school earlier in the week.

The children had worked incredibly hard with Drama teacher, Lizzie Bowdige, and Director of Music, Julie Barnes, to prepare the special performance and the talented cast rose admirably to the challenge.

It was clear the audience really enjoyed the show, their thunderous applause a testament to yet another super example of the school’s broad provision for the arts.

Headmaster, Joe Thackway said, "Huge congratulations to all the cast for learning their lines so well and delivering them with meaning, expression and great timing, what a multi-talented group of young people they all are."

Many thanks to all the staff and parents who helped with the production.

Crescent School gathered at the end of break this morning for the official opening of the Cosy Corner. The Cosy Corner has been in use for several weeks now and pupils are loving using the new area and its equipment. It provides a quiet space where pupils can be calm together, enjoy relaxing or reading or just take time out from the hustle and bustle of the main playground.

Headmaster, Joe Thackway, began by thanking those who had contributed to the new area. They included Year 6, Charlie, who had raised an amazing £500 by running a mile a day for 26.2 days (the equivalent of a marathon) to fund the soft play equipment. He thanked the Friends of Crescent who had provided the wall mounted Play Panels in the Cosy Corner and the Wellbeing team for all their help in developing the area. Year 5 pupil Maggie, who had won the competition to name the quiet area, with her super suggestion the ‘Cosy Corner’, then cut the ribbon to declare the Cosy Corner officially open.

The school was delighted to welcome Mrs Millward and Mrs Cooper as special guests for the official opening. They are pictured here with Maggie and Crescent’s Wellbeing team at the entrance to the Cosy Corner.

Mr Thackway, said, “The children are really enjoying the Cosy Corner, it is already a popular playground spot. Our dedicated quiet area will allow pupils to socialise, build friendships, relax, read or simply have time to think. I know the Cosy Corner will benefit the children for years to come.”

What a fantastic afternoon we had for Pre-Prep Sports Day. The children really enjoyed sprinting, jumping and throwing their way through all the fun. Their challenges included sprint races, egg and spoon, field events, javelin, the bean bag throw, the speed jump and standing jump and of course as a finale the shuttle relay race. Each event enabled them to compete to earn points for their house and everyone tried their hardest to do their very best.

Head of Sport, Mrs McCollin, said, “Our races and challenges allowed everyone to enjoy having a go in a supportive and encouraging environment. It was wonderful to see the children having so much fun.”

After all the points had been totted up, the results were announced. In first place came Blue House with 66 points, just behind were the Reds with 63 points and in third place were Yellow House with 62 points.

A huge well done to all the children and thank you to Year 6 pupils, the KS1 and Sports staff for organising the event and especially to Mrs Olner who had a great time commentating.

Crescent School's Summer Concert took place on Thursday 22 June. It was well attended with the school hall packed with parents and family members eager to enjoy the end of term celebration of fine music and song.

This year the Rock Ensemble opened the show, a new co-curricular group for the school, they confidently performed a medley of famous rock riffs and followed that up with an instrumental version of Wonderwall. Then came the first of many instrumental solos with Ava playing Train Ride beautifully on the piano. Next Orchestra came on stage, they performed two pieces; everyone enjoyed the theme from James Bond and was most impressed with their super rendition of the Themes from Jupiter from The Planets suite.

Next up was Ellie who played her Grade 3 exam piece, T-Rex Hungry wonderfully on the piano. That was followed by Brass Group with the lively toe-tapping Honk. Wacky Music performed an animated and energetic Samba, then Zahra wowed us all with her complex Grade 5 piece Cossack Dance.  Remi provided a moment of calm reflection with his sensitive performance of 'Twilight' from the Grade 3 piano syllabus.

The Flute Group performed a piece written especially or them, Summer Symphony, and then Sam completed the solo performances playing March on cornet.

The concert concluded with a rousing performance by the Choir. Pupils sang five pieces starting with Hip Hip Hooray, followed by We’re So Proud Of Our School, then two Disney songs combined, A Great Big Change and finishing with One Little Voice.

It was another fabulous afternoon of music and song. Our enormous thanks and congratulations go to all Crescent School's accomplished performers who took to the stage in front of their proud parents, and of course to all their teachers and Director of Music, Julie Barnes who have helped them achieve so much.

As part of the Big Battery Hunt I submitted the following stories to their website:

Hattie is our May winner as she brought into school over 3,000 batteries. Hattie had help from her Dad, and his work colleagues who had collected them and then delivered the enormous tray of batteries for recycling to school. It took two adults to lift the weight! Hattie is a Year 5 pupil who is very aware of the environment and how she and her generation have a responsibility to protect and care for our planet. It took our Green Team a lot of time to count all the batteries. Well done Hattie, Dad and work colleagues!

Edward and Max took up the Big Battery Hunt Challenge and approached their local village to help them. They asked their local community members for batteries that needed recycling, collected them and brough them into school. They collected a huge number of batteries that went into the overall count for school. This was a great approach to raising the awareness of why it is so important to recycle batteries in their community.  Edward and Henry are Big Battery Hunt recycling superstars, and it is great to see our pupils taking this challenge seriously. A big thank you to Edward and Max!      

Niamh is a Year 1 pupil who collected huge amounts of batteries at home, from friends and family and from her Mum and Dad’s work organisations. Niamh is a real wildlife and environmentally conscious pupil, and she was really pleased to help the school with this green project. It is never too young to start to take action and realise how we can all take small steps that this will help our animals and their habitats on this planet in the long-term. Niamh – you should be very proud of you Big Battery Hunt achievement. I believe there are more batteries to come in June too!

Big Battery Hunt Stories

It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the musical talents of our younger children today in our Pre-Prep Summer Concert.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 took turns to perform for their parents and families, enthusiastically singing their songs superbly. There was even an amazing set by Mini Brass our very youngest brass players, who blew their very hardest to entertain everyone.

It was so rewarding to see them all enjoying themselves so much. Well done everyone, you were incredible!

Please can all school books be returned to school by Monday 3 July, please check under beds, on bookcases and in bags as it does make a difference to our school stocks.

It is a nice idea to use your local book shops and your library if you want a good choice of books to enjoy together over the holidays.

Thank you.

The final day for quizzing will be Monday 3 July, as we need a couple of days to analyse the data to help ensure progression and set up for the next academic year.

Children cannot quiz in the holidays but please do not let this deter you from reading, as reading for pleasure is very important and one of our English aims.

Please use your local book shops and your library if you want a good choice of books.

Monday 26 June to Friday 30 June 2023

There have been a few edits for Community week. Please check the timetable for each day for any requirements.

Tuesday 27 June 2023 - 2.15pm to 3.15pm (revised date)

We are all very much looking forward to our (revised) Sports Day for Reception on Tuesday 20 June. This is being held within the school day so normal drop off and collection times from school apply.

Please ensure that your child(ren) come to school with the following:

• sun cream, applied before school and put in their bag
• a Crescent school sunhat (these can be purchased from the school office)
• a refillable drinks bottle of water (snacks will be provided)

Sports days are always very much anticipated by the children and really enjoyable for all involved.

Wednesday 28 June 2023

All classes will be spending the morning with their new teachers and will have opportunities to share their hopes and fears for the year ahead while completing some bonding activities with their new form teacher.

The children just need to come to school as normal that day and note uniform requirements as per the table below:

All lessons will return to normal timetable for the afternoon.

This is also the day when our Year 6 children who are moving to Princethorpe College will have their induction day. I know that Princethorpe have a number of exciting things planned to help them feel at home there. Our present Year 6 children who are not going to Princethorpe that day are expected in school and will be our honorary Year 7s for the day.

Thursday 29 June - 3.00pm to 3.30pm

Our ‘Open Book’ afternoon is on Thursday 29 June for Years 1-5.  This is a chance for you to share all of your child’s books with them at their desk and see what they have enjoyed this year in the classrooms. The front door will be open at 3.00pm and you will be told which classroom your child will be in at that time of the day. Due to space we can only accommodate one adult per child. You can of course have a different adult booked with another sibling or split your time between children taking the other children with you.

Please note this is not a Parent Teacher consultation, but a lovely opportunity for you and your child to share their work. You will be able to take many, but not all, of the books home afterwards. 

I do hope you can join us, please book your ticket(s), below by Tuesday 27 June via the link below:

Open Book Afternoon Tickets 

Thursday 29 June 2023 - 7.00pm to 8.15pm

Dear Parents

As we come to the end of the academic year you will have noted in the calendar that this year’s Welcome Evening is planned for Thursday 29 June, 7.00pm to 8.15pm. All parents of children who are attending the school next year are warmly invited to this important information evening and opportunity to meet staff and fellow parents.

The evening will last for around an hour and 20 minutes and will be divided into two sections. In one of these, you will spend some time in the hall with me, hearing some general messages about our plans for the year ahead. In the other part of the evening, you will meet your child’s form teacher in their new classroom and hear in more detail about day-to-day provision and arrangements.

Please note children should not accompany parents to this event.

To help things run smoothly, we have arranged the evening to run as follows:

The booking link has now closed please contact the school office.

I look forward to seeing you on the evening.

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 2022 on Tuesday 4 July from 2pm 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.

Please indicate how many of your family will be joining us so we can cater accordingly. There will be up to four tickets available per family: 

Year 6 Leavers' Service

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.

It has been an incredible week in terms of the number of children achieving full Junior da Vinci status. This is testament to the children’s amazing hard work and dedication.

• Charlotte in 3S gains hers in English

• Lily and Felicity in 2W gain theirs in Modern Foreign Languages

• Edward F, Sam O, James, Grace in 5F gain theirs in computing

• Lilah in 3S and Alice in 2W gain theirs in History

• Eve, Felicity, Penelope and Alice in 2W and Uma in 2E gain theirs in Science and DT

• Aria, Thomas, Esme and Evelyn in 3S gain theirs in Science and DT as do Matthew, Max T, Edward M and  Alexander in 4C

• Esme in 3S gains hers in PSHE

• James and Alice in 5F gain theirs in RE

• Joshua and Hermione in 2E gain theirs in Science and DT

What a busy week! Congratulations to you all          

Mrs Symons
JdV Lead

• 1st 1Q 44
• =2nd 2E 25
• =2nd 4C 25 

Most valuable players in the whole competition: 

• 1st Daniel 1Q
• 2nd Sam 5F
• 3rd Sophia 2E

Well done, 1Q! 🏆

New Battle between all classes 22-29 June, last one this term.

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 competition! 

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

• Beau
• Elliott
• Gwen
• Hannah
• Harriet
• Harry
• Isabel
• Klara

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

Scientists

• Children from 2E and 2W visited the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. They were all super scientists and geographers.

Artists

• Chloe (6W)
• Erin (6W)
• Harry (6W)
• Dudley (2E)
• Rachael (2W)

Crescent School

This week, 3S have been investigating and exploring the properties of 3D shapes. The children have learned the terms faces, vertex/vertices and edges. When counting them, the children learnt that they had to employ a methodical and careful approach. The children loved making a range of different shapes using sticks and dough. Apparently it was ‘the best lesson ever!’

Class 3S have been learning the vocabulary for musical instruments in Spanish. They have also been learning phrases to give opinions on learning musical instruments.

Congratulations to Aria and Charlotte who were both awarded a Junior da Vinci for excellent speaking work.

Class 4C are completing their topic on sustainability, in particular the use of single use plastic. Pupils have decided on the media that they will use to create information on top tips to avoid using single use plastic in the first place. Some very sensible suggestions have been made on hand card packs, pamphlets and posters. We have been using this excellent website for more information.

Kids Against Plastic

This week in 5F we have explored Roman Numerals and realised that even though they only use 7 digits to our 10, Roman numbers can be very long! 88 = LXXXVIII. We were working on historical events to create large numbers. What happened in London in MMXII?

In Design and Technology, Year 5 enjoyed creating their own recipes for fruit crumble. They honed their cooking skills of peeling, chopping and rubbing. The crumbles were finished with the pupil’s own specialised crumble mix!

I am often proud of my class but on Tuesday 6W took to the stage in The Tempest and took it to another level. Miss Bowdige and Mrs Barnes had created a dynamic, energetic and funny production. The children did so well to learn their lines, their movements, the songs, the exits and entrances.

Well done Year 6.

In Art Club this week, Class 6W enjoyed decorating ceramic tiles and egg cups with their own creative designs. They managed to achieve some amazing results.

In STEM club this week, the children were challenged to recreate (with a limited amount of time) famous landmarks from around the world using Lego. They all worked really hard and enjoyed reviewing each other's constructions.

Crescent won the toss putting King Henry's in to bat first.  Unfortunately, our bowling was not quite as consistent as usual giving a number of wide balls adding to Henry's total, which with a couple of strong batters knocked up their score to 269, despite Crescent taking 2 wickets. 

Crescent went into bat with determination with all the girls doing their best to chase the 70 runs needes. Henry's took 3 wickets and despite Ava and Grace's best effort in the final 2 overs Crescent finished on 237 runs. 

Players of the game were awarded to Ellie for Batting and Ava for Bowling. 

Although the vast majority of the cricket that takes place in Primary is 'Kwik Cricket' style with a windball or incredi-ball, it was fantastic to allow the Year 5 and 6s not on a fixture this week to get in some valuable hard ball experience in their Games lesson.

There was a mixture of experience amongst the pupils, but definitely no shortage of effort, determination and skill on show from everyone involved! Darius, Sam Mc, Alex M and Remi in particular, all batting for their first time fully padded up with a hard ball did a fantastic job, showing both a fearless attitude and a great application of their skills developed with the softer ball format.

We must of course also give a special mention to Timi, bowling for only the second time ever with a proper cricket ball and taking an incredible hat-trick!

Whether hardball or soft, the future of cricket is looking very bright at Crescent! 

Dear Parents 

As we near the end of term just a quick request to drop off any unwanted uniform in for re-sale. We cannot accept everything so please take a look at the following list to see what we can take.

Uniform required and accepted in pre-loved:

Sports

• School tracksuit bottoms
• School tracksuit tops
• Sports polo tops
• Games tops
• Green sports fleece
• New sports socks
• Black shorts 
• Black skorts
• Cricket whites

Uniform

• Summer dresses
• Winter pinafores (checked tartan)
• Winter skirts (checked tartan) 
• V neck jumpers
• Blazers with logo still attached
• Summer/winter hats
• PE bags
• Music bag
• Green satchel
• Green back pack
• House ties

Items not accepted 

• Green cardigans 
• Green round necked jumpers
• Grey pinafores
• Grey skirts
• Green joggers (only for outdoor learning)
• Green cycling shorts
• Swimming trunks
• Swimming costumes
• Old crescent logo items
• Blazers without a badge
• Grey shorts
• Grey trousers
• White shirts
• Socks

Please leave in the box outside or drop it into the school office before the end of term.

Thanks!

FOC 

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, 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Crescent School

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

Princethorpe College

• IT Engineer
• Rugby Coach

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.

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