The Courier

Dear Parents and Friends of the School

This week I managed to get away for a couple of days to the annual IAPS conference in South Wales. It’s always a useful time spent with other headteachers in similar positions around the country, hearing in equal measure of shared woes and successes. 
 
There was an interesting focus this year on the role of digital technologies and AI in education, which is ultimately going to grow and grow over the coming years. We were asked to place ourselves in a continuum of where we thought we were with AI learning and I was reasonably happy to say we were perhaps slightly ahead of middle of the road. It absolutely has a place and will develop and grow over the years but we take a balanced approach, putting it alongside all of the traditional skills that we teach the children that form the bedrock of a broad education. You have already noticed this year more work appearing from your children on Seesaw, and this is a new drive, led by Mr Adkins, that we are all embracing. With new iPads on the way this year, and a refit of the computer suite hardware as well, we continue to look for ways new technology can enhance learning in a primary age-appropriate way. 

One week, I might try writing my weekly newsletter with an AI bot, and see if anyone notices. Would it really be any quicker than doing it myself?   
 
Well done to our Year 6 children last weekend, who completed their 11 plus exams, big tick, and I think unanimously reported feeling confident in their performance and well prepared in general. They have a slightly nervous wait for results in mid-October and many will also be completing their applications to Princethorpe College. A reminder for anyone who needs it that the closing date for registration is Friday 27 September. 
 
Managing the children’s pathway through this potentially stressful period is something we take really seriously at school and I would like to say special thank you to Mrs Webb and Mrs Dewes who do such a great job keeping the children grounded and allowing them to express their thoughts and feelings. Like many aspects of School life, it’s a challenge for the children but one we want them to take on in the safety of their caring and nurturing Crescent environment with safety nets all around, should they need them. 
 
The learner profile word of the month is resilience and which is a good one to get us started in the year but not something we take for granted. On that theme, you might notice next week we have our first learning mentor meetings of the term where the children meet up with their staff member and think through personal challenges for the year ahead. The learner profile is a great starting point for thinking about these and you can view the latest version here, which I hope you will agree makes for good reading. The voice of the children was crucial to putting this together and I think it resonates clearly from the statements below. 
 
Have a really good weekend, everyone. 

I have found a useful link for Year 6 parents should they need some guidance. I hope this helps.

Applying for a Secondary School Place – Warwickshire County Council

Co-curricular trips and educational visits have always been a major part of life at Crescent School for the pupils in Years 3-6. These experiences enrich their lives, enhance their learning and develop their understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It has been great for us to be able to successfully run the Year 3 residential to Whitemoor Lakes; the Year 4 trip to Ilam Hall; the Year 5 trip to the Frank Chapman Centre and Year 6 trip to the Slapton Ley Field Centre in Devon. 

We would like to update you with the residentials planned for the next academic year, please take a look at the overview here.

Each trip will have a drop in session this term which we recommend you attend.

An important reminder for all Year 6 parents.

This year, Princethorpe College's entrance exams take place on Saturday 9 November from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

The deadline for registrations for the Entrance Examination is next Friday 27 September. Year 6 parents wishing their children to sit the Princethorpe entrance exam must complete a registration form and submit it with the accompanying registration fee by this date.

More information on the admissions process can be found in Princethorpe's Admissions Update newsletter here or on the Foundation website here.

You can register for the Entrance Examination by filling out our online registration form here.

If you have any queries relating to admissions please speak to the Registrars at Princethorpe College, either by email at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or by calling 01926 634201/297.

Weekly Calendar 23 September 2024

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

Please see below to view next week's Music Lesson timetable:

Music lessons - 23 September 2024 

The music lesson timetable will be published in the Courier every Friday. Please note the following:

• The timetable changes every week. Lessons are rotated as we try to avoid children missing the same lesson each week, though sometimes this is unavoidable if there are trips, matches and events to work around. If a teacher teaches on more than one day, your child's lesson could be on any of those days. Lessons in bold type are in fixed slots and therefore do not rotate, though, again, on occasions we may have to swap them around to avoid clashes with events.

• The music staff will always try to reschedule lessons missed because of a school event, however lessons missed because of illness cannot be made up.

• If you know your child is not going to be in school for their lesson for any reason, please do let me know as early as possible and I will try to work around it, though this cannot be guaranteed. 

• Lessons before school and during lunchtime are prioritised to Year 6 pupils in the Michaelmas term. After Christmas, Year 6 lessons will move to being during class time, and the out-of-class-time lessons will be allocated to Year 5 pupils.

• Half a term's (ie 5 lessons) notice is required to stop having lessons, or payment of half a term's fees in lieu of notice.

Please send all enquiries about music lessons to me juliebarnes@crescentschool.co.uk rather than the individual music teachers.

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 - 23 September 2024

Crescent School

Crescent School has been recognised for its work to create a sustainable environment.

The school has been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag with Distinction in recognition of its environmental consciousness and commitment to sustainable practices. The award is given to schools that work through a seven-step framework outlined in the Eco-Schools programme.

The school has also had its sustainability efforts recognised by the Independent Schools Association (ISA) in its annual national awards, with the school shortlisted for the Sustainability Award, which will be voted on later this year.

Last school year, pupils from Year 2 to Year 6 formed a Green Team, and identified three key focus areas for sustainability improvements: Biodiversity, Waste and Water. Across the year, the committee launched numerous activities and campaigns, including 'Cut Your Carbon Month', a ‘Paper Free Day’, and the 'The Big Plastic Count'. Pupils also took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and held their own school mini COP 28.

During the year, pupils also worked together to construct a bug hotel and pollinator bed, installed rainwater harvesting water butts, completed a biodiversity survey, organised a book swap and pen recycling, installed bird boxes, planted trees and herbs, made wildflower seed bombs and much more.

The Green Team also developed a Crescent Eco Code that encourages everyone to ‘Go Green and Stay Green’.

Jacqui Johnson, the teacher leading the Green Team at Crescent School, said: "We are thrilled that our environmental efforts have been recognised. We are proud of the enthusiasm of our pupils to make real changes for the benefit of our planet. Their mature and inspirational attitude aligns with our school and wider the Foundation’s sustainability ethos, and our shared goal to make the world a better and brighter place.”

Headmaster, Joe Thackway, added: “It has been wonderful to see our school community working together to improve our sustainability. The dedication and passion of the children has been inspiring, and they deserve their recognition at the highest level by the Eco School Awards and also by the ISA."

The Eco Schools Award team said: “Your school has truly gone above and beyond to make environmental education engaging for young people. It has been an absolute joy assessing your application and learning about the impact you’ve had, not only on our planet but also on the young people you work with every day.”

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to our Pre-Prep Information Session, in person, in the school hall, 4.00pm to 5.00pm on Monday 23 September 2024.

We will talk you through our approach to teaching phonics and reading at Crescent and introduce our new phonics system called Monster Phonics. There will be hints and tips to help you support your child and maximise success in all areas of literacy whether your child has just started in Reception, are developing their skills in Year 1 or building depth and extension in Year 2.

We have a number of platforms that your child will be able to access to support their learning from Spell Zone and Reading Eggs for literacy to Abacus and Times Table Rock Stars for maths. We will run through each of these and the role they can play in strengthening and securing core skills and confidence.

We are holding the session straight after school to make it as easy as possible for you to attend. Children are welcome to go to After School free of charge for the duration of the meeting, they must be booked in via MSP before the meeting. There will be lots of new information for parents of children in all years of Pre-Prep so it would be lovely to see as many of you there as possible.

Please book your tickets below by Sunday 22 September:

Tickets

It is that time of year again when we are thankful for all that we have and reflect on those who don't have enough. We have been supporting the important work of the Rugby Food Bank for a number of years and we continue to do so this year.

From Monday 23 September, we are asking for our families to bring any donations into school, via the normal student entrance where they will be met by our Year 6 helpers. We will collect and store our donations until Friday 11 October when we will be arranging for them to be collected by Rugby Food Bank. 

Many thanks in advance for your continued support and generosity for this cause.

Wednesday 2 October 2024 - 4.00pm

All Year 6 parents are invited to an information session about the residential trip to Slapton Ley Centre. This will be an opportunity for you to find out what happens there, note the key dates and ask any questions. 

This will be held in 6W form room. Please come to the front of school where you can enter after dismissal of children. Children are welcome (but it may be a squeeze).

We will once again be running our successful Learning Mentors initiative that supports our emphasis on building self-regulation for the children.

On Friday 27 September, or thereafter, children will have a 10 minute meeting with their mentors where they will agree targets for the year that they are fullly responsibile for.

Monday 30 September 2024 - 4.00pm

Year 4 parents are invited to an information session about the residential trip to Ingestre Hall. This will be an opportunity for you to find out what happens there, note the key dates and ask any questions. 

This event will take place in the Year 4 classroom at 4.00pm and for those unable to attend, an informative PowerPoint will be circulated afterwards to all Year 4 parents.

Monday 30 September 2024 - 09.00am to 12.00pm

Individual and School siblings photographs will be taken in school on Monday 30 September. Children may choose to wear either winter or summer uniform but with blazers please.

Tuesday 1 October 2024 - 6.00pm to 7.00pm

Friday 4 October 2024 - 3.45pm to 4.15pm

We would very much like to welcome you to look around the school corridors on Friday 4 October.

The playground will be open for parking from 3.40pm. Year 5 and 6 will be dismissed through the pupil door, all other classes are to be dismissed through their usual door(s).

Please collect your child(ren) then come round to the front door where you will be welcomed in from 3.45pm to look at all the great work in school. Entry and exit is via the main school entrance only and last entry is at 3.55pm.

If your child is in a co-curricular club they will be expected to attend their club as normal unless you arrange otherwise.

Please be aware that this is not a time to talk to the teachers concerning your child, please email them separately if you have concerns.

Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November - 8.00am to 5.00pm

We know many of the Foundation's pupils enjoyed our Holiday Camps over the summer, and we are pleased to announce we have teamed up with Team Super Sports again to offer an action-packed October half-term experience for children aged 5 to 16 years. From Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November, the Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Children aged 7 to 16 can choose from a variety of sports, including rugby, cricket, football, gymnastics, netball, hockey, and tennis to create their own personalised sports camp! For our younger campers (ages 5 to 7), along with sport we’ve got arts, crafts, and dance activities to keep them engaged and having a blast!

Why Team Super Sports? They’re experts in sport and multi-activity holiday camps, providing top-level coaching for all abilities.

Click here to visit the Team Super Sports website to secure your child’s spot.

Camps are priced at £37 per day or £150 per week. Book before Sunday 29 September to receive an extra 10% off for early booking!

Sibling discounts and flexible booking options available!

Congratulations to Alice who is first to be awarded her badge for reading 500,000 words this term.

This week's Word Wizards and Top Quizzers are:

Word Wizards, achieving the highest word count from successfully quizzing this week, are:

• 3LS  Hazel
• 3SS  Locan
• 4C    Penelope
• 4W   Feranmi
• 5F    Evelyn
• 6W   Edward M

Top Quizzers who have quizzed on the most books successfully or made a noticeable improvement in quizzing scores this week are:

• 3LS  Olivia-Rose
• 3SS  Tara
• 4C   Felicity
• 4W   Orlaith
• 5F    Taran
• 6W   Akaal

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

Garage and Gigs are the most important games to show your progress and gain a JDV Practice.

Results for Battle 12-19 September 2024: all classes against each other- average score per class member.

• 1st 5F 113
• 2nd 4W 61
• 3rd 3LS 57

Most valuable players in the whole competition:

• 1st Alfie 5F
• 2nd Isabel 2E
• 3rd Harry 5F

Well done, 5F! 🏆

Most improved speedsters in the studio are:

4W

• Jian - Support Act
• Joshua - Support Act!

Battle between Y1-6 from 19-26 September.

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!

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

This week's Artists of the Week are:

• Jian, Florence, Rachael 4W and Elin and Max 4C - excellently presented different Aboriginal symbols

• Jonelle, Summer 3SS and Teddy, Hazel and Penelope 3LS - fantastically produced pattern research

• Kiran 5F - carefully observed still life sketch

• Evelyn 5F - lovely use of colour

• Harry 5F - well planned and effective use of tone

• James 2E - carefully observed still life drawing

• Kiaan 2E - a clearly observed sketch

• Matthew 6W - a powerful tonal portrait

• Sophie 6W - excellent expressive portrait

• Alex B 6W - lovely blending technique

This week's Scientists of the Week are:

• Seren 5F
• Zachary 3LS
• Jack 4C

These pupils have shown resilience in Science lessons this week. The written tasks were very challenging but these pupils were determined to complete their work - well done!

Please find below the winners of the Safety Poster Competition. Their posters will be displayed in the Science room for this academic year.

• Oore 3SS
• Juliette 3SS
• Isabel 3SS

• Henry 4C
• Klara 4C
• Kiki 4W

• Taran 5F
• Aria 5F
• Roisin 6W

We have also looked at other words that include these letter sounds such as: cat, mat, in addition to learning the high frequency words: a, at and as. In learning ‘as’, we met the Monster Phonics ‘Tricky Witch’ who has cast a spell on this word to change the ‘s’ sound to a ‘z’.

In our reading, the children have been working hard to consolidate their phonics knowledge using the letter sound string in their reading diaries. Please see the below video link which demonstrates the ‘pure sound’ of each letter. We hope this helps when supporting your child with their reading at home.

Jolly Phonics Letter Sounds (British English) (youtube.com)

Next week in our Monster Phonics sessions we will continue to consolidate the sounds previously covered but also extend our knowledge to the letter sounds: i and n. The class will continue to develop their sound identification skills and enjoy opportunities to practice their ‘blending to read’. Our high frequency words next week will be: in, it, is, I, an.

• Encourage mark making/writing, ensuring a correct and comfortable pencil grip
• Develop independence with practising packing school bags with daily equipment such as reading folder, water bottle and snack box.
• Continue to encourage your child to dress independently – lots of practice is needed to master buttons!
• Secure knowledge of 1-5, in terms of both amounts and one more/one less
• Have fun playing eye-spy to strengthen identification of initial sounds of objects. You can extend this to objects with end with a particular letter sound eg. Bus (for ‘s’)

Mrs Collie
Reception Class Teacher

Our Reception class have been learning how to greet each other in French and how to ask each other how they are feeling. They have been practising their speaking skills with various picture cards. They have also learnt various facts about France and you can see a lovely picture of the Tricolore.

Mrs Day
MFL Teacher

The children in Year 1 have been working hard on practicing their phonics and spelling rules. We used chalk on the playground to consolidate our spellings this week.

In Maths, the children have been making 4, 5 and 6. We have used various concrete resources to aid our learning including cubes, pegs, dominos and numicons.

In PSHE this week, we have engaged in lots of role play on social situations and outlined who our five trusted adults are both at home and in school.

Miss Quirke
Class 1Q Form Teacher

Year 1 have been busy learning songs for the PrePrep Harvest festival next month. Here they are celebrating that “It’s Harvest Time.”

We were very excited to accept an invitation to the U9 Twycross House Mini Rugby and Hockey Festival. Spirits were high on the journey to Twycross, and what a difference a week can make in the weather, glorious sunshine unlike the torrential rain the week before.

Both teams played exceptionally well showing great promise for the rest of the season.

The girls hockey started with a 3-0 win to Derby High School 'B' Team, settling quickly and building on their knowledge of space from the previous week's games at Bablake. They then took on Derby High School 'A' and came away with a well contested 1-0 win.

The next game was against the host team, with some fantastic passing and attacking play the team came away with a 2-0 win. After a short rest break Crescent took on The Old Vic School, by this time the team had really gelled well and were making strong passes, switching play and showing some great dominance in attack, coming away with a 3-0 win.

The penultimate match was against Highclare, who had some strong ball carriers and saw us concede our first goal, some great movement and attacking play but we just couldn't quite finish it off. A great afternoon of hockey development finished off with a final game against Twycross resulting in some fabulous well worked goals. All of the pupils played fantastically.

Crescent U9's rugby team used all of the lessons learned from last week's match to devasting effect at the Twycross House Festival Of Rugby, playing fast-paced, flowing and phenomenal rugby throughout. After a hard-fought 2-1 win against the hosts in their opening game, Crescent went on to dominate the rest of the tournament, winning their remaining four matches by clear margins. All of the opposition coaches praised the side for their deadly blitz defence and crisp handling skills, as well as their fantastic attitude. Special mentions for Josh and Finn for their super try scoring, and to the undoubted player of the tournament, Feranmi for his incredible all-round play.

On Thursday all of the Year 3 girls travelled to Bilton Grange for a hockey festival against Bilton Grange and Stoneygate U9 and U8 pupils.

The festival was fast and furious with lots of opportunity for the girls to practise and develop their skills. All pupils played in six short games and it was fantastic to see how we made progress, learning from experiences in every game.

All of the girls worked exceptionally hard and showed great determination and resilience.

Mrs McCollin. Mrs Dowling and Mrs Chang

The U11 and U10 Girls Hockey teams made a wonderful start to their season against Crackley Hall.

The U11s took on Crackley Hall U11A team with an impressive performance showing great stick skills, pace, passing and tenacity to come away with a well deserved 2-1 win.

The U10s took on Crackley Hall U11B team. We had two teams and all pupils played exceptionally well, holding space, moving on to the ball and reading the ball well. Lots of attacking play and solid defence saw a 2-0 win and 2-1 win.

Players of the Game went to Sophie, Everly and Amber.

Fantastic results all around for Crescent in the fixtures against Crackley Hall, a great start to a promising season.  

Mrs McCollin, Mr Nelson and Mrs Dewes.

Crescent U11s got their rugby season off to a flying start with a comprehensive victory away at Crackley Hall. Despite many of the side only having had very limited experience of full contact rugby, Crescent adapted instantly to the style of play, passing and running with pace, and tackling with real power and determination. Excellent support play, quick rucking and an almost impenetrable defence enabled them to take a 3-0 lead at the break. Although Crackley did eventually manage to pierce the green defensive wall and score two tries of their own, Crescent responded strongly in attack, scoring four more of their own, leaving the final score at 7-2.

Player of the match voted by the opposition side was Alex B for his two lightning-quick length of the field runs, with special mentions for Herbie, Zac and Max for their ferocious tackling, Harry, Maxi and Sam for their creative skill with the ball and captain Ed M who hit every single breakdown with force and determination.

Mr Adkins and Mrs Dowling

Friday 27 September 2024 - 8.15am to 9.30am

We will be supporting this important charity in typical Crescent cake style! Please bring donations of cakes into school on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 September, and then come along on Friday morning to buy and eat!

We'll be open from 8.15am at drop off with hot drinks and bacon sarnies available too - stop and chat or grab and go!  Great opportunity to meet other parents before the busy day ahead. The children will be buying their cakes at breaktime so please send in a donation (min £1) with them.

Pre-loved uniform:
We will be running a pre-loved stall alongside the Macmillan coffee morning, so come along to see if we have what you need next at a bargain price! For it to be a success we need lots of uniform to sell! This is a great way to recycle uniform that your children have grown out of and to find your next size up. Those summer growth spurts may have left you with some smaller items, please consider donating.  

Please leave in the box outside the main door or drop into the school office during school hours.  Reminder of what we can and can’t accept:

Yes please to:

Sports

• School tracksuit bottoms/School tracksuit tops
• Sports polo tops
• Games tops
• Green sports fleece
• Long dark green sports socks
• Black shorts 
• Black skorts
• Cricket whites

Uniform

• Summer dresses
• Winter pinafores and skirts (checked tartan) 
• School jumpers (new style)
• Blazers with logo still attached
• Summer hats
• Winter hats/scarves
• PE bags
• Music bags
• Swimming bags
• Green back pack
• House ties

Items NOT accepted

• Green cardigans / Green round necked jumpers
• Grey pinafores / Grey skirts
• Green joggers
• Green cycling shorts
• Swimming trunks / Swimming costumes
• Old crescent logo items
• Blazers without a badge
• Grey shorts / Grey trousers
• White shirts
• Socks

Friends of Crescent

Friday 15 November 2024 - 7.30pm

Save the date - this might seem a long way off yet, but it's the famous Parents' Quiz evening hosted by Ms Forth, so book those babysitters in advance!

Uniform can be ordered here:

Uniform Order Form

Please note the following items are stocked in the School Office and can be added to your account. Do pop in to collect any items.

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

School Uniform Shop 
Tel: 01926 634272
Email: uniform@princethorpe.co.uk

Click here to view the term dates for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Crescent School

Please see below for useful school contact information:

We regularly recruit for a variety of roles, please do share news of the vacancies with interested friends and family. Current vacancies include:

Crackley Hall

• Site Supervisor

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.