The Courier

Dear Parents

It has been a busy week here in school!

Here is a quick list of what has been going on to give you a flavour: residential trip drop in meeting, school council meeting, ISA swimming gala and football tournament, five sports fixtures, former pupil sports event, harvest collection and service, all finished off with a bake sale and a parent and staff quiz night in the hall this evening. Apologies if I have missed anything out, I most probably have.

Don’t worry, we have also found time for lessons and learning and there continues to be a great working atmosphere in the school. This is regularly commented on by visitors who come to look around and was particularly prominent in last week’s open session. I got some great feedback on the children’s behaviour throughout the school, with visitors being particularly impressed with the good manners and maturity shown by our Class VI tour guides.

I have particularly enjoyed the chance to hear some readers in Pre-Prep over the last couple of weeks. This is something I did regularly in my last school so it is great to get it started again here. It gives me a chance to get to know the younger children a bit better and to get an idea of their progress in this crucial area of their learning.  Spending time reading was something I loved  doing with my own children when they were younger, partly for the benefits it brings in terms of their academic development but mostly because it was great fun. I know that our Crescent children are very fortunate to have parents who give up their time to support their learning and reading in particular, it does genuinely make a difference to their progress in school and their feeling of worth and well-being.

I have been in contact with Paul Hay this week who is coming to the school on Tuesday 27 November to present a series of workshops and talks to children, staff and parents on the theme of online safety. Digital health in its broader sense is of course a vital part of managing well-being in the modern age and I do hope you will be able to come along to Paul’s talk in the evening directed at parents, offering advice on all aspects of your children’s digital experience as they grow up. It starts at 7.00pm and will last 90 minutes, so please do put it in your diaries if you haven’t already done so.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Joe Thackway

For a two or three week period this year we will be focusing on one of the sayings in the new School Promise. We will talk about this in assembly and in form period. It would be great if you could discuss this with your children at home and support the messages we are emphasising in school.

This week we move on to the category of Good Citizens and we will be looking at all aspects of this idea in the weeks before and after the half term break. It will be particularly pertinent in the week of bonfire night of course, which is now not too far away.

‘We try to keep safe and be responsible’