The Courier

Dear Parents

We have enjoyed some clear and frosty mornings during the week. The sunshine that we have seen has come as a welcome relief after a prolonged period of the soggy, dull stuff in recent weeks.

It has reminded us all that winter is on the way of course. We know that this will bring extra challenges, but as a school we feel as well prepared as we can be in the circumstances. Home learning is in place for those who need it and we have some good options for replacing teachers who may need to self-isolate for periods of time.

At the same time, we have learnt this week that we are in a Tier 3 area and that cases are still high, so this is no time for complacency. This will have a direct effect on our prospective parent tours, which will now take place outside of school hours. Whilst we are in Tier 3, we will continue to with our ‘no non-essential visitors’ policy, for the protection and safety of both staff and children. As always, we will review and adjust our measures as the situation continues to develop.

On a positive note, our trees have arrived in school this week and the countdown to Christmas has begun. You will read today about the exertions of children and staff in the famous Crescent Christmas Art Day, with more to come on that in next week’s Courier. We are also hoping to get a virtual tour of the corridors out to you by the end of next week.

We will be building on the theme of anticipation in our assembly next week and next Friday we will have an Advent service together out on the playground. The plan is for us all to gather around the tree (distanced of course), light the lights, sing some carols and seasonal songs and finish off with some hot chocolate and cookies. We are hoping the weather is kind to us.

With concerts, plays, parties and a panto also planned and in the pipeline, we will be going all out to make it the best Christmas we can for all the children.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

The weekly calendar can be viewed by clicking on the link below.  It details all the clubs, events, fixtures and additional information for the week. 

Weekly Calendar - 30 November 2020.pdf 

Please note the following:

• Class 1S Forest School - please can wellies be sent into school

• Classes 3Y and 4M Ball Skills - trainers are needed for ball skills

• Class 6W Music Fun is cancelled due to Music Exams

All the co-curricular clubs can be viewed on SOCS, where you can find details of all the dates the clubs are running.  

SOCS Co-Curricular

Crescent School

Not many people know this but Mrs Tucker is Crescent School’s very own ‘Mother Christmas’. She loves Christmas so much that the elves came to visit and built her a gingerbread house in the office as part of our Christmas Art Day fun!

Merry Christmas Mrs Tucker!

Elfie McRobinson

Christmas Art Day is such a special day at Crescent School; full of anticipation, paint, tissue paper and this year no glitter.  The children have really enjoyed themselves, producing lots of cracking, creative artwork.  It has all been so much fun.       

Here are just a few photos from some of the classrooms today.  Please click View Gallery to scroll through.

It was a busy Library this morning with Reception (RE) children reading with Mr Thackway, Mrs Olner ad Mrs Noyce during their Nativity rehearsal.

Crescent School

WOWZERS!  Due to the generous donations and support for our families, we are well on the way in creating a fantastic total for Hope4 and Rugby Foodbank this term.

We have a few opportunities to add to this total before the grand reveal in the New Year so please check the Courier for details regarding the Christmas Card Post and our Christmas Jumper Day. 

I have been in touch with the team at Hope 4 to ask whether we can do anything else to make a difference to their clients this Christmas. Their 60 clients are all in temporary accommodation during this time, as the winter shelters have been unable to open so they are not in need of warm clothes, gloves etc so much this year. 

They would like us as a school to provide socks and chocolates as a kind gift, to make them smile and know that we've been thinking of them.  So.... a small part of our fundraising has been used to purchase socks and small selection packs for their clients. The older children will make and write Christmas Cards from us all at Crescent; the younger children will be tasked in printing designs on gift bags and labels so that, after the end of term, we can deliver the gifts to the Hope4 team for them to distribute.

I'm sure you'll agree, it will be lovely to make someone smile who will be alone this Christmas.

A BIG continued 'Thank you' to the FOC and the ACTIVE October initiative and the families in our school community.

We love sharing cards here at Crescent School but we are very aware of keeping everybody safe. Our plan is that we will welcome cards, but that these will need to be put in our special Christmas post-box which we will situate near the staff room.

This will be available from Monday 30 November and all cards must be in before Thursday 10 December to allow a good quarantine time.  The cards will then be sorted by the Year 6 children who will wear gloves, on Monday 14 December, ready to be then given to each child. 

Things to remember:

• Please do not lick down envelopes

• Put the full name of the recipient on the envelope and their class

• All cards to be in before 10 December

All we ask is a 1p donation per card towards our term's charity, Hope4. This can be placed in the container on each teacher's desk.

Many thanks

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Monday 30 November 2020 - 9.30am to 5.15pm

Music Exams will be held on Monday 30 November 2020 between 9.30am and 5.15pm. The timetable has been circulated to the parents of children involved.

Good luck to all the children. 

Mrs Barnes
Director of Music

Friday 4 December 2020

We will be holding a socially distanced celebration, where we can light the lights on the Christmas tree with some carols and cookies.

Please can all children have their coats  in school on this day.

Crescent School

Friday 4 December 2020

In the school calendar we were scheduled to have Open Corridors on Friday 4 December 2020, but due to current restrictions, this will not be possible. We know how important it is for parents to be involved in their child's learning and the children love to share their work and their school so we are creating a virtual open corridor to enjoy from the comfort of your own home.

This link will be shared via an ISAMS message on Friday 4 December.

We are determined not to miss the joy of our Carol Service this year, which is usually held in the final days of term, so we have planned a virtual experience that will involve each class (this is an extra treat as it is usually an upper school treat).

We will be sharing it with you on Monday 14 December so you can enjoy the experience as a family over the Christmas holidays.  More details will follow nearer the time.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Tuesday 15 December 2020

Our Christmas Jumper Day this year will be on Tuesday 15 December 2020. On that day, children should wear normal school uniform, but instead of their green pullover/cardigan, they can wear a Christmas jumper.

Please bring in a £1 donation for our charity of the term, Hope4. This can be placed in the container on each teacher's desk.

Mrs Monteith

Wednesday 16 December and Thursday 17 December 2020 (times to be confirmed)

As you are aware Grammar School scores are scheduled to be released mid-December.  However, School may have finished for the term by then.

Mr Thackway and I will be available at some point on the days of Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 December to talk to parents about the results that they have received.

We will make bookings times available nearer the time.

This week we are celebrating the success of:

• Amy in Games
• Charlotte in PSHE
• Eve in PSHE
• Isaac in Games
• Michael Mercer in PSHE
• Zahra in English

Well done to you all.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Pre-Prep reading certificates have, this week, been presented to:

• Amber 
• Everly
• Maximillion
• Shaylan

Well done to you all.

This week Playground Conduct Awards are presented to:

• Sophie M for being polite to the staff on the playground and playing nicely with her friends

• Isabella for being caring, looking after friends and helping to solve friendship problems

Lunchtime Supervisors

Pupils who have reached Level 420 on automatic training mode in the Garage and Gigs are awarded a JdV for Maths Practice:

• George R and George C - 6W

Weekly battle 20 - 26 November:

• Boys scored 47,787 points
• Girls scored 10,026 points

Well done, Boys' Team, again!

Most Valuable players contributing the most points to their teams are:

Each class can have the speediest TT Rock Star and that gets you up the status board on the poster. To get on this board you must tackle the single player game in the 'Studio', multi-player does not count for these. These also earn more coins than the multiplayer games too. 

Plenty of action so last week's most improved speedsters in each class are:

Battles add up any points at all as you play! I will let you know who wins in the next Courier.

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

Stay Calm and Keep Rocking!

The Nasal Flu Vaccination consent form was sent to parents this week.  This year the form need to be completed electronically by Monday 30 November 2020.

Please complete this form even if you do not wish your child to have the vaccination.

Crescent School

After our Good News assembly this morning, we went around the classes to hear some Christmas jokes. What’s your favourite from this little collection?

We have had great fun this week playing with money.

Class 3Y understand the order of the coins and are now able to make given amounts of money using a variety of coins.

Class 3Y are coming to the end of their topic of Planets in French. This topic gave us the opportunity to explore different ways of learning, you may remember that we played some games on the playground a couple of weeks ago. This week, we spent our two weekly lessons making models, posters and other jigsaws about the Solar System and speaking in full sentences in French about them.

Madame Tatton’s penpal link with Ecole Sainte Anne, in Lomme, northern France, has received such positive feedback that it has been extend from 5F to 4M. The children in both classes have written to their new friends in France and Class 4M were the first to receive a reply this week. Look at the beaming faces and the beautiful letters.

We are so happy and so excited.

In story club we listened to the story of the Little Red Train, we chatted about how detailed the pictures were.  As we listened, we painted our own pictures, it was a very relaxing time after a busy day.

The sun was shining brightly today and we had great fun looking at natural things far and close with binoculars, magnifying glasses and mirrors. We also found ice and enjoyed handling it and looking at whatever was trapped in it, such as blades of grass and air bubbles.

Emily and Shayla loved the Cosmic Yoga session from Mrs Robinson.  A perfect way to relax after an Orienteering Lesson.

Crescent School

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 consider the category of Good Learners. The idea behind this week’s promise is resilience and perseverance. This is such a key element of being a good learner. The desire and determination to master new skills can take children such a long way in education.

‘‘We never give up and always try again"

Mr Webb
Assistant Head

Over the past couple of weeks, a very dedicated team of budding Year 6 journalists and producers have been working diligently to put together the first episode of our new school podcast. They have worked incredibly hard creating, recording and editing all of the content on their own, so please click on the link below to give it a listen!

This week features an exciting quiz, a simply stunning fact, a very insightful interview with the lovely Mrs Stapleton, and a great round-up of the big stories hitting the international news. If you have any feedback at all about our podcast, please get in touch!

https://vimeo.com/484509160/513c93747e

We hope you enjoy.

Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire (CSW) have continued with their Virtual School Games Challenges this autumn term, giving children the chance to represent their school in a variety of sports.

Children from Crescent School have taken part in the different competitions and this week we were delighted to find out that the school teams took first place in the Eastern Warwickshire Level 2 Year 5/6 Football and third place in the Eastern Warwickshire Level 2 Year 3/4 Pentathlon.

The children had great fun taking part in the activities and we were pleased that they all did so well.

Crescent School now goes forward to represent Eastern Warwickshire in the Level 3 CSW Year 5/6 Football final.

Our fantastic total now stands at £2,193!

Please could any remaining sponsorship money be paid directly into the FoC account by the end of the month. The bank details are as follows:

We will update next week on the total raised for Hope4 as well as the amount raised for each class to buy equipment for privilege time.

Please click on the link below to view the lunch menu for next week: 

Crescent menu - 30 November 2020

Children are able to have either of the main options.

Crescent School Office

Please find below term dates for 2020/21 and 2021/22:

Please see below for useful school contact information:

Cyber-crime – please be extra vigilant

Parents are asked to be vigilant when reading emails relating to the payment of school fees and any other items to the Foundation.

We continue to receive reports regarding spam emails.  The latest scam offers a large discount on fees for the coming academic year if paid immediately.

This is probably trying to take advantage of the fact that some independent schools have offered discounts for this term and that parents may therefore be more open to such a suggestion. You can always protect yourselves by only making payments to us in line with our normal, published methods.

As advised, there has been no change to the bank details of either Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall or Crescent and there is no intention to make any changes in the foreseeable future. Any electronic notification that appears to be from any of the Foundation schools changing these details may be fraudulent.  Our bank details are available on the Parent Bills, the Online Payment Portal and in the Information Booklet for each school, and only those details should be used.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues in the Bursary if you are have any doubts about the correct details or indeed if anything appears suspicious. 

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

• Princethorpe College - Graduate Sports Coach 2021-22

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.

In line with other local schools and Warwickshire County Council’s message below, please wear face coverings on school grounds (if you are able) when dropping off and collecting children. 

Please remember there is plenty of space around school to socially distance.

Many thanks for you for your co-operation.

Public Health England have produced a letter for schools to distribute to parents which explains when a person requires a coronavirus test and what the symptoms of coronavirus are. They have asked us to share and circulate this letter amongst parents at the school.

The intention of the letter is to help prevent children being taken out of school unnecessarily and answer some of the questions parents may have around testing.

You can view the letter here.

Children or adults with symptoms must not enter school. Parents must check for symptoms each day before bringing their child into school.

The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:

• a high temperature – please, if you have not already done so, source a thermometer to check temperatures at home
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Any children or adult who develops symptoms will need to leave the building as soon as possible and be tested for Covid-19.

Details on testing can be obtained at www gov uk/get-coronavirus-test or call the Test and Trace Helpdesk on 119.

Hand held thermometers will be used to check the temperature of any individual feeling unwell. Children who develop symptoms during the school day will be taken to the Meeting Room and their parents called to come and collect the child, as well as any siblings of the child.

Other members of the household should self-isolate for 14 days from when the symptomatic person first had symptoms, or until a negative test result is returned.

In the event of a positive test result the full protocols of test and trace will be followed www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#

Children returning from restricted areas outside UK must self-isolate as advised by the government guidance before returning to school.