The Courier

Dear Parents

Whilst the weather has got colder and windier as the week has gone on, we have kept up the sunny spirits here with a number of exciting events that have been enjoyed by both staff and pupils.

As I mentioned in my newsletter last week, I managed to get over to the football match with Crackley Hall earlier in the week and was delighted to see the boys in Year 5 and Year 6 really getting stuck into their football matches, enjoying the opportunity to represent the school and first and foremost playing their games with the utmost sportsmanship and respect for one another.

In fact, Wednesday was an excellent day all round for the Year 6 children. Not only did the boys and girls have fixtures in the afternoon they began the day with a celebration breakfast in the hall. This was the first time we have run this event and it was an opportunity to say ‘well done and thank you’ to the Year 6 children for all of their achievements this year. From what I saw, the combination of yummy pastries, lovely fruit salad and cereals went down very well. At the same time, the children received their leavers’ hoodies which they have been wearing with pride over the last three days.

On Friday we had the second of our learning mentor meetings, where every child in the school met up with their special member of staff to talk about their targets and progress. Our plans to roll this out this year have been somewhat abbreviated due to home learning but it was great to get this going again today. The children love to share what they have been doing with adults and it is a great way to build relationships with members of staff that they don’t normally work with. These meetings will finish with a final one before we break up and this is an initiative we very much hope to build on over the coming years.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Best wishes

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

As you know, work on the Horton Centre will begin during the half term break. Although we are confident there will not be any significant impact on the children, I wanted to keep parents fully informed about what you and the children are likely to see when you return for next half term.

Contractors will be setting up their work compound at the top end of the playground and fencing will be erected to clearly demarcate the contractor's area and where it meets the playground. Clearly marked Heras fencing will be erected and no children will be able to access the work area.

Later work will involve the main corridor and hall, but these parts of the project will not start until we have broken up for the summer break.

The contractors will be very clearly briefed and will not have any access to the main school site and will have no contact with children. The Foundation has robust policies on health and safety in the workplace as well as contractors in relation to safeguarding. All of these will be followed throughout the project.

I will be meeting with the contractors directly next week and let parents know if there is any updates on this information.

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 - 24 May 2021 

You can log into SOCS here to view your child(ren)'s activities:

SOCS

After School provision can be booked through My School Portal.

MySchoolPortal 

Crescent School

The College's latest Admissions Update e-newsletter has just been published and can be found here. 

It is full of articles and news to give prospective parents and pupils a feel for College life, information on forthcoming open days and events and helpful advice about the admissions process. It will be of particular interest to those looking at entry to the school in September 2022. 

The newsletter is issued twice a year to coincide with key admissions periods, and the next edition will be published in Autumn 2021, just prior to their Entrance Exams on Saturday 6 November 2021.

For further information on admissions please don't hesitate to contact the admissions team at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call 01926 634201/262/297.

Year 6 enjoyed a Celebration Breakfast on Wednesday and Chef, Mr Moore and his team laid on a super spread. The children have worked hard this year, handled lockdown and their examinations so well and at all times been excellent role models for the pupils in the lower school. 

Breakfast was laid out in the hall with cereals, pastries, fruit salad, yoghurt and fruit juice to choose from and Year 6 made short work of the tasty feast.

The children were also presented with their Leavers Hoodies and they were quick to put them on. Now a tradition for most schools, the hoodies will always be a tangible memory of their time at Crescent and their fellow pupils. They all looked so smart. A huge thank you to the FoC for organising them!

In assembly today, we had the pleasure of listening to two Year 3 girls playing their instruments. Sofie played beautifully on the piano and Roisin also entertained us with Sundown on her clarinet.

Very well done girls.

Intermediate review meetings for our 'Learning Mentoring' initiative took place today, somewhat later than originally planned as a result of the Lent Term lockdown. The 'Learning Mentoring' scheme was an initiative we implemented back in the Michaelmas Term as part of our whole school target, 'To embed self-regulation to achieve high performance.'

Today the children met with the same member of staff and reviewed the academic targets they had set for themselves at the beginning of the year. They have been regularly reviewing their progress against their targets in their class but this was a more formal opportunity to reflect on their progress, self-assess where they are now and for some set new targets for the end of the year.

The initiative gives responsibility for their learning to the children from Year 1 up to Year 6. Staff do not tell pupils if they feel they have achieved their targets, instead they guide pupils through their books, feedback, comments and last reports.

We believe it empowers the children and gives them the responsibility to strive to achieve their own set goals.

The sessions were very positive and we look forward to the final review at the end of the school year.

Parents of 5F should have received an invitation to choose an appointment time for a transition meeting. These are for Year 5 parents with Ms Forth as Form Tutor and supported by Mrs Webb as Head of Year 6 Transition.

This is a chance to review your son or daughter's attainment up to this point and have a realistic discussion regarding plans for secondary school destinations and the process you now need to enter.

The 15 minute meetings will be run on Teams and you will be sent the link after booking your appointment.

The dates and times for these appointments are:

• Monday 14 June 1500 - 1700 or
• Tuesday 15 June 1700 - 1800

Please sign up by Thursday 10 June and we look forward to seeing you.

Ms Forth
Deputy Head/5F Form Tutor

We have been asked by Warwickshire Safeguarding Board to make parents aware of the following incident:

Stranger Danger Incident on 7 May 2021 

A student from Rugby School has reported the following:

At 4.30pm on 7 May, a Year 9 boy was walking to a lesson along the Hillmorton Road.

A male driver in a white car, not sure of the make, had his window open and asked the boy whether he would like some sweets and held up the bag. He persisted in asking a couple of times and asked him to get into the car.

The boy went into the nearest building and reported to a member of staff.

This matter has been reported to the police.  

As a result of this the Warwickshire Safeguarding Board have provided the folliwng advice:

As promoted by Warwickshire Safeguarding Board’s Taking Care Scheme please do not teach blanket ‘stranger danger’ messages to children. The reason for this is that sometimes a stranger is the only person who can help us and is a far safer option than not talking to anyone. e.g. a child lost in a shop is far safer to tell a stranger they are lost than to wander off looking for the person they have separated from. We may choose to discuss the likely ‘safest’ strangers in such scenarios such as a mother with a pram or small children or someone who works in the shop.

However, we do need to clarify the stranger issue as plainly there are situations we may want to warn children about for their own safety e.g.

• not to get in a car with anyone (NOT just someone they don’t know) unless their parent/guardian knows who/where/when etc and has given permission

• not leaving school with someone other than who they were expecting unless their parent/guardian knows who/ where/when etc and has given permission and they have checked with a school staff member. Sometimes a password system is used so that children are only released into the care of an adult who can give the correct password – this is usually changed as soon as it has been used once

• not to walk off with anyone (NOT just someone they don’t know) unless their parent/guardian knows who/where/when etc and has given permission

• If someone tries to grab them it is ok to break all the rules of politeness to others e.g. scream, kick, punch, bite…etc. Whatever they need to do to draw attention to themselves and alert others to the fact they are in danger.

Please reinforce these safety messages to the children regularly without giving them the idea that ALL strangers are ‘bad’.

We would reiterate to keep younger siblings closely by your side at drop off and pick up.  

We will be running a competition organised by the Royal Mail over the next couple of weeks before half term.

In the competition pupils have the chance to design a stamp honouring 'Heroes' from times during the pandemic. As well as have the winning entries made into actual stamps, entrants and schools can win cash prizes.

Teachers will go through the rules of the competition with the children in class but they may bring their designs home for completion.

An overview of the rules plus terms and conditions can be found here; we will be entering the 4–11 year old section. 

All entries must be in school on Tuesday 25 May in order to be posted for the Friday deadline.

Good Luck to everyone.

Princethorpe PTA are holding their Summer Fête on Sunday 27 June 2021.

The fête will take place in the Orchard between 2.00pm and 4.30pm and promises to be an afternoon of traditional summer fun. 

The Fête always offers visitors a lovely selection of stalls, and Princethorpe's PTA have asked that if anyone would be interested in having a stall then could they please email the PTA at stalls@princethorpe.co.uk. 

On Tuesday 25 May, Class 4M are invited to come into school dressed as WW2 evacuees. The children will be experiencing a range of activities during their World War 2 afternoon and wearing authentic dress will all add to the experience. 

Any questions please contact me on amandayates@crescentschool.co.uk.

Thursday 27 May 2021 - 5.00pm to 7.30pm

Please share news of our Open Evening for prospective pupils.

Prospective pupils and their parents are warmly invited to Crescent School's Open Evening on Thursday 27 May from 5.00pm - 7.30pm.

On arrival families will be greeted by the Head Boy and Head Girl before taking a tour of the school. Our Open Evening will give prospective families an insight into life at Crescent and the opportunity to ask our Senior Leadership Team any questions that they might have. 

In order to adhere to government guidelines, the evening will be by appointment only. A maximum of two family members will be able to attend with the prospective pupil/s.

To register your interest please click here

For more information or to talk to our Admissions Team, please contact our Registrar Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 523851 or by email admissions@crescentschool.co.uk.

Thursday 27 and Friday 28 May 2021

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

The timetable will be circulated when available.

Friday 28 May 2021

Wonders of the World Day on Friday 28 May is an off-timetable day where the children will explore and experience some of the continents of the World, immersing themselves in a range of cultural experiences to broaden their understanding of the world around them within their lessons.

Even the kitchen have got involved and created a menu with meals from around the world for the whole week!

This is non-uniform day too and it would be great if children could wear any traditional dress from different countries that you may have at home if they are happy and comfortable to do so. It would be a lovely way for us to share and show our cultural heritage.

Friday 28 May 2021

We will be holding a non-uniform day on Friday 28 May with all proceeds going to this term's chosen charity, Bwengu Projects. 

Please send a £1 donation with your child to be given to the House Captains who will be collecting at the Pupil Entrance at drop off.

Thank you.

Mrs Monteith and Mrs Stapleton
Class 3S and 4M Form Teachers

Saturday 29 May – Sunday 30 May 2021

The National Schools and Riding Club Two Day Event will be taking place at the end of this month on the magnificent Princethorpe estate. The competition is open to any school or Riding Club riders and is always well-attended.

Show Jumping and Dressage take place on the Saturday with Roads and Tracks, Steeplechase and Cross Country on the Sunday.

With the easing of restrictions, spectators are most welcome to watch the event and we do hope you can come along to cheer on the Princethorpe team and enjoy a wonderful weekend of equestrian sportmanship.

More information can be found in the news and events section of the College website here.

Monday 14 June 2021 - 0900 - 1200

Class photos will be taken on Monday 14 June 2021.  Please ensure children are wearing the correct summer uniform with blazers.

Crescent School

Tuesday 15 June 2021 - 10.00am - 11.45am

We are all very much looking forward to our Sports Day for Years 3-6 on Tuesday 15 June. This is being held within the school day so normal drop off and collection times from school apply.

Please note that all pupils are to wear PE kit to school, blazers are not required but tracksuit tops or hoodies are to be worn. Please ensure that your child(ren) comes to school with the following:

• suncream, applied before school
• a 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.

More details regarding spectators will be provided in due course when further Covid restrictions are released.

Friday 18 June 2021 - 9.00am to 5.15pm

Music exams are scheduled for Friday 18 June 2021.  

Music Exams will be held on Friday 18 June 2021 between 9.00am and 5.15pm. The timetable will be circulated to the parents of children involved in due course.

Mrs Barnes
Director of Music

Friday 25 June 2021 - 10.15am - 11.45am

We are all very much looking forward to our Sports Day for Pre-Prep on Friday 25 June. This is being held within the school day so normal drop off and collection times from school apply.

Please note that all pupils are to wear PE kit to school, blazers are not required but tracksuit tops or hoodies are to be worn. Please ensure that your child(ren) comes to school with the following:

• sun cream, applied before school
• a 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.

More details regarding spectators will be provided in due course when further Covid restrictions are released.

This week we need to say well done to these JdV students:

• Charlotte C for Maths
• Katherine for Maths
• Alex T for English
• Harriet M and Freya for Geography

Congratulations to you all.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

I am so thrilled with the way so many of the children are engaging with their reading, how fabulous to be able to celebrate them week after week. This week we have the following awards:

1,000,000 words:

• Edward G-H

500,000 words:

• Darius

An amazing achievement!

Top Quizzers this week are:

• 3Y   Leela
• 4M  Annalise
• 5F   Liana
• 6W  Orla

Word Wizards this week are:

• 3Y  Hattie
• 4M Libby
• 5F  Eva
• 6W Alyssa

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

• Albert
• Alex
• Charlotte
• Flora
• Hermione
• Isabella
• Sophie

Well done to you all.

This week's Good Friend Playground Conduct certificate have been awarded to:

• Shiv for helping in the playground and for being honest and polite in the play zone
• George C for helping another class pupil into the building when it was raining

Well done!

Lunchtime Supervisors

Winners of the class battle:

Well done Class 4M!

• 1st place - Class 4M with 14,200 points
• 2nd place - Class 3Y with 13,526 points
• 3rd place - Class 1S with   1,306 points

The players contributing the most points to their class were:

• 1st - Bryson (4M)
• 2nd - Shiv (3Y)
• 3rd - Alex G (3Y)

Class 1S worked collaboratively this week in PSHE when thinking about all the people we have around us to help us every day. They chose the best people for different scenarios they might need some help with, and matched them as a group. We all realised how lucky we are to have so many people in our lives that care enough to help. 

Class 2W children were thrilled that we have now been allowed to move tables into groups of four rather than metre distanced.  This has really enabled us to further increase our collaborative learning. 

Here the children are working in pairs to scrutinise our 'Quest' story and together to find deeper meaning comprehension answers in the text.

The children have worked really hard this week on their end of year assessments, the results will be shared in their final reports.

We have celebrated by pushing our tables together to work in groups, now that the guidelines allow. This has created lots of excitement and it's lovely to see the collaborative classroom working again.  

Class 3Y are studying the issues surrounding the endangerment of animals and the role that humans play in this for different reasons. In class they were shown a film of Madagascar where the lemurs are reduced in numbers by deforestation destroying their habitats. The other side of the argument is that the growing, poverty-stricken population needs to clear the trees to build cheap housing and use the space to grow rice just to feed their families.

The children had to write their opinions on post it notes which were discussed. The vote at the end of the debate was split as we understood that the animals needed to be protected, but humans need to survive too no matter what the cost.

What do you think?

The Outdoor Learning Club participants were delighted to find a gift from the resident fairy. She (or he?) left two balls of green strings and the girls made some swings, zip wires and other playground games for the fairy. We also found more evidence of the fairy living there in the shape of a fairy parasol (a tiny mushroom) and fairy friends (a lady bird).

This week’s promise is in the category of Good Learners and focuses on the theme of listening.

This is such a key attribute for learning. A pupil who really listens actively, takes on advice and feedback and takes action on what they have heard, it genuinely does demonstrate the learner profile that makes such a difference in the classroom.

‘We listen and don’t interrupt’

It would be great if you could discuss this with your children at home and support the messages from our School Promise.

Mr Webb
Assistant Head

Please tune in to episode 5 of the Crescent School Podcast, once again written, recorded and produced by Mr Adkins’ amazing team of Year 6 vloggers and podcasters!

The thunder and rain was not going to stop the Year 5 and 6 girls from taking on Crackley Hall in their netball matches this week. 

U11A Team went out fast and hard in a very evenly matched game which saw the 1st quarter ending in a 2-2 draw.  

Hattie and Asha took control of the pace of the game in the 2nd quarter slowing it down, leading to some wonderful passing and more shooting opportunities for Emme and Sahana, who capitalised on every chance to take them in to the half time 5-3 up.

Wonderful defensive play from Ella, Amy and Alyssa, who began to read Crackley game well and started to block the balls coming in to Crackley shooters, meant that Crackley only managed to get 1 more goal in the game.  A fabulous game resulting in a  8-4 Win. 

• Player of the game - Hattie
• Coaches player - Alyssa 

The U11B team played fantastically too with some great shooting from Eden and Bella and wonderful attacking play from Ayla and Ameila.  Caitlyn was reading the ball well,  blocking and intercepting lots of passes as Crackley moved the ball in to their attacking third.  Isla and Orla worked hard in the circle to try and stop the shooters, making some great rebounds .  A fantastic all-round effort and impressive performance helped by team manager Michael. Final score was 7-3 Crackley. 

The U10A Team made fantastic progress with their game. After a 5-0 loss in the first quarter the team settled and got in to their stride playing their own game, recognising that the height of Crackley players meant that had to get around and in front of them to receive the ball. Moving forward to meet the ball and waiting until the pass was on, showing fabulous footwork and strong passing all led to more opportunities in our shooting circle for Stephanie and Chloe, which Chloe was able to score from. Half time score 7-1.  Sophie and Eva worked extremely hard for the next half of the game, with Eva intercepting the ball before the circle and Sophie blocking the high over-head passes coming in. Quick play through the centre of the court from Evie, Katherine and Charlotte feeding the ball in to Stephanie and Chloe, but unfortunately, they were not able to turn this in to goals on this occasion. Final score 10-1 Crackley.  

• Player of the game - Eva
• Coaches player - Sophie  

The 10B girls came up against a very good Crackley team. They fought valiantly but were unable to stop Crackley’s attacks, which their goal shooter managed to capitalise on. Solid work rate from all the girls in their first match for quite some time.

• Player of the game - Sophia 
• Coach’s player - Abigail 

Mrs McCollin and Mrs Robinson

Monday 21 June 2021 - 8pm

Our next FoC meeting takes place on Monday 21 June.  This will take place via Zoom, please come along and join us for this meeting where we will be discussing events for the term.

Log-in details will be sent out nearer the time. 

We have arranged for Bag2school (www.bag2school.com) to do a school collection on Tuesday 22 June 2021. 

Bag2school is a fundraising scheme which collects unwanted textiles and sells them to importers and textile manufacturers in many countries of Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and Asia - all of benefit to the circular economy. 

This is an excellent way to get rid of all the unwanted clothing etc you have been collecting during lockdowns!  After collecting the items they will weigh them and present FoC with a cheque.

A list of the items they will collect can be found here.

Weather permitting, the playground will be open to drive your vehicle in and unload any clothing bags from 3pm - 5pm on Monday 21 June.

Friends of Crescent

We will happily accept any of the following Crescent pre-loved uniform:

• School Blazers
• School Coats
• School Cardigans and Jumpers
• School Dresses (winter and summer) and Skirts
• School T-Shirts/Polo Shirts/PE Shorts/Skorts
• School Boaters
• School Bags
• School Tracksuits

Please do not include anything not on the list above e.g trousers, shirts etc. 

Uniform should be put into carrier bags and left by the box outside the main school entrance.  It will then be removed and kept in quarantine ready to be used when safe to do so.

Preloaded uniform enquiries can be made by emailing Vicky on the link below:

Preloved Uniform

Below are the details of the FoC Year Group Representatives. These reps will communicate with you on all our events via email, whatsapp or facebook. 

Mr Moore the School Chef has created a menu to fit in with our Wonder of The World Day next Friday.  Each lunch next week is from a different country.  

Click below to view the lunch menu for next week: 

Lunch Menu - 24 May 2021 

Please note children are able to choose either of the two main lunch options.  

Olive Catering

Please see below for useful school contact information:

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

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:

• Health and Safety Manager - Princethorpe College
• IT Infrastructure Engineer - Princethorpe College
• Early Years Assistant - Crackley Hall School
• Summer Estates Assistants - Princethorpe College

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.

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. You can protect yourselves by only making payments to us in line with our normal, published methods. Any email offering a large discount on fees for the coming academic year if paid immediately is fraudulent.

There has been no change to the bank details of 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

Please note due to Covid restrictions at present, parents are unable to spectate at school sports fixtures.  We will issue further information in due course.

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.

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 10 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.