The Courier

Dear Parents

I hope this edition of the Courier finds you all well and that you have enjoyed as productive a week at work and home as we have here at school.

The highlight for us has to be the Upper School sports day over at Princethorpe College on Tuesday morning, which went very smoothly and was much enjoyed by everyone. It was an enormous relief not to have to worry about potential bad weather as so often occurs at these events. It meant we could relax and enjoy watching the children compete, which they did with great verve, energy and genuine sportsmanship. It was a great shame that parents weren’t able to join us, but I can tell you without any hesitation that you would have been enormously proud of every single one of them.

Another special event this week has been the Reception Butterfly Day and it has been wonderful to see all the lovely costumes the children have been wearing. I have been sharing with the children their awe and wonder as the classroom butterflies have emerged from their cocoons over the last week or so and I know that events like this really live long in the memory for young children.

ABRSM exams have been going on throughout the last two days and these provide a wonderful focus for the children’s musical learning and we are particularly proud this time round to have so many taking exams and many at really advanced grades. Music continues to go from strength to strength here and we look forward very much to getting into the new Horton Centre next year and recommencing both choir and orchestra, soon as a restrictions on mixing groups allow it.

I wrote to you earlier today with details of all of the upcoming events for the remainder of the term and our plan is to meet these in a Covid-safe way. Please do make sure you digest the contents of that letter and I will be writing to groups of parents within the school with further details as required as each of the events comes onto the immediate horizon. I hope this letter gives you clarity on the broad approach and enables you to make your plans accordingly.

I hope you all enjoy a peaceful weekend with your families.

Best wishes

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Earlier in the week I had the great pleasure of announcing to the school our new head boy and head girl for the next academic year, 2021 to 2022.

The children who wished to be considered for the post all had to write application letters to me which were considered very carefully and also looked at by other members of staff. This was followed up by an indicative vote by the children in the class and discussions with the form teachers of Year 5 and 6. It was really so hard to decide but in the end two outstanding candidates emerged.

• Head Boy - Rohan Somerset
• Head Girl - Evie Bierton

Many congratulations to them and also much praise for all of the other children who bravely put themselves forward and were so quick to congratulate Rohan and Evie when the announcement was made.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday evening regarding the continuation of current COVID restrictions until Monday 19 July, we have thoroughly reviewed all the events and activities in our calendar between now and the end of term.

With coronavirus cases linked to the new Delta variant significantly on the rise in the local area, we are conscious of the need to follow all government advice and guidance and for us to continue to maintain the safest possible environment in school for our pupils.

If parents or visitors were to come into school, and we hadn't put in place the required social distancing, we would not only significantly raise the risk of Covid transmission but also bring into play the risk of track and trace and the potential requirement for self-isolation, with holidays looming for many.

A number of our calendar events, as you will be aware, were realistically only going to be possible with restrictions lifted. On the photo attached to this article I have summarized the main calendar events and their status and some extra detail. Please note, these are still very much subject to change as guidance and transmission data continue to evolve.

I will be writing to specific groups of parents with more detailed arrangements in due course.

Whilst I realise that any changes will cause either inconvenience or disappointment, I hope that you understand the many constraints we are working with and our number one goal of keeping all members of the community as safe as possible: pupils, staff and parents.

In spite of the challenges over the course of this academic year, we have done so well and want to finish on a positive note, safe in the knowledge that our families and staff will be able to get away and enjoy their well-deserved summer holidays without the risk of self-isolation or, worse still, illness due to carelessness on our part.

With all best wishes and many thanks for your support throughout the year.

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 - 21 June 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

Many thanks to Charlie in Year 4 who played a lovely calming version of ‘Sur le Pont d'Avignon’ on his guitar in assembly this morning.

Thank you Charlie. 

Next Friday will be pupils' final meeting with their learning mentor for the academic year. Pupils will show how they have been working on their personal targets that they chose back in September. Please ask them how their review went as they will be rewarded with fancy new stickers to show the targets they have acheived. 

This initiative is to give responsibility for their learning to our children from Year 1 to Year 6. Staff will not be telling pupils if they feel they have achieved targets, but will only guide pupils through their books, feedback and comments enabling the children to decide if they have.  We are pleased to give the children this empowerment and responsibility to strive to achieve their own set goals.

We love books at Crescent School and we are happy to share them and allow them home during the year.

It is now time to look under beds, check bookshelves and bags and all those places, to see if you have any Crescent School books lurking. Please return them, either with your child or put in the box outside school. I am sure you understand replacing all the missing books does eat into the library budget and we want to use that on lovely new books instead.

I look forward to receiving them.

It is so lovely to see Parents making use of St Mark's Church car park and walking their children to and from school.

Not only does this help with the congestion outside the school, it is also a lovely way to start and finish the day.

Thank you to Mrs O'Connell for this photo.

Crescent School

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.

Special arrangements will be in place to enhance Covid security.  We will only be able to invite one adult per family who will sit in the Year group galleries.  Further details will follow early next week and parents will be asked to nominate their chosen adult.

Monday 28 June 2021 - Friday 2 July 2021

Class 6W will soon be leaving us and we know it is important for the children to make memories and learn about the community we live in.

During the week starting Monday 28 June, we will be visiting Draycote Water where we will litter pick and appreciate the nature around us; learn to work as a team and some bushcraft from Mr Stapleton; have webinar with Parliament and even gain vital skills about First Aid online.

It will be a great week.

Tuesday 29 June

Class 6W will soon receive invitations to see the Premiere of their own film Talk About A Murder written and directed by our own drama impresario Miss Thompson. The premiere will be taking place on Tuesday 29 June. WE are sure they will all enjoy the opportunity to walk along the red carpet in their glad rags.

We are hoping to involve parents, we will send out further details when we know.

Summer concerts are a lovely time for the children to share the work they are doing in their lessons. We are aware of Covid restrictions so once again performances will be recorded and shared with the Crescent School Community. That way everyone feels part of what we do and can see the great work the children have been doing. These will be shared with you during the week of Monday 5 July 2021. 

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Another good week for JdV awards, well done to:

• Amelia, Alfie and Albert T for Maths
• Katherine and Grace S for English.
• Alyssa, Ayla, Isaac, Isla, Josh and Orla in RE
• Shaylan in Science and DT

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:

4,000,000 words:

• Alex G

2,000,000 words:

• Alex T and Sofie

500,000 words:

• Esme

Amazing achievements all round.

Top Quizzers this week are:

• 3Y   Darius 
• 4M  Alex
• 5F   Liana
• 6W  Sahana

Word Wizards this week are:

• 3Y  Harry
• 4M Tegan
• 5F  Aryan 
• 6W Hattie

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

• Anaya
• Akaal
• David
• Evelyn
• Evie
• Fred
• Harry
• Katie
• Samuel
• Taran

Well done to you all.

Winners of the class battle:

Well done Class 4M!

• 1st place - Class 4M with 2,271 points
• 2nd place - Class 3Y with 1,189 points
• 3rd place - Class 5F with    740 points

The players contributing the most points to their class were:

• 1st - Bryson (4M)
• 2nd - Eva (5F)
• 3rd - Edward F (3Y)

This week's Good Friend Playground Conduct certificate has been awarded to Annalise.

Well done!

Lunchtime Supervisors

Please click on the link below to read all about what the Reception Classes have been learning this week.  Please scroll through the gallery of photos attached to this article.

Reception Round Up - 18 June 2021 

Our marvellous Reception pupils metamorphosed into the most amazing butterflies today just in time for Reception Butterfly day.

The children have been exploring the topic of ‘Growing and Changing’ and have studied the lifecycle of butterflies. Everyone has enjoyed the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, had fun making tasty butterfly cakes, learned a super butterfly song and created the most amazing butterfly life-cycle art. 

Today we virtually toured a Butterfly Farm, performed a beautiful butterfly dance, had a grand butterfly parade, got to hold a butterfly in our hands and then released all our lovely butterflies into the flowers at the front of the school.

So much fun and such lovely learning. Well done Reception you are all now brilliant lepidopterists!

Class 1S held their own football tournament last Friday to recognise the Euros. Each table group played in a round robin competition, and it was very close between the Clever Clogs and the Bright Sparks.

Once the points were added up, the Bright Sparks just pipped the Clever Clogs to win the trophy for their table group. Special recognition certificates were awarded for fantastic team players of Isabella, Alfie, and Harry.

Well done to all of Year 1 for a fantastic fun morning!

Mrs Fisher invited Year 1 to the school hall so she could demonstrate what is involved in playing a brass instrument. It was a chance for them to see if they would be interested in taking up the cornet. She has been running Mini Brass Club for Year 2s for a few years now and it is a great introduction to future musical opportunities in the school. Here you can see some of the children playing the' hoseaphone' which simulates the cornet's tube and the children all managed to play along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! 

You will be able to sign your child up for Mini Brass when the Co-Curricular Information for next term is released in the Summer holidays.

Class 2W children have been applying their understanding of words to create their own game with cut out word cards.  There were no initial rules so they had to look at the words and be ingenious in working out a learning game they could play from the given objective. 

Homophones snap was a popular idea!

As Class 6W come to the end of the year, they are learning a few new skills to use at secondary school in maths. They were refreshing accurate geometry skills with protractors and rulers and then moved on to see what effects they could produce with a pair of compasses.

The children in Outdoor Learning Club made their own pictures of fairies. We used only natural materials to make different colours and add various textures.

Amazing results!

For a two or three week period this year we will be focusing on one of the sayings in the 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.

From now until the end of term we will be looking at a very important idea from the Good Citizens section of the Promise:

"We keep our school tidy and take pride in our clothes and our uniform."

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

If you are often finding your child at a loose end (too wet/hot/cold etc. to go out) and you are looking for something fun, engaging and educational for them to do, then Math Prodigy could be just what you are looking for it. Math Prodigy is a very safe online game, played through a website, so it can be accessed from any computer, tablet or phone without downloads. You don’t need an email address to sign up, and although other players do pop up occasionally in the game, there is no chat function, so no risk of stranger danger. There is free version and a paid for one, but in my opinion the free one has more than enough to do, just ignore the occasional pop up asking you to upgrade.

The game is essentially a shameless rip-off of the original Pokemon game that was released on Gameboy in the late 90s, where you move your character around a map, ‘battling’ monsters by answering increasingly harder maths questions. Although originally made in the US (thus the ‘Math’ not maths) the questions are well linked to the UK curriculum (several country options) and age appropriate. It can also be a real nostalgia trip for anyone who played the original!

Just click on the link or head to the website, then click ‘play the game’ top right, then ‘sign up’ to create a free account. Make a note of the username it generates, then you are free to log back in whenever you want to. From there, click ‘no class code’, and select UK and the correct age. Whenever prompted, always select the playing at school rather than playing at home option, as this generates less adverts to convince you to upgrade your account.

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/

If you have any questions about the game, please feel free to get in touch!

Year 3 played their first ever rounders games against Crackley Hall and did an excellent job!

Lots of good communication and learning on the job meant that they very quickly got into their stride.

In the first game the team narrowly lost by only 1½ rounders and the second by 2½ rounders to two strong Crackley teams.

Excellent work by bowler Sofie, and Maisie as back-stop, meant that the team really started to work well in the field and understand how to stop the opposition scoring.

Remi worked really well on 4th base to stop the whole rounders, and Roisin managed to out manoeuvre several Crackley players to get them out at 3rd.

The batting came together well with most players hitting the ball successfully and excellent running around the bases by Maggie pushed the score up.

A fantastic learning experience and a fabulous start for this team.

• Batter of the game - Sofie
• Fielders of the game - Maisie and Roisin

Everyone played very well, with good bowling and magnificent batting.  The first pair of batters were Alex T and Harry.  Both got at least one chance to hit the ball. 

With an entertaining 3 overs, Crescent were on a roll with only 1 wicket.  Over after over Crescent were getting better and better only making it harder to get more wickets.  As soon as the Edwards were batting we really showed Crackley who we were.

Edward G-H with absolutely stunning batting scored 2 or 3 sixes and Edward F with his positive attitude was brilliant at listening to when he should run.

We did very well when we were bowling and got 5-7 wickets with a couple of appeals. 

Crescent won the game after a stunning performance.

• Batsman of the Match - Edward G-H

Wow, what an impressive first outing for Year 4 cricket team on a lovely sunny day! All players put in a brilliant effort, running well between the wickets and trying really hard with their bowling. Every pair put runs on the board and they only lost 1 wicket!

So after the first innings Crescent had scored an impressive 278 runs. With this total to defend they ran hard in the field to prevent boundaries and restricted Crackley's score to 236. A fabulous effort by all the children involved and I was especially impressed because most of the team had never played in a match before.

Well done all. 

The excitement of the Year 4s was palpable as this was their first game of rounders ever and they were so excited and nervous all at the same time.  They played tremendously well growing in confidence with every ball and making amazing progress within the games. 

Taking on Crackley A team first we were put into bat.  A cautious and steady start but then we started to watch the ball more intently and move quicker around the bases watching for any overthrows and misfields. 

Scoring 2 rounders we headed into field.  Mya and Alex bowling, doing a fabulous job mixing up the bowls from fast, spin and donkey drops making it tricky for the Crackley girls to hit, keeping them to 2 rounders too and a draw overall. 

The second game saw us take on the Crackley Hall B Team and we were on fire after the first game, the progress was incredible, movement was quicker, decision making was quicker, throws to bases were accurate and we did a great job keeping Crackley to 1 1/2.  We then stepped in to bat and with Alex making some huge hits and some savvy running from Chloe we managed to score 2 1/2 to beat the Crackley B team.  Fabulous job  

• Batter of the game - Alex M
• Fielder of the game  - Esme

Fantastic progress made by the U10 Rounders team in their first match rounders match. 

Having lost the toss we started off in bat, it was a steady and cautious start, making sure to not run each other out. Then with the last 10 balls to go they started to push a bit more scoring 5 1/2 rounders in total. 

Into field we went with fantastic bowling by Evie, accurate long throws from Eva and Katherine to the solid hands on Chloe on 4th base, Crackley were having to work hard.  They did however have some big hitters and movement was made in our fielding positions to try and minimise scoring opportunities.  Lovely covering and backing up from Charlotte and Harriet  to support bases.  

Fast hands on first base by Liana saw 2 of Crackley players run out in the first innings but with 10 balls left Crackley went all out taking and capitalising on lots of risky chances.  Back in to bat for a shorter 2nd innings we needed to change tactics and not play quite so cautiously, however Crackley fielded well and the big hits from Eva and Sophie were caught out in deep field, we managed an overall total of 8.  Back into field to try and stop Crackley from scoring the 1 1/2 rounder's they needed for the win.  We did a sterling job, with great hands from Eva and Stephanie on 2nd Base and Liana on 1st  taking a stumping out of a number of players, however with only one ball per player Crackley really went for it pulling out some huge hits to take the win 11-8.  

• Fielder of the Game - Evie
• Batter of the Game - Eva 

Year 6 returned to rounders after a long break from the sport and although they lost the first game by several rounders they turned it around for the second game with a switch in several positions and more tactical awareness.

Great work in the field meant the Crescent girls contained Crackley well with excellent bowling by Hattie. Fantastic work at 2nd base and 4th base by Amy and Emme, and Esther had an excellent game as back stop in her first fixture for Crescent School.

Overall two very competitive games, the girls showing great reaction speed, bowling and batting

• Batter of the game Emme
• Fielder of the game Amy 

Key Stage 2 Sports Day took place on Tuesday 15 June on Princethorpe College’s beautiful playing fields. Sports Day is always an exciting affair for the Crescent School and race after race, event after event our outstanding young athletes didn’t disappoint as they leapt, threw and sprinted to make this year’s Sports Day another super success.

Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6 competed separately in sprints, a middle distance 600m run, the Long Jump, High Jump, a Throwing Challenge and the Relay Race.  All of the events were hotly contested and as always there were some smashing new school records. They included:

Girls Year 5/6 Long Jump - Caitlyn S - 3.22m – St David's House
Girls Year 5/6 High Jump - Emme E - 1.15m - St David's House
Girls Year 5/6 Rounders Ball Throw - Amy R - 35.6m - St David’s House

With some new distances this year we also had some new first-time records including:

Girls Year 3/4 600m - Ellie G - 2.30.94 minutes
Boys Year 3/4 600m - Sam Mc - 2.25.05 minutes
Girls Year 5/6 600m - Evie B - 2.19.16 minutes
Boys Year 5/6 600m - Joshua O - 2.17.17 minutes

At the Crescent, Sports Day isn’t just about the competition, it is all about the participation. On the day every child took part and, most importantly, every child had fun.  As is always the case the children’s behaviour was impeccable, they offered support and encouragement to each other and congratulated and commiserated with good heart.

At the end of a very busy morning, Mr Thackway was delighted to announce the House results and present the trophies.

Years 3 and 4 Overall – St David’s House
Years 5 and 6 Overall - St George's House

A big thank you to all of the staff involved in organising and running the event both from the Crescent and from the Princethorpe Foundation.

We hope you enjoy the photos.

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, the day before the collection.

Friends of Crescent

This term children had the opportunity to draw a self-portrait of themselves which has been added to a whole school tea towel/tote bag. These make great presents or keep sakes of their time at Crescent.

The Tea Towel (in Crescent green) is in high quality 100% cotton measuring 79 x 47cm and costing £6.00.

The Big Shopper Tote Bag is a reusable, hardwearing, fabric bag. Ideal for groceries, storage and recycling measuring size 44 x 40cm and costing £7.50.

We are on a very short deadline and all orders and payment (details below) need to be in by 12pm on Monday 21 June 2021.

To order please complete this form:

FoC Tea Towel - Tote Order Form

Payment Details:
Friends of Crescent
30-97-17
01174774

Why not buy an extra one, it could be the perfect house warming present in years to come!

Nick Brosnan
FoC Chair

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. 

Please click below to view the lunch menu: 

Crescent menu - 21 June 2021 

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

Olive Catering

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

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

• Lunchtime Supervisor - Crescent School
• Teaching Assistant - KS2 maternity cover - Crackley Hall
• Teaching Assistant - Crackley Hall - EYFS - Reception - Crackley Hall
• Early Years Assistant - Little Crackers
• Estates Assistant - 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.

Warwickshire County Council is continuting to ask parents and carers to continue to play their part and do the right thing for Warwickshire by wearing face-coverings at the school gates and when entering education settings and by social distancing, wherever it is possible to do so.

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.