The Courier

Dear Parents

It has been delightful to welcome the children back to school after the Easter break. They have come back with a collective smile and it has been great to see them all enjoying their week back in school. 

We talked in assembly on Monday about all of the opportunities that lie in store for us over the coming weeks and how important it is to make the most of them when they come along. You will all have received your hard copy of the school calendar which is such an important document for organising the school term and for also enabling you to organise your own family’s time. With sports days, summer fete, residential trips, concerts and plays, community week, trips to zoos and farms to name but a few highlights of all that lies ahead of us, it certainly promises to be an exciting term. I also ventured to offer a little advice around being respectful of others, being responsible, working as a team and having fun in the right way.

On that theme, at lunch today I posed the question to the children at my table what they would do if they were headmaster for the day. I was expecting them to come up with ideas like free doughnuts for everyone and non-stop play time, but instead they said they would make sure children didn't run in the corridor and always said please and thank you at the dinner counter. I like to imagine that some of my messages are getting through.

I do hope we get to see each other personally over the coming weeks. Next week I will be going along to visit the Year 3, 4 and 5 children at their residential centres, which is always fun, and plays such a valuable part in the holistic approach to education that we have here. Good luck to all those staff and children who are going on these trips next week.

I hope you all enjoy the bank holiday weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday 3 May.

Best wishes

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Weekly Calendar

Please click on the link below for next week's calendar.  Listed on the calendar are the clubs that are not running next week.

Weekly Calendar - 3 May 2022

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

Please click on the link below to view the Music Lesson timetable, parents of children having lessons will be emailed the password:

Music Lessons 2 May 2022

Please note there will be no co-curricular clubs running on the afternoon of the Friday 20 May. The school summer fete is on that afternoon and so many of the spaces we use will be busy.

I am sure many children will want to be involved visiting all the exciting stalls with their parents. Clubs that do need additional time will be catered for in the final week of term - this will be communicated by the provider and SOCS updated accordingly. 

Any children who are booked into After School will not be able to attend the fete due to staffing ratios and ensuring the safety of your children.

Sunday May 1 this year marks the end of Ramadan and the celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr will begin for all Muslim communities here and around the world.

We talked about this in our assembly this morning and we would like to send everyone who is celebrating this on Monday our very best wishes, we hope you enjoy a wonderful family occasion. 

Congratulations to all of our Year 6 pupils who have had their secondary school places confirmed. This year’s pupils will be moving on to a wide range of outstanding local independent and state schools including the Foundation senior school, Princethorpe College.

Over 50% of children who took the 11+ assessments gained the qualifying score and six pupils have chosen the local grammar schools, Lawrence Sherriff and Rugby High School, as their future destinations. 14 of the 24-strong class will be moving on to Princethorpe.

We also have pupils going on to a selection of other schools including; Kingsley, Bablake & King Henry VIII and Rugby Free. We are especially delighted that a number of Year 6 pupils have also been awarded scholarships, including all-rounder, academic, music and sports scholarships.

Sarah Webb, Assistant Head and Year 6 Teacher, said, “Our aim is always to do our best to help our pupils reach the destination secondary school of their choice. Despite the challenges of the last two years the children have enjoyed great success. We are particularly pleased with the range of scholarships offers they have received. It’s an excellent outcome and everyone here is really delighted for them.”

Congratulations to all the children for their achievements – Crescent School is really proud of them.

Crescent School has a new Instagram account set up to share all that goes on, day in day out, in our super school. We will be posting regularly to keep you up to date with school news and school life, and to share all the wonderful activities and amazing work our fantastic pupils do.

So why not follow us to find out more about our school. You can find our new Instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/crescentschoolrugby/

The school also has a Facebook page and Twitter account so however you engage with social media you can stay in touch with our school. You can find them here:

https://www.facebook.com/cres.school

https://twitter.com/CrescentSchRug

During week beginning Monday 9 May we will be having a whole school focus on Sun care.  This will involve Year 6 leading an informative assembly followed by age appropriate in class activities which will be fun and enhance all children's understanding of how to stay safe in the sun throughout their lives. 

We hope that this will further result in us being awarded Sun Safe school accreditation and would ask that you support children's understanding at home with conversations and actions to reinforce the learning.

Classes 1 to 6 took part in a national poster competition all about 'Growth' as part of British Science Week in March. As a school we could only submit 5 entries from all the year groups and the following posters were selected for being creative, informative and with clear communication. We will receive notification in May if any of our stunning entries have been shortlisted. 

These posters plus runners up will be displayed in school and you will be able to see the high standard achieved by pupils in the next Open Corridors event.   

• Year 1 Penelope - Infant Entry
• Year 2 Kiran - Infant Entry
• Year 4 Shayla - Junior Entry
• Year 5 Tegan - Junior Entry 
• Year 6 Stephanie - Junior Entry 

With your child approaching the end of Year 4 many parents will be starting to think in earnest about senior school options for their son or daughter. This is a very good time to begin researching schools and booking onto open events. Once you have visited you will soon know if the school feels like the right fit for your child and if they would be happy there. This will also give you time to understand the admissions process thoroughly, deadlines for registering and requirements for scholarships etc.

Pupils at Crescent School may naturally already be more familiar with the College than other senior schools. Many have siblings at Princethorpe or have had the chance to visit over the years for performances, services in the Chapel or sporting events.

Together with Crescent we also put a special programme of activity together for Foundation Prep School pupils as the children move through Year 4 to Year 6, so that by the time they take their Entrance Exams in the November of Year 6 they feel relaxed and comfortable here. 

How to enquire for Princethorpe College 

Although your child attends a Foundation Prep School we do not assume an interest in the College until you express one, so if you would like to be added to our enquiry database please complete this short online form here. 

Once added to our database you will receive a prospectus pack (including the current Admissions and Entrance Exams booklet and a past English paper), invitations to upcoming Open Events and other opportunities to visit plus reminders about key admissions dates including the deadline for registrations, scholarships and bursaries. You will also automatically receive our Admissions Update e-newsletter, which is published twice a year, the latest edition of which can be viewed here.

A dedicated Year 5 Taster Day and Parents’ Information Session for interested Crescent families is also arranged for the Trinity Term.

The Princethorpe Admissions Process

Visit – We encourage all prospective families to visit us several times; there are a range of opportunities available including termly Open Events, the option to meet the Headmaster, Ed Hester and have a tour with our Sixth Formers and informal events such as our PTA Summer Fête and Motoring Festival or Christmas Fair.

Register - By the end of September in Year 6, please do so earlier if your child has a SEND so we can arrange an evaluation with our SEND Co-ordinator.

Sit - Entrance Exams for all candidates take place all day on a Saturday at the beginning of November and comprise English and Maths papers, an online test which covers Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning and a free writing paper.

Offer - Offer letters to successful candidates, including scholarships if appropriate, are sent out first class before the end of November.

Accept - You will have until the first week of March to accept your place, though of course you can accept and secure your place earlier if you would like to.

For more detailed information on the Admissions Process click here for our current Admissions and Entrance Exams Booklet.

Opportunities to visit Princethorpe this term

We are looking forward to welcoming Year 4 to Princethorpe for a special Music Technology Workshop on Thursday 12 May. The whole class will take part in a workshop led by our Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw and his colleague Alison Wakeley.

Equestrian Inter-Schools National Two-Day Event – Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May 2022. A spectacular event that takes place over the whole Princethorpe estate. Show Jumping and Dressage take place on the Saturday with Roads and Tracks, Steeplechase and Cross-Country on the Sunday. No need to book.

Summer Open Evening – Wednesday 8 June 2022 – 6.30pm to 8.30pm – an opportunity to tour the College, for children to take part in hands-on activities around the school and to hear an address by the Headmaster - booking required.

PTA Summer Fete, Motoring Festival and Art, Photography, Design and Textiles Show – Sunday 26 June 2022 – 2.00pm to 4.30pm – £2 per car entry – fun for all the family, no need to book.

The Princethorpe Inter-Schools' Dressage Competition – Sunday 3 July 2022. An ISA individual and team competition with a variety of classes and Princethorpe Inter- House competition.

Any questions

If you have any queries relating to the admissions process or the College we will be happy to answer them for you. A member of the team is available throughout the year from 8.30am to 5.30pm via email at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or by calling 01926 634201/262/297.

We look forward to getting to know you and your child.

Vanessa Rooney
Registrar

State School Secondary School Applications For Your Information

Warwickshire Admissions sends out secondary school packs in the May of Year 5, the deadline for registrations for grammar school applications is June and secondary school applications open in the September of Year 6 and close at the end of October. Offers are made in at the beginning of March, with a two-week acceptance deadline.

To help families new to the school, and as a reminder for all, here are some top tips for navigating the school's e-newsletter, The Courier, on your mobile phone.

Each edition of The Courier has a general overview message followed by an index list of the news, events and other information, split into categories, with clickable title links.

• Click the title link of the article or event you are interested in.
• From here you can scroll through all the articles in this category.
• To get back to the top of a category quickly, use the arrow in the bottom right corner of your screen. Click this and you will jump to the top of the page and see the category index.
• Select ‘NEWSLETTER INDEX’, to return you to the main newsletter index listing all the categories and articles.
• To move between different editions of The Courier use the dark green button with three white lines towards the top right of the newsletter. Click on the button and choose which edition of The Courier you would like to read.

The Courier is one of the school's main communication tools and is always a good first place to look for information and news.

Bookmarking https://courier.crescentschool.co.uk/ will allow you to get to the newsletter quickly.

Monday 9 May 2022 - 09.00am to 12.00pm

Class and group photos, including music groups, will be taken on Monday 9 May.  Please ensure children are wearing their summer uniform, have sports kit in school and any musical instruments.

Crescent School

Tuesday 10 May - 5.00pm to 7.00pm

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 Tuesday 10 May 2022 - 5.00pm to 7.00pm.

Come and find out why Crescent School has been judged Excellent in all areas by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. It's a great opportunity for prospective families to get a feel for the school and to meet, Mr Thackway, Headmaster.

We are already taking registrations for places in Reception and Year 3 starting in September 2023. It would be helpful for us to know as soon as possible if current Crescent families have a child who will be of Reception age then and if you are likely to be interested in a place for them.

To book your place 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

Availability for September 2022: 

We have had very high levels of interest in places for Reception and our Year 3 class for September 2022 entry. As a result, we have already allocated all of the available places in these year groups for September 2022. We are now operating waiting groups for families who are still interested in a place, should a suitable one become available.

We are currently operating waiting groups in most other years apart from our current Reception and Year 1 classes (Year 1 and 2 for September 2022 entry) as both these year groups each have two classes.

To find out more please click here.

Thursday 12 May

Our Year 4s will be travelling over to Princethorpe College on the afternoon of Thursday 12 May to take part in a special Music Technology Workshop.

Under the guidance of Princethorpe Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw and Music Teacher, Alison Wakeley, the children will be introduced to computer music production concepts such as sequencing and arrangement and will use special software to make their own composition, which they will be able to share with their families after the event.

It promises to be a fun and engaging session for them all.

Friday 13 May 2022 - 3.45pm to 4.15pm

We would very much like to welcome you to look around the school corridors on Friday 13 May.

The playground will be reserved 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.

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.

If your child is in After School, please follow the usual routine of phoning through and your child being brought to you.

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 16 May 2022 7.00pm - 8.00pm

Thank you to all families who responded to the questionnaire sent out in March.  The analysis of these responses has enabled us to tailor an information session for all parents which we hope will be informative as we all endeavour to support the children in safely navigating the complexities of the digital world. This session will be a face to face event in school from 7.00pm to 8.00pm.  All welcome - booking details to follow.

Wednesday 18 May 2022 - 9.00am - 10.00am

Year 6 will have a continental breakfast prepared for them by Mr Moore to celebrate the end of exam season and the confirmation of their secondary school places.

Wednesday 25 May 2022 or Thursday 26 May 2022

This is an opportunity to share your child's learning journey through Reception. Come and join us at one of the two available sessions. (1 parent/guardian per child)

We look forward to seeing you.

Tickets can be booked here:

Wednesday 25 May 2022

Thursday 26 May 2022

Wednesday 8 June 2022 - 6.30pm to 9.00pm

The College Summer Open Evening is a great opportunity for prospective families, for Year 7 to 10 September 2023 entry to look around the school and to meet members of staff and pupils. There will be two opportunities to hear from Ed Hester, Headmaster, 6.45pm or 7.30pm, allowing families to explore the College before and after. So, families do not miss out, we are encouraging visitors to book their place and time slot.

Click here to book your place.

If you have any questions please contact the Admissions Team on 01926 643201/262/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Its been a busy week already for achieving Junior da Vinci status.

• Charlotte, Dorrit and Stephanie in 6W for Latin
• Patrick in 3Y for English
• Stephanie in 6W, Tegan in 5F, Alex T and Shayla in 4M, Kiran in 2W and Penelope in 1LS  receive theirs for science

Congratulations to you all.

Mrs Symons
Junior da Vinci Lead

This week's Accelerated Reader awards go to: 

• 500,000 – Lewis and Edward F

• Millionaire – Matthew, Liana and Grace S

Congratulations to both of you.

This week's Accelerated Reader Superstars are:

Top Quizzers are:

• 3Y   Maya
• 4M  Alice
• 5F   Mya
• 6W  Dorrit

Word Wizards are:

• 3Y  Patrick
• 4M Hattie
• 5F  Yash
• 6W Grace 

Congratulations to the  pupils who achieved a 100% pass rate in last term's music exams. We were delighted to see all the awards.

Well done everyone for your hard work.

Garage and Gigs are the most important games to show your progress.

Pupils who have reached landmark % on automatic training mode in the Garage and Gigs and therefore are awarded JDVs for Maths Practice:

• Tomisin 2W completed 24%
• Lewis 3Y Completed 100%

Results for Easter Holiday battle - well done 2W:

• 1st place - Class 2W with 16,536 points
• 2nd place - Class 6W with 11,558 points
• 3rd place - Class 3Y with    9,026 points

 Most valuable players in the whole competition:

• 1st Kian 2W
• 2nd Eva 6W
• 3rd Tomisin 2W

Last week's most improved speedsters in Studio are:

New 'Battle' 28 Apri - 12 May 2022 through the Residentials. Please note only the children should play on their account or it influences the level appropriate to them.

Stay Calm and Rock On!!

As a school, we remain committed to the wellbeing and mental health of all children. This is daily supported and nourished by Form Tutors, initially, and in conjunction with our specialist timetable and rounded co-curricular provision. Alongside this we are now also excited to share with you that Mrs Collie and myself have undertaken training over the Easter holidays in a creative, storytelling intervention which can be used across our school community.

Drawing and Talking is a method of supporting children who may be finding day to day routines and expectations difficult due to a number of short term or long term reasons: from internal battles with their emotional resilience to external pressures which could affect their ability to learn and flourish. Group work and individual sessions will be offered to students and families who have been identified by staff, and in partnership with parents, to help process emotions through a safe and engaging environment. If you are interested in finding out more about Drawing and Talking, check out their website at:

https://drawingandtalking.com

Please click on the link below to read all about what the Reception classes have been learning this week. 

Reception Round Up - 29 April 2022 

This week 1LS learnt about simple fractions. We enjoyed using pizzas, cutting them into halves and quarters. It was great fun to eat them afterwards!!

Class 1SS have been practising counting in 5s in different ways to consolidate their understanding of place value and applying their knowledge by using money in our class shop. They also grouped beads into 5s before counting them onto their very own bracelets - what great learners they have been this week! 

This week, Classes 3Y and 1LS became reading buddies. 3Y enjoyed hearing their 1LS buddies read their reading books to them and were helpful and supportive in their approach. They helped with new words, asked excellent comprehension questions and enjoyed sharing books together.

Class 6W have been looking at different ways artists have represented the rural and urban landscape in their work. The children have used photography and sketching to record and develop their initial ideas and then have created a landscape painting personal to them.

At the end of the project, they reflected on what they had created and compared and evaluated each other’s work.

A great start to our outdoor learning with pupils having the opportunity to have a go at different problem solving and team building challenges, archery and Forest School, where they have created bug houses, jedi swords and climbed trees. All pupils have been developing their ideas based around the 5 Cs collaboration, cohesion, communication, compromise and compassion.

All of the children engaged well and loved the opportunity to learn new skills and explore their environment.

It was such a privilege to have two Year 6 children come to me and offer to run a co-curricular club. Grace and Liana both love books and wanted to start a book club - I couldn't say no.

I worked closely with them on book choice and how to run the club. This was our first week and they took a gentle lead introducing them to The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. There was the opportunity to read, explore and discuss. I enjoyed watching them at work.

There was lots of fun in After School on Wednesday - homework, puzzles, games and free play. What a great way to end the day!

Occurring through messaging apps, on social media and in online games, group chats are among the most popular ways that young people engage with their peers online. Involving, by definition, three or more individuals, these groups allow users to send messages, images and videos to everyone in one place. While they are fantastic for helping friends, people with shared interests or members of a club to communicate and coordinate activities, they can also leave young people feeling excluded and bullied – as well as providing opportunities for inappropriate content to be shared and viewed.

Like with all useful things in the online world, the last thing we want to do is ban them altogether, causing children to miss out and feel isolated from their friends. With a little bit of advice, particularly about elements such as considering others feelings, and the occasional light monitoring, they can be the amazing social tool they were designed to be. Please have a look at the attached guide for lots of great tips!

Also if you have any specific concerns about the online world, further questions about e-safety, or any other aspect of computing, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me through email markadkins@crescentschool.co.uk.

Pupils from Years 3-6 travelled to the Coventry Building Society Arena last Sunday to watch Wasps Netball Team take on the Leeds Rhinos.  With Wasps sitting 9th in the table and Rhino’s 7th it promised to be a hotly contested match. It did not disappoint, pupils were treated to a fast and furious nail-biting game of netball with end to action from the start with goals being scored every 10 seconds. 

Wasps went into the final ¼ 3 goals down and desperate to pull it back after a defeat against Manchester Thunder the night before, Wasps drew on the energy from the crowd to pull back the 3 goals and go on to win 57-52.  It was a great game and students were inspired by watching the live game up so close, seeing just how physical and fast a sport it is, listening to the players call and communicate to each other and dynamically move on the court. 

Thank you to all of the staff for organising and coming along to help make this trip possible.

Friday 20 May - 3.20pm to 5.00pm

Save the date, the Summer Fete is coming soon! Class reps are busy organising and next week we need your help as usual, more details to follow.

Tuesday 7 June 2022 - 4.00pm

The FoC AGM is on 7 June and we would welcome your thoughts on the types of events that pupils may like to take part in next academic year.

As you know we currently offer things like; Movie Nights, Discos, Bake Sales etc.

Aligned to this if you have ideas on general fundraisers do let us know. We are keen to get more people involved, this may be organising an event or by helping out at an event, as much or as little as you can offer would be appreciated. 

If you have an ideas please email: chair@friendsofscresent.co.uk by 13 May 2022. 

Below are the details of the FoC Year Group Representatives and group links. 

With the Summer Fete just three weeks away, it is time to ask for donations for the tombola.

This is always a popular stall as the prizes are so sought after! If you have any items, toys, kits, games, sweets etc that can be used as prizes or made up into prizes, please bring them into school and leave them on the FoC table. 

Thank you

We thought it would be useful to have some photos of the correct uniform for this term. Thank you to Sachin, Evie, Charlie and Chloe for being the models.

Please note the following:

Girl's Summer Uniform

• Dress length should be on or below the knee
• White socks to be worn, not grey socks/tights or ankle socks
• Blazers and cardigans with black school shoes

Boys Summer Uniform

• Grey shorts or long grey trousers
• Grey knee high socks
• Blazers and jumpers with black school shoes

Summer PE and Games Kit

• Crescent sports polo shirt
• Black short (boys)
• Black skort or green shorts (girls)
• White short sports socks
• Sports trainers
• Tracksuit
• Crescent School sun hat/cap
• Cricket Whites can be worn

We would ask you to check:

• Uniform is labelled with the child's name not initials. We do get a lot of uniform in lost property which is not labelled so we are unable to return it. If it is not reunited with its owner it is put into the pre-loved uniform stock
• Your child is wearing their own uniform as coats/jumpers/cardigans/blazers etc sometimes get mixed up
• Hats, gloves and scarfs are optional but they need to be school provided ones if they do wear them
• Hair should be tied back

Please click below to view the lunch menu for next week, children are able to have either the Main or Vegetarian option. 

Mr Moore has created a 'Star Wars Themed Day' for May the 4th!  We look forward to seeing the photos!

Lunch Menu - 3 May 2022

Crescent School

Please find below term dates for 2021/22 and 2022/23:

Please see below for useful school contact information:

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

• Nursery Practitioner - Little Crackers
• Academic Systems Co-ordinator - Princethorpe College
• KS2 Teacher (part-time) - Crescent School
• Teacher of Maths - Princethorpe College
• Teacher of English (Maternity Cover) - Princethorpe College
• Health and Safety Manager - Princethorpe Foundation

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.

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

A huge well done to all the children who played for Rugby & East Warwickshire Hockey Club in the Midlands regional finals back before Easter.

Max, Matthew, Charlie and Issac helped the Boys U10 team to victory and news of their success was featured in the Rugby Observer.

You can read the article here: https://rugbyobserver.co.uk/sport/hockey-rugby-and-east-warwickshire-under-10s-become-midlands-champions/

We are very proud of them all!

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

Class 1LS - How to Support Your Child

Class 1SS - How to Support Your Child 

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

Class 2W - How to Support Your Child 

Mr Webb
Class 2W Teacher

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

Class 3Y - How to Support Your Child 2022

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

Class 4M - How to Support Your Child 

Mrs Monteith 
Class 4M Teacher

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

Class 5F - How to Support Your Child Trinity 22 

Please click on the link below which provides information regarding areas of the curriculum where you may be able to help your child at home.

Class 6W - How to Support Your Child 

The access to our curriculum has returned to the pre-pandemic 'normal'. As of 1 April 2022, it is no longer a requirement to self-test and there is no legal requirement or guidance to self-isolate after a positive test or close contact. 

In short, this means that if your child is asymptomatic, they should come to school as normal. If your child is poorly in any way they should recuperate at home, as always. In either case, there is no need to test for COVID. 

Crescent staff have prided themselves on the standard of 'Home Learning' that has been provided and accessed over the last two years, but as a result of the government's roadmap of 'Living With Covid', this has now come to an end and we will not be providing this as we move forward. If guidelines change, then this strategy will be updated accordingly.