Welcome to the final edition of The Courier for this academic year. 

We said goodbye to the Class of 2021 yesterday and as part of their celebrations they enjoyed an afterschool party where this amazing cake was eaten.  Mrs Panchal made the cake and as you can see from the cover photo the attention to detail was fantastic. 

Watch out for a ‘mini’ Courier on Friday 2 September 2022.

Have a lovely summer break.

Click here to email The Courier.

Preview

Headmaster's Message

Headmaster's Message

Dear Parents

It has been a short but action-packed week here at school. We have said goodbye to a really wonderful set of Year 6 pupils, who leave with the very best wishes of everyone here.

Our thoughts can now turn towards the summer holidays and the exciting adventures that we have planned. After my cycling trip next week, we go off as a family to a cottage in Brittany later in the month. At this stage I am uncertain exactly how we are all going to fit into the car.

In between times, I will be in and out of school, with lots of exciting estates project's planned for the next six weeks. We hope to come back to a new adventure trail and shiny new corridor and staff room.

Whatever you have planned, I genuinely hope it isn't affected by strikes or cancellations and that you get to spend valuable time with your children. As I look back to the holidays we spent as a family when the children were young, these mean so much to us as a unit and if anything grow in significance as the years go by.

Have a great break everybody and I look forward to seeing the children all back safe and sound and ready to go on Monday 5 September.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

 

Mr Thackway's Leavers Speech

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen boys and girls and you're all very welcome to this year’s Leavers Service. It's great to see so many parents here this year and it's taking place indoors for the first time since 2019, which at least saves various staff the job of chasing down bits of paper that are flying around the field in the breeze.

Last year, there were a few moments during the presentations that I considered abandoning ship as the gazebo threatened to take off into mid-air. We also only just made it before some fairly serious rain came down.

Being inside also offers a little more intimacy and you might even get to hear what is said, which is always nice. 

We have changed the format of the service this year so that all the subject prizes were awarded in our celebration assembly this morning. The trophies are here outside in the quiet area and children in Year 6 and their parents are welcome to take photos afterwards, and that goes for everyone of course. The reason that we did this was because we wanted today's afternoon service to be equally about all of the children, each and everyone of you has made a wonderful contribution to the life of the school and we wanted to recognise that in our service this afternoon.

The end of every school year is the time to look back on achievements and share fond memories, as well as looking forward to the year that lies ahead. When it's your turn to leave the school at the end of Year 6 there is added depth of meaning to not only this event but everything that is said and thought and felt by your friends, teachers and acquaintances.

On that theme, I spent a bit of time preparing for today's speech with a look through the Leavers’ Yearbook, where the children reflect on times gone by and also recollect the odd occasion when things haven't gone quite to plan.

I have picked out a couple to share. Firstly, there were many very nice thoughts and sentiments and I wonder if anyone can remember who wrote this:

My time at Crescent has taught me that no matter what you want to do or be you can achieve it if you work hard and put your mind to it. To be kind and helpful. To not judge others by their appearance but by their personality. To be happy, and share a smile

That was from my head girl, well said Evie.

Here's another nice one, who's willing to put a hand up for this?

Crescent has taught me not only how to do new things in work like how to times fractions, how to spell long words or how to learn online safety, but it has taught me to believe in what I can do, that I can achieve anything if I try hard. It has taught me that the best things in life don’t come easily, it has built me as a person and it has been my home for 5 years.

Many of you refer to being a good friend a good learner and a good citizen; the school promise which is at the centre of everything we've done here.

However, this love of the school promise doesn't quite explain one or two of the funny memory entries. For example;

Mrs Nelson’s ridiculous singing!

Sorry Mrs Nelson. Or maybe

When Caspar Webb spilt spaghetti bolognese down his shirt

I can't quite workout which of the promise sayings these ones go under, but never mind. And don't worry Faris and Abigail, I'm not going to ask anyone to own up to those ones.

I also quite like this one which encapsulates the trials and tribulations of a child who has a parent who works in the school. No prizes for guessing who wrote this one;

When Mrs Symons ‘styled it out’ when she tripped over the corner of the stage in assembly. That looked off the embarrassing scale.

And actually, looking through the yearbook gives you quite a good insight into this year’s class. Every year is different, there's no denying that. Probably the key qualities that you have are that sense of humour, that understanding that actually it's okay to be a bit different, allied with the genuine support that you offer to each other.

You may know what you like but you also know that other people see things differently. sometimes you have to be open to new things but at the same time there are certain values that you have learned here that will never leave you.

These qualities will stand you in good stead actually when you do move on, so stay true to them.

Let me try and explain this with the help of a few sweeties and chocolates. I shared some images on the screen at this point:

  • Magic Stars: Younger children will say they like these, while older ones may think they are babyish - but they are still good really. A bit like the things you learn at primary school, like good manners, taking turns, being kind, etc. Actually, these things aren't babyish at all, so don't forget about them. That’s my first bit of advice; ‘Don't forget the values you learned as a very small child’.
  • Flake bar: Looks very attractive and tempting, but if you eat this wearing your best clothes you could get in a mess. So; ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover, take time to discover the person underneath’.
  • Japanese sweets: would you try them? They might be very good. Unless you try new things you might be missing out and will never appreciate them. What about trying a Cheesecake Kit Kat!? They do exist apparently. ‘Don't be afraid to take on new challenges’
  • Enormous box of Jelly Babies. I have a bit of a weakness for these but if I eat all this myself tonight, I'll be ill. It's a good idea to share the things you like with your friends. Year 6, ‘Be generous, with things, with thoughts and with time’

I've got just one more here to show you. Yes that's right, it’s a good old Cadbury’s Dairy Milk bar. It may not be new or different but you know you can rely on it. Well, that's a bit like your School Promise. It might be very familiar to you now, but if you come back to it whenever you have a question or a problem in your mind, I suggest you won't go very far wrong.

So, I'm going to add just a little Dairy Milk bar to the leavers’ gifts today Year 6 and you can spend a minute or so thinking about your good old primary school and the lessons that is has taught you when you eat it later on. Judging by some of the sweet eating feats I saw on the bus back from Devon for some of you that could even be before you leave the room.

I will finish with a thought and a blessing for you all;

We think about everyone who is leaving us to start a new part of their life at a new school.

Help them to take with them the lessons they have learnt from their time here
and to be a force for good in their future school and future life.

We thank God for everything they have given to us here at Crescent and ask that you please be with them in their new school lives.

News

Second Time Lucky For Reception's Sports Day

It was second time lucky for Reception’s Sports Day with the weather just perfect for our afternoon of fun – not too cold or too hot and with the wind behind them for those simply enormous leaps in the standing jump.

Our two Reception classes really enjoyed taking part, sprinting, jumping and throwing their way through all the activities. Their events included the 40m sprint, the obstacle course, the standing jump, the bean bag throw and of course the challenge of the relay race.

Reception’s Sports Day is all about participation. Every child tried their hardest to do their very best, so everyone was awarded stickers and then at the end received a special certificate to congratulate them.

A huge well done to Reception and a big thank you to our Year 6 children who supported the children throughout the event.

View Gallery

Year 6 Celebrate Their Time At Crescent School

Yesterday we said farewell to our wonderful Year 6. They have been amazing pupils and we are incredibly proud of them all. With a number on induction days today, yesterday was the last day we had them all together in school.

We started the day with the Leavers' Assembly where pupils were presented with trophies, prizes, awards and certificates.  Then at lunchtime the children enjoyed the traditional last school dinner celebration at Top Table.

In the afternoon we welcomed the children’s families into school for the Leavers’ Celebration. The Reception children were delighted to form a guard of honour to welcome Year 6 to their final Leavers event. Our celebrations moved many to tears as we enjoyed affecting musical performances, heartfelt speeches and poignant prayers; it was lovely to be able to celebrate these pupils’ remarkable achievements with them all.

We wish Year 6 the very best of luck as they head off to their new secondary schools and their next stage in life.

 

View Gallery

Goodbye To Mrs Monteith And Miss Thompson

We said goodbye today to two very much-loved members of staff, both of whom leave us after more than a decade’s experience here at Crescent.

Ellie Monteith has been a form teacher in Year 4 for many years and provided excellent pastoral care to the children, all of whom will treasure fond memories of their time with Ellie that will last them a lifetime. She has been an inspiring teacher, with a love of language and a love of delivering exciting lessons, tailor made for young children. We wish her every success in her new role as a pastoral carer at a boarding house in Rugby School, alongside her husband, where I have no doubt whatsoever she will be a tremendous success.

Kim Thompson is also leaving us today after many years of excellent service as the school drama teacher. Kim is able to inspire and engage children and young people into the magical arts of the theatre world. There will be many children, past and present, who will grow an enduring love of the dramatic arts because of the seeds that were planted here by Kim. Anyone who has been along to school productions will know that she has genuine talent, not just for stage management, but also and most importantly for inspiring young people to act.

They leave with the very best wishes of the whole Crescent community and heartfelt thanks for everything they have done during their time here.

Reading Challenge

Please follow the link if you are interested in a Summer Reading Challenge:

https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

This can be a good way to motivate reading in the summer holidays.

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Events

Current Year 5 Pre-Season Brain Training

Dear Year 5 Parents

As you will no doubt be aware, the local authority 11+ exams for entry into Year 7 in 2023 are scheduled to take place in September 2022, most likely on the weekend of 10 and 11 September. The deadline for registration for the exam was 30 June 2022.

https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/grammar-schools-11-test/register-11-test/1

With this in mind, we would like to invite this year’s Year 5 children in for two days of Pre-Season Brain Training Sessions on Wednesday 31 August and Thursday 1 September 2022. These will run from 9.00am until 12.45pm each day.

The children will spend each morning with their familiar Crescent teachers, including Ms Forth, Mrs Webb and Mr Adkins, getting them back into gear and ready for their exams. Each day there will be taught sessions focusing on the four strands of the 11+; verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, Maths and English comprehension. Needless to say, these skills will also be useful for their Princethorpe exams on 5 November, as well as any other independent school exams they may be entered for.

Children will be expected to arrive in school smartly dressed with a mid-morning snack. They do not need to wear school uniform.

These sessions will be in addition to the revision packs that we send home at the end of the Summer Term. I am pleased to say that there will be no charge for attendance.

 

Best wishes 

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Awards

End of Term Awards

Congratulations to the following children who were awarded the following:

Barrett English Prize:

  • Year 5 - Zahra
  • Year 4 - Maisie
  • Year 3 - Patrick

Crescent Maths Prize:

  • Year 5 - Harry
  • Year 4 - Alex T
  • Year 3 - Matthew

Morley-Boys Pre-Prep Cup for Resilience

  • Isabella 

Clayton Star for Outstanding Behaviour in Reception

  • Iris

Noyce Trophy for Most Promising Girl Sports Player (Y5)

  • Ellie

Phillips Trophy for Most Promising Boy Sports Player (Y5)

  • Sam

Well done to you all.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Promise Badge Awards Trinity Term

We were delighted, in our final celebration assembly of the term, to award our Promise Badges.  

They are very special and are awarded at the end of each term to one child in Pre-Prep (PP) and one child in the Upper School (US) for each of the three promise strands: Good Friends, Good Learners, Good Citizens.

The children listed below have embodied the qualities of the promise this term and can wear their new badges with pride.

Pre-prep

  • Good Friend: Lily for embracing her relationships with others in school with enthusiasm and growing confidence.
  • Good Learner: Emily for her love of learning and always trying her best.
  • Good Citizen: Aria for her relentless dedication to the School Promise.

Upper School

  • Good Friend: Grace M for her support of others.
  • Good Learner: Sachin for increased confidence and progress made.
  • Good Citizen: Ava for her kind and caring approach to others across the school community.
Mr Webb
Assistant Head

School Promise Certificates Trinity Term

In our Good News Assembly this morning we awarded School Promise certificates to recognise the children’s excellent behaviour as Good Friends, Good Learners or Good Citizens. 

Well done to:

RP
Tilly  – Good Learner – showing great resilience in her learning.
Daniel  – Good Friend – showing good cooperation in group games.
 
RE
Hazel - Good Learner - An independent approach to learning supporting great progress.
Ire  - Good Friend - A kind friend who always thinks of others before herself. 
 
1LS
Felicity  – Good Citizen - Always being kind to her friends, a role model for younger and older pupils in everything she does and embodies the School Promise.
Katie  – Good Learner. Always doing her best and challenging herself to move forward with her learning to the best of her ability.
 
1SS
Sophia -  Good Learner - For remembering her class learning and independently applying it in her work, consistently.
Hermione - Good Citizen - For helping to keep our classroom safe and being responsible in looking after her friends when they are playing outside.
 
2W
Everly - Good Friend for her kind and gentle approach to others.
Amber - Good Learner for her increased independence and resilience leading to high attainment.
 
3Y
Sophie - Good Learner - She tries her best in all that she does and has show resilience in al her learning this term. Well done!
Toni - Good Citizen - She is polite and respectful, follows the school promise and has had a great first year at Crescent. 
 
4M
Alice - Good Learner for always showing a positive attitude to her learning and having a Growth Mindset.
Remi  - Good Citizen for following the School Promise, being honest, and showing resilience in all situations.
 
5F
Tegan - Good Learner- For always working hard and trying her very best.
Grace - Good Friend- For being gentle and caring to all whom she meets.
 
6W
Rory - Good Friend, Good Learner and Good Citizen, for all round effort.
Sophie - Good Citizen for attitude to the environment.

Keep up the good work.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster
View Gallery

House Point Winners Trinity Term

In the Celebration Assembly on Tuesday 6 July, the housepoint winners for each class were awarded with a book token.  

Congratulations to the following children:

Class  First Place Second place
1LS Alice Penelope
1SS Joshua Uma
2W Kiran Kian
3Y Sophia Herbie
4M
Maisie
Grace (joint)
Harry (joint)
5F Charlie Tegan
6W Stephanie Aryan

Blue House won the Housepoint Trophy for this term.  

The overall winners of the House trophy for the year were Yellow House, House Captains Grace and Sachin are pictured here with the trophy:

St David 
St George
St Andrew
6,951 points
6,918 points
6,667 points

Well done to all.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Accelerated Reader Achievements

This week's reading superstars are:

  • Double Millionaire: Matthew

  • 500,000: Emily

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

Accelerated Reader Top Quizzers And Word Wizards

Here are the Yearly Accelerated Reader Champions:

Top Quizzers are:

  • 3Y  Lewis who successfully quizzed on 113 books
  • 4M Hattie who successfully quizzed on 56 books
  • 5F  Chloe who successfully quizzed on 52 books
  • 6W Grace who successfully quizzed on 37 books

Word Wizards are:

  • 3Y Matthew who read 2.1 million words
  • 4M Alex T who read 5.2 million words
  • 5F  Poppy who read 3.1 million words
  • 6W Drew who read 3.7 million words
Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant
 
 
 
                

Wellbeing

Wellbeing Team

We have recently appointed a new Wellbeing Team to help Mrs Stapleton, Head of Wellbeing with promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing within our school community. The class Wellbeing Champions have been voted in by their classes as role models who look out for their friends and get alongside them when they need advice or support.

This week we had our first meeting to discuss how we can incorporate 'The 5 Ways to Wellbeing' into our daily school life. Look out for our new initiatives next term.

Wellbeing Team 

  • Charlie - Head Boy
  • Esme - Head Girl
  • Sam - Year 6 rep
  • Maisie  - year 5 rep
  • Barnaby  - year 4 rep
  • Isabella  - year 3 rep
  • Uma  - year 2 rep
  • Eve - year 2 rep
Mrs Stapleton
Head of Wellbeing
View Gallery

Around The Classes

Class 2W Visit Twycross Zoo

Last Friday we went to Twycross Zoo on the coach.  My favourite animals at the zoo were the bonobos because they were really funny.  Later for lunch we had a picnic.

The penguins were really cute: they kept diving into the water and swimming past us.  I had lots of fun watching the animals.  The giraffes were so tall and their tongue was black!  When we were walking around the rain started but it didn't last long.

By Esme Class 2W