The Courier

Dear Parents and Friends of the School

I do hope your weeks have gone well and you are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Here in school, it has been another hard working week with lots to enjoy and celebrate as we move through the second-half of this autumn term.

Many thanks to everyone who has come along to the Scholastic Book Fair with their children this week, as well as a particular thanks to those parents who have given up their time to help serving in the shop, many of whom have kept on going well past the normal departure time for the children. This is a really important fundraiser for our library and keeps stocks at good levels, adding to the budget we already allocate to this each year. Reading for all ages remains perhaps the single most important skill the children can develop in their primary school years, opening up the entire curriculum to them as they grow and mature. Our library is full of inspirational reading material and even in this digital age, I don't yet see an end to the centrality of the traditional written word.

This week, we have continued talking in school about out new ‘learner profile’. Each month of the year we are introducing a new word for the children to consider, focusing on the qualities of a successful learner. We have already looked at ‘resilient’ and ‘curious’ and this month we have been looking at ‘determination’. Thank you to the children in 3SS who helped me brainstorm lots of really helpful ideas around this theme which we delivered to the rest of the school in our assembly on Tuesday morning.

We prefaced this message with the amazing life story of Wilma Rudolph, who had begun life in the 1940s with polio and ended up winning four gold medals in the 1960 Olympic Games. I think the story really resonated with the children and gave a glimpse as to what can be achieved through the power of sheer willpower.

One other footnote from the week was the visit from the ISA compliance auditor, who visited us on Wednesday to look at all aspects of the school's policies, risk assessments and safeguarding procedures. The gentleman who ran the audit was enormously impressed with what he found here and said this was simply one of the best run schools he had the experience of visiting in many years of experience. I would like to thank everybody involved in making our school such a safe and happy environment for the children and I think it is reassuring for you as parents to know that we are getting this stamp of approval from outside agencies in this way.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Thank you to everyone who has visited the Bookfair this week, it has had an energetic buzz which thrills me to see how many children like to read and how many parents support it.  We have made over £1,750, of which we get 60%, this will ensure each form can buy new books for their class libraries to further support reading at Crescent School.

Thank you to members of the FoC who have been invaluable with their help running the fair.

13-17 November, Crescent took part in Maths Week England for the first time. We have plenty of Maths on our timetable in the week, but this was a chance for children to apply their skills in different ways.

In classes, children were challenged to solve puzzles like the daily 'Date Puzzle', online there were daily conundrums of varying levels - Tuesday's was particularly tricky involving trains through the station.

Times Table Rockstars ran a national competition - England Rocks (Results in the TTRS Rewards Section) and there was a poster competition called '3 is the Magic Number'. We had plenty of entries, just a few are in this Courier, but most of them are on Twitter/X and we wait to see if there are any winners from the judges. If you like a Maths challenge yourself check out Maths Week England - 13-18 November 2023

The whole school event was the Maths Trail to compete for the Interhouse Maths Trophy. Pupils from 1Q all the way to 6W contributed 1 house point per correct answer. Ms Forth wrote questions about the maths around us at Crescent; pupils needed to use their eyes and brains to count, analyse, calculate and measure to find answers. House captains marked and calculated the scores. Thank you to everyone who contributed points to their house.

Results were as follows:

• 1st Red House - 229 points
• 2nd Yellow House - 191 points
• 3rd Blue House - 188 points

Well done Red House, Maths Champions 2023.  

Christmas Jumper day will be upon us very soon! We are offering the opportunity for children to swap their Christmas Jumper!  

If your child would like to bring in a jumper that is too small for them or they just fancy a change, they can bring one to the Science room and swap it with one off the rack. Please remember children can only take a jumper if leaving one behind.   

Remember to make sure the jumpers are clean and not damaged so others can take it home and love it again! 

Thank you

From the Green Team 

Please see the NHS link below for some useful information for deciding whether or not to keep your child off school when they're unwell.

NHS Live Well - Is my child too ill for school

Crescent School

When parking around the school site to drop off and collect your children please be mindful of the needs of other road users and in particular the safety of pedestrians.

In particular, please avoid parking at or near to road junctions or over entrances to driveways. 

I have included below the article from Warwickshire Police which they asked schools to circulate earlier this year:

Good Afternoon

Just a friendly reminder, now that schools are back can all parents/guardians dropping off or collecting their children, please adhere to all parking regulations. If you do not do so and park where you should not, you can end up with a parking ticket. 

If you have an issue with parking then please contact Rugby Borough Council. 

Warwickshire County Council have also authorised a vehicle to drive around and observe school parking, ticketing anyone who causes any traffic offences. 

Here is a flyer with some parking information. 

Warwickshire Police

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

Below is a link to view the Michaelmas Term Calendar.  You should have received a hard copy of this through the post in the summer holidays.

On Tuesday 21 November, Years 5 and 6 visited Crackley Hall School to work with Juniors 5 and 6 in a fantastic, full day of uplifting and inspiring music. The pupils from both schools worked together under the guidance of Directors of Music, Julie Barnes and Susan Olden, rehearsing, performing, and improvising a mix of vocal pieces.

It was a very successful day, with everyone really enjoying working together. During the day, pupils worked on songs that included Grow As We Grow, There’s A Power In The Music, In The Mood and Arirang a Korean folk song. They also had great fun singing Naughty from Matilda.

In the afternoon, the pupils put on a concert for their parents. As well as the shared works the concert included a number of individual school pieces and pupil solos. The audience were most impressed with the children’s enthusiastic performance.

Julie Barnes, said “Both schools have such a strong musical tradition, and the children really rise to the occasion, it is always good to work together.”

The Junior Schools Music Workshops are just one of the many performance opportunities that pupils at both the schools take part in.

To watch clips of the children singing some of the songs, including a super solo by Alice, please click here.

So far this school year Upper School pupils have read an absolutely amazing 18 million words. It’s an astounding achievement especially when you consider that we have only had nine school weeks so far this academic year.

Studies show that reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance. Crescent’s structured approach facilitates progress and as pupils move through the school, reading abilities develop well beyond national age expectations.

Every week in the Courier we record pupils’ successes, recognising their achievements in reading in a number of different ways. This week we are saying a super huge well done to everyone in Upper School. Keep on reading and who knows just how many words we will read by the end of the school year!

Thursday 30 November 2023

Children in Blue House can wear one item of blue clothing on St Andrew's Day with their school unform if they wish. 

Crescent School

Friday 1 December 2023

Children will be decorating the school for Christmas on Friday 1 December and they are able to wear a festive accessory with their school uniform such as a Christmas hat, hair accessory or tinsel.

Children must also have their art aprons in school.

It is a day the children look forward to every year and you will be able to see see their work at our Christmas Open Corridors.

We love sharing Christmas cards here at Crescent School but we ask that all cards are put in our special Christmas postbox which we will situate near the pupil entrance from Monday 4 December.

All cards must be in before Friday 15 December so they can be sorted by the Year 6 elves and handed out to pupils before the end of term.

Please remember to include the full name of the child and form on the envelope.

Thank you

Mrs Webb
Assistant Head

Monday 4 December 2023 - 4.00pm to 5.00pm

I am delighted to invite you to the LAMDA showcase on Monday 4 December from 4.00pm to 5.00pm.  Children will be performing their pieces of prose and poetry they have been working on in lessons.

Tickets can be booked below, two per family.

 LAMDA Showcase Years 3 and 4 Tickets

I hope you can attend and am looking forward to seeing you there. 

Wednesday 6 December 2023 - 9.20am to 10.05am

Parents and Grandparents are invited to our Reception and Year 1 Classes Nativity performance of Twinkly Nativity.

A lot of hard work goes into the rehearsals, learning the songs, memorising lines, sorting out costumes and scenery and what a spectacle it is all going to be.

Refreshments will be available from 8.45am in the Library, staff will be busy setting up the hall, therefore please do not arrive before this time. 

We are able to offer each family three tickets for the performance. Booking closes Friday 3 December 2023.

Please book here:

Twinkly Nativity 

Tuesday 12 December - 9.10am

Parents of the children in Year 2 are invited to share in a performance of poetry, music and readings to celebrate the Christmas festivities.

You are welcome to come into school for light refreshments from 8.45am and the performance will start at 9.10am. 

Tickets can be booked below - two per family.  Booking closes Friday 3 December 2023:

Christmas Cracker Tickets 

Mr Webb, Mrs Emery, Mrs Barnes and Miss Bowdige

Thursday 14 December 2023 - 6.15pm to 7.45pm

This year we will again hold our Christmas Carol Service at Princethorpe College in Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. Please join us for a wonderful evening of carols, readings and re-telling of the Christmas story.

All children in Years 3-6 are required to attend. Please request permission from Mr Thackway (by emailing admin@crescentschool.co.uk) if your child is unable to attend for any reason. 

Please book tickets via the link below, we are limited to one ticket per family due to fire regulation safety.  If you do requre an extra ticket, please email admin@crescentschool.co.uk and we will hold a reserve list. Priority will be given to Year 6 as it is their last year.

Carol Service Tickets

Wednesday 20 December 2023

Our Christmas Jumper Day this year will be on Wednesday 20 December 2023. On that day, children should wear normal school uniform, but instead of their green pullover/cardigan, they can wear a Christmas jumper, if they wish.

We invite you to make a voluntary contribution of £1 to wear a festive jumper, which is in aid of Children's Air Ambulance.

Ms Clark

Wednesday 6 December 2023 - 3.45pm to 4.15pm

Following Christmas Art Day, we will have our Open Corridors event where we will share with you all the great work that we have been doing in school.

Please collect your child before entering through the front door where you will be welcomed in to look at all the great work in school from 3.45pm. Years 5 and 6 will be dismissed through the pupil door.  Entry and exit will only be through the front doors. Last entry is at 3.55pm.  

If your child is in a Co-curricular club then they will be expected to attend unless you arrange otherwise. Parking will not be available on the playground due to lessons.

We look forward to seeing you there.

This week Isla in 2W and Alice in 3SS have earned their Junior da Vinci badges in English, as have Alex G, James and Maisie in 6W.

Aria in 4C has earned hers in Geography.

Well done to you all for your hard work.

Mrs Symons
JdV Lead

Congratulations to:

• Alice in 3SS  and Kian in 4C for reading over 500,000 words

• Alex T in 6W who has read over 1 million words

Great reading.

Congratulations to all our fabulous readers:

• 3LS Lucas

• 3SS Finn

• 4C Evelyn

• 5F Akaal

• 6W Shiv

Word Wizards are:

• 3LS Jahnavi

• 3SS Ria

• 4C Lilah

• 5F Max T

• 6W Sofie

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

Huge congratulations to Zoe and Penelope in Year 3 who have read over 100,000 words.

A great achievement.

Reading certificates have, this week, been awarded to:

• Austin
• Charlotte D
• Emily
• Ire
• Juliette
• Marcie

Well done to you all.

It is always an exciting time for the children when they gain their pen licence, enabling them to make the move from writing in pencil to pen.

For this rite of passage, the children have to show that they can write neatly and consistently in cursive, joined handwriting in all of their work, not just handwriting tasks.

The following children have shown pride in their presentation of all of their learning tasks and have been awarded a Pen Licence and their first handwriting pen.

• Hermione
• Feranmi

Well done!

As part of Maths Week England 2023, Crescent took part in the England Rocks Competition on TTRS. Any correct answer was added to the school score and created an average score per pupil so it was fair to compete against classes and against 4,362 other schools across the country. Crescent came 2687th!

Pupils that contributed the most to our score were 😀:

• 1st Kian 4C
• 2nd Shiv 6W
• 3rd Alfie 4C

In school our best contribution from a class were as follows: 

• 1st 4C
• 2nd 5F
• 3rd 6W

Thank you to anyone who added to the score.

• Uma 3SS has completed 24% of the course
• Kiki 3SS has completed 24% of the course

Results for England Rocks Competition are in this Courier.

Most improved speedsters in the studio are:

• Leela - Rock Star!

5F

• Matthew - Rock Hero! 0.93 seconds per answer

4C

• Taran - Unsigned Act!
• Nimeeta - Garage Rocker!
• Charlotte - Rock Star!
• Theo Mc - Rock Hero! 0.99 seconds per answer

Battle between all classes 23 - 30 November 2023. 

TT Rock stars will block 2x,5x,10x,11x on jamming if you are efficient at them, so you cannot pick easy ones just to score more points in the competition! 

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

Stay Calm and Rock on!!

Well done to this week's Artist of the Week:

Artists

• Theo M 4C - A carefully composed personal journey painting

• Amber 4C - Excellent use of materials to give texture

• Joshua 3LS - A beautiful two-coloured block print pattern

• Hermione 3LS - A carefully printed bird pattern

• Matthew 5F - Effective use of oil pastels to give texture and depth
  
  
• Sophie 5F - Strong contrast and beautiful colour mixing

• Alice 3SS - A beautifully detailed bird design

Mrs Thackway
Head of Art 

Last week was Anti-Bullying Week, and across the school teachers worked with pupils in form time and PSHE reflecting on what positive steps we can all take to stop bullying. To round off Anti-Bullying Week, on Monday Crescent School held an Odd Socks Day.

Odd Socks Day reminds pupils that we are all different and all unique and it is a fun and positive way to reinforce the message that everyone should be accepted for who they are. We had plenty of bright and colourful odd socks in school on Monday as pupils celebrated their individuality.

Class 3SS have been very reflective as we had our Remembrance Service and the children were keen to share stories of their grandparents and great-grandparent's experiences of service in the war. They wrote descriptive and thoughtful acrostic poems and made sun catcher poppies which the sunlight has flooded through as a display in our classroom. 

Year 3 have started a new Science topic, learning all about forces. Here are a few photos of the pupils using push, pull or twist actions to make objects start to move. The children have also been exploring the force of friction. They pushed toy cars down ramps which were made of different materials and they had to measure and report upon which material caused more friction.

CLass 3LS have been learning how to say where they live in French. They have been reading texts by children in French speaking cities such as Paris, Montreal and Port-au-Prince. Here they are doing a speaking activity with adjectives to describe towns and cities.

Class 3LS had fun block printing their bird designs to making lovely repeated patterns.

Class 4C have just finished their fantastic colourful journey paintings and have enjoyed showing each other their artwork. They should all feel very proud of what they have created.

In Thinking Skills, Class 4C were challenged to describe a drawing to their partner in order for them to replicate the same drawing, while sitting back to back. They had to use language such as 'draw a circle with a small circle inside it' rather than 'draw some eyes'. It tested their communication and listening skills as well as their patience. We had some interesting results!

Class 5F used chime bars, percussion and their own instruments to accompany Jimmy Be Good, one of the songs they have learned from the Treasure Island series. Although the music was complicated they learned it in a short space of time, and will be ready to record it soon.

Class 5F have been reading a variety of travel blogs, reports and recounts. They have enjoyed travelling around the world. It is now their chance to write about a place that they are interested in, using description that sparks our desire to go there alongside the grammar of fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and relative clauses. We discussed layouts and ways to start into the paragraphs, they did some great independent work.

It is important that children have opportunity to read for pleasure, it ensures a life long love of reading. It can be hard to find time in a busy school day and time at home, so I have a space of half an hour every week for this half-term for Year 6 to have safe time to read for pleasure.

The class look forward to it, there are no questions asked, no objectives set - just read and I have to read too. I read a book that they may be interested in, hence encouraging implicitly a range of literature.

We are very proud to be able to share with you the latest episode of the Crescent Podcast, brought to you by the brilliant but ever so slightly insane Yr 6 podcasting team! We've had a few technical hitches along the way, but we think it's well worth the wait... This episode features a sports round-up, exciting interviews with Mr Webb, Ms Bowdige and Mrs Yates, the Lollipop challenge and a fantastic game of 'What's in the box?' We hope you enjoy, any feedback please let us know!

The Crescent Podcast - Episode 1

Mr Adkins and the Year 6 Podcasters

Our Year 5 and 6 girls travelled to the Coventry Schools Foundation Astro on Wednesday to play their final hockey fixture of the year against King Henry's. 

U11 A's started strong with a solid early goal, they continued with good pressure and lots of chances that they just couldn't convert. Score was 2-1 at half time, a flurry of goals from King Henry's in the 2nd half did not reflect the end to end play. 

POM awarded to Shayla 

U11 B's also went out strong and took the early goal with a well worked play from Alice, Toni and Roisin C. Henry's were quick to equalise and scored a 2nd off the back of this. Crescent showed great determination and grit closing balls down quickly and clearing wide to make some fantastic opportunities, which Roisin was able to capitalise on to gain a well deserved draw. 

POM awarded to Maya

Wednesday 29 November 2023 - 7.00pm

Coming up next week we have our Christmas Craft evening and it's not too late to buy tickets!

The event takes place on Wednesday 29 November at 7.00pm. Tickets cost £35 per person and include the making of the wreath, a glass of mulled wine and a festive snack. 

https://app.classlist.com/events/#/events/view/1040101010

The Salvation Army are looking for donations of new toys and gifts to provide to families who are struggling to afford basics let alone luxuries this Christmas and once again we are proud to support them. 

If you are able, please drop off any donation gifts at school from Monday 27 November to Thursday 7 December.

Please send all items unwrapped. This helps the SA choose the right items for each family and children. The gifts are then wrapped by the SA volunteers. Or often they provide wrapping paper to parents to do it themselves, so they can be part of the Christmas experience they’re struggling to provide for their family.

Gifts can be for any age range 0-16 years, see below for details and ideas.

Suggested Gift List for Children and Young People

We believe every child deserves a new gift at Christmas so we are unable to take used or second hand items for the Christmas Present Appeal.

0-3 years: dolls, teddy bears, cot mobiles, baby clothes, bath toys, CDs of suitable music and nursery rhymes, puzzles

3-5: dolls and action figures, cars, lorries, DVDs and CDs (music and nursery rhymes), colouring sets, pencils, crayons, books, puzzles

5-9: educational games & toys, stationery (colouring sets, pencils, crayons, school sets), CDs & family friendly DVDs, books, puzzles, wordsearch, crosswords

9-12: games and toys, stationery, DVDs, books, t-shirts, hair accessories, gloves, scarves, hats

13-16: books, make-up and toiletries (please try to ensure non-allergic ingredients if possible), gloves, scarves, hats, t-shirts, hair accessories and gift vouchers

Friday 8 December 2023

We look forward to welcoming parents and children to the Christmas Bazaar on Friday 8 December 2023.

Tickets are available until 6pm on Wednesday 6 December and cost £5 per child which will include a game card and entry into the Bazaar. We will have the usual selection of games for the children to play. Once they have secured at least six stamps on their game card there will be a prize to collect. There will also be a selection of hot and cold snacks and drinks to purchase. 

Tickets can be purchased using the following link:

Christmas Bazaar Tickets

As stated in last week's Courier all raffle proceeds will support the school fundraising for the Children's Air Ambulance which leads me on to my usual plea for donations for the raffle and tombola! As always we appreciate that it is a busy time of year so we are hugely grateful for anything that people can give. 

For the raffle we'd appreciate the usual donations of wine, chocolates, biscuits and toys etc, but we'd also love some higher value items such as vouchers for local cafes or shops.

For the tombola we need small items such as pens, games, Lego sets, toys, craft items, sweets, chocolate bars, cuddly toys etc.

We are accepting donations from 27 November and the cut-off is 7 December.

Friends of Crescent 

Last week we held our annual pub quiz and a great time was had by all. Thanks so much to Ms Forth for doing all the questions and hosting the quiz and to Mrs Webb for giving up her evening to run the bar!

The top three results were as follows: 

• 1st - Year 3 is the magic number 
• 2nd - This is not a drill, please evacuate the building 
• 3rd - Mr Webb's hot snacks!

Please see below for useful school contact information:

Uniform can be ordered here:

Uniform Order Form

Please note the following items are stocked in the School Office and can be added to your account. Do pop in to collect any items.

• Winter hats
• Scarves
• Gloves
• Ties
• Swimming hats
• Sports socks
• Hair bands
• Hair scrunchies
• Hair clips
• Sun hats
• Music group badges - Choir, Orchestra, String and Brass 

School Uniform Shop 
Tel: 01926 634272
Email: uniform@princethorpe.co.uk

Click here to view the term dates for 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Crescent School

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

Princethorpe College

• Art Technician
• Learning Support Assistant
• Graduate Teaching Assistant
• Estates Assistant
• Weekend Caretaker
• Casual Estates Assistant

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.