The Courier

I am delighted to be able to share our newly published Environmental Sustainability Plan with you. A huge amount of work has been done by so many staff and pupils to put this plan together and I hope it gives you a really good insight into what we are doing and what we are aiming to achieve in the future.

You will be aware that the UK government has set ambitious plans to achieve Net Zero. In parallel, the Princethorpe Foundation is taking its own steps on the journey to sustainability. Our ambition is to become carbon neutral, whilst making sure that our environment is safe, fit for-purpose and healthy. Our aim is to remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as we emit. Firstly, by reducing our emissions as much as possible and secondly, by offsetting what we do emit.

As part of our journey towards net zero, we have measured the Foundation’s carbon footprint and we will further refine these metrics to measure our progress.

We feel optimistic about joining the fight to build a better future for us all and for the planet, and we are determined to engage and play an active part in the sustainability solution. As part of this we have a central role in educating all our stakeholders about the importance of environmental sustainability. We want our school communities to clearly understand the current global issues and embrace the solutions.

By mobilising our pupils with the requisite knowledge, skills and the desire to effect positive change, we know that the next generation will become the creative problem-solvers of the future.

You will see from the plan that we are working hard to embed environmental sustainability into our thinking and actions in nine key areas and it is particularly heartening to see the high levels of engagement from our pupils. This week the Environmental Sustainability Board approved our plans and we are delighted to share them with you here. We would welcome feedback on the plan from all stakeholders via our new netzero@princethorpe.co.uk email address.

Finally I would like pay tribute and thank our Foundation Assistant Head, Alex Darkes, who has led the project for the Foundation and chaired our Environmental Sustainability Board so capably. As Alex retires at the end of April I am delighted to take over this role and spearhead our future work in the area.

E D Hester 

Dear Parents and Friends of the School

It has been a tough old week here at school, a week like no other. We have recognised the passing of one of our own with Barnaby's funeral on Wednesday, and this was undoubtedly a difficult but really important day for us all, but most importantly for the Williams family.

I asked the Year 5 children how they were feeling as they came into school on Thursday morning, and a number of them surprised me by saying, ‘I feel better, I'm glad that we've done it.’ There was a bittersweet sense of satisfaction that we had given Barnaby a really fitting, memorable occasion to celebrate his young life.

Not everyone is in the same place of course and we have continued to offer support to those children and others around the school who been affected. We have put on extra duties for staff to provide a sympathetic ear at lunchtimes, and we have all been on standby to provide the care and sympathy that the children need.

What gave me great pride on Wednesday was to see the whole of the Crescent School community pulling together, not only to give Barnaby the send-off he deserved, but also to take care of those children remaining in school and make sure that their day and their week was a happy one. Many teachers and staff came in to take classes when they don't normally do so, often for no extra charge. Mr Hester’s assembly went down especially well, I have heard. If your children were there, they might be able to teach you a little of the Zulu language! This team spirit was one I know that Barnaby would have loved to see.

In the midst of this we have had a normal school week going on, with lots of parents’ consultation meetings earlier in the week and more to come between now and the end of term. We used the new booking system that we used for our meetings in October, which has hopefully made signing up easier for you, but we will give everyone a chance to provide fuller feedback when we are through with this term’s cycle.

Today has also been a big day for the Year 6 football team who have travelled up to St George’s Park in Derbyshire to take part in the ISA national finals. As we go to press, I don't have news on their progress, but boys, we are thrilled that you for having reached this stage of the tournament and I know that you will represent the school with great pride and enthusiasm on the day. 

I hope you all have a restful weekend and find some time to recuperate ready for final two weeks of the term.

School uniform is an important way that we build a shared identity and provides pupils with the opportunity to establish a sense of community and to feel pride in their school. Any changes to uniform need to be carefully thought through, not least when new expenditure is required.  
 
With this in mind, I wanted to share with you some proposals regarding the school uniform policy for September 2024. You might well be pleased to hear that this will not involve any changes to the uniform you need to buy or require any additional kit to be purchased.   
 
In the current Joining Pack and Parent Handbook guidelines, girls and boys have uniform listed separately. From September, we are proposing that this will be replaced by two uniform options, but they will simply be named ‘Uniform Option 1’ and ‘Uniform Option 2’. The two lists will contain the same uniform items as they currently do. Children and families will then choose which of the two options is right for them. 
 
These changes will bring us in line with the other schools in the Foundation, as well as many other schools around the country who have adopted a similar approach. 
 
One possible outcome of this change is that girls will opt to wear trousers, rather than the skirt or pinafore. If they choose to do this only on some occasions, such as when there is a cold weather snap, that would be fine. 
 
If you have any questions or comments regarding this update to our uniform policy, please do not hesitate to contact me.  

Ramadan will start next week for Muslims across the world and we will mark this in our assemblies next week. For those Crescent families who are observing Ramadan this year, we hope it goes well for you and wish you a Happy Eid-al-Fitr when it comes in April.   

Co-curricular clubs end next Friday 15 March with the exception of All Stars Art and Craft and Gymnastics and Chess Club.  Please ensure you have booked your child into Afterschool next week if you require care.

Please remember to make your Co-Curricular choices for next term on SOCS when they are sent out in due course.

This year, the pupils of 4C have chosen an ambitious project to support in Malawi. They would like to raise all or part of £1,250 to renovate the Nachiphu Early Learning Centre in the Bwengu region.

They will do a sponsored silence in class and we have already had a non-uniform day to get us on the way.

Our big fundraising day will be Thursday 21 March when 4C will have stalls and games in the playground at break, not before school. Also that day there will be a treasure hunt where the whole school can buy a game card for £1 and solve the clues. Finally, there will be Bwengu Bingo to play for 50p a game back in class. Please support this excellent cause by sending your child in with some coins on that day. 

Many thanks for your suppport.

MySchoolPortal

Crescent School

The Foundation's new advertising campaign, which launches next week across a variety of media, takes a joined-up approach to communicate the values and ethos of a Princethorpe Foundation education to prospective parents and pupils.

The new Foundation for Life campaign has been developed to highlight that our schools provide more than just an education, preparing pupils with the skills, learning and experiences which will put them on the road to happy and fulfilled lives. The concept underscores the unique strength of the Foundation and that there is a Princethorpe Foundation setting for every stage of a child’s educational journey. It also incorporates a gentle play on words.

Using a distinctive new graphic style emphasising the Tower icon, alongside eye-catching photography, the individual school logos and palette of Foundation brand colours, plus a new gold Foundation colour, the campaign is designed to be both visually impactful and incorporate strong messaging. Text panels emphasise that every individual is valued and that our family of schools aim to nurture, inspire and challenge our pupils to achieve great things.

Comments Melanie Butler, Foundation Assistant Head for Marketing, Admissions and Communications, "We have long wanted an overarching Foundation advertising campaign that encapsulates what the Foundation offers as a whole, as well as being adaptable to the personalities and nature of the individual school or nursery settings.

“Foundation Marketing and Communications Executive, Jo Flowers, and I have really enjoyed developing the campaign with the help of Marketing Consultant and OP, Nigel Bromley and our designer, Debbie McLaughlin. We hope the campaign will resonate not only with prospectives in terms of what they are looking for from a school or Foundation for their child, but with the whole Princethorpe community - staff, parents, pupils and Old Princethorpians alike."

Timed to coincide with the launch of Princethorpe’s 2025 admissions cycle, the Marketing Team will be working over the coming weeks to roll the campaign out across digital, outdoor and traditional media for all the Foundation schools. 

Check out the different advert concepts in the gallery!

Please see text below from Simon Millward (a parent at school) regarding a Wolf Run for Barnaby:

"I have been speaking with Chris Williams (Barnaby’s father and friend of mine). Chris would like to do a Wolf Run in Summer (Sunday 9 June). We are aiming to get 50-100 (over 18-year-olds) to participate in memory of Barnaby. There will be ‘Remembering Barnaby’ t-shirts that we want all participants to be wearing and Wolf Run have said they will give us a gazebo so that we can Barnaby theme it.

We were hoping to get our first 50 people booked on ASAP. If you are interested please click on the link below to join the Whatsapp group or contact either Tom Dymek or myself below":

Wolf Run for Barnaby

Tom - 07798921712

Simon - 07769891231

Crescent School

To assist in achieving its aim of raising awareness, understanding and learning about different Faiths, the Warwick District Faiths Forum has arranged a Faiths Trail to visit different places of worship on Saturday 20 April 2024.

This is free to attend and everyone is invited, which will enable people to walk, talk and learn about different Faiths.

Please see the attached flyer here for further information.

Chef Manager Mrs Miliopolis and her staff produced these wonderful biscuits and cakes as a tribute to Barnaby on Wednesday. Lots of detail went into the fondant boots and scarfs. There was a special golden boot cake which was given to Beau.

Thank you Mrs Miliopolis, these brought a smile to the children's faces on a diffiuclt day.

Crescent School

We are most grateful to Jane from With Love And Stitches who very kindly made the school a beautiful memory bear for Barnaby.

The bear was made out of school uniform, including the blazer, polo top, jumper, both sides of the fleece and of course a house tie.

The school wanted to present Barnaby's family with a bear and when Jane discovered that Barnaby was just 9-years-old she made the bear for free over a weekend despite being fully booked up. It was  a such a kind and generous gift for the school.

On Wednesday the bear was presented to the family when the cortege paused outside school. 

Many people ask for book suggestions to help their children with what to read. This document provides a few ideas. 

Another place to search for children in Upper School is ARbookfinder UK as you can check the books you have but also ask for suggestions based on your child's reading level and interest level.

Happy reading.

Monday 11 March - 4.00pm to 6.30pm
Thursday 21 March - 6.00pm to 8.30pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to share and discuss your child's academic progress.  

The booking system is now live for you to book your Year 3 and 4 Parent Consultation Evening appointments with form tutors and specialist teachers. Please book your appointments below by Sunday 3 March 2024:

https://princethorpe.schoolcloud.co.uk/

We look forward to meeting with you.

Ms Forth
Deputy Head - Academic

Tuesday 12 March 2024 - 4.00pm

Crescent School is hosting its annual Orchestra Workshop in conjunction with Crackley Hall on Tuesday 12 March. There will be a concert for the parents of those playing at 4.00pm on that day.

Refreshments will be served in the Library from 3.45 pm. Unfortunately, we cannot open the playground for parking as there is an extra-curricular sports club using it, so please park considerately in the roads nearby or at St Mark's Church Car Park. The concert will be finished by 4.30pm, at which point you will be able to take your child home.

Parents of children in Orchestra can book tickets here:

Orchestral Performance to Parents

Please note that the Year 4 and 5 Destinations Meeting for parents will now take place on Wednesday 13 March 2024 at 7pm. This replaces the published date of Thursday 12, to avoid a clash with parent consultation meetings on that day. Apologies for this change of date and I hope it doesn't cause too much inconvenience. 

There will be an opportunity to ask questions as well through the live chat function. If you are unable to watch it live, then there will be a recording for you to watch at your leisure.

A link to join the meeting will be sent out on the day of the event.

Thursday 14 March - 6.00pm to 8.30pm
Monday 18 March - 4.00pm to 6.30pm

We all value the importance of these meetings to share and discuss your child's academic progress.  

The booking system is now live for you to book your Pre-Prep Parent Consultation Evening appointments. Please book your appointments below by Sunday 3 March 2024:

https://princethorpe.schoolcloud.co.uk/

We look forward to meeting with you.

Ms Forth
Deputy Head - Academic

Saturday 16 March - 10.00am to 12.00pm

We are holding an Open Morning on Saturday 16 March for prospective families. 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 considering Crescent School to come and have a look around and get a feel for the school. There will be opportunities to speak to pupils, key members of staff and to meet Mr Thackway, Headmaster.

To find out more and to book your visit to Crescent School visit our website here.

Applications for places in the current Reception to Year 6 are treated on an individual basis. We are currently operating waiting lists in most year groups. Please get in touch with our Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley, regarding our availability for September 2024. 

We are now taking registrations for September 2025 entry to Reception and Year 3.

Please do share this information with interested family and friends. 

Monday 18 March 2024 - 2.45pm to 3.30pm

We will be presenting our annual Spring Concert on Monday 18 March. Children involved are those in Choir, Orchestra, Flute Group, Brass Group, Wacky Music, and a few soloists.  

Please enter via the front entrance from 2.30 where refreshments will be served prior to the service.  

We will start promptly at 2.45pm and finish by 3.30pm so children can be collected at normal dismissal time. The concert will be filmed for those who are unable to attend.

We look forward to you hearing the results of this term’s music hard work and effort! 

You are able to book one ticket per family, or parents of children performing are able to book two tickets per family here by Wednesday 14 March.

Spring Concert

Monday 18 March 2024 - 4.00pm

All Year 6 parents are invited to a final drop-in session between 4.00pm and 4.30pm on Monday 18 March 2024, regarding the residential trip to Slapton Ley Field Centre. 

No new information will be given out, it is your opportunity to ask any quesions.

This will be held in the Class 6W form room.

Tuesday 19 March - 4.00pm

All Year 4 parents are invited to a final drop-in session between 4.00pm and 4.30pm on Monday 25 April, regarding the residential trip to Ilam Hall. 

No new information will be given out, it is your opportunity to ask any quesions.

This will be held in the Class 4C form room.

Wednesday 20 March 2024 - 9.15am

We are pleased to invite you to the Spring Year 2 production of Pirates versus Mermaids on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 9.15am.

You are welcome to join us for refreshments from 8.45am in the Library.

Three tickets per child are available to book via the link below by Sunday 17 March:

Pirates v Mermaids 

Wednesday 20 March 2024 - 4.00pm

All Year 3 parents are invited to a final drop-in session between 4.00pm and 4.30pm on Wednesday 20 March 2024, regarding the residential trip to Whitemoor Lakes. 

No new information will be given out, it is your opportunity to ask any quesions.

This will be held in the Class 3SS form room (enter by doors at bottom of sports field).

Friday 22 March 2024 – 9.15am  -10.15am

The Easter Service will be a celebration of spring and include the telling of 'The Mayans and the History of Chocolate' by Class 5F and Choir Group. We do hope you will join us for the most important festival in the Christian year.

Two tickets per family will be available for parents of children in Choir and Class 5F. Please book below by Sunday 17 March 2024:

Easter Service

A great week for JdV achievements this week.

• Timi in the 6W has been awarded his in English
• Leela in 6W gains hers in Art
• Ella, Charlotte, Tomisin and Thomas in 4C all earn theirs in English with Ria and Alice in 3SS becoming double English JdV students
• MingYi in 5F earns hers in Art and RE
• Zac in 5F earns his in both Music and RE
• Patrick in 5F earns his in Music 
• Matthew in 5F in RE
• Evie in 3SS and Nishaan in 2E earn theirs in Art 
• Hermione in 3LS earns hers in Maths
• Catherine in 3SS achieves hers in History.

What a super week. Well done everyone!

Mrs Symons
JdV Lead

This week's reading Superstars are:

• Double Millionaire - Lilah 4C
• Triple Millionaire - Aria 4C

Amazing reading girls.

The Year 3, 100k Word Superstar this week is David in 3LS.

Well done.

This week's Word Wizards and Top Quizzers are:

Word Wizards, achieving the highest word count from successfully quizzing this week, are:

• 3LS  Jahnavi
• 3SS  Felicity
• 4C    Kiran
• 5F    Patrick
• 6W   Sofie

Top Quizzers who have quizzed on the most books successfully or made a noticeable improvement in quizzing scores this week are:

• 3LS  Lucas
• 3SS  Finn
• 4C   Everly
• 5F    Matthew
• 6W   Alex G

Mrs Nelson
Teaching Assistant

Reading certificates have, this week, been awarded to:

• Alex K
• Alex S
• Clementine
• Emilia
• Harry
• Evie
• Charlotte
• Niamh.

Well done to you all.

This week's Scientists of the Week are Year 3.  They visited the Oxford University National Museum of History where they became Rock Detectives!

They learnt about how rocks are formed by researching, exploring and investigating the amazing rocks and fossils.

Year 3 you were super scientists!

This week's Artist of the Week are:

• Isla 2W - Beautifully modelled horse sculpture

• Sarima 2W - Excellent elephant sculpture

• Nishaan 2E - Skilfully sculpted clay animal

• Isabel 2E - Beautifully observed life studies

• Niamh 2E - A fun and carefully modelled lion sculpture

• Esme 4C - An excellent exaggerated portrait

• Taran 4C - Excellent choice of colour

• Seren 4C - An eye-catching exaggerated portrait

• Patrick 5F - Imaginative use of one-point perspective

• Leela 6W - A beautifully painted preliminary study of a landscape

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 this week:

• Locan 2E has completed 24% of the training course
• Jed 2E has completed 24% of the training course
• Nishaan 2E has completed 24% of the training course
• Penelope 3SS has completed 24% of the training course
• Seren 4C has completed 24% and then 48% of the training course
• Edward M 5F has completed 72% of the training course

• 1st 2E 256
• 2nd 3SS 55
• 3rd 2W 36

Most valuable players in the whole competition:

• 1st Locan 2E
• 2nd Nishaan 2E
• 3rd  Niamh 2E

Well done, 2E! 
 
Most improved speedsters in the studio are:

4C

• Everly - Busker!
• Charlotte - Rock Legend!

3SS

• Finn - Support Act!

3LS

• Feranmi - Headliner!

2E

• Niamh - Wannabe!

Battle between 3LS, 3SS, 4C, 5F and 6W from 7 - 14 March 2024. 

TT Rock stars will block 2x, 5x, 10x and 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.

Class 3LS children brought their favourite books in from home as English homework yesterday. The children talked about them in their lesson and made recommendations to their friends. They then completed simple book reviews and cover drawings.

Class 3SS then got together and to read their favourite book and discussed it as a group after.

Class 3SS have taken their understanding of 2D shapes by learning some new vocabulary such as quadrilaterals, polygons, irregular etc. and we spent time discussing and classifying shapes in relation to their qualities.

CLass 3LS have been studying the paintings of the Impressionists. They have tried hard to mix the right colours and have used different ways of applying the paint to add texture.

Class 3LS have been learning lots of foods in French. Here they are playing a card game in order to reinforce their knowledge of key vocabulary. They have also watched a video clip with a song called ‘les cornichons’, (the gherkins).

Class 4C have been evaluating their amazing expressive portraits. Their paintings show excellent exaggeration of expression and powerful use of colour to emphasise emotion.

Year 4 researched the causes of deforestation then considered changes that could be made in school to help reduce it. They have each written a persuasive letter to Mr Thackway, asking him to make one small change that could make a big difference.

While the girls were out on a match fixture, the boys in 5F created their own compositions. They chose their own title and content, the only stipulation being to use at least one melodic instrument. The resulting compositions were very impressive, especially as they were achieved within the space of one lesson.

Crescent School warmly welcomed Lower Sixth Princethorpe Biology students and the Planet Princethorpe Team to undertake bio-diversity sampling in our grounds.

Year 5 helped with the sampling methods and identification and we have found out that the grounds here have a higher level of Bio-diversity than other sites. This is our starting point and with the planned wildflower bed and bug hotel we are hoping to increase this further. The sampling will be retested later in the year. 

Class 6W have risen to the challenge of healthy eating. They have all been having fresh fruit or vegetables everyday for break. Hopefully they have felt the benefits and will keep up the good habit.

Class 6W have been studying physical descriptions in their French lessons. They have learnt hair colour, eye colour, and adjectives to describe height and weight. Here they are labelling a variety of people.

Class 6W have composed music using percussion, chime bars and their own instruments. Working from a choice of titles, they structured their compositions with a beginning, middle and end, and incorporated changes of tempo (speed) and dynamics (volume). The next stage is to write their compositions out using graphic notation.

As part of our work on Percy Jackson we have written news reports. The children have tried to incorporate higher level grammar within them eg: passive, subjunctive, relative clauses and adverbials.

The 'Let's Count Tally Sheet' will be sent home with pupils on Friday. Participation will be optional for pupils from Rec to Year 2 and science homework for Year 3 to 6.

Further details can be found Big Plastic Count.

It was great to host the U9 Netball v King Henry VIII last Tuesday 27 February after school, with lots of home support cheering from the side lines.  

U9A team made great progress within the game, after some quick goals from King Henry's in the first quarter the girls then got into their stride and worked hard to intercept the balls, retain possession and get the ball in to our own attacking area where Lilah and Charlotte worked well together to make their shots count.

Final score was 6-8 to King Henry's but a tightly contested game.

POM awarded to Amber.

A great team performance by the U11 Boys hockey squad at the County Tournament held at Bilton Grange on Thursday 7 March.  All players worked exceptionally hard and made superb team and individual progress throughout the tournament. Crescent finished in 4th place overall, narrowly missing out on the Bronze medal position, to Warwick, which went down to goal difference.  

• Crescent v Solihull 2-0 Loss 
• Crescent v Warwick 0-0 Draw 
• Crescent v King Henry VIII 2 - 0 Win 
• Crescent v Bablake 2-0 Win 
• Crescent v Bilton Grange 3-0 Loss 

A great finish to the season boys and we are all super proud. 

All of the Year 5 and 6 Boys travelled to Bilton Grange for hockey fixtures on Wednesday 28 February.

U11  team had a great match with 50:50 possession with lots of fast paced action, opportunities for both teams and high quality skills on display putting both goalkeepers under lots of pressure. 

Final score 3-1 to BG, the boys should be proud of their performance in a great competitive match.  

U11C team showed great strength and resilience against a well rehearsed BG team. Some fantastic play from all players who worked hard throughout the whole game making fantastic tackles, solid passes, great goalkeeping and some fantastic attempts on goal but unfortunately we could not get it over the line.

Final score 4-0 BG. 

Fantastic day at Stafford Prep with the U10 Girls Netball team on Monday 4 March.  It was a well attended tournament with a record 19 schools competing and our Crescent team stepped up to the challenge right from the first whistle, working well as a team, driving on to the ball and making accurate passes and displaying solid footwork. We managed to win our groups and this took us through to the quarter finals where we came up against a strong team from Mylnhurst.  

Pool  

• Crescent v High Clare 6-1 Win 
• Crescent v Salterford House 9-0 Win 
• Crescent v Stafford Prep  6-0 Win 
• Crescent v Castle House 3-3 Draw

Quarter Finals  

• Crescent v Mylnhurst 6-2 Loss 

A great day, with some wonderful netball skills on display, doing Crescent proud. 

Friday 15 March 2024 - 3.30pm to 4.45pm

Class 2W Bake Sale is on Friday 15 March. As always this will start from 3.30pm and will have a range of yummy cakes and snacks selling at £1 each.

All profits will go to Class 2W to spend on entertainment for Privilege Time.

Just a reminder that the Disco date has changed on Classlist and Facebook from 8 March to 26 April. This was due to a number of children being away for the ISA Football Finals in addition to their parents - many of whom are key FOC helpers and we wouldn't have been able to run the event without them!

Hopefully the new date is convenient for all.

Inez and FoC

Please see below for useful school contact information:

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

Crescent School

The Foundation has the following vacancies:

Princethorpe College

• Head Of Outdoor Pursuits
• Teacher of MFL
• Digital Transformation Leader
• Minibus Driver

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.