The Courier

Please click on the link below to view the weekly calendar.  This details all the co-curricular clubs running and lists any changes.  It also contains fixtures and additional information.

Weekly Calendar - 260318

Crescent School

On Tuesday 20 March the children at Crescent School were delighted to present a cheque for £1,685 to the charity Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Pupils have been busy fundraising for the charity since the beginning of the school year.  They started with a sponsored walk round Draycote Water, with parents, children and staff walking, running, cycling and scooting laps of the reservoir, raising over £750. Next the children had a non-uniform day and a 'Guess how many dog biscuits in the jar?' challenge which took their total to over £1,000.  Collection buckets at school events and a 'doggie' themed movie night helped to complete their fundraising efforts. The huge total of £1,685 allows the children to sponsor a guide dog puppy and to choose its name.

The children warmly welcomed Guide Dog representatives, Heather Gelder and Lyn Knight and their guide dogs, trainee Barny and working dog Slipper into school for a special assembly.

Heather who helps to look after guide dogs in training spoke to the children about the charity and the services and support they provide.  She explained how the dogs were selected and the training process they go through and most excitingly promised to bring in the school's puppy for a visit when it was old enough.

The pupils really enjoyed meeting Barny, who has nearly finished his training to become a guide dog, and Slipper who is already a working dog.

The school's Parents Association, Friends of Crescent who have organised all the fundraising activities were also present and Zara Corbin, Chair of the FOC, presented the cheque to Heather on behalf of the school.

Zara commented, "The children have really engaged with our fundraising for the Guide Dogs this year, they have already been busy making suggestions for the puppy's name; we have had lots of great suggestions, but the most popular choices so far are Crescent and Charlie. We can’t wait to meet the puppy when it is old enough to visit."

The final dress rehearsal for The Bee Musical took place this week in front of a proper audience, as all of the older school children came to watch the run through.

A lot of hard work has gone into the rehearsals, learning the songs, memorising lines, sorting out costumes, scenery and planning the production, and what a bee-autiful spectacle it will be!

With a fabulous script and nine terrific songs to get you buzzing and bee-bopping, you just won’t bee-lieve how good the musical is going to bee!

For a sneak preview have a look at some of the photos from the dress rehearsal in the Gallery.

Crescent School's much anticipated annual Spring Concert took place on Friday 16 March.  The concert was very well attended with the school hall packed with parents and family members eager to be treated to an afternoon of fine music and song. They were not disappointed!

The school orchestra opened the concert performing two pieces confidently, the impact of their recent orchestral workshop clear to see.  The audience very much enjoyed the lively 'Bluesville' by Bruce Fraser and the familiar theme from 'James Bond' by Monty Norman.   Then came the first of the instrumental solos with Vignesh Sadasivan's finger perfect rendition of his latest exam piece 'Song' by Reinecke on piano.  Brass Group were up next with two toe-tapping pieces 'Honk' and 'Oompahpah', both arranged by peripatetic teacher, Di Fisher. Hot on their heels were Mini Brass who captivated us all with their tiny cornets and trombones.  Next in the programme was Harriet Gray with an enthusiastic violin performance of 'Ready Steady Go Now' by Kathy and David Blackwell and then came the Wacky Trumpets with 'We are the Champions' also arranged by Di Fisher.

The audience were impressed by the wonderful Wacky Music who took to the stage with their amazing and colourful instruments, especially the boomwhackers, and noisily played 'Percussion Panache'; the instruments were clearly as much fun to play as they were a surprise to hear!  

The concert continued with Matthew Thomas skilfully playing his trumpet solo, 'Trumpet Tune' by Jeremiah Clarke and then came Class III recorders carefully sounding out 'Dotty Waltz' by Sarah Watts.  The Senior Recorders gave an accomplished performance of the traditional 'Lord of the Dance', and they were followed by Maya Patel playing 'Shhh!' by Mark Cropton beautifully on her clarinet.

The Flute Group delightfully played two pieces by Pascal Proust 'Petit Nuages' and 'Jongleurs' and Georgia Dowling stayed on stage to play a captivating flute solo of the popular song 'Summertime' by Gershwin.

The concert concluded with a super performance by the Choir.  Pupils from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 sang three new pieces. They belted out the challenging 'Still singing' by Partington/McCrorie-Shand, 'The Call' by Regina Spektor and as a stunning finale the ever so catchy 'Rhythm of Life' by Cy Coleman.

Our enormous thanks and congratulations go to all Crescent School's accomplished performers who took to the stage in front of their proud parents, and of course to all their teachers and Director of Music, Julie Barnes who have helped them achieve so much. 

Last Sunday 18 March Head of Girls’ Games, Mrs McCollin, and 18 Crescent pupils and their parents visited the Ricoh Arena to watch Wasps Netball take on Celtic Dragons in their Vitality Super League game.  Wasps won the Vitality Super League title last year and are sitting in second place in the League at this point in the season.

For most of the Crescent girls it was their first chance to watch Super League Netball and they were ‘super’ excited.  When they arrived they were given the opportunity to have a go at different netball training activities including shooting, rebound and reaction time tests.  Then the girls went to watch the teams warm up before the game.  They were surprised to see the teams using some of the same exercises that they use at school including ‘Red Arrows’.

The match-play was mesmorising for the girls, they were rooted to the game, asking questions, as they watched the flow of play, about the rules and tactics that the teams were using.   They really enjoyed the game, fascinated by how fast it was and just how many goals were scored - more goals in that one match than they had scored in an entire season!

Wasps were dominant in the match limiting the Dragons to a record-low tally for the goals scored in a Vitality Netball Super League game this season, winning with an impressive 74-32 score-line.

After the game the pupils went court-side to meet the players, who spent time with the girls signing autographs and posing for photos.

It was a fantastic evening, and a trip that the girls will remember forever! A huge thank you to Wasps Netball for this opportunity.

Rachel McCollin was delighted commenting, “It was wonderful to see the girls so enthused.  I have received several emails from parents thanking me for organising the trip and telling me how inspired the girls are from going to watch our local professional netball team. I’m sure this will translate onto the netball courts in good time.”

It is with great pleasure that we awarded Sophie Causer a Prefect badge in assembly today.

Sophie is a deserving recipient, she has a proactive approach to keeping the school promise and a very positive attitude.

Congratulations Sophie.

Class III have brought their learning to life this week by making their own bread.

The class has been listening to stories from around the world explain how different bread is made and enjoyed and tasted a few samples.  In their lesson the children practised 'accurate measuring' and 'following instructions' as well as demonstrating good 'team work' to make the dough. Each child designed and created their own roll before it was baked by our very own Head Chef, Mrs Slatcher.

Come and see the display on Open Morning for more photos and insights!

A sneak preview of the creativity shown by Class II this term. They have found the Amazon Rainforest a fascinating topic in Geography and look forward to sharing their projects with you at our Open Morning this Saturday!

They have learned about the characteristics and animals which live in the different forest layers and considered the impact deforestation has on the landscape and habitats, their knowledge and empathy has impressed us all and each has been awarded a Junior da Vinci for Mastery or Creativity for their hard work.

Excellent work Year 2!

This term Class III have been exploring the much-loved story 'Fantastic Mr Fox', by Roald Dahl.  To help them understand the cunning creatures, the children have been working on projects to portray what they think Mr Fox's habitat was like.

Some amazing homes have been created with papier-mâché, some even including twinkling lights!

Plenty of Junior da Vinci's were awarded for Mastery and Creativity, for the children's commitment and effort in their project work.

Make sure you have time to come and see them on display at Open Morning.

Crescent School’s Year 4 pupils warmly welcomed Eve Hamuza into school on Wednesday 21 March. Eve, who grew up in Malawi, returned to the school to talk to the children about life in her country and in the village of Bwengu in particular. Her visit was organised by Mrs Bryony Forth to support the classes’ Geography topic this term.

Every year at Crescent School the Year 4s study Bwengu as a less economically developed area, comparing and contrasting it to their local town of Rugby.

Eve’s visit is designed to bring the topic to life. She had a large bag full of models and artefacts for the children to examine and was greeted with much enthusiasm and excitement. She talked animatedly about life in Malawi, explaining to the children about the houses rural people live in, the food they eat and the daily challenges they face. Eve had several different scale models of houses, and an example of rush matting that is used as a bed, but also to carry goods and food around. Also in her bag were bowls, cups and scoops all ingeniously created from local fruits and trees. She had intricately carved mortars and pestles that are commonly used to make flour and her treasure trove included an example of a Malawian drum and a very popular local game played with a board and beans.

It was a very interesting session, the children were fascinated and couldn’t wait to examine Eve’s artefacts. They asked lots of different intelligent questions and were interested to discover the similarities and differences between the two areas.

Thanks go to Eve for coming to talk to the children, it was an engrossing afternoon for all.

Classes IV(M) and IV(Y)'s ambition to raise money for two toilet blocks and twenty secondary school bursaries for the children of Bwengu, Malawi is going very well.

There is still time to enter the competitions for 'guess the name and win the teddy' and also 'guess the number of sweets in the tub', where the winner takes all!

The two Year 4 classes have taken part in a gruelling sponsored silence and now need to collect their donations by the first week after Easter holidays please.

Any entries for the 'Design an Easter Egg' competition need to be in by Monday 26 March.  There will a prize for the best Pre-Prep entry and the best Prep entry. Any materials are allowed for this.

There are two fundraisers in the last few days of term, both on Tuesday 27 March:

• The children are running an Easter Egg Hunt to find and solve clues. If your child wants to take part, bring £1 for a game card, all correct entries go into the prize draw.
• From Tuesday morning please donate any loose change you would like to clear out of pockets and purses for our Penny Path. Depending on the weather, this will hopefully be outside.

All winners from the competitions and draws will be announced at the Easter Service on our final afternoon this term, Wednesday 28 March, all are welcome to attend.

Thank you for all your support, as always.

Saturday 24 March - 9.30am to 12.00pm

The Crescent School is opening its doors to prospective and current parents and children for a Spring Open Morning on Saturday 24 March 2018 from 9.30am to 12.00pm. 

As part of the Open Morning there will be a very special performance by Reception to Year 2 pupils, along with children from Pathfinders Nursery, of The Bee Musical.  With a fabulous script and nine terrific songs to get you buzzing and bee-bopping, you just won’t bee-lieve how good this delightful and educational musical is!

This promises to be fantastic entertainment for visitors of all ages, and will really showcase the talents, confidence and stage presence of the school's youngest pupils. The show commences at 10.00am and we would urge visitors to arrive early to get a good seat!

After the half-hour performance there will be a short presentation about the Crescent and our ambitions for the school as part of the Princethorpe Foundation, and the chance to meet Headmaster, Joe Thackway. There will also be short Q&A sessions with Alan Webb, Assistant Head - Head of Pre-Prep and Headmaster Joe Thackway about entry to Reception and Year 3. 

Elsewhere on site there will be plenty to see and do, including guided tours by the older pupils, sporting displays, instrumental performances, plus the opportunity to visit classrooms and chat informally to current parents and staff from Nature Trails, the Crescent and Princethorpe College.

Light refreshments will be available. There is no need to book.

For more information about the Open Morning please call the Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 523851 or email admissions@crescentschool.co.uk.

Alternatively please visit our website www.crescentschool.co.uk for more information.

Tuesday 27 March 2018 - 3.30pm to 4.15pm and 4.45pm to 5.15pm

We are pleased to announce that for Years 3-6 we will be running an afternoon session on Tuesday 27 March  from 3.30pm until 4.15pm for you to come and have a look at the new optional cricket white polo and slipover. For those parents whose children are at cricket training we will also be available from 4.45pm until 5.15pm. 

We look forward to seeing you in the School Library.  Any orders placed will be delivered to school ready for the beginning of Trinity Term.

Thursday 19 April - 7.00pm

Just to let you know that we will be having a meeting on Thursday 19 April at 7.00pm in the School Hall, regarding our trip to Slapton Ley Field Centre in May.  The meeting will go over the finer details of what the children need, our expectations, what they will experience and will be an opportunity for you to ask questions.

I recommend that you come along. It is not necessary for the children to come as they will have had the same chat during the school day.

We look forward to seeing you.

Dear Parents

We follow a lovely varied spectrum of genres and books through all the year groups.  Some of these books deserve a bit more time, so Years 5 and 6 will have a holiday read sent home with them. 

Year 6 will have 'The Eighteenth Emergency' by Betsy Briers and Year 5 will have 'The Hobbit' (graphic edition). These boooks can be shared or listened to on audio-books, whilst following the story.  It is important that the children experience the language and understand the story as this is then explored further when we return to school in April.

I have also talked to the children about the importance of knowing their grammatical terminology and what it means. Please work with them on this from the booklets that I sent home a few weeks ago.

Thank you for your continued support.

Ms Lowe
Senior Teacher

Dear Year 4 Parents

So far this academic year, the children in Year 4 have studied many fantastic fiction texts, including Beowulf, traditional fairy tales, Horrid Henry and Aesop’s Fables.

When we return after the Easter holidays, we are going to be looking at ‘Stories with Humour’, in particular the books by David Walliams.  A copy of 'Mr Stink' will be sent home for the children to read, over the Easter holidays, themselves, share with you or listen to on audiobook while following the text.

We would like to wish everyone a restful holiday and thank you for your support.

As the term comes to a close we are delighted to congratulate all of these children for receiving a practice, mastery and creative sticker in one subject:

• Samuel Lau in English
• Ella Knight in English
• Rebecca Monteith in Sport
• Rania Akbik in RE
• Olivia Sarkies in RE
• Vignesh Sadasivan in Geography
• Olivia Monk in English
• Isla Barrack in Science
• Gabriel White in Science

There will be a full round up of all the Junior da Vinci awards in the 'light' version of the Courier on Wednesday 28 March 2018.

Please click on the link below to see the Accelerated Reader Certificates awarded this week:

Accelerated Reader

Congratulations to all.
 
Ms Lowe
Senior Teacher

• Alex Grove
• Maisie Tucker

For the second successive year, Crescent went to the National IAPS Hockey Finals. This year, they travelled south to Tonbridge School on a lovely, warm day.

In the first match, Crescent defended well and showed the composure at the back that they had been working on. Matthew Browne was particularly strong coming back to help out and Chris Gibson made some impressive saves. The game finished 0-0.

The boys then played their next four matches on sand-based pitches. This meant that the ball travelled slowly and suited powerful players as oppose to the small, skilful players that Crescent have. Nevertheless, the boys had to adapt and still looked dangerous going forward. Fin Calder evaded the defenders regularly and scored Crescent’s only goal. George Bell came close to sweeping in to level up the match against Dumpton following a Browne cross. Dylan Hopkins continued his very impressive development as he coped with some very skilful players with ease. Marco Rodriguez Hernandez backed him up well. Oliver Bell gave his usual consistent performance going forward and backwards. Matthew Thomas’ tactical knowledge was really useful and he did very little wrong in the tournament.

Crescent did not progress to the next stage but gained some valuable experience playing at a high level. The future looks bright as well, as half of the team can play for Crescent next year as well.

The older children in the school have been working hard on their stroke and race technique and were given an opportunity to perform against the best in Rugby last Wednesday 14 March.  Up against a lot of Rugby Swimming Club swimmers, Crescent performed admirably.

There was a huge improvement by the Year 6 swimmers on last year's performances as they competed with the quickest in the town. 'Second' became the watch word of the evening as so many swimmers finished in this position.

Olivia Sarkies was very unlucky to finish outside the top three as she swam a quick time. Anton Tran went off like a rocket and continued to pull away from the opposition to became Town Champion.

Results:

Town Champion

• Anton Tran - Year 5 Boys Breaststroke 

2nd place finishes:

• Mia Webb - Girls Open Butterfly
• Samuel Lau - Boys Open Butterfly
• Finlay Calder - Year 5 Boys Backstroke  
• Christopher Gibson - Year 6 Boys Backstroke  
• Matthew Browne - Year 6 Boys Breaststroke  
• Jamie Capelett - Year 5 Boys Freestyle  
• Thean Capelett - Year 6 Boys Freestyle  
• Girls Open Medley 
• Boys Open Medley
• Year 5 Boys - Freestyle Relay
• Year 6 Boys - Freestyle Relay

3rd place finishes:

• Sophie Causer - Year 6 Girls Backstroke  
• Boys Open Medley
• Year 5 Girls - Freestyle Relay

Congraulations to all.

We have now agreed all the dates for the events next term so please add these to your diaries:

FoC Meeting - Monday 23 April
Please come along and join us to discuss the term's events.

Show Us Your Talent - Friday 4 May 2.15pm - 3.45pm 
After the success of the show last year we plan to replicate the format again this year. So if your child has a talent, now is the time for them to step forward.

Last year we had children performing both in groups and as soloists. We had singers, dancers, comedians, gymnasts and many other talents on show. I will be briefing the children in assembly next week about how they can sign up on the FoC board stating their name and talent and they will have until Friday 20 April to register.

The teachers will then hold class auditions to choose three acts to put through to the show, voted for by their classmates. Unfortunately we do have time restrictions for the event so we can only take three acts per class. The children who do not make it to the show will still receive recognition as they will receive a prize for taking part in the audition process.

The show will take place from 2.15pm on Friday 4 May. Unfortunately parents will be unable to come and watch this event as we feel this would be too much for the younger children.  We will of course take lots of photos which we will share with you all.  We are hoping for some celebrity judges to join us too!

Year 1 Market Day - Friday 4 May
Please come along and purchase cakes and sweets in aid of Class 1.

FoC Disco - Friday 18 May
Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 disco will be held from 3.45pm-4.45pm. 
Year 4-6 will be held from 5-6pm.
Only £5 per child which will include a drink and snack.
Sign up sheets are on the FoC board.

Reception Market Day - Friday 25 May 
Please come along and purchase cakes and sweets in aid of Reception class.

FoC meeting - Monday 11 June
Please come along for our final meeting of the school year.

Father's Day Crafts Activities 
More details to follow on this next term

Summer Fete - Friday 22 June 3.20pm - 5.00pm
Our final event of the year is the Summer Fete. Let's hope for fab weather!

On Tuesday this week in assembly the children met Barny and Slipper, two wonderful Guide Dogs and their owners who talked us through the fantastic work this charity does.

The dogs were so well behaved and even visited the children in their classrooms, who asked a variety of different questions. We all learnt so much about the dogs' training and the fact that they are allowed free time to enjoy themselves (Slipper even jumping into a river last weekend in the snow on her time off!).

We didn't find out the name of our puppy yet as it's not been born but we're hoping to know very soon.

Monday 30 April - Wednesday 2 May 2018

The Year 4 and 5 residential is fast approaching. Parent information packs including kit lists, general medical and code of conduct form and specific medication forms have been sent home with the children.

Please could the one page with general medical consent and code of conduct be returned by Wednesday 18 April (first day back after the Easter holiday), if not before.

Specific medication and accompanying forms are not required until the week beginning Monday 23 April but need to be in by Thursday 26 April at the latest.

Mrs Olner and myself will be available on Tuesday 27 March in Class V/Music Room from 4.00pm to answer any questions and to give an outline of the trip.

Staff attending the trip this year will be Mrs Yates, Mrs Calder, Mr Thackway, Mrs Monteith and myself.

Allocation of rooms will not be confirmed until much nearer the time.

Summer uniform is to be worn after the Easter break.  Below you can find the requirements for each year group:

Girls – Classes Rec – IV

• Grey blazer 
• Green and white striped dresses
• Green school cardigan
• White knee-high socks
• Straw boater with green band or green school sun hat

Boys – Classes Rec – IV

• Grey blazer 
• White short-sleeved shirt with collar and tie
• Green school pullover
• Grey short trousers
• Grey knee length socks
• Green school sun hat

Girls - Classes V and VI

• Grey blazer 
• Green and white striped dresses
• Green school cardigan
• White knee-high socks
• Straw boater with green band or green school sun hat

Boys - Classes V and VI

• Grey blazer 
• White short-sleeved shirts with collar and tie
• Green school pullover
• Long grey trousers
• Grey short trousers may be worn with knee length grey socks
• Green school sun hat 

School Shop
Please note that the school shop based at Princethorpe College will be closed from the end of the Lent Term on Wednesday 28 March and will reopen at the start of the Trinity Term on Wednesday 18 April. Should you require any uniform items prior to the end of the Lent Term then please contact Nicola Browne (Foundation Shop Manager) on 01926 634272 or via email at nicolabrowne@princethorpe.co.uk.

Please see attachments below for details of holiday clubs that are running over the Easter break.

Music Mania

Kits Academy

Rugby Art Gallery and Museum Flyer

Rugby Soccer Coaching Course

Rugby Cricket Coaching Company

Please click on the link below to view next week's lunch menu:

Lunch Menu -Week Commencing 26 March

Crescent School Office

Please click on the link below to read all about what the Reception Class have been learning over the last fortnight.

Reception Round Up