Welcome to The Courier, Crescent School's electronic newsletter.

This week's edition features the launch of Crescent’s School Promise which challenges pupils to be Good Friends, Good Learners and Good Citizens.  In the Headmaster's Message there is a link to the schools mission, statement and ethos which we invite you to read.

Please note there is no Choir Club after school on Monday.

Our featured picture this week is our wonderful U9 Girls Netball ISA Midlands Champions.

Click here to email The Courier.

Preview

Headmaster's Message

Headmaster's Message

Dear Parents

I was pleased to see a good number of parents here this Tuesday for the launch of our new School Promise. You should all have received your own copy of the promise and I hope you will take the time to have a good read of this with your children and take the chance to discuss the core ethos that we are trying to promote here at Crescent School. The ideas that are described are deceptively simple but often taken for granted. These formative years for our children are so important in shaping the people they will become and as parents and educators we have a really key role to play in this process. In preparing for the presentation, I picked out some of the key words and phrases that are at the heart of the Promise. I will list them here:

Good Friends: kind, caring, forgiving, good manners
Good Learners: listen, try our best, never give up
Good Citizens: Respectful, tolerant, honest, responsible

My experience is that some children are born with some or many of these qualities, others may need some guidance along the way but all children can get there with the right support and in the right environment. Our job is to provide that environment and to keep reminding ourselves that they are children, a work in progress, and everyone is at a different place in their personal development. This is equally true of adults in many ways and I would stress that the new Promise applies equally to them, the teachers, assistants, office staff and support team, in the same way that it applies to me.

Although the School Promise has been renewed and refreshed, it is actually a longstanding tradition here and traditions play an enormous part in the identity and sense of community in any school or organisation. With that in mind, part of my brief in my first year here was to go back to basics and to think about not only the underlying values of the school but also its core mission and, more specifically, the aims that we are collectively trying to achieve. Please click here to read our new mission statement and the school aims. I hope you are able to find some time to sit down and have a read through them. They will in due course be appearing on the school website as well and you can always find them there.

I cannot finish my letter this week without mentioning our triumphant U9 Girls Netball team who won outright the ISA Netball Tournament at Stafford on Thursday. They deserve a tremendous amount of credit for this achievement, as does their coach Mrs McCollin. I have yet to hear the specific details of their heroics but we will find out all about it in assembly I’m sure. As a small school we shouldn’t really be winning this sort of thing but with the Crescent spirit and some expert coaching, anything is possible!

Have a great weekend.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster
Crescent School

Weekly Information

Weekly Calendar

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 - 30 April 2018

Crescent School

News

Crescent’s School Promise Challenges Pupils To Be Good Friends, Good Learners And Good Citizens

On Tuesday 24 April, in front of an audience of parents and invited guests, members of Crescent School’s School Council relaunched the School Promise. Headteacher, Joe Thackway, led pupils in explaining how the Promise had been reviewed and developed and presented the new code of commitments to pupils and parents in an information meeting in the school hall.  

The Crescent School has had a School Promise for many years.  The first promise was introduced by former Headteacher, Mr Huw Marshall, back in 2005 and its commitments have been at the core of the Crescent’s ethos ever since.

This year the School Council reviewed the original School Promise in collaboration with pupils and staff.  Every child wrote a promise and the School Council then worked with Mr Thackway, Mrs Stapleton and Mrs Monteith to use the children’s ideas to refresh and revitalise the Promise Statement.

As a school community Crescent School shares certain core values and beliefs. It seeks to foster and develop the qualities of kindness, tolerance and mutual respect in a safe and caring environment where staff and families work together to deliver an inspiring, challenging and varied curriculum.

Comments Joe Thackway, “Our new School Promise builds on the legacy of the original commitment.  It expresses the school community’s shared values and challenges all our pupils to be Good Friends, Good Learners and Good Citizens.  This simple set of guidelines, shared by all pupils and staff, will stand us all in good stead for the future both in school and out.”

All pupils have been presented with a specially designed School Promise card to remind them of the new commitments. 

U9 Girls Netball ISA Midlands Champions

Super huge congratulations to the U9 Girls Netball team who are the ISA Regional Midlands Champions. They played fantastically! A full match report will be in the Courier next week.

Well done girls we are incredibly proud of you.

Lucy Bentley, Phoebe Causer, Arabella Drinkwater, Amelie Frere, Sienna Moran, Izzy Slaytor, Issy Thompson, Chloe Wensley and Maryn Yates. 

And living the Crescent Promise too - We work hard and try our best!

View Gallery

Pay It Forward Day 2018

Today we have considered how we can pass on love and kindness by being part of a worldwide initiative that is know as 'Pay-it-Forward'. The UK is one of 80 countries who, this weekend, will be doing random acts of kindness and encouraging others to do the same. It is inspired by the novel and film 'Pay it Forward' where a young boy comes up with the idea of showing kindness which quickly multiplies.

This morning Mrs Stapleton and Mr Thackway, with the help of some budding Class III actors, demonstrated how simple acts around school, at home and in the community can show appreciation and kindess. The children have explored this idea through their PSHE lessons today and how this fits well within our new School Promise of being a Good Citizen.

They will come home with an ideas checklist and some 'pay-it-forward' cards to encourage their friends and families to do the same.  Please chat with them about their learning and their ideas.

Mrs Stapleton
Class III Teacher
PSHE Subject Lead
RE Subject Lead
View Gallery

Bwengu Penny Path

There is still plenty of fundraising to do this term with the non-uniform day at half term and sponsor money still rolling in, but we would like to thank you if you cleared out the copper jar or checked down the sofa and helped construct our Penny Path in aid of Class IV Bwengu projects at the end of last term.

All that loose change, old pound coins, euros and cents came to a grand total of £57.47 which is enough to send seven secondary aged children to school for a year. Our Thermometer, outside Class V/Music Room, is on the Bwengu Board to see how we are progressing. We have already smashed our target of £930 for two toilet blocks and twenty bursaries.  We hope to raise enough for a third toilet block.

Competition Winners were:

  • Guess the Teddy Name was Oliver Bell Class VI for 'Cosmo'
  • Alyssa Barnett won 'Guess the Sweets in a Jar' for 147
  • Olivia Monk won the Classes III-VI 'Design an Easter Egg' Competition
  • Ro Somerset won the Classes R-II 'Design an Easter Egg' Competition
  • Joshua Gorbutt won the Easter Egg Hunt Puzzle, correctly guessing 'Mr Thackway' as the anagram!

Thank for all your continued support, it makes such a difference to the children in Malawi.

Ms B Forth
Deputy Head Teacher

View Gallery

Jaguar Primary Schools Challenge

This week Mr Thackway and Mrs Byrne visited Princethorpe to find out all about the F1 in Schools -  Jaguar Primary School Challenge.  The STEM competition requires teams to research, design, manufacture, test, promote and race the fastest car possible using standard chassis and engine housing nets with a car body made only from card. It is a technical brief but one that has proven to really engage potential future engineers. 

Princethorpe College has hosted a Regional Final for a number of years and is keen for the Crescent School to take part.  Mr Thackway and Mrs Byrne had the chance to talk to the competing teams, to look at the Pit Displays, watch the racing and chat to the children involved.

This year the winners on the day were Crackley Hall and their team the Speed Stingers have qualified for the National Finals which take place at the British Motor Museum in June.

Congratulations Crackley! 

 

 

Events

Class And Group Photographs

Friday 4 May 2018

Class and group photos, including music groups, will be taken on Friday 4 May.  Please ensure children are wearing their summer uniform and have sports kit in school.

Crescent School

Crescent School Open Evening

Thursday 10 May 2018 - 5.00pm to 7.30pm

The Crescent School is opening its doors for an Open Evening on Thursday 10 May 2018 from 5.00pm to 7.30pm. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for prospective parents to meet the Crescent's new headmaster, Joe Thackway, see its new facilities, look around the school and to meet staff and pupils. Prospective grown ups, and little visitors, are most welcome and there is no need to book.

If you can't make the Open Day but would like to visit the school, please call our Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 523851 and come on a day to suit you, we welcome visitors on most days.

For more information visit http://www.crescentschool.co.uk/

Awards

Accelerated Reader Achievements

There has been a lot of reading going on through the holidays, I am pleased to say.
 
  • Rania Akbik has now read 500,000 words
  • Isabelle Wood is a word millionaire
  • Anton Tran is a double millionaire
 
A fantastic achievement by them all.
 
Well done.
 
Ms Lowe
Senior Teacher

 

View Gallery

Reading Eggs Certificates

Reading Eggs certificates have been awarded to the following children this week:
 
  • Alex Thomas
  • Samuel Oldham
 Congratulations to all!
 
Mr Webb
Class II Teacher and Assistant Head
Head of Pre-Prep

Sport

Fantastic Football From U9 Boys

On Friday 20 April the U9 Boys Football Team headed to Bilton School for the Rugby and District Level 2 Primary Football Competition.

The games were short and sharp and so the boys had to settle down to business quickly, which they did. Their first game was against St Oswald’s, good speed from midfield players George Bell and Matthew Thomas ensured they were able to distribute the ball to George Crowfoot waiting up front to put away 2 goals in the game.

The second game against The Revel proved to be a little bit more tricky, a stronger team with solid defence meant that George Bell and George Crowfoot were just not able to get the ball in to the net. Thankfully Josh Gorbutt was able to put a stop to any attacking play from The Revel, keeping the score at 0-0.

The final game was against Riverside Academy, they had some strong attacking players with great pace so Marco Rodriguez-Hernandez and Tom Ferguson had to be tight in defence and Josh Gorbutt alert in goal. Tom Ferguson put in some solid tackles to intercept the ball and quickly counterattack distributing the ball to Matthew Thomas who was able to convert his shot to a goal. After a number of chances George Bell was also able to see one of his shots go in to the back of the net too.

A great team effort by all boys who conducted themselves and were a credit to the school. They were crowned Rugby and District Small School Champions winning the Level 2 Tournament and will now go on to represent Rugby at the Level 3 Coventry Solihull and Warwickshire School Games.

Mrs McCollin
Head of Girls Games
View Gallery

U9 Hockey v Bilton Grange

On Thursday 22 March we finally had some blue sky and sunshine for the U9's hockey matches against Bilton Grange. All the girls worked incredibly hard and their confidence developed and blossomed as the games went on. Both games were evenly matched and saw draws of 1-1 for the U9 'A' and 0-1 for the U9 'B' team.

The 'A' team started off a little disjointed, not really gelling with each other as a team, leaving the goal free for a quick opening goal from Bilton Grange. Crescent responded to this quickly finding formation and defence and midfield players put up a solid wall blocking any further attack from Bilton Grange players in the first half.

Crescent came out strong for the second half with some fantastic ball skills and strong passing from midfield with Amelie Frere getting herself in to a good scoring position at the top of the circle to equalise for Crescent. Play was very fast and furious from both sides going from end to end with all players working hard, both teams had a number of chances to score but could not quite get shots on target.

Crescent's 'B' team players settled quickly and the first half saw Crescent having most of the play, with strong communication and solid defence seeing off any attack from Bilton Grange. Crescent went confidently in to the second half, again having most of the play, however a strong attack and a scrabble on the goal line saw Bilton Grange gain the only goal of the game. A fantastic effort team effort from all of the girls.

Player of the game were awarded to:

  • U9 'A' – Amy Robinson  
  • U9 'B' - Tumi Oredope
Mrs McCollin
Head of Girls Games

FoC

Summer Fete

Friday 22 June 3.20pm - 5.00pm

Our final event of the year is the Summer Fete. More details to follow on this soon. Lets hope for fab weather!

Zara Corbin
Foc Chair

FoC Disco

Friday 18 May 2018 

Reception, Class I and Class II disco will be held from 3.45pm - 4.45pm 
Classes IV - VI will be held from 5.00pm - 6.00pm

Only £5 per child which will include a drink and snack.  Please put your childs name down on the sheet on the FoC board and either pay on the night or put an envelope into the FoC green post box marked "School Disco" with your child's name on it.

Zara Corbin
FoC Chair

FoC Next Meeting

Monday 11 June 2018 - 3.45pm

The next meeting will be held on Monday 11 June at 3.45pm in the Art Room.  

Please come along and join us to discuss next term's activities. Children are able to be put into after school for free for this time.

Zara Corbin
FoC Chair

 

Year 1 Market Day

Friday 4 May 2018 3.45pm - 4.45pm

Please come along and purchase cakes and sweets in aid of Class I next Friday.

Zara Corbin
FoC Chair

Show Us Your Talent

Friday 4 May 2018 - 2.15pm - 3.45pm

The auditions are in full swing at school for our Show Us Your Talent Show next Friday.  Three acts will be chosen to be put through to the show, voted for by their classmates. Sadly there are time restrictions for the event so we can only take three acts per class. The children who don't make it to the show will be recognised at the show receiving a prize for taking part in the audition process.

The show will then take place from 2.15pm on Friday 4 May. Unfortunately parents are 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 ensure go onto the Facebook site. We are also hoping for some celebrity judges to join us too!

Zara Corbin
FoC Chair

Reception Market Day

Friday 25 May 2018 3.45pm - 4.45pm

Please come along and purchase cakes and sweets in aid of Reception.

Zara Corbin
FoC Chair

Housekeeping

Lost Blue Peter Badge

During lunchtime on Thursday 26 April, a Blue Peter badge (pictured) went missing from the cloakroom. This is a very prized possession of one of our pupils, who only received the award from Blue Peter on Wednesday and it is a newly released limited edition badge.  It had been brought in to share with the school in the Good News assembly.

We are appealing for your help to locate this badge, as the pupil concern is very upset by its loss. The badge could easily have fallen into a shoe or bag so we would very much appreciate you having a good search for it at home this weekend, in case it has got mixed up in your child's belongings.

Mrs Yates
Class IV(Y)

Lunch Menu Week Commencing 30 April 2018

Please click on the link below to view the upcoming lunch menu: 

 Lunch Menu - 30 April

Crescent School Office

 

 

Job Vacancy – Teacher of Textiles

Required for September 2018, a well-qualified, dynamic and creative graduate to teach Textiles in our very successful Design and Technology department. The ability to teach other areas of the Design and Technology curriculum would be an advantage.

NQTs are also welcome to apply; the College has a comprehensive induction programme leading to full QTS status. Single accommodation may be available. Princethorpe has its own pay scale which is above national scales.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the fast growing Foundation that values its staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Princethorpe College application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing your personal qualities, experience and how you meet the person specification for the role. Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Monday 30 April at 9.00am and interviews are likely to be held on Thursday 3 May, at Princethorpe.

Further details and an application form are available from the College website www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment-opportunities.

Outside School

Reception Roundup

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

Reception Round Up

Mrs Pullen
Reception Class Teacher

Supporting Your Child

Class I - How To Support Your Child At Home

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

Class I Supporting Your Child

Mrs Emery
Class I Teacher

Class II - How To Support Your Child At Home

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

Class II Supporting Your Child

Mr Webb
Class II Teacher

Class III - How To Support Your Child At Home

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

Class III Supporting Your Child

Mrs Stapleton
Class III Teacher

Classes IV(M) & (Y) - How To Support Your Child At Home

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

Classes IVM&Y Supprting Your Child

Mrs Monteith 
Class IV(M) Teacher
 
Mrs Yates
Class IV(Y) Teacher

 

Class V - How To Support Your Child At Home

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

Class V Supporting Your Child

Ms Forth
Class V Teacher

Class VI - How To Support Your Child At Home

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

Class VI Supporting your Child

Ms Lowe
Class VI Teacher