The Courier

Dear Parents

There have been so many highlights this week it is hard to know what to put in and what to leave out of my weekly message. I very much enjoyed our cross country event over at Princethorpe in the hail and sunshine on Wednesday, on the same day that our U9 girls were victorious in the ISA regional competition at Stafford Grammar (for the second consecutive year!). We have finished the week with a real flourish, with a great turnout of parents at both the Spring Concert and Easter Service. Following on from Saturday’s well attended open day these have been a fitting finale to a fantastic week here at Crescent.

Just on the note of the Open Day, I would like to thank everyone for their tremendous support on the day. We really do appreciate the time that you and the children commit to this important event each year and I hope you all enjoyed the opportunity to come and watch your children in action.

We come back on 29 April to a much shortened summer term, with lots of exciting events to look forward to. We will have our first ever sports day staged at Princethorpe College, and our Year 6 children will be performing their end of year play this year over there as well. We have introduced a Community Week for Year 6 this year, full details of which can be found elsewhere in the newsletter. Alongside the usual residential trips, educational visits, events and performances, the summer fete and sports days, it promises to be a spectacular end to the year. The calendar for the term is nearly complete and you will receive an electronic and hard copy of this before the end of next week. 

This will be the final full version of the Courier for the term. With an abbreviated week for the children coming up, we will look to put out a mini-version of the newsletter on Friday next week. This will include full details of the schedule for the first week back in the Trinity Term.

I hope you all enjoy a well-deserved and relaxing break at some point over Easter. I am heading off to the Lake District with my boys for some camping and mountaineering, although we are keeping a close eye on the weather reports. You can get absolutely anything up there at this time of year.

Whatever you have planned, have a great holiday.

Best Wishes

Joe Thackway

For a two or three week period this year we will be focusing on one of the sayings in the School Promise. We will talk about this in assembly and in form period. It would be great if you could discuss this with your children at home and support the messages we are emphasising in school.

From now until the end of term we will be looking at a very important idea from the Good Citizens section of the Promise:

‘We are honest and tell the truth’

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

Please click on the link below to view the weekly calendar.  This details all the co-curricular clubs running, fixtures and additional information.

Many of the Co-Curricular Clubs have finished for the Term, please look at the Calendar in detail.

Weekly Calendar

Crescent School

A big thank you to all of the parents and children who came to Open Morning last Saturday. As parents, I hope you enjoyed seeing your child involved in the activities or on the stage. 

We had lovely feedback from visitors to the school, who could see why you chose to send your child(ren)here and particular high praise went to to the Year 6 tour guides for their knowledge and insight into our school - it is lovely that our visitors can see how much they enjoy their learning and what pride they have of Crescent School. Thank you for giving up your Saturday, we do appreciate it.

Over the Easter holidays Years 5 and 6 are bringing home a book to read: Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo for Year 5 and the 18th Emergency by Betsy Byars for Year 6.

The books must be completed before we start back in the Trinity Term. It can be read as a family, alongside an audio book or to share. The book will be a basis for work when we return to school.

Thank you for your support with this.

On 2 May 2019 we are holding a meeting for Year 6 parents about the Slapton residential 2019. This is an opportunity to hear in greater detail what the week entails and for any questions you have to be answered. Mr Phillips, Mrs Dowling, Ms Lowe and Mr Webb will all be present.

The meeting is at 7.00pm in the School Hall, there will be refreshments available. There is no need to bring the children as we go through this in school with them, so they also feel fully informed.

You will be receiving your information pack in the next week, please take the time to read through it and fill out the relevant paper work required and hand it in on time. 

Tuesday 7 May 2019 - 5.00pm to 7.00pm

We have another opportunity for children to share their school, early next term. We will be holding an  Open Evening on Tuesday 7 May from 5.00pm to 7.00pm and most of Years 4, 5 and 6 will be required.

I will send all the details out early next term so they do not get lost amongst the Easter Eggs over the holidays but please write it on your calendars.

Best wishes

Ms Lowe
Senior Teacher

Year 5 are warmly invited to a taste of senior school life at Princethorpe College on Tuesday 11 June 2019.  The taster day will begin at 9.30am when the children will be transported to the College by mini-bus from Crescent.  Pupils, will experience a variety of classroom sessions, a tour of the school and a question and answers session with our current pupils. Break and lunch will be provided and there is no charge for this day.

At the end of the afternoon, you are invited to join us at 4.15pm for an informal Parents’ Information Session. Offering information on entry to the College for September 2020 and light refreshments will be served.  Ed Hester, the Headmaster along with other key members of staff will be available to talk to you about the College and to outline the admissions process. Children will also have the opportunity to trial the online CEM test, one of the exams that prospective pupils complete during the Entrance Examinations day, which will take place on Saturday 9 November 2019.

Please click here to access the online booking form for the Year 5 Taster Day. Please complete and submit the form by 5.00pm by Friday 31 May to secure a place for your child.

For those parents who are unable to attend the Parents’ Information Session, your child will be transported back to Crescent for 3.30pm.

We hope you can join us and look forward to welcoming you to Princethorpe College.

If you have any questions please contact Assistant Registrar Helen Morgan on 01926 634262.

With kind regards from the Admissions Team at Princethorpe College.

Well done to the follwoing pupils:

• Isla and Sam S are now Junior da Vinci students in English 
• Harry and Archie are Junior da Vinci students in Geography
• Sachin and Faris are Junior da Vinci students in Maths

Well done to you all.

How many more can we achieve before the end of term?

Ms Lowe
Senior Teacher

An amazing amount of words have been read this year and here are some more contributions:

• Rory has read 500,000 words
• George has read a million words
• Izzy S has reached the dizzy heights of 3 million words

AND

• Daniel has gone through the 4 million word barrier- an amazing achievement.

Congratulations to you all.

Class VI Play Leaders organise and lead lunchtime play sessions for the children in Reception and Pre-Prep classes.  Each week the Playleaders will award certificates to pupils for positive participation and these will be presented in assembly on a Friday.

This week Shaylan and Damilola are recipients of this award.

Well done all.

• Alex B
• Nora
• Patrick

Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 loved their street dance taster session this week showing some real talent and fab moves.  We just know it's going to be a great co-curricular choice for many next Term.

Year 2 children loved carrying out simple rip testing using weights in Science to investigatively test the strength of different types of paper.  We predicted, ensured fair testing and wrote down our conclusions.

A big thank you to those who have donated to Bwengu Projects so far this year. This week has seen a great turn out for the Mystery Pic-A-Book sale, raising over £60 towards food for orphans in Malawi. Final total will be counted up and revealed next term. 

Last week, Eve Hamuza joined Class IV to share her memories of growing up in Malawi and working in the Bwengu region. She told the children of daily life, family, food and housing. The children were particularly impressed by the mothers who could carry their baby in a papoose, a bundle on their head and two bags in their hands!

Class IV have thoroughly enjoyed studying a place completely different to Rugby this term and Eve brought their learning to life.

On Wednesday 3 April the U9 Netball Team travelled to Stafford for the Midlands ISA Netball Tournament. Team spirit was high on the bus, as they devised their own Crescent netball cheer, and they were quick to focus this energy as soon as they started to get warmed up.  

The tournament was played out in a round robin format with 4 matches back to back before a brief break and then on to play the final 2 matches.  The girls started well showing lovely footwork and strong passing. Eve and Alyssa soon got their eye in for some sharp shooting, and the defence was solid, reading the game well and making fabulous interceptions.  The team were undefeated throughout the tournament only conceding 5 goals in 6 games.  

Twycross House - 4-2 Win 

Crackley Hall - 1-0 Win 

Salterford House 1-0 Win  

Stafford Prep - 5-0 Win 

Akley Wood - 3-2 Win 

Mylnhurst - 8-1 Win 

A fantastic display of netball and team spirit from all of the girls, who were a pleasure to be with, displaying the values of the Crescent School Promise at all times.  Well done to Alyssa, Eve, Asha, Amy, Ella, Emme, Hattie, Amber, Katherine . 

Mrs McCollin and Mrs Robinson 

Rugby is a growing sport at Crescent and the children have been working really hard to improve their skills.

9 boys and 1 girl travelled to Princethorpe for the Midlands competition knowing that the competition would be tough. However, the performance right from the off was excellent - aggressive but disciplined and we won the first two matches. This meant that, all of a sudden, we were in with a chance of making the final.

The last match against Mylnhurst was close and included a high class cross-field kick from Fin to Kyle which resulted in a try. It was particularly pleasing because being more creative in our attacking play was our main aim from the last fixture. We just lost out 5-3 which meant that we went through to the 3rd/4th playoff. In that match, the scores were level at half-time. However, the Crescent children ran out of steam in the second half and were beaten.

It was a hugely positive result, finishing 4th in The Midlands, and the spirit in which the matches were played was fantastic to see. Despite there being a tight battle with Mylnhurst, the two sets of players sat together at lunch and formed friendships. The trys were shared around the team as well and Fin even passed to Advay after he had crossed the try-line to allow more players to score. In terms of performance, Kyle was outstanding and Eddie showed how much he has come on in a year as he was a key player. Cara was mentioned by a number of opposition coaches as a positive sign that female rugby is on the rise.

Crescent qualified for this regional competition a few weeks ago. It was the first time we had progressed in this competition and we travelled over to Cannock on a lovely warm day.

After drawing the first match against RGS Worcester, we went on a bit of a run, beating St. Peter’s, Yarlet and Spratton Hall. That sent us on to the semi-finals against Fairfield. In a tight match, we came through 1-0 and went on to a three-way final.

It was RGS Worcester again and they seemed to have more left in the tank than our flagging boys. This loss meant that we could not win overall but defeating Radcliffe would see us into second. A late goal after a resurgent effort saw us finish runners-up.

With this being a Saturday, there were a number of our swimmers who were unavailable or had to leave the gala early. Despite this, the children that stepped in showed the improvement that they have made and contributed to a successful gala for us. The green hats often flew down the pool in the lead or close to it. Results were as follows:

Town Champions:

• George C - breaststroke
• Sienna - breaststroke
• Anton - breaststroke
• Fin - backstroke
• George R - freestyle
• Girls Year 5 Freestyle Relay
• Boys Year 6 Freestyle Relay
• Hattie - 2nd Place breaststroke
• Sam S - breaststroke
• Olivia M - breaststroke
• Marco - butterfly
• Jamie- freestyle
• Girls Medley Relay
• Girls Year 4 Freestyle Relay
• Boys Year 4 Freestyle Relay
• Boys Year 5 Freestyle Relay

Next Term's Dates for the Diary, more information will follow after the Easter Holidays.

• Children's Disco - Friday 17 May
• Reception Market Day - Friday 24 May
• Fathers Day Craft Activity - Date TBC
• Summer Fete - Friday 21 June
• Canapes and Cocktails Party - Friday 28 June

Sunday 12 May 2019 - 3.00pm

We are holding a Draycote Water sponsored run, scoot, walk or cycle in aid of the mental health charity Place2Be.

The school council have decided Place2Be is next term's Charity.  This is a charity that provides school based support and in-depth programmes to improve the well-being of pupils, families, teachers and school staff. For more information please go to www.place2be.org.uk.

Please put the date in your diary now. Sponsorship forms will be sent out just before the Easter holidays.

Monday 13 May 2019 - 3.45pm to 4.45pm

Please come along and join us at our next meeting if you're available. We will be discussing Father's Day craft, Disco, Reception Market Day as well as the Summer Fete which this year will be held on Friday 21 June. 

Please sign your child(ren) into after school for free if you wish to attend.

Please note that the School Shop (based at Princethorpe College) will be closed during the Easter break from 4.30pm on Wednesday 11 April 2019 until 10.30am on Monday 29 April 2019. 

Please contact Nicola Browne on 01926 634272 or at uniform@princethorpe.co.uk with any uniform requirements prior to 4.30pm on Wednesday 11 April 2019.

Please see below for useful school contact information:

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

Crescent Menu 

Crescent School Office

The following items are stocked in the School Office and can be added to your account:

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

Please do pop in if you need any of the above items.

Crescent School Office

Please find below term dates for this academic year and next:

2018/19

Lent Term
Term starts Monday 7 January 2019
Half Term Saturday 16 February to Sunday 24 February 2019
Term ends Wednesday 10 April 2019

2019/20

Please find a link below to the current vacancies available across the Foundation:

• Facilities Assistant Manager

Full details of the roles and how to apply are available via the following link https://www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment-opportunities

Please click on the link below to read all about what the Reception Class have been learning this week.

Reception Round Up - 040419