The Courier

Dear Parents,

It was great to see all of the children bright and cheery returning to school on Monday morning. The two-week break in the middle of this, the longest term of the year, has given everyone a chance to recharge the batteries, they are now ready to focus again on school life, in and out of the classroom. I know that many families were able to get away over the holiday and the children have been sharing with us their tales of their various adventures. My personal highlight was a couple of days in the Lake District and persuading and cajoling my family to climb Bow Fell, on what was was a cold but beautifully clear autumn day.

To add to the excitement of the new half term there was a very popular pumpkin competition on Monday and Tuesday and this produced a wide range of imaginative and cleverly made designs that were a great addition to the science lab, at least for a couple of days. There was a bit of a smell to them as well, so Mrs Byrne was very glad to receive them but also quite relieved to return them to their owners on Halloween day! The winners were announced in assembly earlier in the week although I am sure it was not an easy job for the house masters to judge.

As I go to press we are also looking forward to the visit of Image Theatre company who I am sure will provide us all with a morning of great drama excitement and fun. When you look across the calendar at the wide variety of lessons, clubs, trips, workshops, events, fixtures and activities that the children have here it is satisfying to reflect on all of the wonderful opportunities that come their way in the busy life of the school.

For me it has been a long week with lots of late meetings and I finish it off this evening with a trip to the Princethorpe prize giving ceremony at Warwick University. I know that there will be a good representation of old Crescent pupils and families. I hope to see some of you there.

I wish you all a good bonfire night. Please stay safe, I am sure you will.

With all best wishes,

Joe Thackway

Dear Parents,

Your children have brought home with them today an entrance form for our Crescent Christmas Card Competition. The winning card will be chosen to be the official Crescent Card for 2017 and will go out to all of the friends and families of the school. Entries need to be submitted to form teachers by Friday 10 November. Please feel free to submit your entries either on the forms provided or on a blank sheet of A4 paper or card.

Best wishes,

Joe Thackway

Our new Scholastic Book Club is up and running! Go to http://schools.scholastic.co.uk/the-crescent to browse the latest books and order online. For every £1 you spend, our school will earn 25p in Scholastic Rewards.

Please place your order online by 17 November 2017.

You are also welcome to send orders in to me by 17 November, please ensure that you complete the credit/debit card form.

Sarah Lowe

Please bring a donation of at least 50p for a Remembrance Day poppy. They are available by the student door every morning from Class VI children. 

There are also other items available, these are priced at 50p or a £1. 

It is a very good cause and remember you can donate your old £1 coins. 

Please do enter this super competition run by Rugby School. Your child can write a poem or a story based on water. Please give all entries to Mrs Lowe by 25 November. They can be typed or handwritten on one side of A4 paper. 

Sarah Lowe

Next Monday 6 November we will be holding our next FoC meeting. Anyone is welcome to join us. We will be discussing the Christmas Bazaar plus the rest of the term's activities. All ideas are welcome.

In Classes III and IV the children are awarded special badges for reading their first 500,000 words; in Class V and VI the children are awarded a bronze star for 1 million words, a silver star for 2 million words and a gold star for 3 million words.

Chloe Wensley and Freya Somerset have read their first 500,000 words so a big well-done to them both. 

Anton Tran and Samuel Lau are our first millionaires this year, a super achievement. I wonder if anybody will achieve 3 million words this year?

Sarah Lowe
Class VI Teacher

The following children have received Junior da Vinci Awards this week. Congratulations to all.

The following children have been awarded Accelerated Reader Awards this week. Congratulations to all.

Harry Barnwell, Isla Barrack, Idan Dar (2), Eve Ferguson, Olivia Fox, William Howcroft, Kyle Kerfoot-Bale, Isaac Nelson, Alex Reynolds and Matthew Thomas.

Reading Eggs certificates have, this week, been awarded to 

Maisie Tucker, Tegan McLeod, Shayla Panchal, Abigail Cowell, Alice Diamond, Timi Ladele, Damilola Oredope, Alex Thomas, Sophia Deery, Leela Matharu, Sofie Major, Bryson Taylor-Jackson, Evie Bierton, Samuel Oldham, Grace Mercer, Emily Barnwell, Alex Grove and Roisin Banks.

Congratulations to all.

Alan Webb
Class II Teacher and Assistant Head - Head of Pre-Prep

Order forms and sample Christmas cards will be in the brown envelopes this week. Please can the forms be returned by Wednesday 8 November.

On Friday 17 November we will be holding our first movie night of the school year. It will be held in the school hall. Please drop your child off at the reception area at 5pm and pick them up at 6.30pm from the usual side entrance. It's only £5 per child which includes the movie and a snack and drink. Please put your child(s) name down on the list on the FoC noticeboard.  You can pay on the night or put £5 in an envelope marked "movie night", with your childs name on it, into the green FoC box. All children in Reception need to be accompanied by an adult. If you would like your child to go into after-school until the movie night starts please put their name down on the after-school sheet, please tick for your child to receive tea and we'll make sure that all the children have eaten before the movie starts. 

Our Christmas Bazaar will be held on Friday 8 December straight after school. We will be having a visit from Father Christmas, a photo booth, plenty of games for the children to take part in, the Christmas raffle with loads of great prizes to win, refreshments, pre loved uniform and a book sale. More details will follow soon.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Quiz night before half term and to Mrs Forth for pulling the quiz together. It is great to know so many parents can identify labels from well known drinks brands! The quiz was won by Emma Wells Year 4 team with the Reception team coming a very close second. We raised over £260 at this event which has already been put to good use in purchasing new equipment for the playground. 

The Christmas Parents night out will now take place on Friday 8 December at Rugby's newest bar/restaurant The Pharmasea. This will be an informal evening of cocktails and tapas. Costs and timings will be confirmed shortly.

Following the recent non-uniform day, 'guess the dog biscuits in the jar' and the Draycote Water sponsored walk we have now raised £1000. We are only £500 off our target to name a puppy.

We have placed a puppy charity box on the FoC table so if anyone has any loose change to donate that would be fabulous.

We are also planning further fund raising ideas, so keep a look out for these.