Chronicle: 8 February 2019

Cranmore Chronicle 8 February 2019 Editor: Mrs S Connolly

What a difference a week makes!

Dear Parents This edition has an important section covering Internet safety, a topic which concerns all of us.

Please note that the Sports Section has details of two exiting events for next term: The Cranmore Canter and a special visit to watch a London Irish rugby match.

These will be wonderful social occasions for the Cranmore community.

There are a few tickets left for next week’s Cranmore Live Concert. I was lucky to see the NYJO perform at the Albert Hall during the Proms season. How fortunate we are that they will be live on stage at Cranmore, having worked with our pupils throughout the day.

Yours sincerely Michael Connolly

Nursery News Kung Hei Fat Choi!

The children have really enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year.

They created a Chinese restaurant, dressed up in traditional costumes and participated in the traditional story of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

Ahoy!

All aboard the Cranmore Pirate Ship!

Role play: visiting the doctor’s surgery for a check up

Storytime: listening to a traditional story of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

The children made a delicious vegetable stir fry.

Juniors

Role play: visiting the doctor’s surgery for a check up

Fun in the snow

LP decorating gingerbread men

Form 1 enjoying playing sparrows & hawks at Forest School

UPC made a circle at forest school as part of our ‘mindfulness’ week activities

Mrs Watkinson reading a story to MG

Form 1 exploring India through the Virtual Reality headsets gifted by the CPA

Seniors

Voting begins for the Awesome Book Awards

Look at what we can see!

F3 use VR to inspire their creative writing about underwater scenes

Rowing in the fitness suite

Luke W & George W. worked together to produce a speech on St Josephine Bakhita

6th Form French Breakfast

2H & 4P practise mindfulness

Forms 5 & 6 enjoy a yoga workshop

Internet Safety Safeguarding and Child Protection at Cranmore In November 2018, we included a piece on Internet Safety and as this week was Safer Internet Day, here are some questions you could ask your children about how they use the internet.

Further information about E-safety can be found in the links below: 

Have ongoing conversations with your children about staying safe online



Use safety tools on social networks and other online services, eg Facebook privacy settings



Decide how you want to use parental controls on your home internet



Understand devices and the parental control tools they offer in our Parents’ Guide to Technology

Ms J Schembri Assistant Head

Tuesday the 5th February was Safer Internet Day, which is celebrated by over 100 countries. All

countries and organisations that take part have the sole aim of promoting the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for pupils. The theme this year was “Together for a Safer Internet”. Technology has been in the news a lot recently with screen time and social media being two of the most recent hot topics.

In the Junior Department, Mr Peach ICT Co-ordinator led an Assembly on Monday about the importance of staying safe online. The children learnt that being safe online is about being smart, making the right choices and knowing what to do when you don’t feel happy about something.

The 3 important rules are: 1. ZIP IT (keep personal information private) 2. BLOCK IT (block people who are unkind and don’t open messages from people you don’t know) 3. SPEAK UP (speak with someone you trust about what you see online) Senior Department lessons this week were broken up with an emphasis on 4 key areas: Being a RESPONSIBLE cyber citizen.

Always being RESPECTFUL when on line.

Being CRITICAL when reading things on the internet.

Being CREATIVE. The internet is full of wonderful things and produces some incredible, positive content.

In class, pupils looked at what devices are capable of accessing from the internet, from the obvious phones, computers and tablets through to watches, televisions, fridges, AI Assistants (Alexa, Siri etc…) home heating, lighting, robotic vacuums or lawnmowers and games consoles.

Pupils discussed what issues they have come across whilst gaming online and we talked about what safety precautions are in place to prevent children from being exposed to inappropriate content. Many of the children talked about how their parents have set up the devices with filters and the correct parental settings on their console and how this has helped them enjoy playing without having to worry about other online gamers.

Below is a link which has a wealth of articles and tips for parents about staying safe but more importantly, it gives advice on how to make your devices and games safe for children to use. https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/smartphones-and-other-devices/ The Internet is an amazing resource, we just need the children to know how to use it wisely and be Responsible, Respectful, Critical and Creative.

Mr Hinds Senior Department, Head of ICT and e-Learning

First day back after the holidays: Chatting with friends in the playground

Sports Focus The colder weather unfortunately disrupted a number of fixtures last week, this included our U13s rugby match due to be held at Danes Hill last Wednesday.

However, credit must go to our fantastic grounds staff which enabled the U12 matches to take place here at Cranmore. On Tuesday, our U11 year group had a fantastic afternoon playing rugby against Kings House and Kings College School, Wimbledon.

The high standard of rugby produced great results for Cranmore across the whole year group.

Despite the weather, plenty of sport and activity was still able to take place due to the great facilities we have. This included indoor hockey, rugby, netball, squash, and the use of the fitness suite.

From next week, the after school sports training sessions will be predominantly hockey. However, rugby sevens training will take place at certain times alongside hockey to best prepare for upcoming festivals.

Save the Dates I’m excited to let you know about two forthcoming Cranmore events: 

Rugby: London Irish vs Ealing, Madejski Stadium - Saturday 27th April (pm).

This will be a fantastic occasion for the whole school, providing an opportunity for both children and parents to attend and watch the final Championship game of the season. Cranmore pupils will perform a ‘Guard of Honour’ on the pitch pre game as the players enter the field for kick off. Children will attend free of charge and coaches will be provided from Cranmore to the Madejski Stadium.

Further details to follow closer to the event. Please note: the game is being shown on SKY television therefore the time published and whether the game stays on the Saturday afternoon is to be confirmed. 

The Cranmore Canter: Cranmore School - Sunday 30th June (am). This ‘Park Run’ style event will be an opportunity for pupils, parents and friends of Cranmore, to participate in a ‘fun run’ held here on the school grounds. With the option of two different running distances, there will be a course to suit everyone whether that means completing the circuit walking, jogging or running. This will be a great morning of activity involving the whole Cranmore family. Further details to follow nearer the event.

Mr P Hodgson, Director of Sport

Please use the sports portal via the school website https://www.cranmoreprepsports.co.uk/ and download the Cranmore sports app for up-to-date information.

Follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/cranmoresport

Runnning in the fitness suite

U8 Netball

Hockey in the sports hall

In the squash courts

Despite the wintry weather, plenty of sport and activity was still able to take place due to our great facilities.

Music News

‘Cranmore Live’ with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra 14 February at 7pm This cutting edge big band are set to thrill us with their dazzling talents, making this a Valentine’s Night to remember. The evening will begin with our talented Cranmore musicians strutting their stuff with the band and will then be followed by a set by the fabulous, 23 piece National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cranmoreschool Last remaining tickets Don’t delay, snap up your tickets today!

Bobby G. gave a beautiful performance of the Grade 3 singing piece, ‘Butterfly’ in senior assembly

Safeguarding and Child Protection at Cranmore Children’s Mental Health Week: 4th – 8th February

Children’s Mental Health Week was set up by the children’s mental health charity Place2Be to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health. This year’s theme is Healthy: Inside and Out and everyone is being encouraged to think about how they look after their bodies and minds.

What’s it all about?

When we think about healthy living, we tend to focus on looking after our bodies for example through food, being active and getting enough sleep. However, in order to be healthy overall, it is important that we also look after our mental wellbeing. Our bodies and minds are actually very closely linked, so things that we do to improve our physical wellbeing can help our mental wellbeing. When we take steps to be Healthy: Inside and Out, it helps us to feel better in ourselves, focus on what we want to do and deal with difficult times.

As parents and carers, you play a very important role in your child’s health. Here is some advice given by Place2Be on simple ways you can encourage your child to look after their body and mind: Talk to your child about what you do to look after your body and mind, from walking the dog to turning your phone off before going to bed. Sharing the steps you have taken to stay healthy can set a good example for them, but do not be afraid to admit it if you have struggled! It is important for children to keep trying, even when things are difficult.

Praise your child and other family members for what they do to look after their body and mind, even if it is small. If your child sees healthy living in a positive light, they are more likely to carry on doing these things throughout life.

Remind your child there is no such thing as a perfect body or mind and no one is perfectly healthy. Your child might be tempted to compare themselves to other children, especially on social media, but it is important to remember that everyone’s bodies and minds are different, which is something to celebrate.

Do something regularly with your child to be Healthy: Inside and Out. Family life can be very busy and stressful at times. Cooking a meal, sitting down for a family dinner, or going for a walk together can be a great way to stay connected and have fun.

Remember, if you are worried about your child, you can talk to your GP or someone here at Cranmore. Cranmore is fortunate to have a School Listener provided by the Valley Trust. If you would like for her to meet with your children, please contact Mrs Nicholson (Junior Department) or Ms Jessica Schembri (Senior Department) for further information.

You can also find a list of organisations that provide support and advice for parents on the following websites: www.place2be.org.uk www.mind.org.uk www.ChildrensMentalHealthWeek.org.uk

www.youngminds.org.uk www.childline.org.uk

Suggested Booklist for Mental Health Awareness Week For Juniors:

Huge Bag of Worries by Neon Leon by Jane Clarke and Britta Virginia Ironside Teckentrup

Mixed: A Colourful Story by Arree Chung The Red Dread by Tom Morgan-Jones

Happy in our Skin by Fran Manushkin

Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown! By Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton

The Truth Pixie by Matt When My Worries Get Too Big by Kari Dunn Haig Buron

For Older Readers:

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart

The Bubble Boy by Stewart Foster

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed