Chronicle: 22 September 2017

Cranmore Chronicle 22 September 2017 Editor: Mrs S Trumble

Bright Stars children having fun!

In This Issue... 

The Headmaster



Music News



Letter from Mrs Fiona Nicholson



Rowing Club



News from Bright Stars



Cranmore Fireworks Night



Bright Stars Toddler Group



Second-hand Uniform Shop



Junior Language Challenge



Fun with Books at Half-term



School Council



Cranmore Fireworks Night



Action Day 2017



Ski Squad

The Cranmore Chronicle

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From the Headmaster Dear Parents Form 2 have been enjoying another milestone this week ‌..their first residential educational visit. I know from previous years that our pupils always find this experience to be a wonderful introduction to life in the senior department.

As ever, I enjoyed my time inspecting another school for the last two days. It is always interesting to observe another establishment operate in slightly different ways. Today and tomorrow we are hosting Open Mornings which we feel give prospective families an opportunity to discover what we offer here.

I shall be in Edinburgh for a large part of next week to attend the annual IAPS Conference, the main gathering for Prep School Heads from all around the UK and from overseas. Naturally, Mrs Walker will assume responsibility in my absence.

Yours sincerely Michael Connolly

Cranmore Under 8 Football players in action against Danes Hill

The Cranmore Chronicle

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Dear Parents, It was an absolute joy to watch the Form 1 children participate in the football matches against Daneshill last Friday afternoon. All the staff were very proud of the way the boys and girls played and the sportsmanship they showed. We have many very talented players in Form 1 and the children are looking forward to their next match already.

The children are coming into school in the mornings happily and with confidence.

Can I remind you that Breakfast Club starts at 8.00am for those children arriving at school early; otherwise children should arrive at school at 8.25am. Parents of children in Bright Stars and Lower Prep come in with their child but children in Middle Prep, Upper Prep and Form 1 are expected to come into school independently now.

Our Open Morning is tomorrow (Saturday 23rd September) between 9.30 and 11.30; Mr Connolly is speaking at 10:15. Please do tell your neighbours and friends. Everyone is welcome and a crèche is provided for young children.

Kind regards Mrs Fiona Nicholson Head of the Junior Department

The Cranmore Chronicle

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This week Nursery children visited Forest School for the first time! They enjoyed looking for Sally and Sammy Squirrel who were hiding amongst the trees. They climbed in the box tree and had fun playing Hide and Seek. They listened to the story of Stick Man and made some stick-people of their own.

Pre-Nursery children have been enjoying the sunshine in the garden. They have made friends and are very happy playing together. They are finding out about Autumn, and making a colourful Autumn display.

We were pleased to welcome some new families to Toddler Group last Friday. If you have children aged 0-4 ½ do come along for a fun afternoon, 2-3.15 in our Pre-Nursery playroom.

The Cranmore Chronicle

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The Cranmore Chronicle

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On September 14th, Cranmore was one of the 10 schools in the UK to organise the Junior Language Challenge semi-final. The competition is organised to raise money for the Charity onebillion and to have fun with languages. More and more children are entering this competition each year: 2000 students entered the competition in the UK! After learning French, Tommy, Gabriel and Louis (Form 2), Charlie and George (Form 4) spent their summer playing games learning Japanese. In the semi-finals, they were tested, along with 29 other semi-finalists, on their Japanese using Ipads, playing games against the clock. It was a nerve-wracking time for them as the competition was tough!

Our 5 Cranmore students made us so proud; no disappointment, no tears, huge smiles on their faces. They were really happy to have entered the competition and to have challenged themselves. They were very humble about not going through to the final and they followed the French Olympic motto of: “L’important, c’est de participer!” (the important thing, is to take part).

A huge thank you again to all the 62 Cranmore children who participated in the competition and were part of our Cranmore JLC team!

Next year’s competition will start in March 2018- watch this space!

The Cranmore Chronicle

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The School Council

Elections take place

w/c Monday 25th September Have you got what it takes?

The Senior Department School Council elections will be taking place w/c Monday 25th September during form time. If pupils are interested in taking part, they should prepare a presentation outlining why they should represent their form and suggest what they can bring forward. The two pupils with the most votes will be the new representatives for their form. Good luck to you all!

The Cranmore Chronicle

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ACTION DAY 2017!

Senior Department Action Day will take place in the Auditorium on Thursday 19 October. This year we will be raising funds for CAFOD and MISSIO. Both charities do incredible work overseas helping people overcome poverty. All senior pupils will be given a sponsorship form and are asked to collect sponsorship money from their family and friends and then pass this on to their form teacher.

The performance times for each year group are listed below and parents are warmly invited to watch their child perform. Please note that these timings are approximate and it could well be the case that a year group slightly overruns.

Form 2 8.30am – 10.20am in 2H, 2M, 2S order (To register at 8.30am in AUDITORIUM) Form 3 10.20am – 11.55am in 3H, 3J, 3W order Form 4 11.55am – 2.10pm in 4C, 4F, 4P, 4S order Form 5 2.10pm – 2.50pm in 5SM, 5M order Form 6 2.50pm – 4pm in 6D, 6M, 6H order R Harris Director of Music

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The Cranmore Chronicle

Music News

E. Slade and M. Evans have been awarded the Ludlow Cup for Achievement in Music Theory – 99% Distinction, the highest mark ever awarded to pupils at Cranmore.

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The Cranmore Chronicle

Summer Rowing Course

The Rowing Club was a cool place to be this Summer!

Over 50 children joined us for the Cranmore’s annual Summer Rowing course at our Boathouse on the River Thames in Walton on Thames. After swimming test at the Excel pool everyone was soon afloat in a wide range of boats.

By Thursday everyone had mastered the basics - which was just as well because we rowed the whole fleet up to Desborough Island for a picnic lunch and then on Friday we held a mini regatta with some close races.

It was not all about the rowing: in the afternoons we went to Aqua Park for inflatable fun, visited the River and Rowing Museum in Henley and finally took a kayak trip down the Thames to Sunbury for ice cream. The lockkeepers let us go through the oldest lock on the Thames, built in 1853 and unpowered. The new lock which is much bigger and faster we all agreed is better - and much less work for the lock keepers!

The rowing Club welcomes pupils in forms 3-6 on a Saturday morning and as an option on games afternoons for forms 4-6.

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The Cranmore Chronicle

Cranmore 2nd Hand Shop Newsletter Christmas Term 2017 Dear fellow parents, For those of you new to Cranmore or those that just haven’t been to see us in the 2 nd Hand Shop…

Welcome!

We are very pleased to say that the shop is well stocked at the moment.

It seems summer was a busy time for us Cranmore parents as bags and bags of uniform have been brought in over the past week. Thank you!

We have many pairs of football and rugby boots and an unusually good stock of football/rugby tops and blue sports shorts....but they won’t last long!

Come and check out our stock of winter coats, jumpers and beanies before the cold weather sets in.

Even with all our lovely fresh stock, we are always low on the really small sizes, so please don’t forget to bring in your old blazers, jumpers and winter coats. A small blazer was brought in this morning and sold whilst the lady was still in the shop labelling the other items, earning £13.33 in commission for that piece alone in about 5 minutes! So bring your old small sizes in with you when you come in to get the next size up. You will receive 2/3rds of the final selling price and selling a good amount of uniform can prove very lucrative! ******************************** FREE WHITE SHIRTS ******************************** Until October half term, grab yourself a free white shirt! ** Our stock could rival a department store at the moment, so come and get your free white shirt (while stocks last…as they say!) You might even bag yourself another bargain whilst you’re in here.

Ski Season is coming!

We are now accepting good quality ski wear for resale. Please label and price yourself as we don’t know what it’s worth. A good guide is about £10 a piece although for nearly new, originally expensive pieces, price as you wish. Please put a brief description of how long something has been used for (a season) and original selling price if you are hoping for more money, as this information always helps. Owners will be contacted at the end of the season to come and collect if unsold, or we can donate to charity if you wish. Please state preference on the label with contact number.

Facebook page The 2nd Hand Shop now has its own fb page.

News and information is posted on a regular basis and it’s proving a useful tool.

It is a ‘secret’ group and you must be invited to be on it. You cannot find it even if you search. This was done for privacy. Anyone already a member can invite another Cranmore parent from their friends list. If you want to be on it and are not already (currently 68 members) then either ask your Cranmore friends to invite you or pm me on fb (Lorraine Moynihan) with message and I will add you.

The Second Hand Uniform Shop is in the hut next to the new section of the car park.

We open every Friday morning 8-9am in term time and we are run and managed by a

small but friendly

team of fellow Cranmore mums.

All profit goes directly to the CPA and is put back into the school for the benefit of our children.

Further details about how to sell your items are available on the CPA section of the website.

I am always available on my mobile, or via email, to assist however necessary.

Many thanks to you all for your support, from Lorraine and all the team.

Mobile : 07711 261386 email : lmoynihan@btopenworld.com **only donated shirts are included in this offer

The Cranmore Chronicle

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Fun with books in half-term!

Come to Leith Hill Place on Tuesday 24 October for a day of spooky fun, where we’ll be bringing books and stories alive in our fabulously atmospheric setting. There will be fantastic children's authors, craft activities, a pop-up Halloween bookshop and spooky storytelling through the house.

Morning session - 10am-12.30pm for ages 4-6 (ages are guidelines only) Join hilarious children’s author Alex Milway, creator of Walker Books’ ‘Pigsticks and Harold’ series, make your own mini monsters and enjoy spooky storytelling around the house.

Afternoon session - 1:45.-4.30pm for ages 7-10 (ages are guidelines only) Meet Claire Barker, author of the popular ‘Knitbone Pepper Ghost Dog’ series, recently shortlisted for The Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Award. There will also be spooky tales in the secret cellars, pumpkin carving and marshmallow toasting in the woods, with a camp fire organised by the National Trust rangers.

Tickets cost £12.50 per child for the morning session and £15 per child for the afternoon session, and must be pre-booked on 0344 249 1895 or online at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/leith-hill-place/features/ halloween-fun-day-this-october. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Adult tickets are free, with a maximum of one adult per child, due to space restrictions. Ticket price includes all materials plus a drink and biscuit, for the child and accompanying adult.

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The Cranmore Chronicle

Cranmore Fireworks Night: November 11th 2017 A family favourite!

Dear Parents, Preparations are underway for the annual Cranmore fireworks event. It promises to be a fantastic autumn celebration for Cranmore families and friends, so please join us on this spectacular and dazzling night!

To enable the Fireworks team to plan ahead we are selling entry tickets and taking food orders in advance.

Please could you look out for the ticket order forms in your child’s school bag and book your place as soon as possible!

Please make sure that you order in advance as ticket prices will be significantly higher on the night and there will be limited food available for purchase.

Beer, mulled wine, soft drinks and hot drinks as well as sweets and glow in the dark toys will be available for purchase on the night.

All food and refreshments will be served from 5pm to 7pm. However no food or refreshments will be served during the fireworks display.

Gates Open 5pm, Fireworks 6pm, Event Closes 7pm.

FABULOUS FIREWORKS TO MUSIC GLOWTASTIC TOYS FOR SALE

FOR ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE EVENT, PLEASE EMAIL CPAFIREWORKS@GMAIL.COM

Tha nk you for supporting this s pectacular fundraising event We hope you have an enjoyable evening

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The Cranmore Chronicle

SKI SQUAD SUCCESS! Cranmore Ski Squad had another successful day’s racing at Southampton dry slope at the National Dry Slopes Qualifiers. The U14A squad secured a win and U11A squad a second place, gaining them a place in the finals in a couple of weeks' time.

A big thank you to all the parents for their help and for some great racing by all the skiers.