Cranmore Chronicle 29 September 2017 Editor: Mrs S Trumble
Bright Stars children love to visit the ICT room!
In This Issue...
Letter from Mrs Susan Walker
Summer Reading Challenge
Bright Stars News
Parents’ Reading Group
U7 Football Festival
Southampton Boat Show
A New Arrival!
Watersports Holiday
Cranmore Book Fair
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And they’re off! The Musicathon countdown begins……... Dear Parents, There was a real buzz last week as we welcomed a number of visitors to our Open Mornings. I would like to thank the large number of our older pupils who came in on Saturday morning in time for breakfast and to help with tours, in classrooms and on the football pitches. Our visitors were very impressed with the warm welcome they received and the excellent insight our guides gave them into life at Cranmore, through from Bright Stars to the Sixth Form. Our U7 children were busy too on Saturday morning, participating in the exciting Football Festival held here at Cranmore. We also celebrated European Day of Languages on Tuesday, with the older pupils enjoying a French play and a celebration of European dishes on the menu at lunchtime. The second of our 50th Year events, the Musicathon; 50 hours of Music is well under way, with children in both Junior & Senior departments involved. We look forward to the final countdown next Friday morning during assembly, when we welcome back a former pupil to play the final piece. Enjoy the weekend and good luck to the U8 & U10 in their Football Tournaments and our skiers participating in the Surrey Ski Championships. Best wishes, Susan Walker
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This week Pre-Nursery children have been enjoying the story of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. They made bear masks, cooked porridge for breakfast and made oaty playdough. The home corner is being transformed into the bears’ cottage and the children have been acting out the story with their friends. Role-play is popular outside too and this week the children have loved our ‘Flower Shop’. Of course there have been lots of other fun activities outside too, including painting at the easel with friends. Each week we visit the Junior ICT Room and Nursery children have been learning to use a mouse and to click and drag colours onto the screen using the 2Paint program.
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Under 7 Football Festival Two Upper Prep teams represented Cranmore in the U7 Football Festival at the weekend. Both teams played well and their determination, sportsmanship and sense of fair play was a real credit to them. The day was a huge success and we thank all the parents for their support.
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The Upper Preps were treated to a wonderful surprise with the visit of Miss Creal and her little boy. The children were excited to meet him and asked some great questions about how he is getting on. We wish Miss Creal and her new baby all the very best and we hope to see him again soon!
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The Book Fair is Coming!
Cranmore Book Week 2nd – 6th October During Cranmore Book Week, there will be lots of activities and competitions based on books. We won’t be having a dress-as-a-book-character-day this year, as we will be doing this on World Book Day (March 1st 2018). All through the week we will be holding a Book Fair in the Library Corridor. Parents are very welcome to come and browse from 3.30pm to 5.00pm each afternoon. We receive a fantastic commission from Travelling Books, of books worth 60% of the Book Fair takings and this enables us to update the Junior and Senior Library stock, and replenish class libraries. During the week most classes will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair with their teacher. From Monday 2nd October, your child may come home with a ‘Book Wish’, which is a card with the title of a book he or she chose at the fair whilst browsing with the class. Please do not feel obliged to buy this book; do come and check the books out for yourself at the after-school sessions. If you cannot make it to the book fair, please do not send cash in with your child. If you would like to buy the book your child picked out, please send a cheque made payable to Cranmore School in an envelope, together with the ‘Book wish’ card, which will include name and form. Address the envelope to Mrs Trumble and the book will be sent via the form teacher. If a particular title proves especially popular and sells out quickly, we can order extra copies to arrive within a few days. These will then be delivered to your child’s classroom by the Sixth Form Librarians. The children enjoy choosing books for themselves at the Book Fair and we are always pleased to encourage them in their love of reading. Our last Book Fair was very well stocked and also raised a huge amount of commission in books for the Senior and Junior Libraries. Thank you very much for your support! Sue Trumble
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Cranmore Summer Reading Challenge We had a fantastic response to our Summer Reading Challenge, where to mark the occasion of our 50th anniversary, pupils were asked to read a book from each decade of the school’s history – starting with any book published in the 1960s. More than 40 children took part and 28 of those achieved the highest level, meaning that they read 6 books from the 6 different decades. Prizes, merits and certificates were awarded last week. Some great old favourites were rediscovered and we were thrilled with the enthusiasm shown by our readers!
Parents’ Reading Group - new members welcome! Some of you may not know that we have a parents’ reading group which meets 2 or 3 times a term. We are always keen to meet new members so why not come along and give us a try? We read a very wide variety of books including fiction, non-fiction and biography, and have a lot of fun discussing them. We meet in the mornings over coffee, because afternoon pick-up times vary so much, and it seems to work well. Occasionally we have an evening meeting when we go out for a curry or meet to watch a DVD of a book we have read. Our next meeting is on Monday 2nd October at 8.30am in the Senior Library, with coffee and biscuits. Our main choice for the summer was ‘Admissions’ by Henry Marsh (about his life as a brain surgeon) – but you don’t have to read the book to come along to the group – come and meet us and help us to choose the next book!
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The Southampton Boat Show is a hit! Our crews are used to rowing hard and being followed by a coach on a launch ,but at the Southampton Boat Show they got the chance to experience a powerful rib which took them down the Solent at an exciting 35mph! It was not all about speed: our summer watersport holiday hosts, Rockley, took everyone out on stand-up paddleboards which was fun, if a bit wet at times! We also found time to visit a square rigger that used to sail round the Arctic ,as well as tour one of the Tall Ship Challenger yachts which we hope to spend a weekend aboard next summer. Sadly we could not go out sailing because the winds and tides were against us but the other activities more than made up for it.
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This could be you!
For the 4th year running we are heading to Azu Rivage in South West France for a fabulous watersports holiday on the warm shallow water of Lac Soustons from 15 – 22 July 2018. We will sail windsurfs and Laser dinghies as well as exciting Dart catamarans, not to mention kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and trail biking in the forest, with Rockley’s team of qualified instructors to ensure you get the most out of each session! Due to the popularity of this centre I have only been able to secure 25 places though I am trying to get additional space based on previous demand. The sooner I can confirm our reservation,. the more chance we have to take everyone who will want to come. For more details, contact Mr B Martin.