Cranmore Chronicle 7 December 2018 Editor: Mrs S Trumble
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
In This Issue... • •
The Headmaster Cranmore Christmas Raffle School Photos School Uniform Shop Pied Piper Theatre Sports Focus Cranmore Nursery
The Inn-spectors Music News Nursery Singalong Netball and Rowing French Play Christmas Lunch Lights, Camel,Action!
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Inspired by authors Seb in Form 3 wrote to his favourite writer Michael Morpurgo and was thrilled to receive a reply!
Dear Parents Following on from the LP & MP Nativity, we were treated to a wonderful spectacle yesterday with Lights, Camel, Action!, this year’s production from UP & Form 1. It was a marvellous, inventive rendition of the nativity story within a contemporary context. The costumes, singing and, not least, the dancing made it a real joy for the audience. We have a strong Christmas theme at the moment which includes the traditional lunch last Wednesday. As ever, we are grateful to our dedicated team of caterers who prepare our meals through the year. Today we are having a festival of Christmas hats and no doubt we shall be treated to a very interesting array of headwear. Of course, we still have a full week before the holiday begins and there is much to be done in this busy period. I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our Carol Service on Thursday; our preparations are well underway. Yours sincerely Michael Connolly
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CRANMORE SCHOOL UNIFORM SHOP CHRISTMAS CLOSURE AND PRE-TERM OPENING HOURS The Cranmore School Uniform Shop will close for the Christmas holiday after business on Thursday 13th December. It will re-open before the start of the new term on Friday 4th January 2019 from 10am to 3pm. Normal opening hours will resume from Monday 7th January. Just a reminder that if you are unable to get to the shop during our regular opening times you are very welcome to call the shop to place your order and make payment over the phone. Your child can then come in and collect the goods or we can deliver them to Reception for you to collect. Alternatively you can contact us via email at spsschoolshops@yahoo.com Thank you and Merry Christmas from the School Shop!
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The Big, Enormous Present Last week the Junior Department was visited by The Pied Piper Theatre Company, a local Surrey Theatre Company supported by the Arts Council England. The children enjoyed a superb performance full of colour and music and it told the story of ‘The Big, Enormous Present’ appearing in the school playground. The show explored how giving can sometimes feel as good as receiving, how the biggest present isn’t always the best and how sometimes the joy of seeing family can be the best present of all.
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Last Wednesday, Cranmore U13 and U12 A & B headed over to Cranleigh to participate in a triangular fixture versus Hurstpierpoint College/Cranleigh and Aldro/Cranleigh respectively. The U13s put in an excellent performance against Cranleigh, and immediately after that, against Hurstpierpoint, the team members were able to test themselves against a very good side which has been playing rugby since September. The U12s showcased strong basic skills in very tough weather to deliver two very good performances against their opposition. Thursday saw our U9 and U8 teams travel to Cranleigh to play netball fixtures. This was off the back of having a masterclass the day before with International netball player, Tamsin Greenway. The two days combined meant there were some very happy netball players who are clearly loving their sport. More adverse weather on Saturday saw a very busy morning on the Henderson Fields, with no fewer than five year groups playing in eight matches against worthy opponents, Northcote Lodge. Despite the weather, parents and staff were full of praise regarding the standard of the rugby on show and the overall experience of Saturday morning sport at Cranmore. Also on Saturday, our 5th and 6th form rowers raced at the Burway Head of the River. Despite being the youngest crew out of 256, Cranmore were placed well above the pre-race seedings. On Tuesday, the whole 4th form year group of rugby players travelled to Kings House for fixtures A to D. This year group is proving very strong for Cranmore and this was evident again with four very strong performances. On Wednesday, our U13s and 12s played rugby against Sevenoaks and throughout the week, the start of House Rugby has been taking place. This Thursday, Cranmore travelled to ACS, Cobham for a swimming gala. The Cranmore team is made up of existing and new swimming squad members, including for the first time three girls from Form 1, and one girl from Upper Prep. To wrap up the sporting week, there are U10s fixtures on Saturday at Cranmore, an U11 festival at Danes Hill and more rowing at Walton, where our crews are up against over 650 crews. For fixtures, team sheets, results and more information please use the sports portal via the Cranmore school website http://www.cranmoreprepsports.co.uk , or the very useful Cranmore sports web app, and https://twitter.com/
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News from the Nursery The children have been busy this week with preparations for Christmas. The playrooms are looking very colourful indeed and so is our garden, as the children decided to decorate the trees outdoors. Mrs Williams worked with the children to create a beautiful Advent wreath which is hanging at our front door. The children enjoyed dressing up as Nativity characters and sang beautifully for family and friends on Tuesday morning. They loved playing in the Pre-Nursery stable too.
Pre-Nursery children enjoyed finding out first-hand the effects of wind. Mrs Rossi brought her kite along and the children tried to catch it as the gusts of wind dipped it and then lifted it high up into the air.
On Wednesday we had a delicious Christmas lunch all together in our Pre-Nursery Room. The children made decorations for the tables and the room was transformed into a top-class festive restaurant! We even had a special visitor come in to see us! On Thursday afternoon many of the children dressed up again in their Nativity costumes and went to Lime Grove Care Home for the Elderly on the minibuses to bring Christmas cheer to our elderly neighbours. Our Toddler Group Christmas Party takes place on Friday December 7th between 2 and 3.15pm. If you have younger children do come and join in the fun. There is no charge and refreshments are provided.
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LP and MP Present The Inn-spectors
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Music News
Congratulations to the pupils of Mr Smith (some of whom are shown here) for a very entertaining guitar concert.
A wonderful performance during assembly by this talented pupil of the Grade 6 flute piece ‘Prélude français’.
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Nursery Singalong!
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. Netball at Cranmore Last week the U9 ( and some U8) girls played a netball match vs Cranleigh and the U8s took part in a triangular match vs Belmont and Cranleigh. The children acquitted themselves tremendously well in these, some of their first competitive netball matches. It stayed dry and the children learnt a lot as they played more experienced opposition. However, they kept their heads up and did not lose their focus or desire to win the ball. A fabulous afternoon!
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Rowers rise above the rain! The wet weather this weekend did not stop our hardy rowing squad. In the morning our 3rd and 4th formers were out in the couple and training boats, getting the miles in before coming back for a well-earned hot chocolate. In the afternoon our J13 quadruple scull crew were in action at the Burway head of the River. This is a challenging, 3000 metre course upstream from Chertsey to Penton Hook. It’s a tough row and even tougher course to steer. We completed the course in 13.03, just missing out to Henley crew who beat us by 7 seconds! With 256 crews of all ages entered, we were the youngest and we were very pleased to come 222 overall. Next Saturday we are looking forward to racing in Double Sculls on the Walton Small Boats course which we know well. Everyone is also looking forward to our Christmas party on Sunday when, after bowling, we enjoy party games with plenty of Christmas fare!
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Could you fly a French spaceship? On Thursday 29th November, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Form were treated to a visit from the Onatti Theatre Company, who performed 'Ticket pour l'espace'. 'Jack has won first prize. His prize is a trip on a Space rocket, a French space rocket. He is so excited to be going into space! Jack will be on the space craft with another child who also won – she is French and speaks little English. All the instruments on the spaceship are in French and mission control only communicates in French – but that is okay because Jack knows some French words. Soon after take-off there is a malfunction and they are sent 65,000 miles out into space!'
Here is what some of the pupils said about the play; ‘It was utterly hilarious. I loved the way it was fully funky and the alien was awesome.’ ‘The play was amazing. I understood nearly everything.’ ‘I loved how the actors performed to help us understand what they were saying in French.’ ‘It was so funny!’ ‘The costume changes were great and I loved how they invited Cranmore pupils on stage. The acting was good and I basically loved everything!’
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Going Crackers for Christmas Lunch!
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Lights, Camel, Action! Presented by Uppers and Form 1
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