Crosfields Parents’ Association is hosting its annual Summer Picnic on Sunday 13th June, 11am to 4pm.  In the grounds of the school the picnic is a great day out for the whole family!  You are invited to bring along your picnics, barbecues, tables, chairs and gazebos, we have even seen the odd candelabra in previous years!

For a single entry price there is a day full of activities for the children in a safe and familiar environment. These include: Bouncy Castles, Giant Inflatable Slide, Bungee Run, Sumo suits (for children and adults!), Pony Rides, Animal and Reptile Petting Zoos incl. the giant tortoise, Circus Skills, Fire Engine, Mask Decorating, Cup Cake Competition, Hair Colouring, Tattoos, Face Painting, Fake cuts and Wounds, Swimming, Tennis, Scavenger Hunt, Lego Distance Race and lots of other competitions and quizzes.  For the adults we will be arranging a friendly rounders match!  There will also be Tea, Coffee, Cakes and Ice creams available to purchase throughout the day.

Buy your tickets in advance and save £6 on a family of four!  Adults £6 and Children £4 with the flyer before 9^th June.  Adults £7.50 and Children £5.50 on the day – Children 3 and under are free.

This event is only open to families of Crosfields pupils.

Please complete a flyer, available in our section of the school website, and return it to the school office with payment.  We look forward to seing you there for a great day out with the family!

Pupils throughout Crosfields School in Shinfield have been celebrating all things European in a special ‘Euro Week’ from 24^th-28^th May.

Each morning in assembly, or ‘Collect’, classes have performed music and readings from the main countries of Spain, France, Italy and Germany.    Lunchtimes have been themed with foods typical of these countries and during the week there have been quizzes on the school website, musical recitals in the quad and language class work.

Thursday was officially ‘European Day’ with all the children coming to school dressed in costumes.   Year 2 held a café for Nursery and Reception, there were pains au chocolat at breaktime, short plays in French, Spanish and Latin  and even games of boules in the school grounds.

Parents were also able to join in the fun, with a celebratory meal at The French Horn restaurant in Sonning where they enjoyed exquisite food and wines from France.

Jonathan Wansey, Headmaster, said:

“Last year we held a very successful French Week and this year we decided to extend this to include other important European countries to give a greater variety of activities and help our pupils learn about our neighbours!      It has been a wonderful way to inspire them in so many areas of learning – not just linguistics, but geography, art, drama, music, food technology and sport as well.    Many thanks to all the staff for their hard work during this very enjoyable and special week.”

Pupils at Crosfields have enjoyed studying in the sunshine this week.  The school has over 40 acres of grounds and has recently introduced a new ‘outdoor classroom’ area where pupils can study.   Good use has been made of the ‘classroom’ since it opened, with children throughout Crosfields using it as a quiet shaded area for their lessons as well as making use of the surroundings for their learning.

Crosfields’ golfers are celebrating a fantastic win at a Prep Schools tournament held at Bradfield College on Sunday 16^th May.  Young golfers from eight local Prep schools competed on the nine hole full length course and the standard of play was extremely high.

Despite the dismal weather, spirits were high and Crosfields’ golfers played superbly.  It was both a great team effort with strong individual performances throughout.  Crosfields won the Under 13 section and took 2^nd place in the Under 11 section and this combined total resulted in an overall joint win with Hallgrove School to take the title of Bradfield College Prep Schools Golf Tournament Winners for 2010.

In addition, Jack Banton won the prize for the longest drive and was 3^rd individually in the U13s competition and Matthew Roberts was placed 2^nd individually in the U11s match.

Many congratulations to U13 pair  -  Jack Banton and Edward Warren and the U11 pair – Matthew Roberts and Alex Sutton.

Year 1 pupils from Crosfields enjoyed a visit to Windsor recently as part of their study of homes.

During their private tour of the castle, they saw the State apartments, Queen Mary’s Dolls House, which is the most famous dolls house in the world, and St George’s Chapel and learnt more about the Queen’s life at Windsor in a special educational workshop.   They were also lucky enough to visit on a day when the Changing of the Guard was taking place and loved watching the marching by the guards in their bearskins.

Mrs Janey McDowell, Head of the Pre-Prep department at Crosfields, said:

 “This was a wonderful way for our children to learn more about English heritage and the life of a Queen today.    To see the Changing of the Guard as well was a real highlight and I am sure the trip will really help to illustrate our classroom studies.”

Crosfields School is celebrating excellent success in recent senior school entry awards.  Nine pupils have gained Scholarships to their senior schools at 13+ entry and one has achieved a coveted 13+ place at Reading School.

Congratulations to Joseph Bartlett on his Drama Award to Shiplake College; Joel Allen for his All-round Award to Shiplake College; Rohin Dale for his Music Award to Lord Wandsworth College and Matthew Shakespeare for an All-round Award, also to Lord Wandsworth College.   Todd Harris wins a Music Award to Wellington College while Max Hemmings achieved the prestigious Dr Gray’s All-round Award to Bradfield College.  Three pupils were offered awards to Pangbourne College – Oliver Costin-Pratt a Design Technology Award, Benjamin Davis a Drama Award and Willoughby Wilding-Taylor an All-round Award.    Sam Dalton wins a much sought-after place at Reading School.

Jonathan Wansey, Headmaster, commented:

“What wonderful achievements by our Year 8 pupils.   All our Year 8s have gained places at their senior schools of first choice once again.   There is increasing competition both for scholarships at independent senior schools and also for 13+ entry to Reading School and I am delighted that the hard work by both staff and children has been so well rewarded.  I wish all our Year 8 leavers every success with their future studies.”

The Crosfields Pre-Prep girls are loving their new summer dresses.   As you can see, the dresses are hard wearing enough to withstand the playground while also looking very smart!

Backwater of the Thames at Sonning, by Andrew Smith

On Tuesday 25^th May, at part Crosfields’ Euro Week, you are invited to The French Horn at Sonning for a classic French Dinner in a private Dining Room, complemented with exquisite fine French wines.  The cost is just £70 per person so please come as a singleton, couple, or with a group of friends and family to enjoy a memorable evening.  This will be the perfect way to celebrate something!

Canapés & Kir Royal
(served on the terrace, weather permitting)

Amuse - Bouche

Tian de Crab

Sorbet Champagne

Agneau Provencale

Assiette de Desserts

Café & Petit Fours.

Les vins -  Macon Lugny, Les Genievres, Magnums Chateau Lescalle.

Please email michael@thefrenchhorn.co.uk to discuss and confirm your booking.

The tension is mounting at Crosfields with just two days to go until the election.  Candidates from Year 6 from each of the three main parties will be presenting their manifestos in Collect on Wednesday morning and there will be voting during Thursday morning’s registration.

Conservatives:   Leader – Matthew Denham; Deputy Leaders – Christian Miller and William Cross

Labour:  Leader – George Hale; Deputy Leader – Matthew Atkins; Campaign Manager – Jimmy Martin

Liberal Democrats:  Leader – Edward Corbett;  Deputy Leader – Luke Wilson

Good luck to all the candidates.  It will be interesting to see if the Crosfields voters concur with the National result!

Reception pupils at Crosfields were thrilled to collect eggs laid by the school’s very own chickens this week.   The chickens are kept in Headmaster Jonathan Wansey’s garden.  He invited them to come and see the chickens and told them about how they are kept, feeding habits and how many eggs they lay.    A lovely Easter treat to mark the end of another busy and successful term at Crosfields!

Girls from Reception to Year 4 continue to enjoy the ‘Girls’ Club’ which runs during each half of term and gives the opportunity for the ‘girls to be girls’!

As you can see from the photographs, the Crosfields girls love getting together!

The red carpet was laid out in Reading on Monday 22nd March when the Oscars came to Crosfields School in Shinfield with a Hollywood-style ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the school’s ‘Film Club’ members.

The sixteen members of the Year 7 Film Club at Crosfields have been meeting weekly to learn about the many aspects involved in making films.  They have got involved in script writing, acting, filming and editing and presented their finished films at the special event held in the Crosfields theatre this evening.

The budding film makers were delighted to meet William McDowell, a former Crosfields pupil now at Abingdon School, who has developed his interest in film while at school and has just premiered one of his films at the British Film Institute in London.

Once the films had been shown, each member of the club was presented with their very own Oscar and the evening concluded with a drinks reception in the style of the ‘Oscar post party’ celebrations!

Jonathan Wansey, Headmaster, commented:

“The film club has been a real success and it was wonderful to see the results on the ‘big screen’!   At Crosfields we try to offer a varied range of extra curricular hobbies and interests in order to encourage pupils to learn about many different industries and careers.    Many thanks to all the staff involved with the film club and to William for coming and showing us just how far you can progress with film during your school years.”

Pupils in Years 3 and 4 at Crosfields turned detective for the Sport Relief Mile on Friday 19^th March.    They went up and down as many staircases as possible around the school, following clues on their way.   Tasks included remembering where Sport Relief socks were hidden and finding places named after famous sporting heroes such as Sir Steve’s Staircase and William’s Waters.   They used most of the school buildings on a circuit completed three times to reach the one mile target.

The children brought in voluntary contributions and some even dressed up in traditional detective costumes.  Over £300 was raised for the charity.

Miss Eileen Beard, Head of the Junior School at Crosfields, said:

“We wanted the children to combine the mile long run with using their initiative and testing their problem solving skills.    The trail was a great way to encourage them to literally think on their feet and it was great fun at the same time!”

Pupils in the Reception classes at Crosfields School, Shinfield have been celebrating Easter early with the arrival of a group of chicks which have hatched in school this week.

The children have really enjoyed watching the chicks grow and have had great fun painting pictures of them and making models in their art lessons.

Mrs Janey McDowell, Head of the Pre-Prep department at Crosfields, said:  “As you can imagine, there has been great excitement as each chick appeared from its egg!   This has been a wonderful way for the boys and girls to learn about nature and life cycles and see at first hand the development of the chicks and how fast they grow in such a short space of time.”

Year 6 pupils at Crosfields delighted parents and children with their musical version of the life of Horatio Nelson at a Performing Arts evening held in the school theatre on Thursday 27^th February.

Every member of the year group took part, with rousing year group choral works including ‘The Shark’, ‘The Sea’ and ‘Song of the Whale’.   The Recorder group gave a popular rendition of ‘What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor’ and the Chamber Choir excelled in their singing of ‘Follow the Heron’.   The costumes were wonderful and there were some impressive acting displays.

Director Serena Wansey commented:

“This was a wonderful opportunity for every single member of Year 6 to perform on stage – singing, acting and playing instruments.   It was a fabulous musical evening and I thank all the staff, parents and pupils for their hard work behind the scenes to ensure it was such a success.”

Boys and girls from 23 schools across the county took part in a ‘tag’ rugby festival on Friday 26th February, hosted by Crosfields.  This is the 4th year that the school has held the event and is now a firm fixture in the local schools Spring Term sporting calendar.  A record number of players took part this year with 44 teams – 24 boys’ teams and 20 girls’ – and over 440 children competing.

The competition was a ’round robin’ event with every team receiving a certificate and rugby ball at the end of the afternoon from Crosfields’ Deputy Headmaster Simon Dinsdale.  London Irish’s community department supported the day and the children were also thrilled by the arrival of London Irish mascot ‘Digger’ the Irish wolfhound who signed autographs, posed for photographs and helped give out the certificates.

Simon Dinsdale, Deputy Headmaster at Crosfields, commented:

“We were rather concerned about the weather this year, but fortunately the rain held off and we were treated to some fantastic rugby from these young players.  There were some nailbiting matches and there was a great atmosphere with genuine enthusiasm for the game from everyone taking part.    My thanks go to London Irish for their continued support of this popular event and also to the PE and games staff at Crosfields for once again co-ordinating the large numbers of children and ensuring that the day was such a success.”

Schools taking part this year were:  Ascot Heath Junior, Beechwood Primary, Bradfield C of E Primary, Burghfield St Mary’s Primary, Caversham Primary, Churchend Primary, Colleton Primary, Coombes Junior, Crosfields, Downsway Primary, Emmer Green Primary, Farley Hill Primary, Garland Junior, Meadow Vale Primary, Mortimer St Mary’s Junior, Oaklands Junior, Oakley Junior, Pangbourne Primary, St Mary’s Primary, Shiplake C of E Primary, Springfield Primary, Whitegrove Primary and Winnersh Primary.

Crosfields has been hosting sports events for primary schools since 1995.  The next ‘fixture’ will be an inter-schools cross country competition taking place on Tuesday 30th March at 2pm.

Pupils in the Reception classes at Crosfields were thrilled with a visit by ‘Ivy’ the golden Labrador retriever from the local branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind today.

Ivy was accompanied by her trainer, Carole Arrowsmith, who told the children how Ivy has been taught to help blind and partially blind people with everyday life, including crossing the road, going shopping, getting onto buses and avoiding any dangerous situations.

Pupils were given information sheets and workbooks to use in their classroom studies after the visit and all of the children were allowed to give Ivy a special pat at the end of the talk!

Mrs Janey McDowell, Head of the Pre-Prep department at Crosfields, said:

 “This was an excellent way for the children to learn about how Guide Dogs help others.     Many thanks to Mrs Arrowsmith for visiting us today and helping us all to understand what an important role the charity plays in the community.”

Crosfields’ girls have been enjoying playing hockey on the new Astroturf surface this term and have already had some exciting matches, notching up some impressive results.  Among the highlights, the U9s beat St Mary’s, Henley 10-0; the U8s A squad won 2-1 against Lambrook School, with the B team only just losing 1-0 in the final minutes of their game; and while the U10s lost 1-0 to St Neot’s,  there were some great hockey skills on display.   Well done girls!

Those dressed up joined on the school quadrangle to help spell out the letters ‘Haiti’.   Over £3,000 has already been raised – a fantastic sum of money.

Jonathan Wansey, Headmaster, said:  “The children have been very keen to learn about the events in Haiti and we have been incorporating it into our classroom work.  There has been great enthusiasm for the fundraising efforts and I am delighted that we have been able to raise such a magnificent amount.  Many thanks to all the staff, parents and pupils for their support and generosity.”

Nursery to Year 4 pupils and staff spell out 'Haiti' on the school quadrangle

The evening will be based on the Ready Steady Cook format with the Headmaster, Jonathan Wansey and the Chair of the CPA, Theresa Denny up against each other in a cook off!

There will a raffle on the evening and the proceeds from this, the £3 entrance fee and a proportion of the orders taken on the evening will all go direct to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal. Please come along and bring friends and family to this ‘fun’draiser!