Page 6 - Crescent House 2014-2015

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At Abingdon, teachers enjoy
interaction in class. They judge
their students’ understanding and
involvement by the questions they
ask and answer. It is considered
good to be curious and even critical.
Having an opinion and being able
to give reasons to support your
thoughts is very important. This
may seem odd to you at first. The
teacher will not always tell you the
right answer, you will be expected
to decide what you think is right and
then explain why.
Sometimes students work in groups.
This is not easy, especially when
not everyone comes from the same
country. Many people have had
different experiences of school in
the past, making group work even
more of a challenge. The purpose of
group work is to learn to work in a
team and to collaborate. This is a skill
you will need in your working life in
the future. Being in a group allows
you to practice skills like leading,
negotiating, encouraging, motivating,
organizing and co-operating.
Sometimes there are conflicts in
groups; learning to deal with these is
also part of becoming a socially adept
adult.
You may not be used to reading or
writing extended passages. Your
teachers know this and will guide
you to the skills you need. The EFL
and SEN departments are also
there to help you learn to write in an
academic style.
Teachers at Abingdon know that you
are making probably the biggest
change in your life by coming here to
board. It is important not to be silent
if you are finding things difficult; tell
your tutor or housemaster. They can
arrange extra support for you.
Crescent House
Crescent House aims to provide you
with the opportunity, support and
encouragement necessary for you to
achieve academic success, develop
self-confidence and independence
and become a concerned and
responsible member of society.
The house is a community that will
help you through the challenges you
will face in your time at Abingdon
School and that will celebrate your
successes and achievements.
Crucially it is a place where you will
form friendships and learn social
skills that will last you for the rest of
your life.
Crescent House is actually made up
of three buildings, Crescent, Cobban
and Glyndowr, that are just next to
the main school buildings on a road
called Park Crescent. It has a very
homely feel to it, and the boys in
Crescent House are very proud of
their community.
Crescent House combines boarders
and day pupils aged 13-18 years
old. The house, therefore, offers
opportunities for day pupils and
boarders to get to know one another,
for pupils to convert to boarding
in the sixth form and for pupils to
experience a range of cultures. You
should make sure you make the
most of this. Dayboys in the house
are expected to follow its rules. They
are also expected to recognise that
the house is the boarders’ home, and
to treat it with appropriate respect.
You will benefit from recreational
facilities in the games room,
the workspace provided by the
Computer room and the relaxing
environment of the house garden.
Boarders have study bedrooms,
shared with between one to three
other students, many of which have
en suite facilities. There is also a TV
room and kitchen for the boarders.
Mr Kendry, your housemaster,
heads up a highly experienced and
enthusiastic team of tutors, and is
supported by the House Matron, Jo
Nutchey. Between them the house
staff look after your academic and
pastoral life at Abingdon. If you have
any problems the house staff will
always be willing to help.
My room
We believe that community spirit
and friendship are at the heart of
boarding at Abingdon. It is important
that you are prepared to share
during your time here and that you
are enthusiastic about making new
friends from all over the world. All of
the boarding rooms are shared, with
2, 3 or 4 boys in a room together.
Within your room you will have your
own bed, storage spaces for clothes
and books, a code locked safe, a
lockable draw and cupboard, and a
desk. Some of the rooms have en-
suite facilities and there are toilets,
showers and sinks near all other
rooms. You will also have a pin board
that we encourage you to use to
put up posters and to personalise
your room (you are not allowed to fix
posters to the wall). Hot food must
not be eaten in your room; you can
use the house kitchen for eating any
food that you cook. Any snack food
that you have must be stored in your
locker or tuck box (which the school
provides).
Other facilities
Within Crescent House there
are plenty of washing and toilet
facilities. There are also cooking
facilities in the house kitchen, places
to relax and watch Sky TV or play
recreational games such as table
tennis or snooker. Crescent House
has beautiful gardens where you can
relax or walk. There are sports fields
nearby where you can play football,
volleyball or other sports.
In addition as a boarder you will
have access to the other facilities in
the school. In the evenings and at
weekends facilities are opened for
your use at certain times including
the school library, the music practice
rooms, the swimming pool, the
fitness suite, the climbing wall and
the sports hall.
Abingdon School
To find out all about Abingdon School
and what happens here please look
at the home page. You may find the
boarding news section interesting or
the virtual tour. However, the more
time you spend looking through our
website the better prepared you
will be for your time here (www.
abingdon.org.uk).
Where will I be living?