The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

The magic of Christmas arrived early at Crackley when Father Christmas and his reindeers popped in to see us all on Enchanted Crackley Christmas day. The excitement in school has been building for weeks, with advent activities, noisy nativities and even a scrumptious Christmas dinner and then to top it all today, it was Christmas Jumper Day.

So, it was a super extra surprise for the children to be called down in turn in their class bubbles to discover our marvellous PTA elves and fairies had laid on a special treat.  In the outside classroom, courtesy of Woodbine Reindeer, Fergie and Buddy, some of Father Christmas' reindeer were waiting to meet the children. The reindeer keepers spoke to the children sharing fascinating reindeer facts, did you know that reindeer can see ultra violet light to help them find their favourite food, lichen moss, or that in the wild they can live in herds of thousands? The children were all captivated as they learned about our festive friends.

But of course, that wasn’t all, for accompanying the reindeer on their visit was the big man himself. Father Christmas had taken time off from all of his festive preparations to come and meet the children. In turn he spoke to each class asking and answering questions, discussing essentials such as who was and wasn’t on his list and what he liked to eat and drink, he even enjoyed listening to the children singing festive songs and carols before the elves sent the youngsters on their way, clutching small gifts of reindeer food and Christmas bells.

What a magical morning they all had, meeting Father Christmas and the reindeer.

A huge thank you to the PTA for organising this wonderful treat and to parents for funding this super memorable and special day.

What fun the children had yesterday filming the nativity plays and we can’t wait to share the finished films with parents.

This year Nursery performed ‘A Bundle of Joy’, a story of about Grumble, a very grumpy donkey. The children really enjoyed learning all the songs and dances that help tell the story of the birth of Jesus and Grumble’s realisation that life isn’t so bad after all.

Reception’s nativity was ‘The Angel Who Nearly Missed It All’ and the children put on an excellent show. The angel chorus really did rehearse for hours to be ready to spread the joyous news and we met a whole host of familiar characters as we followed Late Angel's dash to join in the fun.

Junior 1 performed Noisy Nativity, filled full of songs, actions and plenty of excitement, as the story unfolded the children discovered that Christmas is not just about presents. It was a lively retelling of the story of Jesus’ birth.

Junior 2’s nativity was ‘It’s A Miracle’, and it was a story of wow and wonder. Set in heaven and on earth (the playground) it captured all the beauty and wonder of the true Christmas story.

Filming took place in the school hall and also this year out on location – in a real stable (the outside classroom) and even included a real pony! You can’t get more magical than that!

We couldn’t resist sharing a few photos to give you a sneak peek of their wonderful productions.

A huge well done to all!

Mrs Goode has sent a message praising her pupils:

"In spite of all the challenges and difficulties with learning which has been thrown at our children this year, my Crackley Hall pupils have just received one of the best set of musical theatre results ever.

You are all an inspiration and I am so totally blown away at such tremendous results, congratulations to you all!" 

Well done everyone we look forward to seeing you being presented with your certificates.

We are delighted to welcome Adam Peters to Crackley Hall School. Adam will be our new Aftercare Supervisor, working with the team to provide care for the children who stay with us at the end of the school day.

Adam joined us this week and is looking forward to working with the children, encouraging them to participate in all the different activities the team offer. He has a calm and supportive manner and strong organisational skills that will ensure the children can focus on completing their work but also enjoy some play time too.

Adam attended Pangbourne College, a Christian Boarding School and has worked in a variety of independent schools. He values the home from home environment that Prep schools like Crackley Hall provide.  He is currently Head Coach for Warwick University Rugby, Captain of Coventry rugby team and has experience of teaching sport in prep schools.

He is sure to be an excellent addition to the Afterschool team.

Local Kenilworth Mayor, Councillor Richard Dickson and Councillor Alan Chalmers visited the school on Wednesday 9 December to deliver a new grit bin. Provided by Warwick County Council, the new grit bins are being donated to schools to help keep us all safe in the ice during the winter weather. 

Junior 3 have loved finding out about the life of world-famous Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto and what inspired and motivated him to become such an acclaimed artist. Together they have explored his bold use of colour, striking geometric shapes and clearly defined lines before setting about creating their own vibrant and joyful self-portraits.

They were even lucky enough to receive a special video message from the artist himself, causing such excitement amongst the children. A huge thank you to Romero for that wonderful surprise.

We hope you all enjoy seeing our finished pieces here.

Mrs Gilbert and her violin students have been taking part in a five week 'practisathon'. The children have been sponsored for each 30 minutes of practice they have completed on the violin, to raise money for their preferred charity.

Junior 3's Arthur, Finley, and Issie kept track of their practice and showed Mrs Gilbert their practice charts every week. Arthur showed real commitment, raising £35 for CAFOD, whilst making good progress on his Grade 1 pieces. Finley practised so much that he has learned nine songs in his violin book, after only starting the violin in November. Issie worked hard to master Twinkle Twinkle.

Children in other year groups who learn the violin will also be tallying up the time they have spent practising so they can donate money to charity too. Mrs Gilbert joined in the practisathon, donating her sponsored extra practice time towards Save the Children.

Well done everyone!

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Hardwick's class is Tristan

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Glen-Roots's class is Alexander

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes's class is Harrison

Mathlete of the week for Mr Stedeford's group is Amy 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs VanZyl's group is Adreena

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Wildey's class is Sebastian

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Burley's group is Lennon

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Roberts's group is Alfred

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Lammas's group is Olivia

Well done all! 

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