Headmaster's Welcome
Dear parents
I feel that January passed in the blink of an eye, although I'm sure for some that it seemed a long and cold month. Whilst it still very chilly outside, there are signs that spring is definitely on the way as the tips of bulbs and snowdrops have made an appearance; the early evening sky also seem a little lighter now. I have attended the Catholic Independent Schools conference this week with Mr Hester and Mr Du Toit which has provided time to discuss school values and reaffirm our ethos as a Catholic Independent School whilst meeting head teachers from other schools.
The main event this week was the NSPCC number day which took place today. Mrs van Zyl coordinated this event and provided class teachers with exciting maths challenges including building a coin tower with the donations from home. As soon as the great ‘count up’ has taken place and the coin towers deconstructed, I will let you know the total amount raised and how much will be paid to the NSPCC to help them continue their wonderful work.
There has been an increasing number of children attending aftercare provision in recent weeks and many of these bookings are made shortly before the end of the school day. All children needing aftercare will be accommodated but our catering team can only provide a hot snack for children who are either on a long term aftercare booking or booked before 12 noon on the day in question. I appreciate that that is not always possible to book in advance due to circumstances beyond your control please understand that catering deadlines will need to be met. Mrs Walter and her aftercare team work closely with parents and Holroyd Howe staff and have asked that there is always a selection of fruit available alongside the hot snack choices. The children have also taken part in a brief survey to help the caterers understand what snacks they would like to have an offer at the end of the school day. This has proved very helpful as we aim to strike a balance between healthy options, variety and minimise waste.
Mr Cottrill kindly hosted celebration assembly this morning while I'll attended the conference and I was pleased to hear about all of our stars of the week: Parker, Teddy, Zach Alexander, Daya, Sloane, Harry, Niamh, Henry, Othniel, Finley, Olivia and Jia. There was another bumper distribution of bronze awards this week and I'm sure it will not be too long before some Silver Crackley Compass awards are presented. Congratulations to everybody who received a certificate this morning. I was disappointed to miss the musical performances by two of our Junior 2 pupils. I understand that Cleo played her violin and Ashleigh, her flute, beautifully; well done to both of you.
Moving to next week, we will be observing children's mental health week and class teachers, led by Mrs Burley, will be looking at new initiatives to help children help themselves with their mental health. On Tuesday and Wednesday we will be celebrating performing arts with a show from Key Stage 2 on Tuesday evening and Key Stage 1 on Wednesday afternoon. Rehearsals have been taking place during the last couple of weeks and I very much look forward to seeing the final performances and having our families join us in school for the shows. Junior 4 will be fortunate to travel to Princethorpe College on Wednesday afternoon to see the senior school pupils in their stage production of The Addams Family. Communications have been sent by the school office to all Junior 4 parents regarding these arrangements. On Friday next week I will be hosting the annual Headmaster's Quiz and I would like to thank the PTA for organising this event and coordinating ticket sales; if you haven't yet purchased your ticket or want to be part of a team, please contact the PTA For more information.
I would like to wish you all a restful weekend.
God bless,
Rob Duigan
