Headmaster's Welcome
Dear Parents
We were pleased to have our opening Mass of the term on Tuesday as we were able to also celebrate St George's Day in an appropriate way. Mass was so ably led by our Junior 3 children – well done and thank you to them. Thank you, also, to Father Kevin for celebrating Mass and to the staff, including Mrs Olden, Mrs Forino, Mrs Simmonds, Mrs Van Zyl, Mrs Wildey, Mrs Wheatley, Miss Farquharson and Mrs Ambrose.
Our Junior 5 children left for their PGL residential trip on Tuesday morning. I understand that they have had a fabulous time trying new things including raft building, archery, the zip wire and a trapeze! I would like to thank Mrs Lammas, Mrs McAloon, Mr Stedeford and Miss Broadbent for taking them all.
Mr Vaughan and our U9 tag rugby team had an excellent day at the ISA tournament on Tuesday and they returned having come third! As always, the children tried their best and were a credit to the school.
We are always delighted to welcome prospective families to Crackley to look around the school and learn about what we offer, with a view to their children starting with us at some stage in the future. Our next Open Evening is scheduled for Thursday 9 May, between 5.00pm and 7.00pm. Places at the event can be booked via our website: The Princethorpe Foundation - Crackley Hall Open Evening Registration Form, so please do spread the word with any friends and family who might be interested.
A 'first' this week for me, and something that I have never heard of in any school, was to read of an incident that occurred in the playground where a child 'collided with the golden snitch' (they were fine!). The Quidditch Day, arranged by the PTA for the children, was a huge success and it was wonderful to see the children picking up the rules of a new game so quickly. Some teachers have now been trained in how to run quidditch matches and we hope to be able to introduce this exciting new sport to our house competition calendar next year.
Some of you will now know that Mrs Devine, our wonderful school receptionist, will be leaving us next Friday, 3 May. Mrs Devine has been a highly valued member of the Crackley staff team: she embodies the spirit and ethos of the school with her unfailing kindness and hardworking nature. We will miss Mrs Devine and wish her all the very best in her new role, back in the ‘business world’.
Congratulations to our Stars of the Week: Nursery – Jeea; Reception – Darcey and Edward; J1 – Orla and Sebastian; J2 – Jovan and Cole; J3 – Jai and Charlie; J4 – George and Gabriella; J6 – Sara and Finley. I am hoping to present Hannah (Nursery) and J5 (who were at PGL) with their certificates next week. Well done to all those pupils who received their Crackley Compass awards and their Da Vincis this week – it is always lovely to be able to recognise excellence and effort.
Thank you to everyone who made today’s assembly so special for me. I was genuinely looking to sneak through today as quietly as possible. However, I felt most humbled and am very appreciative of the thought, time and effort that went into the planning. The singing from all the pupils was excellent, as was Mr Pike’s and Mrs Olden’s playing of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. Thank you to all the pupils and staff for the lovely card and the wonderful singing. Thank you to the staff for the gift and also to Mrs Duigan for the thought and love that went into planning this morning.
I would like to wish everyone a happy and restful weekend with family and friends.
God bless,
Robert Duigan
