The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Crackley Hall School in Kenilworth has increased the number of places it has available for pupils in Year 5.

Traditionally Crackley has had two forms at the top end of the school with classes capped at 24 pupils, however with interest at an all-time high, the independent school for boys and girls aged four to eleven, has decided to move with immediate effect to three Year 5 classes of between 16-18 pupils.

Headmaster, Rob Duigan, commented “Crackley Hall has always been a popular choice for parents. Adding this extra capacity in Year 5 is an exciting development, which will enable more children to benefit from a Crackley Hall education and the school’s success in getting children into their first choice of secondary school, whether independent or local grammars. We’re confident that there will be a lot of interest.”

The move is good news for current pupils too, who will benefit from the smaller class sizes, with a particular focus on streamed English and Mathematics, in what is a key school year as the children prepare for 11+ and entrance examinations.

Parents who are interested in a place for their child should contact Angela Barnard, Admissions Secretary on 01926 514410 or by email angelabarnard@crackleyhall or come along to the school’s next Open Day on Thursday 5 October 2017 from 10.00am to 3.00pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the school’s facilities and meet pupils and staff. All are most welcome.

Crackley Hall School also has a dedicated Nursery and Reception Open Evening later in the Autumn on Wednesday 22 November 2017 from 7.00pm to 8.00pm.

Pupils and staff at Crackley Hall will be welcoming a new member to the school’s leadership team after October half term. Mrs Jayne Geran, an experienced teacher and senior leader, has been appointed Assistant Head of Academic and Key Stage 2 for the Kenilworth independent junior school.

Mrs Geran has worked at schools across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, most recently as an Assistant Head at St Matthew’s Bloxam CE Primary in Rugby. She brings a wealth of experience to her new role having played a significant part in the development of a wide range of schools.

As a member of the senior management team at Crackley Hall, she will work closely with the Headmaster and colleagues to ensure that pupils achieve to the very best of their abilities.

Explaining her approach to learning, Jayne Geran comments, “I believe that a happy school is a successful school, where a ‘can-do’ culture is nurtured both within the classroom and across the school and where praise and encouragement prevail, so self-esteem is high. I am delighted that I have been given this opportunity to lead on Academic and Key Stage 2 at Crackley Hall. I look forward to working with all of the parents and staff, but my main aim will be to light up a hunger for learning amongst the pupils.

Rob Duigan, Headmaster at Crackley Hall, comments, “We are delighted that Jayne has accepted the position of Assistant Head, Academic and Key Stage 2. When interviewing her for the role I was impressed with how her passion for the curriculum was balanced with her philosophy that achievement sits alongside shared values, an ethos which is echoed here at Crackley. She will be a key figure in the future of our teaching provision at Crackley Hall and the education of the children here. I wish her well in her new role.”

Crackley Hall was very excited to welcome, children’s songwriter and performer, Nick Cope to school on Wednesday 27 September.  Nick treated Key Stage 1, Reception and Nursery and Stay ‘n’ Play children to his own brand of acoustic folk-rock, with three special performances of his most popular songs.

Nick, who gets his inspiration for his creative renditions from the children themselves, was at his best and had everyone, including teachers, up and moving with fingers, ears, mouths and bodies engaged.  He treated the children to favourites such as Grow, Grow, Grow, Round of Applause For The Dinosaurs and Clap Your Hands.

The children had a great time and sang and danced along enthusiastically and a lucky few got to join Nick up at the front with glasses and guitars at the ready for a special song.

Nick who very much enjoys his school shows says, “Performing to children is very much the same as performing to adults, only the people jumping around and screaming at the front are a little bit smaller."

Our thanks to Nick for entertaining us all so well.

Once again Crackley's peerless PTA proved where there's cake there's cash - as the third edition of the Michaelmas' Term favourite in aid of the Macmillan Coffee Morning delighted one and all.

School drop off began with an informal grab and go drive-through coffee tent in Crackley’s carpark. PTA volunteers offered hot drinks to busy parents on the hoof, whilst also persuading those on foot to donate and swig back another [literally] hot cup of kindness. The best bakes were on sale after Good Work Assembly; so impressive were the culinary skills on show that even new judge Prue Leith would have been hard pressed to have chosen her star baker for the morning!

The bake-off thrum continued as the clock ticked towards break-time. Metres of Macmillan themed green table cloths unfurled outside The Gables, where donated cakes from Junior 2, 4 and 6 were displayed ready to be sold for 50 pence each. It’s fair to say that Mr. Harris was pretty much first in line swiftly followed by many little hands tossing over the cash and happily going to playtime with a beautiful cake to eat. Cakes will also be on sale at car line tonight and children please do remember to collect your cake containers from school tonight.

None of this morning’s efforts would had been possible had we not had the PTA to rally us all into action. Crackley Hall thrives on its ‘ collaboremus’ ethos and once again it has shown that when everyone works together, the results can be simply outstanding.

Crackley Hall Chair of the PTA Mrs Kara Wasley left us with a final word as Friday afternoon came to a close,'Thank you to everyone who helped and participated in the event this morning and throughout the day. We are still counting up the money but already we are close to the £900 mark which is fantastic and it's not too late to donate - just text JAM DYC4 to 70550 to donate £5.

Junior 4 travelled the relatively short distance to Hatton Locks this week, where they had the chance to visit the Heritage Canal Centre.

Volunteers from the Waterways Trust explained through demonstration the enormous human effort required by the navigtors or 'navies' needed to build these feats of Victorian engineering and the cramped dangerous life experienced by those who made their living on the flat water.

Life aboard a 'butty' as it traversed the 'cut' was not however all bad, as these industrious folk filled their lives with folk art decoration - a talent that our Junior 4's quickly mastered prior to helping the pleasure boaters ascend the lock system towards Birmingham. The system's knickname, namely the 'Stairway to Heaven' neatly summerized our day; in that the childrens' obvious thrill at a job well done neatly mirrored the elation of the original canal workmen, given their efforts on the very same locks came as a prelude to a windfall payday in Birmingham.

Despite the torrential rain last Monday an eager Junior 1 boarded the bus for a wonderful day out at Warwick Castle. There the mists cleared and they travelled back to a time of myths and legends, when knights were brave and fought fearlessly for right. The children got to meet a knight, tried on his armour and helmet, visited the birds of prey, helped a real princess solve a problem in the Tower and even had a chance to play in a real maze garden.

Junior 1’s visit links to their curriculum topics this term in English and History where they are exploring Fairy Tales. J1PG teacher Mrs George said, “What a truly magical day we have had, this trip is one of the highlights of the year and it never falls to impress!”

No doubt Junior 1 will enjoy doing battle with their story telling now.

It has been a fantastic first few weeks at Crackley Hall School for our brand new Reception class. They have been making friends, playing outside, sitting down for lunch together, getting changed for PE, hanging up their blazers on the right peg and of course – enjoying plenty of fabulous new lessons. Already the eight boys and twelve girls in this class of bubbly, bright youngsters are becoming familiar with their daily routine and whilst it might be tiring at first, it is clearly so much fun.

Under the ever present care of Mrs Susan Glen-Roots and Mrs Kamal Verma, the girls and boys have settled in well and have happy smiles on their faces. What an exciting adventure they have ahead of them over the next few years.

It’s wonderful to see our older pupils taking such good care of our new little ones out on the playground and making them truly believe, as so many have before, that Crackley Hall is ‘the next best place to home.’

Last week they had yet one more momentous event – their first school photo – and don’t they all look adorable, so smart in their uniform and wonderfully behaved.  What a perfect addition they all are to our wonderful school community.

The House Point scores for this week are as follows:

1st: Saturn

2nd: Mars

3rd: Venus

4th: Jupiter