The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Our first week back has been a busy one. The first Vocations Week at Crackley Hall School, culminating in all the pupils dressing up as what they want to do when they are older, has been very successful.

The week began with Mrs Jackson-Mayne explaining that the term Vocations involved being passionate about something and using your gifts from God to make a difference to someone’s life. Pupils have listened to presentations from the Police, the Fire Service and the Clergy to find out how and what led them to take on the roles they are doing and the skills they are using to be of service to others. Volunteers who work for four different charities – Zoe’s Place, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Operation Christmas Child and for a Blind School in Uganda also led assemblies or group sessions to explain how they got involved with the charity work and the rewards of being involved in helping to support others.

Kathleen Jackson, Mrs Jackson-Mayne’s mum explained how her life had taken on a new meaning when she met a priest who was asking for donations and equipment for blind children in a school in Uganda.

Helen Wilkes from Samaritan’s Purse, who decided to get more involved with sending shoeboxes filled with presents around the world, told the pupils that one of her special memories of handing out the boxes to the children in Zambia, was hearing them beat on their boxes ‘like a drum’, then wait for the countdown to open them and then she watched as they each took out the first object and held it high in the air, swinging it around, capturing the real joy of receiving a gift.

Parents and members of the parish also volunteered to give their time to help pupils understand different career paths and how obstacles can be overcome if you are persistent and open to ideas. Thank you to Mrs Dhillon who spoke to Junior 6 pupils about stereotypes in the work place and to Jan Mockrzyski who told the children about leaving Poland and arriving in England and not knowing a word of English.

On Wednesday, Father Kevin celebrated All Saints Mass which embodied the theme of Vocations and making sacrifices to help others. Junior 4JM led the Mass, the words from the final hymn ‘This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine’ resonated appropriately around the hall and set the tone for the rest of the week.

RE Coordinator, Mrs Jackson-Mayne summed up the week ‘I wanted the children to see that there are so many different ways to use their talents to make a difference in the world, I have been inspired by all the people who have spoken this week and I hope the children have too!’

Junior 4H pupil Fintan McGrory has swapped our school's stage to tread the boards of the Birmingham Rep Theatre and beyond as 'Cute Joseph' in the smash hit theatre adeptation of Debbie Issitts film Nativity.

After months of auditions and rehearsals the show premiered at the Birmingham Rep Theatre on Friday 20 October to rave reviews, where our Fintan resplendent in St. Bernadette's uniform surely did spread the 'Sparkle and shine'.

During the production Fintan can be seen singing and dancing his way through classes at St. Bernadette's School and taking a whistle-stop trip to Hollywood. The grand finale culminates with the school taking to the stage for a magical (and quirky!) Nativity production at Coventry Cathedral with Fintan performing as a member of the school's 'boy band'. 

The show runs at the Birmingham Rep Theatre until Sunday 12 November and then embarks on a national tour of Southend, Sheffield, Manchester and Plymouth before taking to the stage in the West End at the Apollo Theatre, London.

The production's final destination will see the cast and crew heading for the Grand Theatre and Opera House in Leeds to run throughout the Christmas and New Year period. 

Although appearing in the production has meant hours of late night rehearsals and performances Fintan is loving his amazing 'on stage' experience. Well done Fintan!

Walk, trot and canter; three things that sound so simple, but in practice take real dedication and skill to master for both rider and pony. These skills provided the marking criteria that set Rosie Moreton (J4H) and her pony 'Toby' above the stiff competition at the recent Exford Show. 

Rosie can be seen pictured triumphantly holding her winners cup and rosette. So what's next for this can do, Crackley winner? Well Rosie is swopping four hooves for two wheels as she'll be taking on all-comers and a tough local triathalon. Good luck Rosie, we hope your winning ways continue.

Thinking about upcoming autumnal events and extending our links with the local community, PCSO Sarah-Louise Lithgow was invited into Junior 1 to talk about how we might keep ourselves and those around us safe.

With particular emphasis on Bonfire Night, PCSO Lithgow led a question and answer style presentation on the 'dos and don'ts' surrounding our personal safey during these events. J1 Teacher Mrs. George explained, "The session's watch words were to; 'keep each other safe' and 'tell your parents!'"

We at the Chronicle were particulary impressed with the important safety advice the children had remembered, where even a simple sparkler held in an ungloved hand, could prove very dangerous indeed.  

Crackley Hall had a special visitor on the first day back this week, in the guise of 'Betty Bus'!

The Betty Bus initiative is an immersive session for 8-12 year olds across the UK which encourages open and honest conversations about the physical and emotional changes they might face at this age.

Our J6 class were the first group of Crackley Hall children to be hosted by the Betty Bus visitors with our J6 girls venturing on to the bright yellow bus to be guided through the topic in a relaxing, comfortable and fun environment.

Meanwhile, our J6 boys had the opportunity to take part in a separate session on puberty, focusing on their understanding and attitude towards this perfectly natural developmental change. Mrs Lammas, J6H Class Teacher said: “The Betty Bus is an amazing opportunity for our pupils to talk freely about natural changes in a safe and supportive environment. The workshops encouraged both our girls and boys to discuss openly what can sometimes be a challenging topic to address."

With high praise from such a trusted source we believe the arrival of the Betty Bus may become a permanent feature in the new curriculum-linked period education programme.

Mrs Van-Zyl, inspirational class teacher and Art Coordinator, was delighted to take the floor during today's Whole School Assembly to announce an unprecedented role call of success within the Midlands ISA Art competition.

Many more students submitted pieces for consideration this year, an event that gave Mrs Van-Zyl and her team the difficult and tricky task of selection and submission. Happily, such expertise all-round was rewarded, as the following students achieved success in these categories:

1st Place, KS2 Painting - Charlie Ferguson (J6, 2016-17)

1st Place, KS2 Collaborative Piece -  J4V (2016-17)

2nd Place, KS2 - Megan Shipton (J5, 2016-17)

Highly Commended, KS2 Painted Portrait - Rocco George (J5, 2016-17)

Mrs Van-Zyl also took time out to offer a special mention to Caitlin Horan , Dylan Williams and Oliver Hutton (previously J4 and J5 respectively) for their exceptional artwork that sadly had not featured in the role call of honour. Now, we as a school will await news of possible further success given the 1st place pieces will go on to represent the Midlands region within the upcoming ISA National Art Competition.

Lastly, parents are advised that all pieces submitted for the regional competition (that have not been shortlisted for the Nationals) should be collected from her next Monday lunchtime from within the Art Room.  

Just before half-term, Mr Duigan announced details of this year's combined Crackley Hall and national Catholic Independent Schools' Conference (CISC) Christmas Card Competition. 

We've had some great entries so far and are looking forward to receiving lots more. To update, the entry date has moved forwards and every entry will now need to be in school by Monday 6 November for judging.  

An esteemed panel led by Headmaster Mr Duigan and Art Co-ordinator Mrs Van-Zyl will be perusing them prior to making their selection for the winning design for our own School Christmas card and entry into the CISC Christmas Card competition.    

As a reminder, every pupil is invited to take part by interpreting the theme of 'God is with us' in paint, pencil, photograph, mixed media and/or textiles. Please note that all entries should be on A4 paper/card and have the name and class of the pupil on the back.

Further details and winning entries from previous years are available to view on the CISC website by clicking on this link.

A letter from Mrs Van Zyl explaining how to enter is available here.

Best of luck, one and all.