The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Wednesday saw our corridors and classrooms welcome their new class cohorts for next year. All year groups from Reception through to Junior 5 sampled pastures new, with many teachers transferring their talents too!

We at the Chronicle wish everyone but especially our current Junior 6, who are leaving us this term, all the very best. We know that all of you have incredible talents, just listen to your teachers, try your hardest and you will be rewarded with great things.

Sports Day was blisteringly hot, but Crackley Hall’s pupils are made of strong stuff so race after race, event after event our outstanding young athletes leapt, threw and dashed, and tried their very best to make this year’s Sports Day another super, smashing success.

Sports Day took place on Tuesday 26 June out on the school’s playing fields.  For the second time Crackley made a full day of it and the children took part in 80m and 150m sprints, a middle distance 600m race, the Long Jump and High Jump, a Throwing Challenge and a Relay Race.  All of the events were hotly contested and the final individual results, including all the new records are available for all to see on Crackley's Sports Noticeboard just outside the Science Lab.

At Crackley Hall Sports Day isn’t just about the competition, it is also about participation. Every child ran in a sprint and every child took part in an individual event and, most importantly, every child had fun.  As is always the case the children’s behaviour was impeccable, they offered support and encouragement to each other and congratulated and commiserated with good heart.

House results were as follows:

1st Jupiter

2nd Saturn

3rd  Mars

4th  Venus

Finally, a very special thanks to Mrs Vaughan and all the staff, the grounds team, the caretakers and caterers for making such a great event so special.

It was a fabulous fun-filled day enjoyed by all! 

Following on from a successful event last year, children from J1-6 got together as 'fundraising friends' to dream up their ideas for stalls, to get the resources (thanks to their parents) and to proceed to raise the kind of cash that would satisfy a national campaign.  

This morning long event, has been some time in the making. It began with our ever dedicated School Council presenting their nominated charities for this year to the whole school for voting... and it was the Guide Dogs for the Blind who came out on top.  

Last Friday's the proper fundraising fun began with the children arriving in their own clothes in exchange for £1 ... and the charity coffers begin to fill. Then all the chidren mustered for a trip around the various stalls crammed with baked goods, bric-a-brac, games, art, crafts, jewellery and slime. With such super effort and goodwill on show it was no surprise that this single event raised in excess of...drum roll please...£1,300!

Congratulations to Mrs Malcolm, the Student Council and to all the children and parents who had a hand in its success. We at the Chronicle salute you.

It's not zài jiàn, or good bye, to Mrs Huang, even though our inspirational Mandarin teacher is taking time out from Crackley next year to further her teaching career.

At school Mrs Huang's infectious enthusiasm for her native tongue has swept even the most reluctant of students into engaging with Mandarin; even Crackley's youngest impress, given they too can converse in this Chinese dialect with aplomb.

Happily, we will be fortunate enough to welcome Mrs Huang back to the Foundation's fold once her studies are complete.

Mrs Huang, we wish you every success with your studies next year and are already counting down the days until you return.

After a second place finish at The Croft School the week before, an optimistic Crackley Hall’s U9s Rounders team travelled to Stafford Grammar School on Thursday 21 June to take part in the Independent Schools Association (ISA) Midlands Rounders Championship.

The Rounders Tournament was to be played in pools, with the winners of each pool then playing off for the final positions.  So the pressure was on from the start.

Crackley started nervously, they played Malvern St James first and lost the toss so the girls were put in to bat. It took time for them to settle but they managed to score 8 Rounders. Their fielding was much better than their batting and they narrowly lost the game, 9.5 v 8.  Although they were very disappointed they regrouped and their playing improved and they went on to win their next three games.  The girls showed skill, determination and great teamwork, Crackley were back and we were proud!

Impressively, they won the second game 16 v 2.5 against Abbots Bromley School. They then beat the Crescent School 3 v 2 and then finally beat St Joseph's School 12 v 3.   The girls had scored an impressive total of 39 rounders in only four games.

Batter of the match was awarded to Isabella Ward and fielder to Kiran Dhillon.  Each and every girl played their very best and represented their school well. A special mention goes to Millie Lammas as she was the only Junior 3 girl selected for the team.  The parent support was fantastic and Crackley Hall finished fourth overall out of 12 teams.  It was a fabulous and memorable day!

Playing in the squad were: Annabel Leigh, Martha Summers, Rosie Moreton, Nancy Volpe, Constanza Alvarez-Lujan, Jorja Parris, Lily Carroll, Amy Farquharson, Kiran Dhillon, Isabella Ward and Millie Lammas.

Thanks to the staff who supported the girls so well - Mrs Roberts, Mrs Malcolm and Miss Fisher.

1st: Jupiter - 110 House Points

Joint 2nd: Mars & Venus -109 House Points  

4th: Saturn - 81 House Points