The Chronicle

Dear Parents

The end of this first part of the Michaelmas term is fast approaching and it would seem that events are gathering pace.  I imagine that the next half term will be even busier.

On Monday this week, Junior 3 and Junior 4 enjoyed their experience with the Big Brum Theatre Company who visited and performed the Minotaur.  This was wonderful for the children and you will be able to read more about the visit later in the Chronicle.  My thanks to Mrs Jackson-Mayne for organising this event and to Mrs Stephenson for taking time to photograph the event.

Mrs Vaughan co-ordinated the ISA Swimming event on Tuesday and I am delighted to report that Issey and Sam have now qualified for the national competition later this year where they will represent the Midlands.  Their results, coupled with the Junior 4, 5 and 6 team scores have resulted in Crackley Hall ending in 4th position.  A very successful day and I would like to congratulate all participants on their magnificent performance. Thank you to Mrs Vaughan, Mrs Paphitis, Mr Vaughan and to the parents who travelled to Walsall to support our team.

We welcomed Father Kevin back to Crackley Hall on Tuesday for our Harvest Mass and I am delighted to see how much food has been donated, ready for distribution.  This will benefit the local community and I would also like to remind parents that next Friday will be a non-uniform day where we will be asking for a £1.00 donation to the PTA and another voluntary donation of your choice to support CAFOD (the charity voted for by our student council for this event).

Our Junior 1 children were lucky to escape the rain today when they departed for their visit to St John’s Heritage Museum, in Warwick.  Mrs Hardwick and Mr Kefalas accompanied the visit and I am sure that the children will be recounting their experience during the course of the weekend.

We hosted two parent evenings this week and I hope that those of you who wished for appointments to see teachers managed to find a convenient time.  There will be another opportunity to meet and discuss your child’s progress in the New Year but if you feel there is a need to meet before this time, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher in the first instance.  My thanks go to Mrs Hill and the office staff for co-ordinating the evenings and to Mr Sansum for the refreshments each evening.

I hope to see a few familiar and hopefully some new faces tonight when I host the annual Headmaster’s Quiz.  I am very grateful to Mrs Lamb and our PTA for organising this event and would ask that those who are attending are mindful when they leave school late this evening so as not to disturb our neighbours.  I look forward to announcing this year’s winner.

During assembly this morning, our Stars of the Week were named as Lincoln, Isabel, Edward, Diya, Adreena, Evie, Penny, Andrew, Stephanie, Elle, Rupert, Millie, Sam and Conor.  Congratulations to our Gymnasts of the Week including Emily, Cadie, Thomas and Francesca.  The RE Book of the Week was awarded to Evie for her super story of David and Goliath and how David was able to overcome a huge problem with God’s help and a lot of courage and self-belief.

Our Mathletes of the Week are Beatrice, Arthur, Jack, James, Lily, Alfred, Millie, Amelia and Matilda.  Well done to everyone on their superb efforts this week.  Apologies to anyone who may have been missed off this list; you will be mentioned in next week’s newsletter.

I hope that Junior 4 in particular enjoy their weekend at home and spend their time preparing for their residential visit to Kingswood next week.  For some children, this may be their first time away from home and I am hopeful that they will make happy memories that will last them a lifetime and will look forward to being reunited with their parents next Wednesday when they can bring them up to date on the range of activities that in which they took part.

The rugby has been affected by the weather and will, ultimately, affect who plays who in the knock-out stages of the World Cup.  I do hope that they manage to schedule some rugby this weekend.

Please try to visit the St Francis Parish Fair tomorrow from 10.30am-1.30pm and on Sunday from 10.30am-1pm.  I hope that you have a restful and happy weekend with your families and loved ones.

God bless

Mr Duigan 

Following on from the School Photography Company visiting the School, you should have now received the logon details for accessing your photographs.

There should be separate details for individual photographs, and also for the class photograph. Sibling photographs, if these were taken, should be attached to one of the siblings’ individual details.

This is a new system that the School Photography Company are using this year for accessing photographs.  If you are experiencing any issues accessing your photographs, or if you do not have logon details please contact the School Office.

Members of the public can report and submit road traffic offences by visiting https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/operationsnap

You will need to submit digital footage of offences (digital image(s) for parking offences will suffice) along with details of the offence, date/time and location.

Your assistance will help reduce road related incidents in our county.

We have been asked to share this information with you:

Dear Parent or Guardian

We need your help to warn young people about the dangers and consequences of becoming a
money mule.

What is a money mule?

A money mule is someone who transfers stolen money through their own bank account on behalf of
someone else and is paid for doing so.

Criminals need money mules to launder the profits of their crimes.

Young people are increasingly being targeted to become money mules. They are approached online
or in person, including through social media, at school, college or sports clubs. Sometimes people
they know persuade them to take part, often because they are also acting as money mules.

Mules will usually be unaware of where the money comes from – commonly fraud and scams – and
that it can go on to fund crimes such as drug dealing and people trafficking.

Being a money mule is illegal.

When someone is caught, their bank account will be closed, and they will have problems getting
student loans, mobile phone contracts and credit in the future. They could even face arrest for
money laundering which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

What to look out for

Tell-tale signs that someone might be involved could be them suddenly having extra cash, buying
expensive new clothes or top-of-the-range mobile phones and gadgets with very little explanation as
to how they got the money. They may also become more secretive, withdrawn or appear stressed.

You and your child can learn more and get advice by visiting www.moneymules.co.uk together.

If you are worried that someone close to you might be caught up in money muling, you can contact
Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Please do not attempt to contact any individual you suspect of organising money muling.

Please find attached the termly curriculum sheet for your child's year group:

Reception

Junior 1

Junior 2

Junior 3

Junior 4

Junior 5

Junior 6

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

On Monday 7 October Crackley Hall School took part in the inaugural Princethorpe College Year 5 Maths Challenge.  The event was run by Douglas Buchanan of DCBEAGLE Challenges, who specialises in organising exciting and innovative maths activities for primary school aged children.

Crackley took two teams of two to compete against 30 pairs of enthusiastic and very talented mathematicians from 15 local schools, the pupils took part in a series of puzzles against the clock.  In six eight-minute rounds the children tackled Tangram Triangles, Broken Calculators, Domino Jigsaws, Catch The Train, Card Order and Curly’s Cycling Circuits, before finishing with a bonus round of five final mathematics questions.

Ably supported and marked by a team of Princethorpe’s Year 10 pupils, the competition stretched and challenged the children with mathematical activities that required both reasoning skills and mathematical knowledge.

The event was huge fun for all who took part and everyone who participated received a certificate and a special Princethorpe cookie.

Crackley Hall School’s best placed team Crackley Hall 1, Helayna and Noah, finished in a fantastic 3rd place overall with Crackley Hall 2, Jasper and Thomas, finishing a very respectable 18th.

Mr Vaughan, who accompanied the children, commented, “It was a great opportunity for all to put their maths skills to the test.  Well done Crackley Hall, we are proud of how you well you represented our school.”

Competing for Crackley Hall were Helayna Collins, Noah Cowlishaw, Jasper Nicholls and Thomas Zanyi.

On Monday  Big Brum Theatre Company visited our school to present a production of 'Theseus and the  Minotaur'.

Although there were only two actors, Zoe and Rosie, with some simple but clever staging and costume they managed to capture the attention of pupils in Junior 3 and 4.

The theme of, what makes a monster and, what makes a king was cleverly interwoven through presentation and workshop. Challenging questioning encouraged pupils to think about the characters and plot and draw their own conclusions.

Aryan entered his first national ranking Under 12s tournament at the Dallington Lawn Tennis Club in Northampton. Aryan felt it was too early to compete in such a tournament however his coach encouraged him to enter to gain experience of playing older players and to get used to the new national leagues.

Aryan expected to have a very tough first round given the high standard but comfortably won 4-1 4-1.  He then won all of his remaining matches to reach the final. Not only had he beaten higher ranked and older players, he had also won most of his matches by only dropping one or two games in each set.

Aryan is clearly enjoying competing in the higher age group and has grown stronger since reaching the county finals in August where he came third overall.

Congratulations Aryan, we were delighted to hear of your tennis achievements.

Mathlete of the week for:

J2H is Arthur

J2M is Beatrice

J3Z is James

J3S is Jack

J4W is Mikey and Alfred

J5L is Millie L

J5R is Millie H

J6V is Iman

J6H is Matilda

.

Monday 21 October to Friday 1 November

Crackley Hall Half Term Holiday Club will be available from 8.00 am until 6.00 pm Monday 21 October to Friday 1 November, at a cost of £30.00 for a full day. Half days (8am-1pm and 1pm - 6pm) can be booked at £20.00 per session. Lunch is available at a cost of £3.10 per day.

Places are limited as we are bound to strict adult to child ratios. Should you wish to book a place at short notice, please contact the school office on 01926 514444 to check availability. Cancellations can only be made by the school office, therefore please discuss any changes with a member of staff.

Please book a place using the following link: Holiday Club Bookings

School Office

Time to start thinking about your costumes!

As part of our Vocations Week, we will be focusing on Super Acts of Kindness. Pupils can come dressed as a well-known superhero or come as one they have made up.    ..............Super

Kind..... Super J  ...... Fantastic Fred ............... etc

Please click on 'View Gallery' to scroll through a few photos from this week's events.

On Wednesday the pupils in Junior 3 and 4 took part in the Diocesan organised 'Live Prayer'.

The pupils joined the service which was streamed live to all the Catholic Schools in the Birmingham Diocese at 2pm on Wednesday afternoon. Arch Bishop, Bernard Longley, led the pupils in the rosary.

Pupils began the service by singing 'Be Still' and then counted the decades on their rosary beads as they joined in the prayer. 

Please email Mrs Jackson-Mayne if you would like to enrol your child to make their First Holy Communion next year. This applies to any children who are practising Catholics in Junior 3 upwards.

sjacksonmayne@crackleyhall.co.uk

Minnie Vinnies are busy collecting spare foreign coins - there is a box at Reception for donations. 

RE Book of the Week has been awarded to Evie (J2M).

Evie was inspired this week by the story of David and Goliath - a man who faced giant problems and impossible situations, but gained special strength from God due to his faith.

Evie was able to understand why David used his special gifts and how we can all learn to face things in life without being scared.  Evie was also inspired by her dad, who has the same name as David!  Well done Evie!

A team of 21 swimmers from Crackley Hall School made the journey to Walsall Baths on Tuesday 8 October to compete in the Independent Schools’ Association’s Midlands Junior Swimming Gala. Success at the Regional event would qualify pupils for the ISA National Championships due to take place later this year in London at the Olympic Aquatics Centre.

The children swam 25m in the pool and the races included both individual events and team relays. For some of the children, it was their very first experience of competitive galas, whilst for others, it was all about times and positions, but as always Crackley Hall’s pupils encouraged each other, from the start through to the finish of every single race.

Overall Crackley finished 4th out of the 24 schools that took part with two pupils qualifying for the Nationals. Junior 4’s Issey Cleary swam superbly to finish first in the individual Breaststroke, earning her a place in the National Final.  Issey then delivered a super speedy time in the Freestyle Relay clinching her a second swim as part of the Midlands Freestyle Relay team.  Junior 6’s Sam Grindal also qualified for the Nationals after a sensational swim in the Freestyle Relay.  He will also swim for the Midlands Freestyle Relay team.

Crackley also had excellent team results with the Year 4 boys finishing first overall, the Year 4 girls placing second and the Year 6 boys finishing second.

Crackley Hall Head of Sport, Mrs Kat Vaughan, was delighted and commented, “As always there was a fabulous atmosphere poolside, with the whole team willing each other on.  We had some excellent swims and tight finishes, Crackley has some very determined children.  Many congratulations to Issey and Sam for qualifying for the prestigious National competition in London.”

Well done to all of Crackley Hall’s swimmers for their excellent effort.

We are pleased to announce that:

Emily (J6V)

Cadie (J6V)

Thomas (J6V)

Francesca (J5R)

are our gymnasts of the week. 

On Wednesday 9 October Stay 'n' Players enjoyed a super sensory session of music and movement with Ruby from local company, Bounce and Beat.

Parents and carers looked on in delight as the children waved pom poms, popped bubbles and showed off some serious dance moves to popular children's song, Baby Shark.

Bounce and Beat is a well-established local Performing Arts Company specialising in Primary Schools and Early Years.

Our next visiting activity will be, the always popular, Paint and Glaze with Laura, on Wednesday 20 November - the perfect opportunity to create some unique gifts in time for Christmas.

To find out more about Bounce and Beat classes and opportunities, you can contact Ruby via email on ruby.baigent@gmail.com

The conkers have been very popular this week, maybe because Miss Lisa and Miss Gail both collected lots last weekend; they were everywhere in nursery! 

We counted them, shared them into equal sets with friends and toys, used them in our malleable and tactile tray to sort, put into bowls and generally play with.  It looked like the squirrels were keen too, the real one just outside the garden room was watching very closely, and Cyril, our ‘sound squirrel’ had a few to ‘eat’ during our phonics fun! 

I wonder if there will be any left for you when you go walking this weekend, see what you can find, and don’t forget to take pictures of your adventures, we love to share your photos on our wow wall! 

Newsletter

We are delighted to tell you that all the children have designed a Christmas card in school and should by now have brought home their sample Christmas cards together with an order form for cards, gift tags, mugs, tea towels and bags.  This is a great opportunity to purchase reasonably priced cards and other items displaying individual artwork produced by your child, whilst also raising money for the PTA.

To ensure we get the orders back in plenty of time, all orders MUST be back at school before half term, i.e. Friday 18 October.  

Please include payment with your order form (cash or cheque payable to Crackley Hall PTA) or alternatively you can pay online:

Sort Code: 30-94-93

Account Number: 02023477

Ref: Surname Xmas

The designs are beautiful this year and the children should be proud of their efforts.  Hopefully, your families and friends will enjoy them as much as they did last year.

To mark the end of a busy half term the PTA have organised a non-uniform day for Friday 18 October.

Children are asked to bring in a £1 donation for the privilege which will support PTA funding together with a donation to CAFOD a charity chosen by our very own school council.

This aligns to our Harvest theme and also to our current virtue of Grateful and Generous.

Saturday 30  November 2019 - 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas yet? Some might say yes but please save the date as it will come round quickly!

Please email mfox1401@gmail.com if you might be able to help. Thank you for your support. 

Please see below our current vacancy:

Foundation Data Manager

Learning Support Assistant 

Full details and how to apply are available via the following link: http://www.princethorpe.co.uk/page/?title=Join+Us&pid=1185

Should you know anyone who might be interested in this post, please do share this information with them.

Lost

Holly (J4W) has lost her named purple memory stick

Lexi (J3Z) has lost her named jumper

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Parents, please ensure that all school uniform and sports kits are named.

Could you please regularly check all uniform and sports kits at home – if it does not belong to your child, please return it to the School Office as soon as possible.