The Chronicle

Dear Parents

Unsurprisingly, this week’s main topic of conversation has been COVID-19 and the procedures in place throughout the country and closer to home.  We will continue to work as a Foundation and proceed following the specific Government led advice together and act in the interests of the school community.  As the situation is an ever-changing one, you will probably experience an increase in communications from school.

Our school calendar has tried to continue as normal as possible this week but there have been some changes.   LAMDA examinations took place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and I believe that the children involved were able to prepare themselves adequately before their exam.  I would like to thank Mrs Wildey, Mrs Paphitis, Mrs Olden and our peri teachers for their efforts helping the children with their performances and confidence building.

On Wednesday, Junior 3 visited St Augustine’s for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Those children taking the Sacrament were supported by their class friends whilst they performed readings and made their Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Thank you to Mrs Jackson-Mayne for organising this afternoon.  I was sorry to have missed this important occasion but my thoughts and prayers were with the pupils.

Unfortunately, both the visit to London to watch the Prince of Egypt and the ISA U9 Netball tournament was cancelled this week and it is likely that more events will be cancelled during the next few weeks.  I understand that this is hugely disappointing to you but I hope that you will understand that any decision made has been given much consideration and the final decision will be approved collectively.  There may be some differences of opinion among stakeholders, but decisions made at school and in the Foundation are in the interests of the children, their families and our staff.  Thank you for your support in this matter.

There will be further events rescheduled and cancelled and I would ask that you visit our website and keep an look out for emails from the Office and class teachers in order to be fully updated.  At present, it has been decided to cancel the Anniversary Tea on 24 March and to reschedule the Open House and Diamond Ball (scheduled for 21 March).  Further changes were highlighted in a separate letter sent out earlier today.

Stars of the Week were awarded to Liana, Katherine, Thea, Evie, Phoebe, Arthur, Charlie, Amalia, Leonardo, Henry, Thomas and Lily and the RE Book of the Week was presented to Alfie.  Congratulations to everyone on your achievements this week.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our recent successful open morning.  I do appreciate the effort and time taken out of your weekend to attend this event.  This was very well attended considering the current situation and our visitors were most complimentary about the children they encountered and their skills both in the Hall and in class.

I wish you and your families a happy and relaxing weekend.  Unfortunately, there will not bee too much on the sporting front.

God bless

Mr Duigan 

Cyber-crime – please be vigilant

Parents are asked to be vigilant when reading emails relating to the payment of school fees and any other items to the Foundation.

We continue to receive reports regarding spam emails being sent to parents of independent schools asking them to pay future fees to a ‘new’ school bank account.

Please be advised there has been no change to the bank details of either Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall or Crescent and there is no intention to make any changes in the foreseeable future. Any electronic notification that appears to be from any of the Foundation schools changing these details may be fraudulent.

Our bank details are available on the Parent Bills, the Online Payment Portal and for Princethorpe in the Princethorpe College Information Booklet 2019 – 2020, and only those details should be used.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues in the Bursary if you are have any doubts about the correct details or indeed if anything appears suspicious.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

The latest edition of The Pinnacle has just been published. It showcases pupils' excellent work.

In the middle there is a pullout (The Minnacle) which focuses on the junior schools featuring both Crackley Hall School and the Crescent School.

You can view an electronic version of The Pinnacle here and The Minnacle here.

Why not enjoy a few minutes browsing through the inspirational work our children do.

J5 are warmly invited to a taste of senior school life at Princethorpe College on Thursday 30 April.  The taster day will begin at 9.30am when the children will be transported to the College by mini-bus from Crackley Hall. Pupils will experience a variety of classroom sessions, a tour of the school and a question and answers session with our current pupils. Break and lunch will be provided and there is no charge for this day.

At the end of the afternoon, you are invited to join us at 4.15pm for an informal Parents’ Information Session. Offering information on entry to the College for September 2021 and light refreshments will be served.  Ed Hester, the Headmaster along with other key members of staff will be available to talk to you about the College and to outline the admissions process. Children will also have the opportunity to trial the online CEM test, one of the exams that prospective pupils complete during the Entrance Examinations day, which will take place on Saturday 7 November 2020.

Please click here to access the online booking form for the J5 Taster Day. Please complete and submit the form by 5.00pm on Friday 20 March to secure a place for your child.

For those parents who are unable to attend the Parents’ Information Session, your child will be transported back to Crackley Hall for 3.30pm.

We hope you can join us and look forward to welcoming you to Princethorpe College.

With kind regards from the Admissions Team at Princethorpe College

Registrar, Mrs Vanessa Rooney, 01926 634201, vanessarooney@princethorpe.co.uk, Working hours: 08.30-17.00

Assistant Registrar, Miss Helen Morgan, 01926 634262, helenmorgan@princethorpe.co.uk, Working hours: 08.30-13.30

Admissions Administrator, Mrs Catherine Rogers, 01926 634262,  catherinerogers@princethorpe.co.uk, Working hours: 13.00-17.30

A letter has been sent home with your child, please find a copy below:

Letter

Just to confirm that the production will be held on Tuesday 17 March

 Mathlete of the week for J1H is Jacob

 Mathletes of the week for J3V are Leo and Olivia 

 Well done to all!

With the fast-changing situation regarding COVID-19 it is with regret that the Foundation has decided to cancel or postpone all non-essential, larger scale Foundation events in the coming week or so, including postponing Princethorpe College's Open Morning on Tuesday 17 March.

The College's next planned senior school open event will be the Open Evening on Wednesday 3 June 2020, in the meantime if you have any questions about the admissions process please contact the College's Admissions Team.

With the fast-changing situation regarding COVID-19 we are looking carefully at all aspects of the school’s organisation and events. The health and wellbeing of our community is of paramount importance to us; we want to ensure the safety of our school community and to minimise the potential for the spread of any infection.

It is with regret that we have decided to cancel or postpone all non-essential, larger scale Foundation events in the coming weeks.  This unfortunately affects Crackley Hall’s 75th Anniversary Celebrations, including the St Joseph’s Mass (now only open to school family members) on Thursday 19 March and the Open House and Diamond Anniversary Gala Ball on Saturday 21 March.

We will look to reschedule the Open House and the Diamond Anniversary Gala Ball later this calendar year.

We are sorry about the short notice and understand that this may cause disappointment or inconvenience for which we again sincerely apologise.

Many thanks for your understanding and co-operation at this time, it is hugely appreciated.

Please continue to check as these events are subject to change at short notice as we stay abreast of the developing situation. 

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

A huge thank you to Father Kevin for leading the Service of Reconciliation and to all of Junior 3 for supporting their friends as they received the Sacrament for the first time. They joined the parents of the nine children at St Augustine’s Church on Tuesday afternoon. Pupils sang ‘One More Step’ as the children took their next step on their spiritual journey.

Through the parable of the Lost Sheep and the prayer of St Francis, we reflected on how we all need to forgive and ask for forgiveness, at different stages in our lives. After the Service, all the children watched as the nine as they released a helium balloon to help them remember how we all feel lighter of heart when we share our worries with God.

RE Book of the Week has been awarded to Alfie (Rec C).

As we prepare for Easter, during Lent, we are asked to reflect on ways that we can actively support our neighbours, locally and globally.

Pupils will be bringing home Father Hudson’s collection boxes, by filling up the collection boxes with loose change, we will help those less fortunate than us. Please could these be returned to school by Monday 16 March.

Father Hudson was a remarkable man and an exceptional priest who was well ahead of his time in respecting the dignity of children, desiring to give them the best start in life that was possible in their circumstances.

Many people familiar with Father Hudson’s will be aware of the network of homes, especially in Coleshill, that he developed with the support of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, its parishes and schools, and the sisters of the Selly Park Convent over a period of 30 years. Father Hudson’s provides Family Support in 36 schools in the Archdiocese. Through intensive and tailored mentoring of over 400 children and their families every year, they improve the outcomes for children living in adversity.

Due to the postponement of the 75th Anniversary Celebrations Karate will now take place on Friday 20 March 

Boys Hockey Club for J5/J6 is cancelled on Monday 16 March. 

Please be advised that Tennis Club will now be running on Thursday 19 March.

We are pleased to announce that Leo (J3Z), Elle (J4W) and Holly (J4W) are our gymnasts of the week. 

Blythe from J2 brought in his newly built BFG model.  Built by himself in a week as a result of not winning the Lego raffle, Blythe said, “This took me a whole week to do.  When I didn’t win the raffle I thought I would build this at home to cope with not winning!”  The imposing model consists of a cave from the movie, with a cheeky squirter being added in for good measure to tickle the man-eating giant. 

What a super piece of Lego, Blythe!

This week has been particularly musical, not only have we been preparing for our Baby Shark performance, and enjoying every minute of it, but we have also had a brilliant time in Music with Mrs Olden.  We were very optimistic and sang about the Spring, with flowers popping out of the ground.  “And the rain came, drip drop… and the sun shone down!”  Let’s hope we get a little less of the rain drops, and more of the sun this weekend. 

Thank you for sending in so many costumes for next week, and if not, please pop your costume into nursery as soon as you can, thank you. 

Newsletter

Please find a link below to the current vacancies available across the Foundation:

• Teacher - Key Stage 2 - Crackley Hall
• Learning Support Teacher (Part-time) - Crackley Hall
• Teacher of Physics - Princethorpe College
• Electrician - Princethorpe College
• Key Stage 1 Teaching Assistant (Part-time) - Crescent School

Full details of the roles and how to apply are available via the following link  https://www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment-opportunities

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

Lost

Issac (J2M) has lost his winter coat (named)

Charlie (J3Z) has lost his named black skins (top and bottom)

Theo (J1H) has lost his black Nike top and light blue Adidas top

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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.