The Chronicle

Dear Parents

 This week has seen some form of normality return to school as Junior 2 and Junior 4 were able to attend for two days each.  Although children were in ‘bubbles’, they were delighted to be reunited with their school family and it has been wonderful to hear their voices in school again.  Next week we will welcome back Junior 3 and Junior 5.

There is much to look forward to next week.  In addition to Junior 3 and Junior 5 returning, Junior 6 will be celebrating their last week at Crackley Hall with a few exciting activities and a Leavers’ Assembly with a difference, there will also be an online Leavers’ Service, a moving up session and annual prize giving book prizes will be awarded virtually for Reception to Junior 5.

The last few days have been very warm indeed but it has at least allowed for sports events, rehearsals and celebrations to be held outside.  Reception classes also ventured into the woods for an afternoon yesterday which provided a welcome break from the sun.  Thank you to Mrs Glen-Roots for leading this visit and to Mrs Verma and Mrs Green for assisting.

On Tuesday this week, I hosted Crackley Hall’s first virtual open evening.  Although it is difficult to really capture the welcoming, family feel that greets you when arriving at the school gates, I was very pleased how this event was received by those who ‘attended’.  Thank you to all those who made this possibly including Princethorpe Marketing Team, Mrs Vaughan, our IT Department and the Junior 6 students who took part.

Hard work has been continuing even though the school term is nearing the end and I am pleased to be able to congratulate Jia, Arisha, Blythe and Lily who each received a Da Vinci Award for their hard work.  These awards will be counted in next year’s total.

On the subject of hard work, reports are currently being checked and collated for every child and it is planned for these to be available to parents during the first two weeks of the school holiday.  Reports will be accessed via My School Portal but peripatetic music reports will be posted directly to you.

Efforts outside of school have also been recognised as Oliver in J4 received the Coaches Player Award for Berkswell and Balsall RFC U9.   Stars of the week were awarded to: Dalilah, Fiorella, Arabella, Thomas, Joshua, Evelyn, Amelia, Patrick, Elsie, all of Junior 3S, Oliver, Harry, Merry, Alfred, Finlay, Amelia, Max, Lily, Henry, Jacob, Theo, Cadie and Oliver.

Gold and silver awards were presented to children today, among those receiving Silver Awards were: Willow, Stephanie, George, George M, Merryn, Elsie, Rhomun, Harry, Mikey, Amelia, Carolina, Lily, Harry in J4 and Edward, Thomas, Jessica, Joshua, Aaryan in Reception.  Both George W in J4 and Josh in J1 achieved their Gold Award this week.  If you were not in school to receive these, please don’t worry as these will be posted to you.  Adreena in J2 has been working incredibly hard and made a fantastic improvement which has resulted in her receiving a Headmaster’s Award.  Well done everyone for your incredible efforts!

There were several birthdays this week including: Oliver in J6, Freddie, Joseph and Sebastian in J5, Beatrice in J2 and Katie in Nursery. 

As you will know, there will be staff leaving Crackley Hall next week and we wish them well.  We will also be welcoming new members of staff to Crackley, one of who is Mrs Faye Burley.  Mrs Burley will be joining us from another independent school as a class teacher with a wealth of experience and has taught both locally and overseas.  She has a keen interest in PSHCE and sports, I am sure that you will have the opportunity to meet Mrs Burley very soon although the first instance could be an online meeting.

The online booking for holiday club has now closed to enable careful planning as staffing the ‘bubbles’ needs to be considered carefully.  At the time of writing, it is hoped to open Monday to Thursday throughout the holiday period from 08:30-16:00.  Friday’s will be used to clean the holiday club areas thoroughly ready for reopening on Monday.  If you need to make a further booking, please do so by Monday 29 June by emailing post@crackleyhall.co.uk and we will try to accommodate your request.

I have included details of the Children’s Liturgy for this Sunday in this week’s Chronicle should you wish to share this with your family (per kind favour of Mrs Clare Hill).  I am delighted that Liverpool have eventually won the Premier League – thoroughly deserved!

With my good wishes for a restful weekend with your family.

God Bless, 

Rob Duigan

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to you all.

Should you require any new uniform items for your son or daughter in readiness for September, we are now offering virtual Uniform Shop appointments via Zoom over the summer.  Please complete the form for current parents on the Uniform Shop tab on the top menu of My School Portal  Uniform Shop and the Uniform team will be in touch to arrange a suitable appointment with you.

As normal items can be added to your pupil account or payment can be made by credit/debit card at the end of the appointment. We will then give you a collection date and time.

What a hot and sunny week it has been. We have loved the sunshine, but must apologise for the grubby fingers, faces and toes you have been met with at pick up time!  The increase in sandal wearing, plus sun-cream, the simple joy of being outside, and the sunhats causing sweaty heads… well, it’s a powerful, and sticky combination!  However, even in this heat I have been really impressed with our children, especially with the pre-school Badgers and their attitude to learning – they can’t get enough!  We have been blending and segmenting familiar sounds to start reading simple words, and consolidating our number knowledge, by recording, counting, collecting and sorting various sticks, stones and dinosaurs!  Well done guys, it has been a crazy final term together, but you should be really proud of yourselves as you get ready for Reception. Don’t forget, ‘Moving Up Day’ is next Wednesday – online for everyone!  We will manage this for the children in nursery – but those of you at home will receive an invitation to ‘join the party!’

Nursery News

We really love our new super smart Little Crackers T-shirts, modelled so beautifully for us here. Featuring our dormice, hedgehogs and badgers logos, in lovely bright colours, they are just perfect for a warm summer's day. The stock arrived just this week and we are looking forward to seeing our nursery children and staff wearing them.

On Tuesday, Crackley hosted its first ever Virtual Open Evening using technology to welcome prospective parents and pupils into school.

The Open Event comprised of a short pre-recorded video, including a welcome from Mr Duigan, a tour of the school and interviews with our Junior 6 pupils. The video was followed by a Live Q&A with the Headmaster and Senior Team that explored the education the school provides, how Crackley supports its pupils to achieve great things and the school’s admissions process.

Huge thanks to all the pupils and staff who took part.

If you know anyone who missed the Open Evening event and is interested in applying to the school please ask them to contact our friendly Admissions Secretary, Jenny Vaughan, who will be happy to share links to recordings of the event. Jenny can be contacted by email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk or on 01926 514410.

Junior 6 didn't miss out on their final Sports Day although it was a little different than in previous years. The children still enjoyed sprints and the long distance run but also enjoyed some different challenges including the commando crawl and the hockey stick spin.

Mrs Vaughan will be totting up the scores over the weekend and will announce the results next week when we will also share lots of photos.  For now here are Junior 6 all pictured under their gazebos on a hot and sunny sporty afternoon.

Easyfundraising turns your everyday online shopping into free donations for Crackley Hall’s PTA. How? Just start your online shopping first at easyfundraising, then shop as normal. Our retailers will then make a small donation to say 'thank you'.

You can also help raise money for our PTA, with My Nametags.  My Nametags labels are an essential for school or nursery. Simply, use the following link to order and 24% automatically goes into a tally for our PTA.

My Name Tags Website

My Name Tags Flyer

Easy Fundraising Booklet

Please remember to use Easyfundraising every time you shop online! Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate, so you can raise FREE donations for the PTA no matter what you’re buying.

These donations really help us and your children, so please sign up if you haven’t yet. It’s easy and FREE! You can get started at Easy Fund Raising link

This week birthdays were celebrated by Oliver in J6, Freddie, Joseph and Sebastian in J5, Beatrice in J2 and Katie in Nursery

We hope you enjoy this video

Princethorpe College are currently advertising for two posts.

Administrator/Receptionist - Maternity Cover

Princethorpe College require an Administrator and Receptionist as a maternity cover, ideally starting mid-August 2020, to assist with the administration and organisational requirements of the College. Alongside other Reception staff and the Office Manager, the post holder is responsible for the day to day running of the busy Reception office.

Learning Support Teacher - Part Time

Princethorpe College seek a specialist teacher of Learning Support for pupils aged from 11 to 19 years with Specific Learning Difficulties and other SEND. There is some flexibility and this could be a full-time position or significant part-time. This position could suit someone who is looking to gain more experience or return to the classroom, or for an applicant with more experience, there may be opportunities to take on extra responsibility within the department. The successful candidate will collaborate with all of the Learning Support team to help to ensure that all pupils with additional needs are enabled to achieve their full potential alongside their peers.

For further details, please see the Foundation's website here.

Urban Strides are the dancers behind Young Voices.  Please find more details below:

We’re excited to announce ‘The Empowerment Series!’ - More Details

The Empowerment Series is kicking off next Monday (29/06/20) at 6pm, where Andy will be talking about motivation so be sure to tune in! 

We look forward to seeing you there! 

DON’T MISS IT! MONDAY AT 6PM!

Have fun and stay well! 

urbanstrides.com

The Summer holiday will soon be upon us.

Below – please find a list of recommended Summer holiday adventures, learning activities and tasks you can undertake with your child.

Whilst the holiday is time to rest and relax, and all these suggestions are optional, it is essential that all children, across the school, continue to read so we recommend they register for the summer reading challenge (more information in the whole school document attached).

To explore our recommended activities, please click on the links below, as relevant to your child’s year group:

• WHOLE SCHOOL – Awesome Adventures for Summer 2020 – a range of activities suitable to all year groups, including 3 whole school challenges.  Whole School Link
  
  
• Moving to Junior 1, Junior 2, Junior 3 – Phonics review Junior 1, 2, 3 Phonics Review
  
  
• Moving to Junior 3 – suggestions for those children preparing for Junior 3 Moving to Junior 3
  
  
• Moving to Junior 4 – suggestions for those children preparing for Junior 4 Moving to Junior 4
  
  
• Moving to Junior 5 – suggestions for those children preparing for Junior 5 Moving to Junior 5
  
  

Moving to Junior 6 – these children have a range of examination preparation activities from Mrs Horan and Mrs Vaughan (current Junior 6 class teachers). These will be sent home in an envelope when J5 children are in school at the end of term. For those pupils who are not in school, work will be posted out. Given the impending entrance assessments, these activities are very highly recommended.

Reception, both at school and at home, have thoroughly enjoyed this week’s topic of sea creatures. As we explored the fantastic book ‘Commotion In The Ocean’, we discovered that the ocean is teeming with life, from small shellfish such as barnacles, to the large blue whale. 

The children discovered facts about their favourite sea creature (with the Narwhal being in the top ten) in addition to describing how ocean inhabitants move around. Have you seen an anemone swaying quietly? Adding to the watery theme, we made our own waterproof boats, checking that they floated rather than sank!

Maths has seen us comparing weights of items and understanding how we can use the terms such as ‘heaviest’ or ‘lightest’. We also thought about how to compare liquids in containers, again using the correct terms such as ‘half-full’, ‘empty’ and ‘full’. 

The wonderful sunny weather has also enabled the children to make the most of being outside, fingers crossed that the sun will continue to shine for our final week of Reception!

Across the school Maths has been a big part of pupils’ lockdown learning, from Nursery all the way up to the top of the school. The children and their teachers have found creative and inspiring ways to develop and practise their Maths skills at home. Whether numbers, shapes, quantities, angles, fractions or times tables, the children have approached their learning with enthusiasm and initiative. Maths is such an essential life skill for us all and an important stepping-stone to so many other subjects. Some of their many fantastic efforts are celebrated here in a Magical Maths Mini Movie, so sit back and enjoy the children’s super hard work!

This week Junior 6 have begun their end of year activities and rehearsing for their Leavers’ Service and Leaver’s Assembly – albeit a little different this year!  We have taken our rehearsals outside and it has been wonderful to hear and see the whole of Junior 6 singing their hearts out on the top lawn, accompanied by Mrs Olden on her keyboard.  Our school hymn ‘Here I am Lord’ has never sounded so special or poignant.

Some of the bubbles had their chance to explore the Forest School area and take part in some outdoor activities organised by Mrs Bhogal; they had a great time building dens, climbing trees and even found some treasure!  The other bubbles are definitely looking forward to their turn next week!

On Thursday everyone came to school in pjs with bed hair ready for our movie session.  We were, of course, armed with lots of movie snacks and for once we got to be greedy all on our own because our instructions were different from normal; this time we were not allowed to share!

It seems that J5 have caught the fitness bug with Fin having ran 9.5km at the weekend with his mum, and Jasper having walked 13km with his parents…the walk was actually 11km but they got lost along the way!  Each morning, when they are with their dad, Anabel and Rosa run a mammoth 7km. It’s not only running and walking that we love in J5, Izzy and her family cycled a staggering 27km on Father’s Day. Max, his mum and their friends went on a 7km bike ride, too. Well done everyone; you are amazing!

As previously mentioned, Maxwell is aiming to run/walk 100 miles for charity in July. This is what he is doing and why:

‘I have decided to run and walk the equivalent of 4 marathons during the month of July. This will be a distance of 104.8 miles!! I have chosen the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, as friends and family have suffered with cancer recently and I would like to raise money for all the amazing care they receive whilst having treatment. The doctors and nurses are superheroes and I would like to do my bit to help.’

Amelia and her family had an amazing day at Dudley Zoo. Here’s what she wrote:

On 21st of June I went to Dudley zoo in Birmingham. We had to go around the zoo twice as my brother needed to go to the toilet which was at the top of the hill and due to the pandemic, there is a new one-way system. My favourite animals were the snow leopard and the orangutan. We also saw penguins and sloths. At the zoo there was a lot of wild peacocks that kept chasing people. It was an amazing day, but everyone’s feet hurt at the end.

It has been another busy and productive week in J5R, in the hottest week of the year!  

Happy Birthday to Freddie and Joseph who celebrated their birthdays this week.

It was wonderful to see that Henry has been using his creative skills again this week. 

In science, the J5’s have used their independent research skills and then shared their findings, in a range of ways. They were asked to research and present their findings about a rainforest or an ocean creature of their choice. Some very impressive work was submitted across the whole 5!

Most of the year group is aware that Rosa is an animal lover, as is Anabel. They were both delighted when a new puppy joined their family a few weeks ago. This week they came across a poorly Thrush in their garden, and they kindly nursed it. Unfortunately, the thrush went to heaven, but it was lovely to witness Rosa’s kindness to try and nurse this poorly creature.

There has also been some impressive practical maths and design ideas from Jacob this week where he has been working on estimating and measuring capacity.  He also made a lovely dream catcher.

Junior 4 were welcomed back to school this week and have enjoyed seeing their friends and teachers once again. 

They have also been building upon their Viking work in History by finding out about the Viking gods in Drama! The children watched the stories and followed the scripts carefully to understand the Viking legends. The task this week was to then visualise the Viking realms where the gods lived. Imaginations ran rife as Junior 4 drew some wonderful creations.

Thank you for your patience and your continued superstar efforts this week, Junior 3. As your teachers worked both in school and delivering live lessons at home, you have continued to accelerate your learning and impress us with your ingenuity and passion for learning. This week we explored shadows in science, using a range of toys to find out how long and short shadows are cast, as well as which materials produce the best shadows. We have been up to more mathematical antics in the kitchen, measuring the capacity of a range of different containers and becoming much more familiar with litres and millilitres. As we march on in our topic on Ancient Greece, we have seen spectacular creations of pasteli, helmets masks and sensational sketches of Spartan soldiers. Onwards, Junior 3, the finish line is in sight!

Highlights from 3V:

Our first virtual school trip! Sincere thanks to Oliver and Mr Stringer for our wonderful virtual trip to Rainsbrook Woods – it was the trip of a lifetime. We were also treated to a visit to Lexi’s garden where we got to see wild bunny rabbits hopping about. We really enjoyed seeing all your delicious pasteli creations, getting messy in the kitchen with lots of measuring volume and reading some amazing Greek myths written by the talented authors of Junior 3.

Highlights from 3S: 

Our morning bops to song requests have woken us from our sleepy slumber! Grace even jumped on her kitchen table and had a dance! The week began with David tricking me with a photo of him and Mr Lamprecht…..it was Mr Lamprecht’s twin brother! Carter explained how to cook the perfect boiled egg and we shared Amalia’s excitement to travel back to Kenilworth having spent some time on the sunny Isle of Wight. Well done for all the amazing work you continue to produce, whether it’s estimating capacity or learning how to use personification, you’ve all demonstrated wonderful effort. I personally cannot wait to see you all AT SCHOOL (!!), on Monday.

Also, thank you to all of J3S for their wonderful card and lovely messages.

Mathletes for J3 are: Charlie and Joseph

Junior 2H and 2M have been so busy this week looking at fractions in maths and reminding themselves of all the English work we did since last September, so a journey of rediscovery.

The weather has been fabulous which linked beautifully with our Science activities of plants, flowers and trees, everything in full bloom – June really is ‘busting out all over’ as the song says.

Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist has been recreated with flair and imagination through portraiture and we have learned all about First Holy Communion, finding out what some of the J3 Catholic pupils will undertake next year – a little late but better late than never!

Fabulous to see many of the faces in school on Monday and Tuesday, socially distancing and catching up with all the news! J2 you were a pleasure to share 2 days with, thank you for your company.

Mathlete of the Week was Ellie in J2H

We still have a mix of pupils in school and at home, both are working incredibly hard and staying focused on the tasks set to them, which is highly commendable in these testing times. You can see Shuvan in the gallery photos in his work space concentrating hard!

Junior 1 have been busy this week.   They have researching extreme weather in their geography work and what types of weather we have in the UK.  They have learnt about the importance of being prepared for the hot weather.  Posters have been created to remind people of the need to SLIP on a t-shirt, SLOP on some sun cream, SLAP on a hat, SEEK some shade and SLIDE on a pair of sunglasses. Amelia produced a particularly colourful poster.

They have also been learning about what school is like in France and comparing a French school to our school. It has been amazing to see how many French words they know and were challenged to translate a number of French words and phrases into English – Evelyn work very well on this writing the English words clearly for Mme Tatton.

Lena has been working hard on her English and is reading books every day, showing great enthusiasm to catch up with the class.

Jessie (and her sister Grace) has been busy this week with school work and helping out with the highland cattle at home. She has not only been a huge help ensuring the cattle don’t escape but has kept up with her school work too! 

In Science this week we have been looking at amphibians. The class were challenged with making an origami frog which jumps along when you press it at the back. Mahnoor made a particularly good example and seemed to really enjoy playing with it! 

Mathlete of the Week is awarded to Lena and Josh received his Gold award this week - well done to both of you!

Exercise books belonging to Reception, Junior 1 and Junior 6 pupils who are in school will be sent home during the last couple of days of term.

Exercise books for Junior 6 pupils who are not in school, can be collected from the school office in the first week of the school holiday – please contact the school office before collecting.  

Exercise books for all other pupils will be retained in school over the summer holiday and returned to pupils to take home, in September.

Parents of any pupil who has items of school property at home are kindly asked to return resources to the school office no later than the end of the first week of the school holiday – Friday 10 July. Please ensure your child’s name is clearly noted on the bag containing returned items, alongside the name of the staff member who loaned the items to your child.
 

Children's Liturgy - Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Preparation of the worship space

Colour: red

Props: key shapes cut out of card

Song suggestions: City of God (824, Laudate)

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God (820, Laudate)

Welcome: Today we hear how Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven. Let’s find out why, and what it means for us.

Opening prayer: Christ Jesus, help us to be faithful to you, like Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Inspire us to show that faith in everything we do. Amen.

First reading (optional): Acts 12: 1-11

Psalm: Ps 33:2-9 r. 5 or 8

Gospel acclamation: everyone stands and sings the acclamation together.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

“Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

“Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

(Gospel passage taken from Good News Translation® and used with permission, see details below*)

Gospel reflection: What do you remember from today’s reading?

Today we hear how Jesus was so impressed with Simon that he gave him a new name. Can you remember what that new name was?

Jesus said that he would build his church upon Simon Peter. Jesus also gave him the keys to the kingdom of Heaven.

Why did Jesus give Simon Peter a new name and the keys to the kingdom?

Simon Peter recognised and believed that Jesus was the Son of God. He had great faith and was willing to put that faith into words but also into actions.

Because of Peter’s great faith, Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom of Heaven. What are keys usually used for?

Keys lock doors, but they also open them. As a disciple, Peter spent his time sharing Jesus’ message with other people. He opened their hearts to God’s love, just like a key opens a door.

We can open our hearts by taking some time to stop and listen, to pray and to try to hear what Jesus is asking us to do. We can show our faith in our prayers and in our actions. We can try to follow Jesus’ commandments to love God and to love our neighbour. We can be kind and generous to others and we can try to make the world a fairer place where all people get what they need.

Can you think of some key words that show us what Jesus asks us to do? (eg. love, believe, forgive, give, share, hope etc)

These are just like the keys to God’s kingdom – which open us up to God’s love.

This week let’s try to be more loving, more forgiving and more generous to others. Let us try to bring hope to others. And let’s try to open our hearts to welcome Jesus in.

What will you do this week to show your faith in Jesus and to welcome him into your heart?

Intercessions: You may want to ask the children to offer their own prayers, or use the suggestions below.

We open our hearts to God as we pray together:

We pray for the Church throughout the world: that it may be a place of welcome and safety for all people. Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for all our brothers and sisters around the world, especially those who are poor: that they may be able to change their lives for the better. Lord, in your mercy…

We pray for our parish, family and friends: that we may open our hearts to Jesus and love our neighbour, wherever in the world they are. Lord, in your mercy… 

Closing prayer: Living God, help us to live with love, faith, generosity, fairness and hope, so that our hearts may be open to you and to all people in need. We ask this through Christ, our Lord, Amen.

Activity suggestions

Ask the children to colour in the accompanying optional illustration and to write in the key ring some of the “key words” that sum up what Jesus asks us to do, or what they will do to open their hearts to Jesus in the coming week.

Give the children key shapes cut out of card or paper and ask them to write or draw what they will do to open their hearts to Jesus in the coming week or the “key words” that sum up what Jesus asks us to do.

Discuss as a family all that you have heard and thought about today. Think about how you could open your hearts to Jesus and live according to some of the “key words” in the coming week.

This summer, like never before, we are called to be signs of hope for our world. You and your family are invited to be part of a Summer of Hope which will ensure clean water and food reaches some of the poorest families in the world during this global emergency. Visit cafod.org.uk/summerofhope to find out more.  

See cafod.org.uk/primary for more child-friendly activities.