The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I would like to start by thanking the PTA and families who took part in the quiz last week.  The response was super and I was delighted to see so many of you entering into the spirit of the occasion on a Friday evening.  Thank you to the PTA for organising this event, particularly the Card family for their initiative and input.  The PTA have been working incredibly hard this term to try to think of innovative and safe ways to continue to raise extra funds for school and they will be able to update on their latest news in this edition of the Chronicle. The PTA pre-loved book sale is postponed until we receive further news regarding lockdown.

During the next few weeks, leading up to the end of term, there are dates that you may wish to add to your diary which involve your child.  There will be separate communications for the individual events sent to relevant families but an overview is provided below.

24 November              LAMDA Exams Junior

25 November              LAMDA Exams Junior 3 and Junior 4

27 November              LAMDA Exams Junior 4

1 December                Advent Mass for Junior 5

2 December                Advent Mass

4 December                Music Exams, PTA Light Trail details issued

7 December                Flu vaccinations

8 December                Christmas Lunch for Junior 2, 4 and 6

9 December                Christmas Lunch for Nursery, Reception, Junior 1, 3 and 5

10 December              Nativity performances recorded in school

11 December              Christmas Jumper Day - £1 donation to Save the Children and £1 to enter design a jumper

11 December              Crackley Enchanted Christmas (Santa says to keep this quiet lease mums and dads)

14 December              End of term Mass

15 December              Last day of term - there will be various activities and a special lunch                                                                          provided by Mr Sansum

During assembly this morning I congratulated our Stars of the Week: Monty, Arabella, Isabel, Edward, Joseph, Arthur, Tommy, Joseph, Lexi, Morton, Holly, Amelia and Caythan.  Penny in J4 received a Bronze Award and a number of our Junior 5 and Junior 6 children were awarded certificates as a result of their efforts in the recent Primary Maths Challenge.  From J6, well done to Noah, who received Gold;  Sebastian, Jasper, Thomas, Helayna, Analise, Millie, Theo and Finlay who all received Silver; and  Niamh, Yung, Henry, Rosa, Joseph, Woody and Isabel who received Bronze.  Merryn, George and Joseph in Junior 5 also received Bronze.  This is a magnificent achievement and I hope that the children are proud of their hard work.

During assembly I also announced the results of our school Christmas card competition.  Thomas in Junior 6 submitted the winning entry, Sloane in Reception and Noah in Junior 6 were worthy runners-up and will also feature on the Christmas card that will be sent to families this year.  Ms Holmes will be sending these entries to the CISC card competition too and I will keep you informed of news in this respect.  I would like to congratulate Jenson on his lovely singing at the end (of assembly).

On Monday this week, we encouraged all children (and staff) to take part in Odd Sock Day which celebrated the fact that we are all unique.  Mr Cottrill gave an assembly supporting Anti-Bullying Week but this is not something that we focus on just for one week of the year; kindness is incredibly important in school and I am proud to say that we have very kind and caring children across the year groups at Crackley Hall.

Yesterday we held another online open event, this time for Nursery and Reception.  Given the restrictions in place, I believe that our ‘visitors’ enjoyed the experience and hopefully, next time, they will be able to visit school in person.  Thank you to Mrs Bird, Mrs Glen-Roots, Mrs Convey, Mrs O’Carroll-Bailey, Mrs Vaughan and the Princethorpe Marketing Team for their time to ensure the success of this event.

Finally, as you will be aware, a letter was sent to all parents earlier this week which also contained information from Warwickshire County Council.  I appreciate that this may have caused a little concern for some parents but I would like to reassure you that the letter is really targeted at schools who have a high number of positive cases.  We will continue with our rigorous cleaning, strict visitor policy and bubble procedures and trust that families will also continue to respect the need to be careful, even when lockdown is lifted.  If you are concerned about your child’s health you may still follow the test procedures outlined in the letter but I will not be requiring children to isolate for minor ailments (e.g. historical tonsillitis or headaches) unless the COVID-related symptoms are different to their usual symptoms, or if you have a concern.  It is generally good practice to be ever-vigilant and to react early, using own circumstances and a good dose of common sense.

I hope that you have a restful weekend.

God bless

Mr Duigan