The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Friday 11 June was an important day for 17 Crackley Hall pupils as they celebrated their first Holy Communion Mass. Junior 3’s Blythe Camilleri-Willis, Adreena Greevy, Ted Higginbotham, Evie Kettle, Elsie Woodall-Pagan, Beatrice Parizzi and Josie-Jean Swindells; Junior 4’s Sebastian Crawley, Jay Jonah, Julia Kozhan, Andrew Parizzi, Mairen Steel, Elena, Amelia Turvey, Beatrice Wood and Eve Wood; and Junior 5 Sebastian Williams, gathered together excitedly with friends, family and representatives from the Crackley Hall School community at St Francis of Assisi Church in Kenilworth.

The children have been preparing for this special day for a while, learning about their faith so that they understand what they are committing to. In May they took the Sacrament of First Reconciliation.

In the joyful and celebratory Eucharist, Father Kevin Hooper was supported by Father David Bazen. In the service Father Kevin spoke about the nourishing love of God that would sustain the young communicants throughout their lives before the communicants then received the sacrament with the utmost sincerity and reverence. The children were a credit to their families and the school. Following celebratory prayers, reflections and concluding hymns the recipients were presented with certificates and posed for proud parents and friends in front of the altar.

Special thanks were given to Mrs Jackson-Mayne and Mrs Simmonds for their support of the children and to Mrs Olden, Isabella Olden and Shoshana Stokes for providing the music and singing. The school was also delighted to welcome Chair of Trustees Mrs Griffin to the service.

After the Eucharist the children were presented with gifts, balloons and individual First Holy Communion cakes to mark the occasion. It was a very special day for all concerned.

Children from Crackley Hall School in Kenilworth have helped to capture the everyday life of people in the UK today. The Year 4 children wrote diary extracts for National Diary Day on Wednesday 12 May, recording their day, reflecting back over the past year and looking forward to the future. Their handwritten snapshots of their life were then submitted to the UK’s Mass Observation Archive.

The Mass Observation Archive first called on people to write a diary for a day on 12 May 1937, the day of George VI’s Coronation, and since then they have regularly called for diary entries to record the thoughts, feelings and opinions of everyday people in the Britain.

The pupils’ extracts will join thousands of diaries stored in the archive at The Keep, near Falmer in East Sussex. The Keep is a giant repository holding records dating back as far as 1101 through to the present day.

Suzanne Rose, Education & Outreach Officer at The Mass Observation Archive, commented, “Thank you for the gift of these diaries and for taking part. The Mass Observation Archive has been collecting diaries since 1937 and the children’s diaries will be added to this collection. They will be used for teaching and learning activities and outreach too and the information they contain will help future generations of children learn about what it was like to be a child in 2021.”

The diary entries will also be saved for prosperity at Crackley Hall School as they will be included in the school’s own archive and in a Time Capsule which is due to be sealed at the end of the school year.

Susanne Jackson-Mayne, Year 4 Teacher, said, “The diary entries share the lives, hopes and dreams of our young pupils. Reading them gave me an insight in to how life has been for the children during lockdown and online learning, they made me sad but proud. It is wonderful that their memories are being saved for future generations. The children who have chosen to submit their extracts are thrilled that they have been accepted.”

This September the Department for Education is introducing changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). These changes will impact on every early years provider and through them, on every child in their care. The changes are designed to make the stages within the Development Matters document, the Department for Education’s EYFS curriculum guidance, clearer for professionals making judgements on children’s achievements and progress and also easier for parents to understand. They reflect the latest child development evidence, and the Early Years Team at Little Crackers Nursery and Crackley Hall are looking forward to bringing the changes to life.

Sue Glen-Roots, Assistant Head (Early Years and Key Stage 1), explains some of the more important changes that parents will be interested in here:

It is important to remember that the EYFS includes the children’s Reception year as well as their time in Nursery and the reforms should help align EYFS learning more closely with that which takes place once children move into Year 1. At Crackley Hall we are fortunate that our on-site nursery Little Crackers has qualified teachers who lead the educational activities for the children, they work closely with the Reception teachers to provide a programme of joined up learning across the EYFS.

Of course, the EYFS is still all about the individual child and teaching through play-based learning but the 2021 reforms are prompted by a number of goals.

The main focus is to improve outcomes for children at 5-years-old, by ensuring that the curriculum puts early language and literacy at its heart. So, there will be a greater emphasis on speaking and listening skills and greater value placed on books, with stories being used as a starting point for learning across all areas of the curriculum.

The changes also look to strengthen numeracy outcomes to ensure all children have a good mastery of maths in preparation for moving into Year 1. The key for early years provision will be the need to focus on exploring concepts in depth and giving children the time to practise and consolidate their early maths skills. At Little Crackers and Crackley Hall we follow the White Rose Maths approach making sure all children have the same opportunities to learn and the time and support they need to grasp numeracy concepts as well as fostering an excitement for mathematical investigations.

In addition, the curriculum area Understanding the World has been broadened and the topics now include, past and present and a more in-depth focus on the natural world. A rich and varied learning environment supports children’s development and outdoor learning has always been a crucial element of the EYFS Framework. The increased focus on the natural world will ensure there are many more opportunities for children to explore and experience the world around them.

For me, the Early Years is where the joy and magic of learning begins, and I am truly excited by the reforms. It is particularly wonderful to see a greater emphasis placed on stories which will fire our children’s imaginations in all curriculum areas. I am also delighted to see the focus on the natural environment and our staff are looking forward to bringing the new curriculum alive through outdoor activities, including Forest School. It is so important that children are given the opportunity to develop awe and wonder about the world around them.

Parents should be reassured that the changes are about keeping the children at the heart of all we do.

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Hardwick's class is Thomas

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Glen-Root's class is Sophia

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes's class is Evie

Mathlete of the week for Mr Stedeford's group is Amy 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Van Zyl's class is Darcey

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Wildey's class is Joseph

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Burley's group is Amelia

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Roberts's group is Alfred

Well done all!

Dear Parents

We are pleased to let you know that we will be holding our annual Scholastic book fair next week.  The book fair will open during school hours only this year, on Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 June.

The children will be attending the book fair in class bubbles, and hand sanitiser will be used before and after the sale.

This year we will be unable to accept cash for the book sale, and vouchers can be purchased and printed from this link www.bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/gift-vouchers

Alternatively, you are able to pay online for books, via this link www.bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/pay

There will also be a small selection of stationary items, ranging from 40p to £3.00 in price.  The Captains will be selling these separately, and cash will be accepted for these.

Please see attached a list of the books and stationery items that will be available for sale (all subject to availability).

Books are able to be ordered through the school, if out of stock, however stationery items are not.

Kind regards

The School Office

List and Form

A request for help!

We are looking to source props for our summer show of Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat. If anyone has any of the following, please could you bring it into school for the attention of Mrs Wildey or email her on nicolawildey@crackleyhall.co.uk for further clarification:

Zimmer frame

Piece of rope – for leading a camel

Some plastic/toy bread

Deckchair

Hessian sacks – (we have 3, but need 11)

We just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who came along and helped support us at our bake sale in aid of Stand Up To Cancer last bank holiday Monday!

We raised an incredible £1340!!!

You helped an incredible cause and made two little girls feel very proud! 

And for all those who have asked….YES we will be doing another. 

Please follow the link below for a digital copy of Families Warwickshire Magazine.

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