The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I hope that you are well and looking forward to the weekend ahead.  The pupils have certainly settled into their new routines this week and collection and drop off times are now also running more efficiently.

This week saw a return to the Junior 3 and Junior 4 swimming lessons at Abbey Fields.  I am delighted about this step towards some of our normal timetabled sports, in addition to welcoming spectators to our sports fixtures.  I sincerely hope that this can continue as long as we follow the guidelines to keep everyone safe.

Our class information evenings have been held over the first two weeks of term and I hope that you have find these useful.  If you have questions regarding your child, please contact the class teacher in the first instance who will either be able to answer your question or direct you to the person who can assist.

Two members of our staff should be congratulated this week: Dr Claire Ewen, Speech and Language Therapist and Michael Luis, Caretaker.  Dr Ewen not only received her PhD (Psychology) during the summer, but she has also published a book and you can read more later in this edition.  Sgt Luis was awarded the Operational Flights Trophy in recognition of his service to 4652 squadron.  Both Dr Claire and Sgt Luis are both valued members of the Crackley Hall School team and I hope you join me in congratulating both of them on their achievements.

During assembly this morning I announced our Stars of the Week as: Teddy, Jovan, Amaya, Jai, Will, Hector, Grace, all Junior 3V, Seb, Phoebe, Georgie, Frankie, Sid and Henry.  Well done everyone!  There were also numerous certificates received from children who have participated in activities outside of school.  It’s wonderful to receive news of the pursuits the children follow so please do keep me informed so I can share this news with the rest of the school.

I met outside with the PTA committee yesterday to discuss plans for the rest of this term and I am pleased to let you know that there will be events which will hopefully raise more funds for school and also bring the whole community together whenever possible.  Unfortunately, this evening’s proposed welcome back event was cancelled but the PTA hope to meet you next Wednesday evening at the AGM which will be held in the school hall, space and social distancing allowing.  Please email ch@pta@crackleyhall.co.uk if you would like to attend so that we can prepare appropriately for the AGM.

We will be raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support next Friday when we ask children to bring in £1 or more in return for a cake which will be supplied by our PTA.  Last year we managed to raise over £700 for this very worthy charity and I hope that we can push the amount even higher this year.

Please continue to monitor your children closely for any symptoms of Covid as cases are on the rise as a result of schools returning. If unclear about school policy, please refer to previous communications in this regard, eg symptoms and school steps to mitigate the risk of transmission.  We have also sent a further update, specific to Crackley Hall today.  Please also refer to this.  It is probably wise to limit social gatherings where possible but that is, of course, a personal choice. I would always ask that any decisions are made with possible implications in mind as it seems that we are being ‘left to fend for ourselves’ a little. The economy needs to be revived but we also need to take care of each other as well.

It was not a great performance by the Springboks when they lost to Australia in last week’s rugby test – too many missed goal attempts did not help.  What a pity that the final cricket test between England and India was called off as I am sure that it would have been a fantastic match.

I hope to be at Princethorpe College on Sunday for their open afternoon and look forward to seeing some of our Crackley Hall families then.  I wish you all a very happy and relaxing weekend.

God bless,

Mr Duigan

Earrings of any description are a health and safety issue and must not be worn.

We are aware that some children have had their ears pierced during the holidays and are therefore unable to remove their earrings for six weeks.  During this time, earrings (plain studs only) can be worn to school but must be covered with tape or a plaster at all times.  After the six weeks has elapsed and the hole has formed, earrings should not be worn to school. 

Holiday club will be running again during the Autumn Half Term holidays, from Monday 18 October until Friday 29 October 2021. 

Holiday club will be open from 8.30am to 5.00pm and will cost £30 per day. Hot lunch will be provided.

More details and a timetable of activities will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.

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:

Congratulations to them all!

Crackley Hall School has a new pupil recognition and reward programme. The new Crackley Compass is a set of ambitions based on the school’s ethos and values that will encourage and support all Crackley’s pupils and help them to get the best out of their time at the school.

The Crackley Compass was introduced to the children by Deputy Head, Duncan Cottrill, at the start of term. Developed in conjunction with pupils over the last year, the Compass will foster and develop seven skills, qualities and behaviours. It asks pupils to be Curious, Responsible, Active, Collaborative, Kind, to engage with Learning and be Enthusiastic. Acrostically spelling out ‘Crackley’ and represented and brought to life by seven animals, named by the children, the qualities in the Crackley Compass will become an integral part of the children’s experience at school engaging them in their learning and helping to build confidence and self-esteem.

The new Crackley Compass friends will help bring the ambitions to life, they include:

• Sherlock the Meerkat who is Curious
• Professor Penguin who is Responsible
• Beezley the Bee who is Active
• Archimedes the Ant who is Collaborative
• Fin the Dolphin who is Kind
• Beaky the Owl who is always Learning
• Waggles the Dog who is Enthusiastic

Comments Duncan Cottrill, “Our new Crackley Compass builds on the legacy of the school’s original star system.  It expresses our school community’s shared values and challenges and reminds all our pupils ‘You Can Make A Difference’. With the ‘Y’ completing Crackley. This set of ambitions, shared by all pupils and staff, will stand us in good stead for the future both in school and out.”

All pupils have been presented with an individual compass chart to encourage them on their journey to success.

Mrs Rod Paphitis (Junior 6 TA) visited the school today to show us her new bundle of joy - Elias who was born on 18 August weighing 7.8lbs.

Congratulations from us all!

It was lovely to wave Junior 4 off on Monday afternoon for their swimming lessons. We are thrilled that swimming has resumed this term for both Junior 3 and 4 and I'm sure you'll agree the children's faces show just how pleased they were too!

Junior 4 are swimming every Monday while Junior 3 are swimming on Thursdays.

Later in the autumn we will be competing in the ISA swimming competition which is always an exciting event.

Many congratulations to Dr Claire Ewen who has just completed a PhD in Psychology and is pictured here with her published work. Dr Ewen is an experienced speech and language therapist and has worked part time at Crackley Hall since 2010. It has taken her three years to complete her Doctor of Philosophy degree investigating the impact of wellbeing on those who work with children and considering specifically what employers can do to support the wellbeing of that workforce. Dr Ewen is looking forward to sharing her findings with Crackley's senior team.

We were very impressed but not surprised to hear that Crackley’s caretaker, Michael Luis has just been awarded the Operational Flights Trophy in recognition of his first-class contribution to 4642 Squadron and the RAF. Sgt Luis is a RAF Reserve and has supported three major operations over the last two years, including playing a vital role during the pandemic in Operation RESCRIPT when he was pivotal to the success of the first all RAF Reserve Mobile Testing Unit.

Here at Crackley we are very familiar with Luis’ can-do approach, so we were delighted to hear of his recognition and know just how well deserved his award is. Well done Sgt Luis!

The ISA Comic Strip Competition encourages pupils to create their own storyboard or cartoon as a means of exploring a topical subject.

This year, pupils in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are invited to create comic strips on the theme of Zero Waste.

So come on all you Crackley creatives, get your thinking caps on and your pencils ready and get sketching.

The deadline for entry to the competition is Thursday 16 December 2021.

Please click here for further details 

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Burley's class is Alexander

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

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

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

Mathlete of the week for Mr Stedeford's class is Harry 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Robert's class is Arthur 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Widey's group is Alex

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Lammas's group is Lawson

Well done all!

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

Magazine

Thursday 7 October 2021 - 10.00am to 3.00pm

We are opening our doors for an Open Day on Thursday 7 October 2021 from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This is an opportunity for prospective families to look around the school and nursery, and to meet staff. The day will be by appointment only in order to keep our pupils, staff and visitors. Please register your interest in attending our Open Day and our Admissions Secretary will be in touch nearer the time. 

To book your place please click here.

We have places available in Nursery and will be recruiting for places in Reception 2022. Please speak to our Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan for availability in other years.

If you can't make the Open Day but would like to look around the school, please call our Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk and come on a day to suit you, we welcome visitors on most days.

For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk

This week, Junior 6 have been starting their Science journey through the understanding of animal classification. We are developing our understanding of how animals are grouped and what characteristics they have. Then we have practised grouping different things using our own classification systems and using a variety of things, including classroom items, liquorice allsorts and whatever things the children could find outside in the Abbotsford classroom and prayer garden (the grubbier, the better!)

This week, our Junior 5s have been working hard on their Protective Behaviours booklets, refamiliarizing themselves with their ‘Early Warning Signs’ and deciding who the trusted adults are in their ‘Network’ (people they can talk to and share their worries). The girls have also been testing out the astroturf pitch during their hockey lesson and feel that it has made them better players already. Thank you again to our wonderful PTA for providing such a wonderful resource.

This week in Junior 4, the children have enthusiastically engaged with our place value topic in maths. After building numbers up to 10,000, they were then set problem solving challenges, trying to create as many 4-digit numbers, from four counters. In English, it has been lovely to read about everyone’s family and the children have excelled in thinking of ambitious adjectives to describe the people that mean the most to them – don’t worry parents, they were all lovely adjectives and none to be worried about! Everyone continues to settle into Junior 4 with great maturity and importantly, kindness, which has been lovely to see. Well done Junior 4, keep up the great work.

Junior 3 have had a busy week with the first of our swimming sessions down at Abbey Fields. All the children enjoyed their visit enormously and we hope to be improving skills in the water over the coming weeks.

We have also been delving into our ‘maths manipulative’ resources, like Base Ten and place value counters to help and support the children in their understanding of place value to 1,000! Mathletics once again proving hugely popular as the pupils try to attain their 1000 points per week. We have been delighted with how quickly the children have settled into focusing and working hard throughout the day.

Our quest through the Stone Age continues and we have enjoyed visiting (albeit virtually), the Caves of Lascaux in France where the oldest cave paintings in Europe were discovered in 1941. Pupils will be creating their own cave painting work over the next 2 weeks. We can’t wait to see what they will produce!

This week, Junior 2 have been authors of their own stories. They have been looking more closely at character attributes, particularly villains. This work has been a result of reading the incredible book Inside the Villains by Clotilde Perrin, which has proved exceptionally popular with both the children and adults in Junior 2! The pages of the pop-up book reveal the secrets of the most famous fairy tale villains: giants, wolves and witches. The illustrations and flaps have allowed the children to get right inside each villain and see what’s hidden - behind their ears, under their clothes, in their pockets, even the victim of their last meal waiting to be rescued! Each villain has their own personality card, which shows their strengths and weaknesses, favourite pastimes, physical characteristics, their best meal and, of course, their favourite books. The children then created their own villains with an accompanying personality card and planned their story whilst considering what their dilemma and resolution would be. Mrs Glen-Roots and Mrs Burley are so proud of how well everyone has engaged with our English lessons and there has been a real buzz around the classrooms.

This week has been very smelly!! In science we have begun to look at our senses and in particular using our noses to smell. There were lots of different things to smell and then decide which we liked and which we did not. The strawberry flavouring was a favourite, the vinegar was not! We have also begun to look at maps and recognising features of a map of our local area in geography. Google maps helped us to see what our school looks like from above and how all the houses and roads look tiny from far away. In history we found out that some early homes were made from wood, mud and straw. These homes had no windows and only a fire to keep people warm and cook food on – much different to our own warm and dry homes.

It has been another jam-packed week in Reception, as we have continued to enjoy our classrooms and outdoor areas. We have particularly enjoyed PE with Mrs Thomas, along with our first Forest School lesson with Mrs Clark. Much fun was had playing in our very own forest, swinging and sliding through the trees – a super start to our Woodland topic! During this week we have been thinking about things we can be grateful for, with school, mummies and daddies, sunshine, rain, and our pets being popular answers. Mrs Malcolm and Mrs Convey say they’re very grateful for such lovely classes – what another great week we have had!

Each week Mrs Jackson-Mayne will lead a ‘Prayer and Meditation’ workshop with a class.

The next Mass will be celebrated by 2B on Tuesday 21 September. Father Kevin will lead this special class Mass in 4B’s classroom to celebrate the Feast of St Matthew.

Pupils in J6V had the chance to join a meditation during their RE Workshop this week. The pupils grasped the opportunity to have quiet time for themselves to reflect on how we need to look after our emotional and spiritual health.

Finley and Ding in Junior 4 are our RE Stars this week. Finley used his insight and knowledge of religious vocabulary to be able to write an explanation of a painting and the artist’s image of God. Both earned a ‘Learning’ star for their efforts.

Ding used watercolours to paint his own picture of the image of God. He then explained his inspiration to the class with confidence and skill.

In RE lessons Junior 3 have been busy problem solving in the glorious sunshine. During the activities they explored what skills are needed to make a group work. Dyia earned a Compass sticker for the wonderful way that she communicated with the group, whilst Felix and Harrison earned a Resilience sticker.

Please find information below:

Childrens Liturgy

Activity Sheet

Please click on the link below for this week's weekly mission:

Weekly Mission

U11A Hockey vs Bilton Grange and Crescent

On Wednesday 15 September the U11A team played Bilton Grange and Crescent at a hockey triangular. Our first match was against Bilton Grange. Olivia played well in defence. Unfortunately we lost 1-0, conceding a goal in the last few seconds of the match. Our next match against Crescent was a 0-0 draw. We had most of the possession with some great passing. Player of the match was Jasmine.

Elle Weir (Girls Sports Captain)

U11B Hockey vs Bilton Grange and Crescent: 

On Wednesday 15 September Crackley Hall’s B team were in a triangular with Bilton Grange and Crescent for hockey. We played really well for our first games together and had lots of chances at goal. The results were 0-0 for both games. Our player of the match was Penny.

Penny O’Neill (B Team Captain)

Well done all!

U9A Hockey vs Bilton Grange:

The U9A team played exceptionally well in their first hockey match. They learnt very quickly how to attack at speed and scored early in the game. Bilton Grange equalised early in the second half and then scored their winner near the end of the second half, resulting in a 2-1 win to Bilton Grange.

Player of the match Darcey

U9B Hockey vs Bilton Grange:

The U9B team watched and learnt from the A team performance. They excelled in attack and ended up with a clear 3-0 victory.

Player of the match Lizzy

Well done all!

Bayleaf have been having a few technical issues with their new online booking page but it is now working and can definitely be accessed via the link in the attached PDF.

The club starts on Tuesday 21 September and is only open to Year 3 pupils, so seize your chance and follow the link to book your place and your Year 3 pupil will be making Breakfast Bars on Tuesday!

Roar! Growl!! Grrr! Yes, Lego Club is back full of fun and action with the world’s wildest animals! This week we welcomed animals with a difference and thought how awesome it would be if animals could show their feelings on their faces the same way people do. So we conjured up some wildlife with a panda looking happy, a dinosaur looking angry, a crocodile looking sleepy, a lion looking surprised and a raft of penguins looking graceful in the ocean.  But something seemed to be missing until…making a splash in a vibrant ice cream truck were Bo the Seal and Shelley the Turtle looking very bright eyed and bushy tailed after a glorious summer break in the tropics!  Welcome back everyone!

We have had a fantastic week in Nursery, our Dormice and Badgers have settled back in with great enthusiasm.  We were able to get going again with all our extra fun activities, and the children loved meeting Mrs Taylor for PE on Monday and Mrs Olden for Music on Tuesday.  Those who have chosen to sign up for Rugbytots had great fun with Matt, and the Badgers thought the woods were magical with Mrs Clarke in Forest School on Wednesday morning.  Thank you for all your support as everyone gets used to new routines, and for sending in named wellies – now that our new outdoor area is fully completed we look forward to exploring it in all weathers!  I hope everyone enjoys a restful weekend and we look forward to doing all again next week!

Newsletter

Little Crackers Stay ‘n’ Play was back this week; our friendly toddler group, aimed at families with children aged 0 to four-years-old.

For now, Little Crackers Stay ‘n’ Play will continue to run at St Francis Of Assisi R C Church in Kenilworth on Wednesdays at the new time of 9.30am to 10.45am. You don’t need to book your place in advance however, we will monitor numbers closely and if we feel the need to return to a booking system, we will let you know.

We have some exciting visiting activities and events lined up this autumn, so there is plenty to keep little ones busy and entertained.

Dates for your diary include:

• Forest Fun @ Stay 'n' Play - Wednesday 29 September 2021
• Paint and Glaze - Wednesday 10 November 2021
• Christmas Party - Wednesday 1 December 2021

These activities will take place at Little Crackers Nursery and will need to be booked in advance as places are limited. Please contact Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or email staynplay@littlecrackers.co.uk to book your place.

Everyone is welcome to come and join in the fun!

Please see the flyer attached for more information on PTA dates for your diary this year.

Save the date information

Wednesday 22 September 7.00pm

Following a brief meeting with Mr Duigan yesterday, it has been decided that it is not possible to hold a ‘welcome back’ event this evening.  Whilst this is disappointing, we have been able to plan other events which will take place throughout this term, and we very much hope you will be able to join or support these activities.

Next week we will be hosting our AGM which will take place at 7.00pm on 22 September in the school hall; this will be a socially distanced event and therefore we need to plan carefully.  Please contact ch@pta.crackleyhall.co.uk by Tuesday 21 September if you would like to attend so that seating arrangements may be planned accordingly.  The AGM is to be followed by an ordinary meeting and is likely to finish at approximately 8.30pm, depending on the agenda.

On Friday 24 September we will be support the McMillan Coffee Morning.  This is an annual event in school which we have needed to adjust due to COVID but we still hope to raise funds for this very worthy cause.  We will not be able to serve coffee to parents as in previous years, but the PTA will be available on the school gate if you would like to donate, and we also ask that children bring a donation of £1 or more.  The PTA will be purchasing a pre-wrapped cake for each child and liaise with school regarding allergies, these cakes will be delivered to classes for breaktime on Friday.

Friday 8 October

This year we are supporting a wonderful charity for non-school uniform day, Coventry, and Warwickshire Mind, who are raising money during World Mental Health week which falls during the last week of half term. You can find ouot more here: https://cwmind.org.uk/

We are asking children to come into school in non-uniform and to ideally wear a hat too, as part of Hats Off for Mental Health.

We are asking for a donation of £1 with a proportion of that going to the local Mind charity

Friday 24 September from 7.45am

This year Crackley PTA will support Macmillan with a drive-by collection, enabling parents to drop money into the Macmillan pot at the same time as dropping children at school. Unfortunately, there will be no cake sale this year, however children will be able to purchase pre-packaged cakes, in their classrooms, for a snack. Further details to follow from the school office.

Donations can be made online here too. https://thyg.uk/BUU004324912

As always, thank you, to our wonderful second-hand uniform team, Nikki, Linda, and Katie, for being ever patient and serving our wonderful school community with much needed preloved uniform.

Please feel to contact them on ptauniform@crackleyhall.co.uk to arrange an appointment, or to simply check stock availability.

To offer this service, we rely on wonderful donations from you. So, if you have any good quality uniform your child has outgrown, please use the collection box in the school front entrance.  It will then be quarantined for 72 hours before offering for sale.

All money raised from the PTA Uniform shop is spent on extras for your children throughout the year at school and helps the children’s day become even more special.

Parents, please ensure that all items of 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.

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Patrick (J4R) has lost his new named metal water bottle

Joshua (J2G) left his grey Next hoodie at holiday club

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We are recruiting for a variety of roles currently, as you will see below, so please do share with friends and family by word of mouth.

Further information and application forms on all roles are available on our website - Join Us

• After School Care Leader – Crackley Hall School
• Teacher of English - Princethorpe College - fixed term contract
• Lunchtime Supervisor - Crescent School
• Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages - Crackley Hall School
• Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages - Cescent School
• Caretaker - Crescent School
• IT Service Desk Team Leader - Princethorpe College
• Estates Assistants- Princethorpe College