The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

The month of October is Black History Month in the UK, and the teachers at Crackley Hall School have delivered a series of lessons, activities and assemblies to recognise and value inspirational black individuals and events that have contributed to and shaped our world today.

The month began with a special assembly to explore this important area of the curriculum. While within their classes teachers have followed their own focus of interest while delivering age-appropriate lessons on Black history and culture.

Junior 6 combined their study of the Victorian era with the celebration of Black History Month. They learnt about two significant Victorians who, despite prejudice and many challenges, made positive and hugely successful contributions to the society of the time. Mary Seacole journeyed from Jamaica to England and then to the Crimea, in her quest to build her own hospital - 'The British Hotel'.  While Pablo Fanque was a British performer and circus proprietor, the first recorded non-white British circus owner in Britain. Pupils enjoyed exploring the Victorian entertainment industry and the success of Pablo Fanque’s Circus Royale. It was inspiring for the children to appreciate the importance of these influential individuals.

Junior 5 were fascinated by Martin Luther King who they explored in their history lessons. They listened to his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech which really struck a chord with them and many left the lesson repeating those all-important words, ‘They will not be judged by the colour of their skin but of the content of their character.’

During PSHECE the children investigated the story of SS Empire Windrush and listened to first-hand accounts of people from the Caribbean who took that journey in 1948 to Tilbury Docks in Essex, to then experience discrimination and be made to feel so unwelcome in Britain. Pupils were shocked to hear and see the living conditions and injustices of so many of the people who had embarked upon that trip.

The children also completed self-directed investigations exploring the lives of famous black people such as Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and Lewis Hamilton and the contributions they have made to society.  

In their English lessons, pupils in Junior 4 also completed research on one of their chosen Black Heroes from history. They found out what they were famous for, how they inspired people and their impact on others. In the second week pupils looked at the life of the footballer, Marcus Rashford. After reading about his life growing up in Manchester, pupils understood his passion for wanting to ensure that all children had a hot and nutritious meal.

Junior 3 have researched two artists from Kenya for their look at Black History month, Sarah Shiundu and Elisha Ongere. Both artists use bold colour and African style in their work and the pupils have loved trying to mirror their style. They have done an amazing job!

They also researched Wangari Mathaai, a Kenyan woman who loved her country and who was saddened to see the deforestation there. Wangari Mathaai decided to plant seeds which have grown into trees and, by passing seeds to other women to plant in Kenya, Wangari created forest areas that number over 50 million trees. They were impressed to discover that she was a humanitarian and a great advocate of promoting decent wages for women and was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace prize and a Global Role of Honour before her death in 2011.

Junior 2 have investigated Esther Mahlangu (born 11 November 1935), a South African artist from the Ndebele nation. Known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage, the patterns Esther uses are typically very colourful and geometric. The children were fascinated by her work and thoroughly enjoyed creating their own masterpieces. Lots would love to decorate their own houses in her style of artwork.

Junior 1 have been inspired by Alma Thomas to create their own versions of her piece of art – The Eclipse. They used paint and corks to create their piece of artwork they were very careful with their ‘dabbing’ technique.

Even Reception got involved; they investigated Usain Bolt! They watched him win his most famous races, including the Olympic Finals and thought he was amazing! He inspired them to run their own races and create their own victory poses, just like Usain Bolt. The children were 'wowed' by Usain as an inspirational person in recent Black history.

Black History Month has allowed Crackley to celebrate the achievements of Black people both in Great Britain and around the world and has also allowed the children gain an insight into their lives and experiences.  

Last week, the children wore their hats to school in support of the charity, Coventry and Warwickshire Mind. Across the school, children were involved in many discussions and activities.

To raise awareness of Mental Health in Junior 1 they talked about what mental health was and how we can’t always see if people are sad or unhappy. The children talked about how lucky we are in our school with our wonderful family and friends but how we know that not everyone is as lucky as us. They also decorated their own hats for different people and animals on a poster, before coming into school on Friday wearing their own clothes and a fancy hat to help raise money for the charity.

Junior 2 listened to the story My Positive Mind and a story about what to do when we worry. They practised using breathing techniques that can help us when we feel worried or anxious. The children were all so mature and perceptive in their comments.

Junior 5 used an assembly provided by the Mind charity and they worked their way through a booklet to focus their thoughts and discussions. They also shared stories about people they know who suffer or have suffered with their mental health.

We are very pleased to say that together we raised £117 to support the work that this local charity does. Thank you all so much for your generous support.

Crackley Hall enjoyed some extra special flying visitors yesterday when Dave Sharpe from RaptorXotics brought his Owls into school to visit the children in Reception.

Dave brought in three different species of owls including a white-faced owl, a spotted owl and a barn owl as well as a hawk to help the classes understand how the different birds of prey hunt.  He also brought in one of the owls' favourite foods – a rat called Neil who the children also got to meet.

The children learnt so much about owls, such as where they live, what they eat and how they hunt for their food at night-time.  Did you know that owls are nocturnal animals and hunt in silence using their hearing?  Dave even flew the owls across the hall over everyone’s heads. They flew so quietly it really was very hard to hear them.

The children were enthralled, it was such an amazing experience, a fantastic way to finish their first half term of learning.

Well done Reception, you behaved beautifully and now know so much about these amazing nocturnal hunters that we think you must be ‘Know-it-Owls’!

At Crackley Hall, we know that Forest School can increase a child's confidence and self-esteem through exploration, problem solving, and being encouraged to learn how to assess and take appropriate risks depending on their environment. This motivation can have a positive impact on attitudes to learning in school. To this end, Year 2 spent Friday afternoon in the forest. They were given the option to make an autumn loom, create a hedgehog home to help with hibernation, make an autumn crown or create some leaf art on the ground. We read two beautiful books, We're Going On A Leaf Hunt and The Very Helpful Hedgehog, to inspire the children in their independent activities. As ever, the muddy kitchen was very popular, and the children treated the teachers to some wonderful baked goods. They all enjoyed hot chocolate. It was a fabulous way to end the children's first half term in Year 2; they had a magical time together in the forest.

Crackley Hall School’s FrankenSTEM team won three awards at last year’s F1 In Schools Regional Finals and the school was delighted to recently receive trophies to recognise the children’s success.

The awards were for Team Identity, Verbal Presentation and Best Portfolio and the pupils, now in Junior 6, were very happy to pose for photos with their awards.

Team ‘FrankenSTEM’, comprising of Lily Bryson, Alfred Cowell, Marley Hardwick and Elsie Roots had toiled long and hard, to prepare for the competition.

The annual challenge requires the teams to research, design, manufacture, test, promote and race the fastest car possible using standard chassis and engine housing nets with a car body made only from card. It is a technical brief but one proven to really engage potential future engineers.

Mrs Hardwick, who helped guide the Crackley Hall team, was very proud, “Congratulations to Team FrankenSTEM, despite the challenge of COVID these children represented Crackley Hall brilliantly, we are so very proud of them.”

Introducing Crackley Hall Reception 2021!

It has been a fantastic half term for our new Reception classes and they have definitely earned themselves a well-deserved break. They have been making friends, playing outside, sitting down for lunch together, hanging up their blazers on the right peg and of course – enjoying plenty of fabulous new lessons.

What an exciting adventure they have ahead of them over the next few years. They are a perfect addition to our wonderful school community.

As part of Black History Month, Junior 6 have been looking at how African art is often determined by the wildlife. The lion has been celebrated as a symbol of strength since the dawn of time and is a popular subject for wildlife art today.

Just look at these stunning oil pastels that the children were inspired to produce. We were so impressed with their work that we have put it on display in the school's main entrance hall.

Well done Junior 6!

Last Monday 11 October Crackley Hall School took part in the Princethorpe College’s Year 5 Maths Challenge.  The event was run by Douglas Buchanan of DCBEAGLE Challenges, who specialises in organising exciting and innovative maths activities for primary school aged children.

Crackley took two teams of two to compete alongside 18 pairs of enthusiastic and very talented mathematicians from nine local schools, the pupils took part in a series of puzzles against the clock.  In five eight-minute rounds the children tackled Tangram Triangles, Broken Calculators, Domino Jigsaws, Card Order and Curly’s Cycling Circuits, before finishing with a bonus round of five final mathematics questions.

Ably supported and marked by a team of Princethorpe’s Year 10 pupils, the competition stretched and challenged the children with mathematical activities that required both reasoning skills and mathematical knowledge.

The event was huge fun for all who took part and everyone who participated received a certificate and a special Princethorpe cookie.

Mrs Cowlishaw, who accompanied the children, said, “The children had a great time and really enjoyed putting their maths skills to the test.  Well done to them all, they made Crackley Hall proud.”

Competing for Crackley Hall were Theo, Lucas, Andrew and Georgie.

Thank you for your kind donations for the Coventry and Leamington Food Bank.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well done all!

Please find further information about the CISC Christmas Card competition below. Entries are to be in school by Tuesday 2 November. 

Competition Details

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.