The Chronicle

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

A huge congratulations to Evelyn in J3 who has completed her first Crackley Compass chart before anyone else.  We are very proud of you!  You have shown that you are Curious, Responsible, Active, Collaborative, Kind, Learning and Enthusiastic.  You are certainly making a difference. 

On Thursday 11 November, Crackley Hall School gathered together outside on the playground for our Remembrance Service. At 11.00am Isabella Olden played the Last Post on her cornet and the children and staff observed the two-minute silence. Theo Cowlishaw then sounded the Reveille. Headmaster, Mr Duigan read an extract from the poem For The Fallen before the service ended with a prayer.

You can listen to Isabella playing the Last Post here and Theo playing the Reveille here.

Two Crackley Hall pupils, Junior 6, Issey and Junior 4, Elora have qualified for the Independent Schools Association’s National Swimming Championships after success at the ISA Midlands Regional Gala. The girls will now swim for the Midlands team at the national finals at the London Aquatics Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, on Sunday 28 November.

A team of 12 swimmers from Crackley Hall School made the journey to Walsall Gala Baths on Thursday 4 November to compete in the ISA Swimming Gala. Organised by Crackley Hall School, and welcoming children from 20 schools from across the region, the children from Junior 4, Junior 5 and Junior 6 swam 25m races in the pool in the breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and freestyle.

For some of the children, it was their very first experience of competitive galas, whilst for others, it was all about times and positions, but for all of Crackley Hall’s pupils it was about encouraging each other, right from the start through to the finish of every race.

Overall team Crackley finished in second place with the Girls team also finishing in second place and the boys team coming fourth overall, very creditable results for the school. Crackley Hall was delighted that between them Issy and Elora qualified for four events. Issey will swim in the Year 6 breaststroke individual, freestyle relay and medley relay while Elora will swim in the Year 4 freestyle relay.

Crackley Hall PE teacher, Mrs Kat Vaughan, was delighted and commented, “There was a fabulous atmosphere poolside with the whole team willing each other on. There were some excellent swims and tight finishes, all going to show that Crackley has some very determined children. It was fantastic to be back taking part in competitions. The children were exceptionally well-behaved, and I was very proud to say that they were from Crackley Hall. It really is marvellous that this year once again we have children qualifying for the prestigious National competition in London.”

A huge well done to all who took part. Crackley Hall is very proud of you. The individual results are as follows: 

Breaststroke:

J4 Girls - Elora, 4th
J4 Boys - Jenson, 3rd
J5 Girls - Esma, 4th
J5 Boys - Charlie, 9th
J6 Girls - Issey, 1st
J6 Boys - Jack, 7th

Backstroke:

J4 Girls - Elsie, 3rd
J4 Boys - Seb, 2nd
J5 Girls - Matilda, 13th
J5 Boys - Leo, 3rd
J6 Girls - Elsie, 13th
No J6 Boy racer

Butterfly:

J6 Girls - Issey, 4th

Freestyle:

J4 Girls - Elora, 4th
J4 Boys - Seb, 5th
J5 Girls - Esme, 5th
J5 Boys - Leo, 2nd
J6 Girls - Elle, 7th
J6 Boys - Jack, 6th

This week Junior 6 have been enjoying a week of curriculum enrichment activities.  Today the classes had their annual 'bake off' competition and what super creative skills were on show. Cakes were decorated in fabulous styles, ranging from volcanoes and football pitches, to a Minion, tractor and even the Titanic. The attention to detail and ingenuity were a sight to behold.

As is tradition, Mr Duigan came up to class to judge the entries and he was very impressed. Congratulations to the winners and to those who received an honourable mention and to all the children who took part so enthusiastically.

This year’s winners were 1st Alex and Henry, 2nd Mya and 3rd Alfred and Aaron. Honourable mentions went to Holly and Ellie, Dillon and Summer and Willow.

Alex and Henry's winning design was a Jammie Dodger biscuit cake - a very original idea put together carefully by the boys. 

Well done to everyone who took part!

This week Crackley Hall joined over a million other pupils across the country celebrating ‘Maths Week England’, a grassroots movement that aims to share the joy of mathematics with everyone. The vision is to provide young people in England with a positive image of mathematics, and to contribute in a small way to changing the national attitude towards this vital and beautiful subject.

All year groups at Crackley have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the mathematics that we see all around us and use every day: from STEM challenges and engineering, the mathematics of art and design, to puzzles and games like sudoku and chess, there really has been something for everyone!

Reception classes thoroughly enjoyed being shape detectives and going on a shape hunt around school! We spotted circles and triangles in lots of different places and discussed how many sides they have.

Junior 1 enjoyed listening to some mathematical stories and thinking hard about the ‘maths’ hidden within them.  After hearing the Spinderella story, they played a game called Incey Wincey Spider. This involved two people rolling a die and moving either up or down a drainpipe to see who would come out first! It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed playing a few games of it.

Junior 2 have been exploring the important mathematical matter of finance and thinking carefully about what we save our money for. They created their own amazing moneyboxes decorated with all the things they are saving for. Please see the separate article on the moneybox design competition if you would also like to join in.

Junior 3 enjoyed an online mathematical story time session from Roma Agrawal, with activities based on her book How Was That Built? which looks at the mathematics involved in engineering and architecture. They then completed their own ‘Strength of Columns’ investigation and had great fun drawing ‘The Shard’ out of lots of triangles – a very strong and stable shape.

Junior 4 explored patterns in the times tables and created some wonderful multiplication art.

Junior 5 explored horizontal symmetry and loved thinking and testing to check for any words which have symmetry, like BOB. They have also been talking about the importance of saving their money by recording what they would like to save for. The process of making their own money boxes helped them explore the properties of a cube and what a ‘net’ is. They had to think hard about which faces would be on the bottom and the side of their boxes. The discussions about this have been endless!

Junior 6 have explored maths through an engineering theme, understanding the strength of 3D shapes and how they are used in construction. Next week, they are taking part in a mathematical ‘Escape the Room’ challenge; we hope their problem-solving skills are up to the task or we might not see them for a while!

All in all, a wonderful week of mathematical activities, challenges, stories, and games was had by all.

During November, Crackley Hall School reflects on the theme of Remembrance. The month is the last in the Church’s calendar and commemorates all those who have departed from life. It begins with the Feast of All Saints, a tribute to the saints, and is followed by the Feast of All Souls, when we pray for those who have died, particularly our loved ones.

In their classrooms and lessons pupils are also considering Remembrance, the legacies of war and why we commemorate those who fought and served in the World Wars, and in recent conflicts, and the sacrifices they made.

The children have made many wonderful creative contributions to our poppy display, and they are now on display in the reception area. The poppy is our society’s symbol of collective remembrance and the symbol of all our hopes for a peaceful future.

This week the School Council have also been busy selling poppy products on behalf of the Royal British Legion. 

The children have impressed us all with their thoughful responses as we have together reflected on the bravery and the selfless sacrifice made by so many of our country's service men and women.

The children in Reception have been exploring Remembrance Day and the importance of remembering all those who have given their lives to enable us to live in peace today. Mr Luis from the Estates team visited the classes on Tuesday to talk about his time at the British military base Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. Mr Luis showed the children his impressive medals and his dog tag and shared photos from his time working in logistics at the base. He also introduced the children to Hero, a very special teddy bear, given to Mr Luis by his family, who had accompanied Mr Luis to Afghanistan. The children listened attentively and thoroughly enjoyed quizzing Mr Luis on his military service with the RAF, they also enjoyed learning how to stand to attention and to do a proper salute. The session helped the children to understand why we wear poppies and that Remembrance Day is important for us all today.

Crackley Hall School, Junior 5 pupil, Isabella performed with the English Symphony Youth Orchestra in a concert at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern on Sunday 31 October.

9-year-old Isabella, who is a talented trumpet player, performed alongside over 100 young people aged 6 to 18 years, at grades 0 to 8, playing two challenging pieces, Holst’s Mars and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture.

To prepare for the performance Isabella had attended a two-day workshop at Bromsgrove School where she worked in the Intermediate group, Grades 4-7, with musicians many much older than herself.

Isabelle explained, “It was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it. The course helped me to play better as the pieces were difficult and it was hard to sustain the high notes.” She continued, “I made friends and if you like playing the courses are really great to do.”

A huge well done to Isabella, what a great experience for her!

You can listen to a clip of the ESO Youth Performance here.

Calling all mathematicians and economists! Here is a chance to think hard about creative ways to save money and what you are saving for, whilst having fun.

Design, draw, colour, then make yourself a moneybox, using the attached template. Take a photo of your moneybox and bring it into school to your form teacher. The moneyboxes will be judged in school and a creative da Vinci awarded to the most inventive.

The top three will then be entered into the national competition, run by the ‘Lifesavers Financial Literacy’ programme. Please bring your entry and photo into school by Wednesday 24 November.

Design a money-box

Could the children all wear odd socks on Monday 15 November please as we will taking part in Odd Socks Day as part of Anti-Bullying Week.

Odd Socks Day celebrates that we are all unique, and the day sends an important message to all pupils that they should be allowed to be themselves,  free from bullying, and helps us celebrate Anti-Bullying Week in a fun and positive way. 

Last year over 13,000 schools took part in Odd Socks Day and once again Andy Day (Cbeebies/CBBC) and his band Andy and the Odd Socks are supporting the Anti-Bullying Alliance to help bring Odd Socks Day to life again this year. Have a listen to the brilliant song they have recorded especially for Anti-Bullying Week, One Kind Word.

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

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

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes class is Henry

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

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

Well done all!

During the half term break Patrick (J4R) visited his grandparents in the Hunsrück which is in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, the area is very rural and close to the Northern continental border of the Roman Empire. Patrick took this visit by chance and enjoyed exploring the Roman roads in the area which are described in a poem by a Roman poet Ausonius. A major military road crossed this country side which is still visible (or in use in places) and can still be hiked (or driven) along.

Patrick has learned through local historical sites just how many hundred of thousands of kilometres of Roman roads stretch from the north of England to the Middle East.

It was a fascinating History lesson for Patrick that we enjoyed hearing about.