The Chronicle

Dear Parents

Whilst writing the Chronicle, pupils, staff and parents will be at the Leamington Spa Centre.  I am delighted that we have been able to return to a whole school performance which can be performed on a stage at such a super venue.  Our performing arts staff and all children have worked incredibly hard on each scene, and I am sure you will be impressed with the quality of the performance.   I am certainly looking forward to watching both performances this evening.  I would like to thank Mrs Wildey, Mrs Paphitis, Mrs Olden, Mrs Holmes, Mrs Hardwick and Mr Kefalas for all their efforts in preparing the children and arranging the props.  Thank you to parents and grandparents who have helped with props and the office staff for their work in ensuring that all logistical arrangements are in place. I’d also like to thank the band members for taking time out of their day for the rehearsal and performance, the class teachers for being supportive and flexible during rehearsals and, most importantly….the children for their enthusiasm.

The school performance has been the grand finale to this week but we have had many other highlights that I would like to mention.  It has been a busy week for our Little Crackers; on Monday they took part in their very own sports day with some of our wonderful J5 pupils assisting with the various events.  I would like to thank Mrs Thomas for co-ordinating the morning so well and Mrs Stephenson for visiting and capturing the smiles on camera.  Yesterday, Miss Lisa hosted the Nursery Graduation, and it was a delight to welcome parents and grandparents to school as we celebrated the end of their nursery journey and start of the first stage of their full time education.  Miss Claire was able to join the celebration and was able to see the proceeding online; she was most grateful for the well wishes received and looks forward to seeing everyone again soon.

On Wednesday the annual Teddy Bear’s picnic took place at stay and play this year and it is hoped that next year we will be able to invite families back to school so that this event can take place on the front lawn.  Junior 1 travelled to Stratford on Wednesday when they visited the Mad Museum.  It was a beautiful day and the whole class thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on experience the museum has to offer.  My thanks to Mrs Hardwick and Mr Kefalas for arranging this visit and accompanying the children.

During assembly this morning I presented a super collection of certificates for achievements outside of school.  It was wonderful to see such a diverse range of awards and I would like to reiterate my congratulations to everyone.  In addition, I was able to present Junior da Vinci awards and our stars of the week to: All the Little Crackers Badgers, Lucas, Alexander, Cleo, Tristan, Jess, the whole of Junior 3H, Rory, Ben, Hollie, Grace, James and all of Junior 6. 

Next week will be the last full week of the school year and we have more diary dates to look forward to.  On Monday, the Key Stage 2 sports day will be held on the school field, on Tuesday afternoon Mrs Simmonds has arranged for the parishioners’ and grandparents’ Cream Tea to be held in the Hall.  On Wednesday, children will be meeting their new class teacher during ‘Moving Up Day’ and some of our Junior 6 children will be spending the day at Princethorpe College.  On Thursday, we will host Prize Giving with Reception to Junior 4 receiving their prizes from 2.00pm to 3.00pm and Junior 5 and 6 will be invited with their parents to attend later in the afternoon.  I am delighted that Mr Hester, Mrs Griffin and Father Kevin will be able to attend this event.  The School Office has sent details of how to book your seats for both events. Parking for these events will be on the school field.

I encourage you to read this edition of the Chronicle as you will find a full report and photographs from last week’s colour run, information on how to book holiday club and much more from each year group. 

I look forward to seeing many of you this evening at the Spa Centre and wish you a restful and happy weekend.

God bless,

Mr Duigan

Please click on the link for the 2023-2024 term dates.

Please can parents provide sun-cream for their children for Games lessons on hot days.

Please can children take their anti-histamine medication in the morning if they suffer from hay-fever.

Thank you

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

The best of luck and 'break a leg' goes to all our children who take to the stage this evening in our fantastic show, 'Faraway Places', at the Leamington Spa Centre!

Split into two acts, the whole school production sees children from Reception through to Junior 6 tread the boards in fabulous adaptations of Aladdin and The Lion King.

Here's a sneak peek from rehearsals earlier in the week. A huge thank you to our wonderful staff for all their hard work and to parents for their fabulous support in the run up to the performance.

Have a great evening all - we know you'll be amazing!

The Little Crackers Nursery team organised a very special ‘Graduation Ceremony’ to celebrate the pre-school group ‘moving on’ to big school. The ceremony took place on Thursday 23 June, and the children were each presented with a little scroll by Nursery Teacher, Lisa O’Carroll-Bailey.

The children had practised two special songs for the occasion and performed them perfectly much to the delight of their parents and grandparents.

Nursery Deputy Manager, Mrs Bird, video called in, to watch the ceremony, much to the delight of the children, and was touched to receive a beautiful ‘get well soon’ card from them all.

Mrs O’Carroll-Bailey, said, “The graduation was a wonderful event that reminded us of all of the good times we have had this year. It was a great way to mark this important moment for our little ones. We are all sorry to see this fantastic group of children move on, but we wave goodbye with a smile, and plenty of good wishes for exciting times in Reception.”

Our Little Crackers had a fabulous time at their Nursery Sports Day on Monday 20 June. The children headed outside excitedly with everyone ready to rocket down the course laid out on the front lawn. The determination and concentration on their little faces was amazing as they took on the challenges of the cones, the tennis rackets and even the dressing up race.

Miss Lois had worked hard in the children’s PE sessions to get everyone ready to race but there was so much enthusiasm that the moment she said go everyone upped and charged down the course! After a quick restart they were then off taking turns to run up and down. There were eight teams in each race, with plenty of staff and even our lovely Junior 5s on hand to encourage and support our Little Crackers as they flew up and down the tracks.

A great morning was had by all. A special thank you to our Nursery Team, Miss Lois and the Junior 5s for organising all the fun.

On Wednesday morning the children took part in short First Aid Assemblies focusing on developing key first aid skills.

Using resources developed by the British Red Cross, Reception and Key Stage 1 learned from Lookout Lion how to dial 999 and practised what to do when you make a call. They also found out what to do when someone has an asthma attack.

In their assembly, Key Stage 2 also learned how to call for help calmly and respond to someone having an asthma attack. They then looked at what to do when someone is bleeding.

In the interactive educational sessions, everyone had a chance to practice their life-saving skills. Crackley’s youngsters all enjoyed learning how to be First Aid Champions.

Many thanks to Claire Carne for running the assemblies and more information and resources are available from the British Red Cross here.

Over the last two weeks, pupils across the school have joined in with My Money Week, a national activity week that provides a fantastic opportunity for children to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence in money matters to thrive in our society. Using an exciting range of activities and materials, pupils have explored financial decision making and influences on the spending choices they are likely to encounter in the future. As well as considering financial decision-making and budgeting, older pupils were also supported to develop their understanding of debit cards and how to use them safely and responsibly. It has been a wonderful way to explore and develop crucial life skills.

An optional home-learning challenge is available to explore and use at home:

https://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Home-Learning-Activity-Spending-Pennies-3-11.pdf

Holiday club will run from Monday 11 July until Wednesday 31 August 2022 (excluding 29 August).

It will be open from 8.15am to 5.45pm each day, and will cost £35 per child. Hot lunch will be provided.

Holiday club will only operate on the days where there are sufficient numbers to open, therefore it is important for you to book early, as we may not be able to accommodate last minute bookings, due to staff ratios. If you have booked a day and the numbers attending are not high enough, you will be contacted to either cancel or rearrange the day booked.

Please book via the Holiday Club email address - holidayclub@crackleyhall.co.uk

Thank you.

Crackley Hall School’s Minnie Vinnies would like to thank grandparents and housebound parishioners who have booked a place for the Strawberry Tea afternoon on Tuesday 28 June between 1.30 and 3.00pm.

Guests to be seated by 1.15pm.

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

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

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

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes' class is the whole class

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

Well done all!

Please click on 'View Gallery' to scroll through a few photos from Celebration Assembly this morning.

This week in Junior 6, the children have been working extremely hard to prepare for their performance of Faraway Places. The children had a fun and productive day at the theatre on Monday, blocking all the scenes (that they have been working on at school) on the stage, finally being able to use blocks and levels. Tuesday saw our dress rehearsal where the Junior 6 children got to work with the younger children and watch each other’s show. We even managed to have a picnic in the shade as it was such a lovely day. They enjoyed being in costume and on stage with all the microphones, backdrops, lights, and props! Accompanied by a live band, the children performed brilliantly, and all came off the stage saying how exciting and enjoyable it was. Final tweaks have been made over the last few days and there is a buzz of excitement coming from all Junior 6 children.

In Geography this week, Junior 5W have been learning about four and six-figure grid references, and how to use these to find features on a map. They learnt that Ordnance Survey maps are split into a grid of squares, what eastings and northings are, and how to use four-figure, and in some cases, six-figure grid references to locate a given place on a map. We then moved onto compass directions and designed our own maps. We wrote a set of directions and swapped these with a partner to see if they could navigate around our map, resulting in all of us being able to read a map instead of relying on a Satnav!

Junior 4 have had an exciting week! In between rehearsals for the show on Friday. They have been taking part in ‘Money Week’ and have had an opportunity to interview author, Dom Conlon. Dom is a master of metaphor and personification and has written several books to describe nature and animals around us. On Thursday, Junior 4 were lucky enough to join him in a live Teams link. He read from his latest book, Grow, Tree, Grow which is out in July, and listened to the pupils’ reactions on the language techniques in his book, Blow, Wind, Blow. It was superb to see the children interact with the author, sharing their favourite lines and finding out where Dom received his inspiration. We have many budding authors in Junior 4 and a few volunteers read poetry and descriptions linked to the work on trees for the Queen’s Jubilee. Pupils also had the opportunity to show off their writing to Dom with their own tree poems, a description of a volcano and research on Dom’s choice of illustrators.

Junior 3 are loving finding out all about the properties of 2D shapes and this week took their learning outside into the sunshine to explore all the polygons that we could make using sticks. We made octagons, pentagons and even a few decagons.

Junior 3H were racing against the clock this week with flair and style as they tried to complete their design and technology topic of fabric pencil cases. They are learning running stitch, overstitch, cross stitch, and a variety of stitches which Ms Holmes has never seen before! Patience was at a premium as we threaded and rethreaded and rethreaded again. Happy days!

Junior 2 have finished one of the most spectacular weeks of the academic year. Our first performance at the Spa Centre was sensational. Each and every one of the children excelled themselves in terms of their performance, but also in their behaviour in and around the theatre. We are all so proud of you. The children have continued to work hard in between all of our rehearsals and excitement. For example, in our History lessons this week, the children have learned about the impact Florence Nightingale made on our hospitals and on our lives today. We hope the children have a very well-deserved break this weekend, ready for their last full week in Junior 2. 

What a fantastically busy week we have had. Not only were J1H super excited to go to the Spa centre on Tuesday to rehearse for the summer production, but they got to wear their costumes for a dress rehearsal too! This was swiftly followed by a day trip out on Wednesday to the MAD museum in Stratford, where there are so many different pieces of artwork that move and are interactive. We found that time really did fly by when we had fun trying out each activity. This was followed by a picnic in the band stand and a trip to the park where they had a lovely play in the sun. After a calming Thursday,  with Forest School and Art, Friday finally came around for everyone to show off their singing and dancing skills in the summer production, making it a truly awesome week!

As well as preparing for our Summer Concert this week, we have also been busy exploring space and learning about Neil Armstrong – the first person to walk on the moon.  In Maths we have been learning about shapes and exploring how we can use shapes to create new ones – such as using two triangles to make a square.

Mrs Horan led the school Mission Assembly on Monday and relayed to the pupils the miracles which Jesus had performed during His lifetime on earth.  Mrs Horan focussed on the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, the only miracle which is mentioned in all the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and linked this to last Sunday’s gospel and the Feast of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The children were then invited to think of ways in which we can all show we are following Jesus through our actions.

Junior 4R reflected on the different messages in the parables this week. During their RE lessons they worked in groups to use the Bible reference to find the parable, read and discuss the themes and then role play the parable so that the rest of the class could understand the messages. It was wonderful to see the children enjoying working in groups to collaborate on ideas and perform their short scenes.

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Activity Sheet

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

Weekly Mission

Please follow the link for more information. 

With KS2 Sports Day fast approaching, Lego Club decided to hold their very own sports tournament, with some rather excitable Lego minifigures just bursting to take part. Lightsabers poised for questionable manoeuvres, we lined up one by one along the starting block. Looking puzzled and bewildered, R2-D2, Captain America and Batman were having a little bit of a wobble over what they were supposed to do with the baton, so we reminded everyone of the rules of the relay race. After a shaky start, and delaying tactics sort of resolved, they were off!!  But not for long. With a pitch invasion of corgis, we had to halt the proceedings quite abruptly after an announcement that one of the corgis had stolen the baton and was last seen digging a hole in the Jubilee Garden! Watch out for the ants!!

Please click on the link for this week's newsletter.

Last Friday, 17 June,  our School PTA organised the first obstacle colour run and family picnic for the families of Crackley Hall School and Little Crackers. A wonderful time was had by all and we had nearly 300 runners participate in a very colourful race. Families were invited to bring a picnic to enjoy in the sunshine while they sat and cheered on the participants. The colours of the rainbow, sunny weather and wonderful family atmosphere created an occasion that was enjoyed by everyone from 2 to 70 years of age.

The PTA would like to thank everyone who attended or helped with the volunteer roles, the support was wonderful and without which the event would not be possible. It is hoped that this will become an annual event. Thank you to those who attended and we hope you look forward to our next colour run in May 2023.

As you can see from the pictures, it’s been lovely to see so many smiles and excitement running through the powder stations.

The Big PTA Summer Raffle 2022 is a great way to boost PTA funds and support the school.

To add to the feel good factor there is the chance for 12 lucky supporters to win up to £5,000 while supporting the Crackley Hall PTA with their amazing work along the way.

Parentkind have already helped PTAs raise over £300,000 and this summer the Big PTA Summer Raffle 2022 aims to increase that amount to over £400,000. Every ticket makes a difference and entering is easy. For just £3 (25p per draw) you will get a ticket in all 12 draws and the best news is your PTA will benefit from every ticket sold. Three draws will take place each day between 18 July and 21 July 2022 and the lucky winners will be announced daily.

Good Luck and we hope you enjoy taking part in the Big PTA Summer Raffle 2022!

Please click the link to enter. 

Grab your kids a bargain coat from the PTA uniform shop. Winter coats usually £17.50, all old style coats are now reduced to just £8. These coats look the same as the new ones currently being sold in the Princethorpe uniform shop, but are not reversible and the lining is black rather than maroon. Please get in touch via email to order as the second hand uniform sale will no longer take place on Fridays. Please continue to use the uniform@pta.crackleyhall.co.uk email to submit your orders before Tuesday 5 July.

Current Y5 girls will go back to school in skirts for Y6 and will no longer need pinafores or summer dresses.

Current Y6 children - we are very happy to accept any donations you may have before the end of the school year. Please pop freshly washed items into the box labelled ‘Second Hand Uniform’ in the school porch.

Please get in touch with any orders you may need for starting in September as we will have limited access to uniform shop until September 2022.

As always we thank you for your support and couldn’t run the second hand shop without your generous donations.

We would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to our PTA members in charge (Carly and Jo) of the second hand uniform shop who work so hard for us all!

Did you know we have a Noticeboard?

Our NEW recently published Newsletter can be found on the PTA Noticeboard at the entrance of the school as well as details of other events and information. Make sure to have a look for the latest PTA news!

Please follow the link for the PTA Newsletter. 

With the success of the 200 club this year, we are pleased to announce that it will continue for the next academic year. In the last 6 months £1,350.00 has been won by the families of Crackley Hall! 

Early bird enrolment for the next academic year is open from 24 June to 6 July. As an early bird you will be entered into a monthly draw from September 2022 to July 2023, for the reduced price of £50 (normally £55 or £5 each month). Each month you will have the chance to win £50, £75 or £100 pounds. 

Please click the link to participate in the early bird offer. Once this date closes it will open for a short window in September 2022 where enrolment will be £55 for the academic year. 

https://www.pta-events.co.uk/crackleyhall/index.cfm?fbclid=IwAR0jmqOsWXsS5VvbRAitev8Qe98BfpNzuJfiY-L_-ZFMMuo3cdc-rc50NT4#.YrS6Oy8w1bX

You must be 18 to participate and there is no limit to the number of entries you can have. All family and extended family members of Crackley Hall are eligible to enrol. 

As always we thank you for your continued support to the PTA. We love handing over winning cheques each month and giving back to our generous families. 

Good luck!

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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Grace (J5W) has lost her named black sports fleece

Esme (J5W) has lost her black Nike shorts

Alex (J6V) has lost his School Council Badge (shiny blue)

We regularly recruit for a variety of roles, please do share news of the vacancies with interested friends and family.

Further information and application forms on all roles are available on the Foundation's website - www.princethorpe.co.uk/join-us 

• Head of Nursery - Little Crackers
• Marketing, Admissions & Communications Assistant - Princethorpe Foundation
• Weekend Painter and Decorator - Princethorpe Foundation
• Eveneing Caretaker - Princethorpe Foundation