The Chronicle

Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.’

– Confucious

Dear Parents 

The week has really flown by!  I am writing my message to you just before departing for the Kenilworth Lights Switch-on in the High Street.  I am so pleased that we are able to participate again this year as it is wonderful that Crackley Hall pupils are able to help start the seasonal celebrations in Kenilworth.  I hope to see many families this evening and hear the children in fine voice.

We have continued to liaise with the UKHSA this week following their advice about winter sickness and have, thankfully, reported a significant reduction in cases.  This is a combined effort by school and parents heeding the advice and procedures issued.  We have however been informed that it is possible to be reinfected after a short period of immunity or for the bug to mutate and spread again so it is most important that we react without delay to any further instances of illness.

During the course of this week Junior 3 and 4 have been participating in LAMDA exams and I look forward to hearing about their results in due course.  I know that Mrs Wildey and Mrs Paphitis have prepared the children well for these exams and I am sure that they have all been busy rehearsing at home too.

I was delighted to see so many entries for the CISC Christmas card competition and, from these entries, we have chosen the winner of our school Christmas card design.  Congratulations to Rosie (Junior 6) for her beautiful artwork, which will form the front cover of our school Christmas card. Thank you to everyone who entered.

During assembly this morning I congratulated many pupils on their awards and efforts as I presented their certificates.   Our Stars of the Week this week were Victor, Alice, Eli, Sherry, Tommy, Fiorella, Aaryan, Thomas, Daiya, Gwen, Amy, Rory, Jay and Chloe.  I was also delighted to present certificates to pupils who were awarded Stars of the Week last week.  Well done to everyone who received a Star of the Week, a Da Vinci or maths certificate; you have all worked so hard.   

Penny (Junior 6) performed exceptionally well at assembly; she has a lovely singing voice, and we were all privileged to have enjoyed her performance.  The Choral Groups also performed exceptionally well and I was very proud to be able to hear how well both they and Penny sang this morning.

Unfortunately, our sports fixtures were affected yesterday afternoon by the weather.  Whilst we try to continue with fixtures, sports clubs and lessons, sometimes we have no option but to accept that the weather or ground conditions are not safe for the event to take place.  Decisions regarding any cancellation is taken after consultation with Grounds and Sports staff and we will then try to inform parents and other schools who may be travelling to Crackley Hall School, as soon as possible. 

Families of Junior 6 children will have, or will soon be receiving, communications from secondary schools confirming places for next year.  I am proud of every Junior 6 pupil as I know they would have all tried their very best when sitting the entrance examinations.  Whatever the outcome, whether a scholarship has been awarded by a school or the first choice place has not materialised, their education journey will continue and each individual will blossom at a different stage.  Junior 6 will be able to have some respite from their intensive examination preparations next week when they participate in activity week.  The ‘cake off’ is always an impressive event which I look forward to judging.

Next week, in addition to the Junior 6 activities, Junior 2 will visit Kenilworth as part of their geography topic and ‘flu vaccinations will take place in the school hall on Tuesday.  On Saturday 3 December, the School Christmas Fair will return and the PTA have worked tirelessly during the last few weeks to make sure that there is plenty to entertain families.  Please do try and come along to support this event as the children enjoy being in school for a fun event and seeing staff and families gathering outside the classroom setting.

The Men’s Football World Cup has produced many surprises in the first round of matches, and we can look forward to some more exciting matches this weekend.  South Africa will find it difficult against England at Twickenham although I am hoping that it will be an exciting game of rugby.

I wish you all the very best for a relaxing weekend with your families.

God bless,

Rob Duigan

We are having an increasing amount of lost property in school which is unnamed and, therefore, impossible to return to its rightful owner.

From next Friday, a table of lost property will be put in the Gables Foyer before Celebration Assembly. Lost property will be put out for two weeks, to cover KS1 and KS2 Assemblies, with any unclaimed uniform then being donated to the PTA for re-sale.

Unnamed, unclaimed water bottles, lunchboxes and snackboxes will be disposed of.

Please help us to return your child's property to them by labelling everything clearly.

This year's winning Crackley Hall Christmas Card design is by Rosie Russell from J6H. Her simple design captures the spirit of the season featuring a star shining down on the nativity. The design will feature on the front of every card sent out by the Headmaster this advent.

Mr Duigan commented, "Rosie’s design was a clear winner, with strength in its simplicity, but the standard overall was high. I was delighted to see so many entries, well done to everybody who took part."

There was an exceptionally strong field of entries this year, so our congratulations also go to the runners up whose designs will feature as cameos on the reverse of the card. Well done Mairen (J6V), Beatrice (J5W), Anthony (J4R), Archie (J3H) and Jessica (J3V).

Thank you to all those pupils who made a decoration for our entry into the St Nicholas' Christmas Tree Festival. The tree is now on display at St Nicholas Church. There is an opportunity to visit the church on Friday after the light switch on and on Saturday to see the many trees on display. The church looks lovely so do go and have a look. Please go and vote for your favourite tree and join in this wonderful community event.

Vaughan Woollacott has just been selected for Warwickshire’s U10 Boys Development Cricket Squad. Vaughan, who is in Junior 5 at Crackley Hall School, is just ten years old but has already played cricket for five years. He currently plays for Corley Cricket Club, in their U10 team.

Vaughan attended a selection camp at Edgbaston Cricket Ground with 150 other hopefuls where he showed off his hardball batting, bowling and fielding skills. He will now train weekly through the winter honing his cricket skills, with a view to being selected to play matches against other counties.

Vaughan is a key member of the school’s U10 cricket team who particularly enjoys the challenge of wicket keeping and catching, and he clearly impressed the selection coaches with his all-round excellent play.

Headmaster, and cricket enthusiast, Rob Duigan, comments, “We are very proud of Vaughan, he is a talented and exciting cricketer, and this is a great opportunity for him. We look forward to following his progress over the winter in the Development Squad.”

Vaughan is thrilled, commenting, “I love playing cricket.” And so he should be, as being selected for the Development Squad is a real achievement and a pathway onto the Regional and National Academy programmes.

The Primary Mathematics Challenge is a fun and exciting mathematical challenge aimed at pupils in Years 5 and 6.

The PMC is not designed to be just another test in the school year. The PMC encourages enthusiasm, boosts confidence in mathematics and shows the different way questions can be asked. Problem solving is hugely important as a means of helping pupils develop their reasoning skills.

The PMC is designed to make pupils think outside the box. The questions asked are not necessarily subjects that have been covered in the curriculum by this time but the questions can create a great starting point and lead to discussions later in the year. The questions are not heavily reliant on formal mathematical knowledge, but can be solved by logical reasoning.

At Crackley this year we had 20 Junior 6 pupils and 17 Junior 5 pupils take part in the Primary Maths Challenge and we were delighted with the results.

Gold – Theo, Lucas, Georgie, Matilda, Georgina, Ding and Arthur

Silver – Julia, Leo, Amalia, Kit, Jay, Andew, Isabella, Nell, Molly, Beatrice  and Sara

Bronze – Emily, Leani, Penny, Mairen, Darcey, Fergus, Elizabeth, Finley, Elora and Harry

The Gold and Silver winners have had their scores submitted to go through to the next round, but this will depend on what the threshold score is this year. Hopefully we will have some pupils who qualify.

A huge well done to all pupils who took part!

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

As we approach Advent, we help the children to understand that it is a time for preparing for Christmas, both practically and spiritually. During our RE lessons, drama and assemblies we think about the true message of Christmas.

This year we have decided as a school, to take part in a Reverse Advent Calendar. This is when the pupils and staff each pick a number from 1 – 25 out of a hat. On that day they then bring in either an item of food, a toiletry product or a small toy.

The donations will be collected by the class teachers who will put them in a box in the classroom.  They will be displayed at the Advent Mass and the final assembly of the year.

All the donations will be collected on Friday 16 December and taken to Kenilworth, Leamington and Warwick Food Banks to help communities in need. Please check out www.warwickdistrict.foodbank.org.uk to find out more.

Donations particularly in need are:

• Long Life UHT Milk
• Washing up liquid
• Male & female deodorants
• Shower gel
• Packets of instant mash
• Tinned vegetables
• Jam
• Toothpaste

Please do not send in these items if at all possible:

• Dried pasta
• Baked beans
• Soup
• Tea

If you have any questions, or indeed any suggestions in ways we could help our local community, please contact me at sjacksonmayne@crackleyhall.co.uk.

Thank you for your support.

Scroll through the gallery to see photos from our Celebration Assembly.

Junior 6 were treated to a visitor this week. We had a World War I soldier spend the morning with us on Thursday, explaining what life was like in the trenches and how the soldiers coped emotionally with the rigours of war. The children had the opportunity to try on uniforms, gas masks and try out some of the weapons. They studied photographs and created word walls conveying the range of emotions experienced by a soldier in the trenches. They learnt about rats, chats (the smoking out of lice) and trench foot. The children completed the morning by sending a video message home from the trenches… it was a fantastic interactive experience for all involved!

This week Junior 5L have been getting into the Christmas spirit. As Christmas is a time for helping each other, the children have been working together to decorate the Christmas tree in their classroom. The children in Junior 5 have all taken part in a Secret Santa in their classes. Each child picked a name out of a box and will buy a little something for that person. As Christmas is also about giving, Junior 5 are doing a reverse advent alongside the other classes of Crackley Hall. Each child has been given a day to bring something in to help those in need within the communities of Kenilworth, Leamington and Warwick.

This week in Junior 4, the children visited India in their Geography lesson! Well, kind of; they excitedly donned Virtual Reality headsets and went on an adventure to see some of the wonderful sites of this incredible country. One moment they were exploring the banks of the River Ganges and then, all of a sudden, they were wandering the marble paths of the Taj Mahal – all without needing their passport! To accompany their adventure, they then practised writing a diary, sharing everything that they had seen. As well as visiting India, the Junior 4 girls visited Warwick Prep School for an U9 hockey match where the A team drew 2-2.  The player of the match was Harriet and the B team's score was 2-1 to Warwick and player of the match was Hanna. All the children continue to work amazingly hard and they should all be very proud of their progress. They are all superstars!

Junior 3H are beginning to think about the next few weeks with increased excitement. Today, we chose our Secret Santa recipient and the children were never so quiet as each one carefully closed their eyes and dipped into the basket of names.

Advent is soon to be upon us, and we will be also thinking about the true meaning of Christmas and how 2022 years ago, Jesus was born in a lowly stable – Advent means preparation and we will be exploring about how we can help others prepare, by creating a wonderful ‘reverse’ advent gift hamper for someone in need. Thank you in advance for supporting us in this very worthwhile activity.

Science lessons have been fun this week as we began our investigation into…..nappies! How effective they are, how they are made and whether or not they are helpful when thinking about the environment. We shall be spending the next couple of weeks finding out what’s inside and completing some fair tests to prove our fact finding. Can’t wait to see the results!

This week in Junior 2 the children had lots of fun creating puppets in class. The children produced great pieces showcasing several skills, including sewing, cutting, and sticking. We had characters ranging from gingerbread to Hermione Granger. We were particularly impressed that one pupil turned his friend into a superhero!

The children in Junior 1 were delighted to receive three letters from Jack’s mother this week. His poor mother was so worried that he had disappeared, and she was confused about the beanstalk which had grown outside her window. The children all eagerly sat down to write their replies, reassuring her that Jack was indeed safe and well, and he would be returning with some golden coins. Imagine their delight when Jack’s mother then replied to say thank you, whilst leaving her own gift of chocolate coins for everyone! Our Maths lessons have been equally enjoyable with the children using 2D and 3D shapes to create their own repeating patterns. It really has been such a fun filled week; we have really loved every minute of our time in school!

This week in Reception we learnt all about Thanksgiving. We explored maps to find out about where it is celebrated and compared Thanksgiving to other celebrations here in the United Kingdom. We thought about what we were most thankful for. The children had wonderful heart-felt ideas. They were thankful for their families, friends and their bodies that help them to live a healthy life.

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

Please click on the link below for this week's Weekly Mission:

Weekly Mission

Reception were busy preparing for Advent this week when they made their very own Advent wreaths ready for the first Sunday of Advent, beginning on 27 November. They learnt all about the candles and the meaning of the three purple and one pink candle representing the light that Jesus brought to the world, before surrounding the wreath with greenery symbolising that Jesus is always alive.

Mrs McAloon led the school assembly on Monday as we heard the Parable Of The Lamp And The Bushel taken from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, linked to our Weekly Mission, where we were reminded that Jesus is the light of the world and He will continue to guide us and help us to shine. The pupils were asked how Jesus can help us in our everyday life and a flood of answers unfolded around the hall - from praying to Jesus to ask for His help, to making sure we are kind and forgiving to all those around us. We saw how a hand was put over a candle which was shining brightly in a darkened room, but the light was still trying to seep through the hand - like Jesus shining through the darkness helping everyone to see His light. Mrs McAloon concluded the assembly with a thought and a question - how can we shine brightly this week?

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

First Sunday of Advent (27 November)

Advent is a special time when we get ready for the coming of Jesus. We reflect on what how we can prepare to welcome Jesus.

Activity Sheet

Did you know that the greatest Star Wars Lego inventions aren't in a galaxy far, far away - they are much, much closer and right here in Lego Club! Lego Star Wars is certainly one of Lego's most beloved concepts, inspiring Jedi of all ages for over two decades and Star Wars continues to be the most popular Lego theme of all time. With the Star Wars Lego Advent calendar sold out absolutely everywhere, the force began this week when we made up our very own epic adventures with clone troopers and battle droids roaring through the atmosphere. We recreated iconic starships with hidden wheels and hover effects and tanks with elevating spring-loaded shooters and a very hungry clone commander who insisted on eating strawberry ice-cream every time he saw a green lightsaber! As each invention lined up, we masterminded a command station with fold-up ramps and an escape chamber for Luke Skywalker's new pet hedgehog who was emerging from a brief encounter with a horse-riding school Part 2!  Now there's a force to be reckoned with - thank goodness for the Lego Club raffle!

With your donations the PTA were able to purchase new goalie hockey kit for Crackley Hall and the Sports department.

Thank you for all your donations.

Just a few spaces left to sign up!

Get into the festive spirit with Artlab's Bauble Decorating Workshop! This will take place during the Christmas Fair. 

Learn how to use acrylic paints to make your very own Christmas designed paper mache baubles. 

Enjoy a relaxing 45-60 minute session while Libby from Artlab guides you through this step by step workshop creating four hand painted baubles presented in a lovely gift box. Parents and children will need to a sign up directly with the link below.

No experience necessary! Please click here to sign up.

Did you know you can find us on Facebook?  Search Crackley Hall PTA to keep up with our events and what we are doing to help enhance your child's experience at Crackley Hall.

Saturday 3 December 2022 - 1.00pm to 4.00pm - Volunteers Needed! 

We look forward to seeing the whole family at the annual PTA spectacular Christmas Fair this December!

We are very excited to finally welcome back everyone for some festive fun and we hope to see as many families as possible at the annual PTA Christmas Fair on Saturday 3 December.

We are still looking for help to run the stalls and we would be very pleased to hear from volunteers if you could spare some time. 

Santa will be on hand to make sure he is checking his naughty and nice list and the Crackley Hall staff team will also be helping on the day but any help you can give will be much appreciated. There are many slots on the day of the fair that need to be filled to even put this event on. As a thank you, every volunteer will receive a free drink from the bar or hot drinks station. If you are able to help, please use this sign up link to select a volunteer slot.

Tombola

We would like to request children from the following year groups to bring in either chocolates or a bottle for the tombola during week commencing 28 November.

• Children in Reception, Junior 1 and Junior 2 – please bring in chocolate
• Children in Junior 3 to Junior 6 – please bring in a bottle 

Cakes

We are also looking for donations to fill our ever popular cake stall. We would be delighted to accept any bought or homemade full sized cakes, loaves, cookies, tarts, etc.  If homemade, please include a list of all ingredients on your items, remember we are a nut free school. 

Volunteers

As always we could not run this fair without you and we are in need of more to help this year to run the games for the children.  If you can spare some time on Saturday 3 December, please click the link for the current open spots to volunteer. We thank you for your time and support

Volunteer Link 

We look forward to seeing you there.  

Kind regards 

Crackley Hall PTA

Note: No hot food will be sold this year but there will be plenty of festive food and drinks. 

The engraved Crackley Hall reusable coffee mugs are back! These are perfect for bringing to assembly or when you are out and about and are £10 each. 

Please use this link:

https://www.pta-events.co.uk/crackleyhall/index.cfm

Please see the attached dates for your diary. We also have a Facebook page - Crackley Hall PTA, please join us to keep an eye upcoming events. 

The Big PTA Christmas Raffle is Back! Can you help us reach our goal of 500 tickets?

We are excited to join The Big PTA Cash Draw. After the last couple of years, we are determined to get our fundraising back on track and this is an opportunity to have some fun and raise money for our school.

For every ticket purchased, you will have 12 chances to win up to £5,000!* At the same time, we will raise 50% from every ticket sold supporting our PTA. It's a fantastic way to bring parents, carers, teachers and the wider community together, in partnership with our PTA, and at the same time give something back. We hope to raise funds that can support and enrich the education of our children – we aim to provide extra resources for the children, improve the school environment, as well as run extra-curricular activities such as music, art and sport.

Your support is greatly appreciated and we wish you good luck! Please copy and paste this link into your browser to enter:  

Big PTA Cash Draw

We now have many sports and uniform items back in stock. If you have any orders you would like to place, please email uniform@pta.crackleyhall.co.uk - we are volunteer run and aim to get back to you within seven days.

We are also always looking for donations of items your child has outgrown. Please drop these in the box labelled ‘PTA uniform’, located in the front porch of the school. 

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 of the second hand uniform shop who work so hard for us all!

The next uniform sale is at the Christmas Fair, this is along with the Xmas jumpers. We are still in need of xmas jumpers for donations if any child has outgrown theirs, as always thank you for your generosity, we will be selling Christmas Jumpers just in time for the school wide Christmas Jumper day on Friday 9 December!

Thursday 1 December - 9.00am

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 1 December. Our monthly coffee meet ups are a great way to meet other new parents too.

Do please note the recent change of venue.

Crackley Hall PTA - Kenilworth needs your help!

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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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Henry F (4R) has lost a sports fleece

Theo C (2B) has lost two winter coats and tracksuit top

Arabella O (2B) has lost two sports fleeces and a tracksuit top

Bella Z (3H) has lost a pink metal water bottle

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

• Examinations Officer - Princethorpe College
• Hockey Coach - Princethorpe College
• Netball Coach - Princethorpe College
• Football Coach - Princethorpe College
• Cricket Coach - Princethorpe College
• Library Assistant - Princethorpe College
• Nursery Practitioner - Little Crackers
• Exam Invigilators - Princethorpe College

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