The Chronicle

"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn...and change".  Confucious

Dear Parents 

With only two full weeks of the school term left, we have been busy with so many activities, including preparing for Christmas through our Advent journey.  On Monday, I gave an assembly to all children about the first Sunday of Advent and Julia, our RE Captain lit the first candle, of Hope, on the Advent wreath.  It is important to explain to the pupils that Christmas isn't just about the giving and receiving of gifts; we will be reminding everyone of the true meaning of Christmas during the last few weeks of term as we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas day.

The children have been busy practising their nativities and next week Junior 5 and 6 will be travelling to Princethorpe College to rehearse, and the following day, perform their Advent Service in the College Chapel.  I'm delighted that we're able to return to the Chapel as this provides a beautiful and historical surrounding for this special service   I look forward to seeing many of our Junior 5 and 6 families at this event.  Nativity celebrations will take place during the last week of term and we will be inviting parents to watch each performance.

This week Junior 6 have been able to enjoy some educational and fun activities off the usual timetable as a reward for their preparations for entrance examinations.  These have been organised by the Junior 6 team and have included a science lesson featuring dissections, bread making, a Costa treat while watching movies and today's finale was the ever-popular Bake Off.  As you will see from the photos later in this edition, the culinary masterpieces really are quite spectacular.  I do hope families enjoy eating these cakes later this weekend.

Junior 2 took part in a local visit this week when they researched and compared Kenilworth to a Cornish town.  Thank you to Mrs Burley for arranging this visit which really brought the geography lesson to life. 

On Tuesday this week the local nursing team visited school to give ‘flu vaccinations to many children.  My thanks to Mrs Edkins for helping coordinate this and ensuring that all children scheduled to receive the vaccination were in the right place, at the right time.  It would appear that there has been an increase in absences since the ‘flu vaccinations and we are continuing to monitor the rate and absence patterns in each year group as there has been two reported cases of Scarlett fever.  Whilst these do not appear to be connected at the moment, it is important to remain vigilant and be aware of the symptoms that Scarlett fever can present.  If your child appears unwell, particularly with a sore throat, headache or stomach pains; we would ask that they remain at home and you observe for at least the next 24 hours. The office team have been dispensing Calpol at an alarming rate.  If you wish your child to receive a regular dose of Calpol or other paracetamol, it would be appreciated if you could send your preferred medication, labelled with your child’s name, to the to the school office. This must be accompanied by completed medication authorisation form which can also be obtained from the school office. I sincerely hope that the level of absence and illness in school will start to decline very soon.

 Mr Cottrill hosted assembly today and presented some bronze awards to many of our younger pupils.  These are awarded to children have completed a full Crackley Compass star chart and will now go on to work towards their silver award.   Our Stars of the Week this week were Henry, Joshua, Ted, Haris, Jai, Bella, Elle, Evie, Josh, Isabelle, Holly, Alex and Charlie - well done to everyone.  I understand that Jessie in Junior 4 and Amy in Junior 5 performed beautifully this morning when they sang during assembly.

I was delighted to see so many parents attend last Friday's Christmas light switch on in Kenilworth old town.  I have received many complimentary comments about the performance both during the evening, from passers-by, and over the weekend. I'm especially proud when our pupils perform and when others, outside the school community, pass comment about how wonderful they are.  My thanks to Mrs Olden for preparing the children for the light switch on and for her work this week with the music exams. She is most certainly a most dedicated music teacher.

As I write this newsletter, the PTA and helpers are in school busy preparing the hall for tomorrow's Christmas Fair.   For each event such as this, there is much to do behind the scenes and I'm grateful to those who give up their time to make this happen.  I look forward to seeing children and their families on Saturday afternoon for a few hours of festive fun.

Next week all children will be able to enjoy a Christmas lunch on Wednesday. It will be the first time our new chef, Amanda Brew, has cooked a Christmas dinner for the school and I am sure it will be memorable.  Friday next week is Christmas jumper day where we will be asking all children to wear a Christmas jumper over their school uniform in return for a donation of £1 to £2 which will support Save the Children. I'm sure there will be many new designs this year and I know that Mr Cottrill has had his jumper planned for almost a year, so be sure to keep a look out for him.

There are still a few spaces left for holiday club if you would like your child to attend; please book very soon to guarantee a place.

I was able to enjoy a super weekend watching sport, particularly the rugby last Saturday. There is a packed sporting weekend again, between the World Cup and a few cricket matches. England got off to an exceptional start against Pakistan yesterday.

Please do come along to support the school and PTA at tomorrow’s Fair; it promises to be a lot of fun and is an opportunity to come together as a school community.

Have a restful weekend.

God bless,

God bless,

Rob Duigan

Due to the Advent Performance taking place over at Princethorpe on Wednesday 7 December, Football Clubs for girls and boys for Junior 5 and 6 are cancelled due to time limitations. 

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Super huge good luck to Junior 4 pupil Theo H who heads off to the London Aquatics Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this weekend to swim for the Midlands team at the ISA National Swimming Championships. Theo is swimming in the Year 4 Boys Backstroke.

Your Crackley classmates and community will all be cheering you on!

Junior 6 have been enjoying their post examination curriculum enrichment week, with a whole host of exciting activities to reward all their hard work. Today, they took part in the annual Junior 6 'bake off' competition and what fun they all had. 

Their cakes were decorated this morning, with the children pulling out all the stops to wow the judges and their creations made an impressive display all laid out on the tables. There were reindeers, snowmen, space odysseys, a bouquet of flowers and even a Titanic. The attention to detail and ingenuity was a sight to behold.

As is tradition, Mr Duigan came up to class to chose the winners and he was very impressed. Congratulations to the winners and to those who received highly commended (or highly calorific) awards and to all the children who took part so enthusiastically.

This year’s winners were 1st Matilda, Jessie and Nell, 2nd Penny and 3rd Kate, Lexi and Mairen. The winning design was a candy cane cornucopia – beautifully put together by the girls.

Well done to everyone who took part!

Thanks to Mrs Carne, Crackley Hall’s Junior 6 are currently on board the Orion spacecraft and flying around the moon.

Artemis I is the first uncrewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, and its flight paves the way towards a return to the moon. Back at the beginning of 2022, NASA offered the opportunity for individuals to add their name to the Artemis 1 mission, that launched on Wednesday 16 November. Mrs Carne added last year’s Junior 6 to the list and just before lift-off she received their official boarding pass.

All the registered names (well over 3 million) were included on a flash drive that has flown with the Orion spacecraft, and that means that Crackley Hall’s Junior 6 are currently flying around the moon.

How amazing to know that Junior 6 and Crackley Hall have, in a very small way, been a part of this amazing mission.

You can find out more on NASA’s website here:

https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/

The amassed ranks of Santa hats and flashing antlers (a.k.a Crackley Hall's Choir and Choral Group) came together last Friday evening to deliver a most marvellous medley of magical Christmas carols and seasonal favourites to help celebrate Kenilworth's Lights big switch on.

Happily, the weather stayed kind, and our singers and players galloped through their set list to the crowd's obvious pleasure. A polished performance and rousing finish was capped by the now traditional light switch on countdown.

Said a delighted Mrs Olden, “It was so good to see pupils and families together again, particularly after lockdown, and this is always a great way to start the Christmas preparations.”

A big thank you to Mrs Olden and her team for creating such a heart-warming start to advent. 

Retired BA Pilot, Captain John Astle visited the school on Monday evening to chat with Jenson S (J5W) who has a passion for being a pilot when he gets older.

Jenson had a list of super questions which he put to Captain Astle, about how he became a pilot, which planes he flew and the experiences he had during his time with British Airways.

Jenson brought along a collection of photos and model planes and enjoyed trying on the Captain’s hat which he hopes to wear officially some day in the not too distant future.

Many thanks to Captain Astle for taking the time to talk to Jenson.

Mrs Jackson-Mayne led the whole school in our Collective Worship Assembly on Thursday, together we thought about the real meaning of the crib. We learnt that Saint Francis of Assisi created the first Christmas crib after visiting the stable where Jesus was born in Bethlehem all those years ago. This deepened his devotion to Jesus and he recognised how Jesus was born into a world of poverty, humility, and simplicity, and wanted to reflect this within the crib scene. Saint Francis created the crib to remind everyone that Jesus came into the world for everyone. William S in Junior 5 conveyed the incredible emotion of the scene when he sang Once in Royal David’s City to the school. 

A sparkler was lit to remind us all that Advent is like a  ‘Wake Up Call’ to be the ‘Amazing Star’ that God created us to be. The message in Advent is to act now, don’t put off things, be the person you want to be – use our talents to help others and the world.

We were asked who would we have in our crib today? Answers from around the hall suggested farmers, a doctor, a president, King Charles, the homeless and extended family were amongst the many chosen. The Assembly ended with a da Vinci task of who could make a crib to bring into school. The crib could be made of playdough, Lego, food, wood, felt or even jelly babies! 

Why not take part in our Christmas House competition?

Pupils are asked to make a nativity crib. Points, prizes, Creative and Full da Vincis, will be awarded for the most inventive and imaginative cribs

Make a crib from any materials: lego, cork, lolly sticks, clay, playdough, playmobile, sweets, marzipan ...... the list is endless.

Build a stable and put in all the characters who you would find in a crib: Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, three Kings, a shepherd, a lamb, and a donkey.

All cribs must be brought into school during the final week Monday 12 December to Friday 16 December, they will be displayed in the hall during the final Mass.

Any questions, please email sjacksonmayne@crackleyhall.co.uk

Further details are on Seesaw.

Christmas Holiday Club will run from Monday 19 to Friday 23 December. It will also be open on Tuesday 3 January 2023. Bookings are now open for days that are jam packed full of activites and trips. The trips will incur additional charges. Places are filling fast, so if you require a place please book early!

Monday 19 December - Jam Jam Boomerang £7.50

Tuesday 20 December - Christmas Cookery 

Wednesday 21 December - Vue Cinema Leamington £5 (entrance fee, popcorn and a drink)

Thursday 22 December - Jump In, Warwick £10 (entrance fee and socks)

Friday 23 December - Christmas Arts and Crafts

Tuesday 3 January 2023 - Magical Land at Studio Megastar £8.50 (exclusive use of this venue)

Daily rates

9am-5pm which includes hot lunch £30 per child 

Breakfast Club 8am-9am which includes breakfast £5 per child 

Teatime Club 5pm-6pm which includes hot tea £5 per child 

Special Offer - book the whole week Monday to Friday and save £10! 

Due to adult/child ratios early booking is advised. 

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

We accept childcare vouchers or holiday club fees can be added to your termly bill. Thank you.

Kenilworth Tennis and Squash Club are holding a Christmas Camp for three days for children of all abilities from ages 4 to 15 years old. 

Please see the information attached: Tennis Camp

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

This week Junior 6 have enjoyed a week of enrichment activities to mark the end of the examination period. We began the week with some bread making and the children kneaded, pushed and pulled their dough to create bread rolls and even hedgehog rolls. There were many comments from hungry staff about the wonderful smell wafting through the hall!  The heart and eyeball dissection had the children fascinated as they were able to handle a sheep’s heart and watch Mrs Vaughan cut into an eyeball to see the different parts that make up the eye and its different sections.  The STEM challenge enabled pupils to pit their creative and engineering skills against each other as they were tasked with making the tallest tower possible out of 40 pieces of cards without using any adhesive.  There were some superb results. We have also made Christmas decorations, completed mindfulness activities, watched a movie and had treats and snacks and are looking forward to the annual ‘cake off’.  Wow!  What a week!

This week Junior 5W have been learning about the geography of the United Kingdom. First, we identified the four countries that make up the UK; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and their capital cities. Next we mapped man-made and natural landmarks that we have visited such as The Tower of London, Bournemouth, The Shard, Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Blackpool, the Titanic Museum, the Angel of the North, Snowdon, White Cliffs of Dover, Bath, Stratford-Upon-Avon and many, many more. We really enjoyed discussing British culture too, including fish and chips, pubs, chicken tikka masala, roast beef and a full English Breakfast – yum!

This week Junior 4 made measuring and recording fun when they went outside using a trundle wheel to estimate and measure the area of places around the school. Areas visited included the hall, the astro playground and the lower playground.  They recorded their measurements and then compared their answers with each other back in the classroom. They have had larger numbers to multiply and all have enjoyed being outdoors in their Maths lesson. On Thursday they decorated the class Christmas tree and met Eric, the mischievous Christmas Elf, who now greets us with his mayhem each morning! 

This week Junior 3 have been generating some fantastic descriptive language to describe a rainy day. It is fortunate that the weather has played along, providing us with some ‘dull and dreary’ inspiration. The classroom has been ‘awash’ with adjectives, adverbs, similes and onomatopoeias as we have discussed the fizzy crackle of lightening, the pitter-patter of drumming raindrops and the sky as grey as a wet blanket. All our vocabulary development will surely be put to good use next week when we embark on writing our own stories inspired by tour core text Lila and the Secret of Rain. We are very much hoping that the jokes that we produce can encourage the sun to begin to shine once again. Remember to think of some real tummy ticklers this weekend children.  

Our Maths lessons have also been alive with excitement as we really get to grips with the 3x table. We have explored equal groups this week, built arrays and even made bead stings to represent and help us count in groups of three. Keep practising using the ‘1-minute Maths’ app and we will soon have mastered the threes, Junior 3.

This week children have been busy practising for the nativity; what a showcase it will be! In Science, we have been finishing off our module on squash, twist, bend and stretch and no better way to showcase these skills than using model balloons. Children worked hard following instructions to create a balloon dog.

In English, children continue exploring Tell Me A Dragon by Jackie Morris and have been creating Dragon worlds and Wanted posters.

We began Advent by lighting the first Advent candle in our assembly on Monday. This led on to us learning about the Christingle and how the light of the candle represents Jesus at Christmas time. We then made a Christingle each, using an orange, a candle, sweets, dried fruit and a red ribbon. What a fascinating way to learn about Jesus’ love for us! This linked into our Geography lesson where we were finding out what sorts of fruit and vegetables can grow in our country and what needs to be imported in from warmer climates. We finished the week with the exciting arrival of the ‘elf’. Both Junior 1 classes now have an elf who is keeping a close eye on their behaviour and looking to see who deserves to get some special gifts this Christmas.

This week Reception have been learning about the winter season. They have been thinking about the weather in winter, and the type of clothes we wear in winter to keep warm. We also had a special delivery on Thursday, with a message from Santa. An elf will be staying in our school to keep an eye on the children and report back who has made it onto the good list in time for Christmas. The children have also enjoyed decorating their class Christmas tree this week and have made a start on making some Christmas crafts in preparation for the festive season ahead.

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

Mr Duigan led Monday's Assembly when the children were introduced to the Advent wreath to mark the beginning of the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Mr Duigan demonstrated each of the four candles on the Advent wreath, reminding us of God’s light, and how each Sunday a new candle is lit before Christmas Day. It is a way of ‘preparing’ ourselves for the birth of Jesus and it is a time of hopeful expectation. The children were shown the wreath being formed in the shape of a circle, showing us that God’s love is never-ending. The first candle was lit – purple - symbolising Hope, and it signifies how we can become more prayerful and better people as we reflect that hope helps each of us to be kind, loving and compassionate towards one another.

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

Weekly Mission

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

John the Baptist tries to help people get ready for the coming Christ.

We think about what we need to change in our lives to be ready for Jesus.

Activity Sheet

On Saturday 26 November, the U11 football team travelled to Repton Prep to take part in their annual football festival. From the first whistle to the last, the children played with admiral determination and excellent teamwork. It was great to watch them grow as a team, a huge strength of theirs, and  one that will give them an advantage when they travel to the ISA Nationals, in March.

A special thank you to Georgie S for playing on her birthday and to Junior 5 pupil, Isaac F, for helping the Junior 6 team.

Creative and versatile, Lego Club continues to inspire and this week was no exception.  With nativity crib-making on our minds, inspired by Mrs Jackson-Mayne’s assembly, we thought about how we would make our very own crib with a difference.  Well, what a treat we had in store! With very glamourous three kings bearing some rather stylish gifts, we had dogs and cats as the stable animals and after having a delightful chat with Mary and Joseph, aka Hermione and Harry Potter, we all sat down for a nice cup of tea with Mary Berry. The Famous Five characters then decided to make an appearance and brought Timmy the dog too to keep watch over baby Jesus, whilst Spiderman worked his magic and mended the leaky roof with lots of webs to keep everyone warm and dry. 

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.

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.

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!

Crackley Hall PTA - Kenilworth needs your help!

Sign up to easyfundraising and raise FREE donations every time you shop online with over 6,000 retailers. John Lewis, Argos, Uswitch, eBay and many more are waiting to give a free donation.

Plus, once you’ve signed up and raised £5 in donations, easyfundraising will give us an extra £5 bonus donation!

Sign up to support us here – Easy Fundraising

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

Savannah H (3H) has lost sports tracksuit bottoms

Fergus C (5W) has lost his Kooga Football boots

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