The Chronicle

‘Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.’ – Rita Pierson

Dear Parents

Today saw our Junior 4 pupils and staff return from a most enjoyable residential outing to Kingswood outdoor activity centre. The pupils have benefitted from almost three days of activities that hopefully challenged them, as well as affording them much fun and opportunity for teamwork. Thank you to the J4 staff, Mrs Roberts, Mrs Hill, Mr Stedeford and Mrs Jackson-Mayne for giving of their time.

We also hosted the Scholastic Book Fair this week which was very well planned and managed by Mrs Steeples. There was also a  major sporting event this week, with the U11A football team competing, through regional qualification, at the national tournament today. Thank you to Mr Stedeford for his work with the team. The U11 tag rugby team took part in the ISA Midland  competition at Princethorpe today as well. Thank you to Mr Vaughan for taking them.

Congratulations to our stars of the week: Isla, Mairen, Charlotte, Imogen, Avni, Amaya, Elliott, Theo, Angelica, Elle, Blythe, Ria, Aiden and Arisha. Well done to those who received their Crackley Compass stars and also the many pupils who earned a Da Vinci award. Savannah, Alexander and Beatrice played their cellos exceptionally well and Angelica sung superbly – they were magnificent performances! Well done to all for pupils.

We have just the one week to go before we break up for the Easter holidays and still have so much work and many other activities to fit into the week ahead. It is our school Feast Day on Sunday 19 March and we will be celebrating this with Mass on Tuesday. Parents are most welcome to attend. We also have a parents’ consultation evening on Tuesday where parents and teachers can discuss the progress of the children over the year to date.

The pupils and staff will watch the J3 and J4 Easter Production on Tuesday and, I am certain, will be wowed by the enthusiasm and ability of the pupils in the show. I really enjoyed the outstanding production earlier this week. Thank you to all the J3 and 4 pupils; and thanks are also extended to Mrs Olden, Mrs Wildey and Mrs Paphitis.  I also appreciate the work of the rest of the classroom staff, the office staff, the estates team and the catering staff.

The Six Nations concludes tomorrow, with some exciting matches. I hope that you are able to find time to watch some of the rugby. I hope that you have a restful and happy weekend.

God bless,

Rob Duigan 

We can confirm that Holiday Clubwill be open over the Easter break.

Mrs Orsborn has confirmed the programme and activities - take a look below! 

Holiday Club is open on the below dates;

Week 1: Monday 27 to Friday 31 March

Week 2: Monday 3 to Thursday 6 April

Week 3: Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 April.

If you would like to book and confirm your place please email holidayclub@crackleyhall.co.uk

Programme of Activites

As it’s British Science Week this week, it’d be great if any budding Crackley artists/designers could enter the poster competition. The theme is 'Connections'.

Entries must be clearly named as per details and given to Mrs Roberts by Friday 24 March (the last day of term).

Poster Competition

Easter Tennis Camp is running over the Easter break. 

The Camp is for juniors of all abilities from ages 4-15. Please click the booking form link below for further details. 

Booking Form

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Crackley’s Junior 3 and Junior 4 pupils took to the stage yesterday evening to perform a simple but dramatic mini-musical that portrayed the intrigue and mixed emotions of the Easter story.

It was lovely to see the children bringing the story to life, with Junior 4 performing on stage and Junior 3 the supporting chorus. From Palm Sunday, through the Last Supper and the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the trial and crucifixion and finally the resurrection, pupils carried the narrative with emotion and passion.

Together they delivered a moving production, full of expectation, disappointment and ultimately joy, messages well worth reflecting on as we approach the Easter break.

Concluding the service, Mr Duigan congratulated all the pupils on their brilliant performances and thanked the staff for all their hard work putting the show together.

Crackley Hall School has thoroughly enjoyed celebrating British Science Week and exploring this year’s theme ‘Connections’. In their Science lessons pupils have taken part in experiments and investigations designed to engage and inspire the next generation of young scientists.

In Reception and Junior 1 the children have carried out a cress experiments to see how light and water are connected to how well plants grow. They learnt that the cress seeds planted with water and in the light grow with lots of healthy green leaves. The children then thought about what they themselves need to grow up healthy and strong and made connections with what was the same and what was different to plants.

Junior 2 went out into Windmill Woods and learned about habitats and how animals have specific needs, such as the need for shelter, or a place to keep them safe from predators. The children thought about the connections between animals and their habitats and then had fun finding different creatures and creating habitats for animals we might find in the Forest School area.

The children in Junior 3 considered the theme of ‘Connections’ by tracing food chains and ecosystems. The pupils worked on ‘producers and consumers’, and the pupils produced some stunning eco-systems.

Junior 5 and Junior 6 enjoyed being detectives and taking forensic fingerprints. Using charcoal and sticky tape they identified whether they had a loop, arch or whirl and then compared different fingerprints. They learned that their fingerprints are unique and connected to them and how that connection helps detectives to identify individuals.

Science Lead, Julia Roberts, said, “British Science Week is always lots of fun here at Crackley Hall and this year’s topic of 'Connections' has really inspired us all. Pupils have enjoyed a wide range of fascinating and fun experiments running alongside their normal day-to-day lessons.”

Crackley Hall welcomed Onatti Productions into school on Wednesday 15 March for a fantastic afternoon of interactive French theatre. Onatti performed the play, ‘Parlez-vous Français?’ to pupils in Junior 5 and Junior 6 who all really enjoyed and engaged with the challenge of following the story as they were immersed into the performance in French.

The story itself centred around a boy called Archie who, whilst on a school skiing trip to France, finds himself in a French hospital. When his teacher is called away, Archie is left alone in the hospital where nobody speaks English. It was very amusing to follow Archie’s encounters as he tried to get by with his basic French, with hilarious consequences.

The French in the play included many words and phrases which the children recognised and introduced new vocabulary in a fun way. There was plenty of laughter alongside the learning as the actors engaged with the audience. Some pupils even had the chance to join in the performance on stage.

It was a fantastic learning experience for them all.

Mr du Toit, the new Headmaster at Princethorpe College visited Crackley Hall School on Thursday this week. He is an RS teacher so he kindly led an assembly for Junior 5 that reflected on Lent. He shared with pupils how Lent is all about preparation and perseverance and how it isn’t always easy and that everyone has difficulties. He reflected on how we all have to help each other to persevere, and not just at Easter.

Pupils then had the chance to ask Mr du Toit some questions and he shared with Junior 5 how he had felt starting at Princethorpe. Mr du Toit’s assembly was engaging and informative and we hope all our pupils enjoyed meeting Princethorpe’s new head.

Our last session of Little Crackers Stay ‘n’ Play this term took place on Wednesday. This week, the mums and tots enjoyed a fun morning of Easter crafts and it was 'eggcellent' fun. The children decorated animal templates and Easter baskets with an array of materials, to make some wonderfully colourful keepsakes to take home.

Stay 'n' Play returns next term on Wednesday 19 April, with plenty of exciting activities lined up to keep everyone entertained. Check out our website www.littlecrackers.co.uk/stay-n-play, for the latest news and updates.

Scholastic Book Fair has been in school this week and it has been very successful. Every purchase raises funds for our school to enable us to buy more books for the children so thank you to everyone for your support.

Save the Children are holding a Charity Spring Fayre on Saturday 18 March from 10am to 2pm. There will be coffee and cake, raffles, crafts, stalls, cards and jewellery too!

Earlier this week the school council prepared some beautiful pots of flowers to be sold at the Fayre.

The event will be held at:

St. Francis of Assisi Parish Centre, 110 Warwick Road, Kenilworth, CV8 1HL.

Admission is free and their is ample parking. 

All are welcome and please contact 07913 351512 if you need further details.

Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership are offering FREE Level 1 Scootability training throughout Warwickshire during the Easter holidays, Monday 3 to Friday 7 April 2023. 

Training is suitable for children aged 5–10 years and is being held at the following locations: 

Monday 3 April: Kingsbury Water Park 

Tuesday 4 April: Pingles Leisure Centre, Nuneaton 

Wednesday 5 April: Ryton Pools, Bubbenhall 

Thursday 6 April: Stratford Recreational Ground, Stratford upon Avon 

Friday 7 April: The Kenilworth Centre, Kenilworth 

During the 90-minute course, children will learn essential skills and knowledge to help them scoot safely, including: 

- learning about the parts of the scooter and the safety gear  

- learning the basics of pushing, balancing and turning  

- learning how to do slow and fast stops  

- learning how to navigate stationary and moving obstacles  

- learning how to do one handed signalling  

- learning about road safety rules 

All equipment, including scooters, helmets and pads, is provided and the sessions are suitable for children aged 5 to 10 years.  

Booking is required and spaces are limited. 

To find out more and book training for your child please visit: Scooter Training

It is Shakespeare week next week! From Monday 20 to Friday 24 of March we will be holding lots of Shakespeare related activities, with the children having access to some of Shakespeare's most famous plays. Please do talk to your children to find out what they learn about The Bard!

Leicester Tigers are coming to Princethorpe College between Tuesday 11 April and Friday 14 April. This is a great opportunity for all pupils, boys and girls, to get some great coaching from the current Premiership Champions. Please see the attached poster for more information.

Book here

This week, in addition to celebrating British Science Week, where Junior 6 enjoyed being detectives and taking fingerprints, we have also been studying light. Pupils immersed themselves in reflection, learning about how light reflects from different surfaces to create mirror images and diffuse scattering. They have experimented with creating their own light boxes to send a narrow beam of light to a mirror so that they can investigate the laws of reflection, proving to themselves that the laws are true: the angle of incidence does equal the angle of reflection!

Then, they created optical illusions, making pencils bend through light’s refractive properties in water.

Next week, we will be creating colour optical illusions, tricking our eyes into seeing colours that aren’t there!

The theme this year for British Science Week is 'Connections'! Pupils have been introduced to the theme in a fun, imaginative way to get them excited about the week. They have been investigating fingerprints. Their activity was designed to get them thinking about fingerprints, comparing different fingerprints, and seeing if they could identify any patterns. On Wednesday, children also got the opportunity to watch a French production in the hall.

Blythe in Junior 5W put a question to ‘Question Time’ which took place at the Science Gallery London at 7pm on Thursday 9 March, and live-streamed from the British Science Association’s YouTube channel. Experts worked with the public, communities and/or young people asking the question: what can be done by those in science to better serve and involve the next generation?

Junior 4 took to the stage this week for their Easter rendition of The Easter Story. With a crowd of parents, grandparents, friends and families gathering in The Gables, the pupils retold the close and faithful well-known Bible story beginning with Jesus' arrival into Jerusalem. The pupils then continued through to Jesus' arrest, death, burial and eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday, with songs to match the mood of the story and relaying the Easter message that Jesus truly is the Son of God. It was a very reflective performance before venturing the next day to enjoy Junior 4's residential at Kingswood!

Junior 3 have been madly rehearsing for the Easter Production which we hope you all enjoyed on Tuesday evening.

The children were excited to find themselves putting on a pre-show for Ms Holmes and the team as they rehearsed their way through Tuesday morning, capably telling the story of Holy Week and the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day. Some lovely new voices emerging and some excellent performance techniques by Junior 4 acting as great role models for some of our keen thespians. Well done all. Ms Holmes watched from the side lines on the night and was proud of everyone!

In other areas, fractions continue at a pace, and we are skirting our way around the coastlines and geology of this island of ours. One more week left and a serious ‘rest’ on the horizon.

The theme this year for British Science Week is ‘Connections’! Pupils have been introduced to the theme in a fun, imaginative way to get them excited about the Week. Year 2 went into Windmill Woods and learned about habitats and how animals have specific needs, such as the need for shelter, the correct temperature, or a place to keep them safe from predators. Different animals are suited to different habitats. Where they live may depend on what they need to eat and what type of animal they are. All the children had fun creating habitats for animals we may find in the Forest School area.

Junior 1 have really enjoyed their week in school. We have completed our science experiment with interest and loved checking our pots of cress regularly to see their progress. In English, we have finished our story of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and we are now ready to write ‘The Easter Story’ for the last week of term. This week’s Maths lessons have been lots of fun with practical investigations of weight and mass. The children were interested to find out that a small thing could be heavier than a bigger thing! We have finally finished learning about the last of our UK countries with our lesson on Northern Ireland and everyone enjoyed trying some Irish treats. Finally, our Art lessons have been all about the special person in our lives and everyone had the opportunity to make a card for their mummy and write a fact sheet about her. We would like to wish every mummy a happy Mothering Sunday.

This week Reception have been reviewing their cress growing experiment started last week. They have learnt that the cress with both water and light grew the best. The cress without water didn’t grow at all. The cress seeds with water but no light, grew tall but had yellow leaves and didn’t look very healthy. Continuing on with our growing theme, the children then learnt about the life cycle of a butterfly. They watched a video of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis with awe and agreed it is quite miraculous. This then inspired some fantastic butterfly artwork.  he children also made some beautiful Mothering Sunday cards and reflected on what they love about their Mummy.

Please click here for this week's newsletter.

Mr Cottrill led the school assembly on Monday and asked everyone what makes us feel better when we are afraid?  Answers ranged from being scared of spiders, clowns, darkness and stealing apples! Mr Cottrill then retold the bible story of being afraid and how this fear could be overcome. The story from the bible was of Peter putting his trust in Jesus when he walked on the water towards Him. However, afraid of the rough wind and waves, he starts to sink before Jesus reaches out to save him. We learnt that Peter was only able to walk on water when he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus. But the moment he took his gaze off the Son of God, he began to sink. Similarly, sometimes we get so busy with our lives, that we ourselves forget the most important thing - to keep our faith and belief in Jesus alive, otherwise we too could start to lose direction and purpose. The assembly finished with the school listening to Lean On Me by Bill Withers to reinforce how we can all help others in their time of need and how important it is to share our worries and concerns with someone we can trust.

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

Weekly Mission

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Jesus helped a blind man to see again. We also need to open our eyes to the problems in our world and what we can do to make them better.

Activity Sheet

This week in STEAM club Junior 6 have been focusing on their Technology and Engineering skills and they had great fun creating some Monster jaws. These were carefully crafted from card and split pins and when the outer pieces are moved the jaws open and shut. Great work from Junior 6! 

Brickish Weekend 2023

The National Space Centre in Leicester once again played host to the Brickish Weekend between 11 and 12 March. The two-day celebration was a huge celebration of all things brick-based and it was an epic show of just how creative we can all be with Lego bricks.  As ever, the builds on display were amazing feats of skills from builders across the country.  Visitors to the Centre immersed themselves in one of the largest displays of Lego creations in the UK. There was plenty to inspire our Lego Club!

Check out the flyers for details of upcoming PTA events.

• Pub night POSTPONED. Due to the current inclement weather and forecasts of icy roads later we’re cancelling tonight’s pub night and will rearrange a new date when it’s safer and easier to meet up. We wish everyone a warm and comfortable weekend.

• Pre-loved Uniform Sale. A huge sorry that the sale did not take place today however it’s back and better than ever. Our team have worked hard to present you with an opportunity to buy your freshly laundered, quality pre-loved uniform that benefits everyone, supporting the planet as well as your school. The uniform shop will be open at The Gables on Friday 24th March 8:20-9.00 am and 15:15 to 16:15.

• Our second Colour Run is due to take place on Friday 19 May 2023. This event will take place on the school field from 4.00pm to 7.00pm, it will be a fun obstacle colour run for all of the family. We will have a DJ, ice cream, face painting and more! We look forward to seeing you there.

• Contact us. There are many ways to reach the PTA: attend a PTA event, ask in person at the office, ask any teacher or find your year group PTA representative. You can reach out online via Facebook and/ or email the Chair mariagordonpta@gmail.com

Please follow us on social media to keep updated with our events!

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

Princethorpe College

• Head of Computer Science

Crescent School

• Sports Coach

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