The Chronicle

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.