The Chronicle

‘“Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.”

― Lady Bird Johnson

Dear Parents,

Another week has just flown by and we have just one half term left in another academic year. It really does focus the mind on enjoying each moment with one’s children as they grow up so quickly indeed. 
 
A highlight of the week for me was hosting the annual ISA Hardball Cricket Tournament on Wednesday. Our team learnt a lot, playing against high-quality opposition, with many county players in attendance. Well done to all the Crackley Hall players. Vaughan (J5) showed glimpses of his ability as a county player and Archie (J3) certainly stole the show with excellent performances against the older players. 
 
It was wonderful to see and hear Elle and Aaryan perform on the piano at assembly this morning – they both played very well indeed. I know how nerve-wracking it can be and I was very proud of them both. Congratulations to our Stars of the Week: Freddie, Sebastian, Henry, Lucas, Toby, Fiorella, Isabel, Eloise, Lexi-Jean, Jude, Patrick, Amy, Charlie and Grace. Well done to all of you. Congratulations to our Crackley Compass certificate recipients and also to the three pupils who were awarded Da Vincis for RE this week. A huge word of acknowledgement must go to Blythe and Sloane who raised over £1,000 for The Birmingham Children’s Hospital. We are so proud of Grace on being selected to represent UK Schools in skiing – well done to her and Isabelle, who was so close to being selected. 
 
Thank you very much to Dr Card and her team of parents and PTA members for organising the Colour Run last week. I also appreciate the support given by the staff who attended. I hear that, despite the cloudburst, everyone had a lovely time. I was disappointed not to be there to support but I did gain so much from a very interesting and informative Headteachers’ Conference. Certainly the topical issue of AI was well covered along with inclusion and other very important matters. It is important to constantly review the curriculum and one’s practice. 
 
The Junior 6 pupils will be going off to the Scottish Highlands during the first week after half term, accompanied by 5 members of staff. We wish them well for what will hopefully be a fun-filled week. Thank you to Mrs Horan for all her hard work in arranging this trip and the staff for accompanying the pupils. 
 
I hope that Coventry City give a really good account of themselves tomorrow as they play Luton Town in the Championship Play-off Final. Depending on who wins, it will either be about 33 years or 40 years since one of these two teams last played in the top flight of English football. 
 
I would like to wish everyone a restful and sun-filled half term break and that you travel safely if you are journeying anywhere. 

God Bless,

Rob Duigan 

Please find attached information in relation to the costumes for the Summer Production.

Reception, Junior 1 and Junior 2

Junior 3, Junior 4 and Junior 5

Junior 6

Please see the new electronic uniform ordering system.

This link will be in the weekly Chronicle for your ease and convenience. 

New Uniform Order

Holiday Club will run this Half Term from Tuesday 30 May to Friday 2 June.

Please click here for more information.

If you would like to book and confirm your place, please email, holidayclub@crackleyhall.co.uk or fill in the attached booking form and return to the school office.

Please see the below links for the second half of the Trinity Term;

Week commencing 05/06

Week commencing 12/06

Week commencing 19/06

Week commencing 26/06

Week commencing 03/07

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

The Crackley Hall School family was recorded for posterity on Monday, a moment in time, that will now always be remembered. The photograph, once produced, will be hung on the corridor walls, alongside the others from over the years.

Of course, the organisation of such a mass event requires military precision, exemplary behaviour and a prayer for fair weather. Thank goodness the day was dry and bright and all went smoothly and sensibly. That’s another chapter in Crackley Hall School’s long history successfully recorded.

Crackley Hall hosted its annual ISA Midlands U11 Hardball Cricket Festival on Wednesday welcoming teams from Birchfield School, Old Vicarage School, Derby Grammar School, Crescent School and Edenhurst Prep School to play with Crackley Hall on the sports fields.

In addition to the main competition, all the teams participated in a range of fielding, catching, batting and bowling clinics. The quality of play on display was excellent, with clear evidence of each school improving not only their cricketing skills, but also their tactical awareness in the 6-a-side format contested over 5 overs each way. It made for plenty of fast-paced action on the field of play.

After the first round, Edenhurst Prep School and Derby Grammar School topped their groups and both went forward to contest the final, with Derby Grammar eventually lifting the winner’s trophy. The third place play off was between Birchfield School and Old Vicarage School. After a tight match, Old Vicarage was delighted to take the win and claim the Bronze Medal.

In the presentations there were also awards for the best fielder, batter and bowler, as well as the player of the tournament.

A huge well done to our boys who played their hearts out and whose standard of play really imporved across the day.

Special thanks to all the Crackley Hall and Princethorpe staff for their support of the event.

Junior 6 received their hoodies today and they were all quick to put them on. They looked so amazing, that we took a quick photo to share. Now a tradition for most schools, we know that the hoodies will always be a tangible memory of their time at Crackley Hall and their fellow pupils. They provide a sense of belonging and of community and in the long distant future we hope they will prompt wonderful memories of their school days. They will also be most useful when they head off on their residential after half term!

Junior 5 pupil, Isaac Fox is living proof that dedicated practice coupled with skill and determination will take you far in life. Isaac is never happier than with his racket in hand, dispatching challengers from the other side of the court with power and precision.

Last weekend, Isaac helped his U10 Warwickshire County teammates finish in first place in the County qualifiers and make it through to the Nations Finals that will take place in June. Isaac won all of his matches playing against Hereford & Worcestershire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire. What a fantastic achievement! A huge well done to Isaac, that must have been an amazing weekend.

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

In English lessons this week, Junior 6 have been continuing their reading of the novel 'The Lion and The Unicorn' by Shirley Hughes, which tells the story of Lenny, a young boy who is evacuated during World War 2. The children have been focusing on their creative writing skills, thinking about in particular how they can use personification and complex groupings to make the world come to life. This also ties into our History topic on World War 2 in which the children are starting a new independent research project. For this task, the children will be investigating a particular area of life during the Second World War such as The Blitz or the life of Anne Frank and presenting their findings to the class. The children have approached this topic eagerly and we can’t wait to see the results of their hard work.

Over the last few weeks, Junior 5 have been creating their own beautiful bird tables. Junior 5L started this process by creating a base under the guidance of Ms Holmes. This base was made using: a square piece of wood and coloured popsicle sticks. These were attached using glue, nails and hammers. The children have been discovering the challenges involved in not only using a hammer but also the difficulty in hammering small nails. This alongside learning to use a hacksaw and balsa wood has been interesting indeed. They have drawn their own bird table designs and used their initiative to make their ideas come to life. I hope the birds appreciate their new feeding stations. Well done, Junior 5! 

Le foot, c’est ma passion! Junior 4 have been exploring sport in French lessons recently. The children were fascinated by the Tour de France competitors being able to race over 2,000 miles and they had many interesting questions about the logistics of the race; where the riders go to the toilet? Where they sleep and what happens to the many used plastic water bottles?! The children showcased their creativity and dictionary skills when designing their own Tour de France top with motivational language on the front. Many of us will be watching some of the race to see who gets the ‘Maillot Jaune’ in July!

The children found that handball was a common game in France, but netball was not played as much there as it is in the UK. Junior 4 learnt that French nouns have a gender, how to give their opinions on different sports and to use some adjectives with ‘c’est’. Madame Westerman was particularly impressed with the children’s spoken French, enthusiasm and curiosity! Allez Junior 4!!

Junior 3 are literally up to their elbows in Greek myths, and loving it! We have had a very busy week as we continue making our Greek pots which has proved to be a fantastic opportunity for collaboration and teamwork as learning partners have supported each other in building a ‘frame’ and then covering it with plaster bandages. The pots are really taking shape (pardon the pun) and excited chatter has now turned to how we will decorate them, with some preferring geometric patterns and others planning elaborate mythical creatures. Either way, they are surely going to be a sight to behold on the mantlepiece. We have also been doing a lot of practical investigating in Science, exploring different types of soil, and learning all about the parts of a flower. We even dissected our own flower this week and labelled all the parts.

We hope the good weather holds and that you can all spend time outdoors enjoying a wonderful half-term break.

This week Junior 2 welcomed Curious Creatures, to support our topic on Rainforests and habitats. Children were thrilled to have the opportunity to handle the animals, under close supervision, and were ready with their questions to find out more about their unique characteristics and the habitats they live in. We had an Amazonian Milk Frog and a White Tree Frog, both of which were extremely jumpy! The Crested Gecko, content to sit in the palm of a hand, and the Argentine Tegu Lizard was a marvel to see as he explored the astro area specially laid out for him. There were also Corn snakes, Bornean stick insects, a Royal python, a Savanna bosc monitor lizard, Chinese water dragons and a Boa Constrictor! We will finish this geography topic next week by thinking about how we can protect the rainforest.

What better way to finish off this half-term, than with a trip to the MAD museum in Stratford, followed by a visit to the park?! The MAD Museum offers everyone the opportunity to experience moving art. There were so many buttons to push, levers to pull, sounds to make, lights to flash, balls to drop and mazes to make, to name but a few. Much enjoyment was had creating marble runs on their gigantic magnetic wall and there was sheer delight on their faces as they had the chance to make noises, be creative, sit and watch or learn how different mechanisms work. This was then topped off by a picnic by the river and a trip to the local park to get rid of any extra energy they still had. Good job we all have next week off to recover!!

This week, Reception M have been writing descriptions about the sea creatures that we saw on our Sea Life Centre visit. The children came up with amazing adjectives and learnt how to add them into sentences. Some of the descritptions were just delightful! The children also finished painting and then varnishing their stone bee or ladybird. They have also been learning about odd and even numbers in Maths, where they found perfect pairs to make even numbers and saw which numbers had odd ones left out!

Please click here for this week's newsletter 

During Monday's Mission Assembly, Mrs Glen-Roots opened the assembly and reminded the school that May was a month dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Mrs Glen-Roots began to talk about Trust and linked this to the School Ethos of 'Following the teaching and example of Jesus.' Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd and we, the people, are His sheep. Mrs Glen-Roots asked the school what Jesus meant by this? Eager hands were raised high with replies that Jesus was a "guardian and if we got lost, then Jesus would call us back." Another compared the Good Shepherd to, "Jesus opening the gate and inviting us into follow Him, and then closing it back to look after us."  Sometimes we can get tangled up with life and feel afraid and alone and the pupils were asked to think about a time when this could have happened to them. Answers ranged from, "getting lost in a shop," to "falling out of a kayak and struggling to breath." If we know and believe that Jesus is looking after us, this would make us feel safe and secure. Through prayer and being still, we can feel the presence of Jesus. Like a torch shining throughout the world, or a treasure box full of love when we lift the lid, Jesus will always be there for us all if we listen to His calling. How can we listen to Jesus this week?

Our monthly Food Bank donations were collected on Wednesday, ready to be sorted and assigned to families across Warwickshire. Each month a different year group provides the donations and May's contributions came from Junior 5. It's lovely to see the thought and generosity that pupils put into the scheme.

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

Weekly Mission

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Pentecost - Sunday, 28 May

The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples to help them be brave enough to share God's message with others. How does the Holy Spirit continue to help us today?

Activity Sheet 

With half-term beckoning, it was Happy Holidays in Lego Club this week as we took a trip to the sandy beach to surf and play with exotic sea animals in the bright blue ocean. Bringing the sea to life we used awesome blue tissue paper to create the ripples and waves whilst we conquered the torrent of froth with our surfboards, reaching the dizzy heights of a true surfer catching each and every wave as it gushed to the shoreline. We had clapping seals making friends with friendly dolphins, and graceful sea turtles teaming up with agile seahorses, before having a well-earned ice cream on the beach house roof terrace overlooking a very bright carnival, prior to embarking on another splash in the crystal sparkling blue ocean. Bring on summer!

Colour Run

A big Crackley hurrah to everyone who made the Colour Run such a super day, whether through volunteering or gloriously running the circuit and dowsing themselves in a rainbow of fun. Thank you for supporting it and making it fabulous!

Summer Fair

It’s the Summer Fair on Saturday 17 June, in the school grounds from 1-4 p.m. It’s a world of fun for the children with plenty of games, sporting fun and craft activities to enjoy with their friends. There’s something for the whole family including parents, grandparents and extended family with a tasty barbecue running as well as a gin and Pimms bar plus traditional and sparkling cream teas, available to pre book.  More details coming soon!

We’re holding a Grand Summer Raffle too so do look out for tickets coming home after half term.  Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts - every little helps and we plough it back in to enhancing the Crackley experience for our children. 

The annual PTA Colour Run was a huge success last Friday! Slip 'n' slide, tyre jumps and tunnels, as well as hanging noodles were just some of the creative obstacles available along the course. Much fun was had by all and, despite a brief downpour during the first wave of runners, the sun shone for the rest of the afternoon.

Many thanks to our wonderful PTA for another successful event.

Photos from the event are available to view and download via our Flickr account.

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

• Teacher of RE
• Commercial Manager
• Pastoral Support Manager
• Pupil Hub Manager
• Administrator/Reeptionist
• Rugby Coach
• Graduate Teaching Assistant

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