The Chronicle

As we approach the end of this academic year in glorious sunshine, we are mindful of our schools’ environmental responsibilities. We are currently compiling a series of metrics which will help us in our planning as we take on the challenge of moving towards 'net zero'.

These include:

• food waste,
• food sourcing,
• packaging,
• recycling,
• biodiversity,
• and our carbon footprint. 

With regards to our carbon footprint we have been carefully measuring (and reducing) our energy usage – electricity and gas this year – and have plans to reduce this still further.

We now want to calculate our carbon footprint related to travel to and from our schools. To do this we need your help please. I would be extremely grateful if you could fill in this short transport survey by Monday 26 June. It takes just three to four minutes to complete.

I will report back on the results and our wider plans regarding environmental sustainability in September.

Very best wishes for the last few weeks of term,

Ed Hester
Foundation Principal

 “You are always a student, never the master. You have to keep moving forward.”  
― Conrad Hall  

Dear Parents,

I hope this message finds you well as we approach the end of a warm and busy week. It's great to know we've been blessed with some wonderful sunny weather. I'm hoping it stays this way, especially with the exciting events we have in store at school for everyone. Next week will be exceptionally busy with production rehearsals throughout the week, culminating in our annual production at the Spa Centre on Friday (two shows). Please keep a close eye on communications, both by email and in the Chronicle, for updates and changes to arrangements. The school will close early on Friday of next week, and no aftercare provision will be available on this day as all pupils and staff will be involved in the show.  The Spa Centre informs me that the booking hotline has been extremely busy since the ticket release. I hope you have booked tickets, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at either performance. 
 
Yesterday, Little Crackers hosted their annual sports day, and we were fortunate to have clear skies and warm temperatures, which allowed the children to participate fully in their races. It was a delightful event for the youngest children of Crackley Hall, and I was grateful to attend and to be able to express my sincere thanks to parents and staff for all they do for the children in Little Crackers. Thank you to Mrs Thomas and the Nursery team for organising the schedule and the Junior 5’s who helped at the event. 
 
The PTA Fair tomorrow is highly anticipated, and Mrs Gordon and her committee have been putting in much effort to make it a great event. The PTA's sustainable Uniform shop will also be open for the last time this year. We appreciate all the generous donations towards helping the PTA and the school. Please do support the PTA and school as all funds are put to good use for the benefit of the pupils. Everyone also really appreciates the wonderful sense of community. 
 
Once again, I need to reiterate our parking guidelines. Regrettably, one of our neighbours recently had to endure unacceptable behaviour from a parent. I do realise that, on occasion, some neighbours may also not be as polite as they should. Everyone connected with the school, not only the pupils, are representatives of Crackley Hall. Thank you to the vast amount of families (almost all) who try their best to co-exist with our neighbours in a cordial manner. 
 
In order to help ensure a smooth and efficient process when collecting your children from Aftercare and Nursery, kindly call Aftercare at 07732036625 and Nursery at 01926 514456. These numbers will help streamline your pick-up and make the process more seamless. 
 
During hot weather it is essential that all children must bring a named water bottle and hat to school daily. Please ensure that you apply long-lasting sun cream before your child comes to school. 
 
Our Junior 6 pupils enjoyed a fantastic week at Outward Bound, near Ben Nevis in Scotland. They certainly did themselves, their families and their school proud as they overcame challenge after challenge. It was a privilege to see their characters develop and confidence grow. I was so proud of all of them. Thank you very much to Mrs Vaughan, Mrs Steeples, Mr Pike for accompanying the pupils. A special word of thanks goes to Mrs Horan for all her organisation and also for leading the trip. I should also like to thank the office staff for all their help, particularly Mrs Townsend. 
 
We now have only a few limited spaces left at our Holiday Club; therefore, I urge you to book as soon as possible to secure your place. Ms Osborn has arranged action-packed weeks to entertain all the children. If you are interested, please email holidayclub@crackleyhall.co.uk 
 
Congratulations to Milla in Nursery, Rec A Yuvraai, Rec M Edison, J1H Delilah, J2B William, J3H Joshua, J3V Niamh, J4R Malachi, J4S Amelia, J5L Ben, J5W Josh, and all pupils in J6H and J6V. Jia M, Grace W, and Elizabeth E delivered beautiful performances at our assembly. It really was such a treat watching them sing. Congratulations to all three girls. 
 
England, after winning the toss in the first Ashes test, managed to collapse to 176/5; fortunately, at the time of writing, they have recovered to be in a much better position. I am really looking forward to a closely contested series. Congratulations to Man City and their supporters on winning the Champions League! 
 
I wish everyone a happy and relaxing weekend with friends and family and do hope to see many of you at our Fair tomorrow. 

God Bless,

Rob Duigan 

Due to Mr and Mrs Vaughan being out of school on Monday 19 June attending the ISA National Athletics event, the Rounders Club that takes place after school will not go ahead as planned. 

We can confirm that Holiday Club will run all throughout summer holidays, from 6 July - 1 September. 

The programme is being finalised - so please watch this space!

The club is booking up fast so if you would like your child to attend please email holidayclub@crackleyhall.co.uk 

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

Week commencing 19/06

Week commencing 26/06

Week commencing 03/07

Yesterday, much loved teacher, Mrs Jackson-Mayne led her last assembly at Crackley Hall School. It was a poignant moment for many who have enjoyed her uplifting and inspirational assemblies over the years.

Mrs Jackson-Mayne is leaving Crackley Hall at the end of this school year after 17 very happy years here at St Joseph’s Park. She is off to pursue a new interest as she starts a Masters in Writing at Warwick University.

Mrs Jackson-Mayne joined Crackley Hall to lead on English, initially working with Years 5 and 6. Over the years she has taught many of the children and always enjoyed seeing them develop and progress up through the school to eventually shine as confident young people in Junior 6.

Her passion for teaching has provided many exciting learning experiences for pupils, from driving around in the old school minibuses looking for opportunities to explore Maths, through painting stones for the prayer garden, writing Lockdown Diaries, to her most recent new Catholic Debate competition, she has always been an exceptional and gifted teacher.

We are all going to miss Mrs Jackson-Mayne!

Our Little Crackers had a fabulous time at their Nursery Sports Day on Thursday 15 June. The crowds gathered early on, creating a buzz of excitement as our lovely Little Crackers nursery pupils headed out excitedly for one of their biggest events of the year.

Nursery Sports Day took place on the Astro, with the children competing in teams. Everyone lined up eagerly ready to rocket down the course. The determination and concentration on their little faces was amazing to see as they took on the challenges of balancing the bean bags and those tricky tennis rackets.

Miss Lois had worked hard in the children’s PE sessions to get everyone ready to race and they all enjoyed taking turns to run up and down the course. There were plenty of staff and even our lovely Junior 5s on hand to encourage and support our Little Crackers as they flew up and down the tracks.

A great morning was had by all. A special thank you to our Nursery Team, Miss Lois and the Junior 5s for organising all the fun.

Vanessa Rooney, Princethorpe's wonderful Registrar for the last seven years is stepping down from the role with effect from the end of June. She is handing over the reins to Assistant Registrar, Catherine Rogers, who has been appointed following a thorough recruitment process earlier this term.

Grove du Toit, College Headmaster, comments, “Vanessa has done an exceptional job as Registrar at Princethorpe over the last seven years. She has been a welcoming face and voice to so many families, and parents often comment on how well they are looked after by her and the team. We will be sad to see Vanessa go, but Catherine is a worthy successor, having come out top of a strong field of candidates and will I know maintain the high standards and friendly approach we have come to expect from the team.”

He continues, “We thank Vanessa for her tremendous dedication and service to the College and wish her well in her new endeavours.”

The College is now recruiting for an Assistant Registrar to replace Catherine, the deadline for applications is Monday 19 June, click here for more information on the role.

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

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

Junior 6 returned this week triumphant from their adventures in the Scottish Highlands. Over the course of the week, the children amazed us with their confidence and teamwork as they worked in their clans to complete a series of challenges. From climbing the initial sections of Ben Nevis, to working in teams to race canoes across Loch Eil, the children never failed to show us their grit and determination. It was so rewarding to see them working outside of their comfort zones and ending the week with their heads high, proud of what they had achieved. Looking towards the end of term, the summer performance of Peter Pan is quickly approaching, and we know how keen they are to share their hard work with friends and family. Keep up the great work, Junior 6!

This week, Junior 5 had their final French pen pal video call of the year. The children practised asking questions (in French) about music and understanding the French responses from their penpals. They also practised answering questions regarding where they live (in English) so that they could answer their pen pals in their native language. Junior 5 have been excited to talk to their pen pals again and to learn more about them. They have learnt about French music which is popular in France, and are keen to find out if the songs recommended by the penpals will also be popular amongst the Junior 5s!

Junior 4 have enjoyed working outside this week during their Maths lessons. They have been using their estimating skills and knowledge of Time. The pupils collaborated together to estimate minutes and seconds for different tasks. They used stop watches with expert precision and then filled in their own charts to see if their estimation was near the actual time.

This week Junior 3 have continued their exploration of all things ‘Ancient Greek’ with some fabulous learning across the curriculum. In DT, Junior 3H have been learning all about the amazing engineering and architecture of the ancient Greeks and they were very excited to be set a STEM challenge to build a temple strong enough to support the weight of a small human. There was lots of trial and error, discussion about weight distribution, and reinforcement of paper cups as they rose to the task in their groups. We were so impressed with the levels of collaboration and ingenuity the children demonstrated. Every group was successful and some even went on to build temples several storeys high! Meanwhile, in Junior 3V, pupils have also been working collaboratively creating puppets and planning scripts to act out the ‘Battle of Troy’. We can’t wait to watch their performances.

Junior 2 have had a delightful week, as they immersed themselves in rehearsals for their end-of-year show. Despite the excitement and preparations, the children remained diligent, working hard in between rehearsals. In History lessons, the students delved into the remarkable influence Florence Nightingale had on our hospitals and how her legacy resonates in our lives today. Meanwhile, in Maths, the children focused on exploring one another's interests and personalities through engaging with different pictograms. That hasn't stopped their anticipation mounting as their performance date draws near, and everyone is brimming with excitement. Congratulations, Year 2, on yet another busy and productive week!

Junior 1 were so excited on Monday as the butterflies had hatched out of their chrysalis and we were able to release them and watch all five fly away to find a friend and start the life cycle all over again! We looked at other creatures that fly in Science; this time it was birds. Did you know that birds are related to dinosaurs? In Computing Junior 1 have been developing their typing skills and after spending time learning where they keys are on the keyboard, they used their new-found skills to type out some sentences, adding in a capital letter and full stop. Some people were so quick typing that they had time to change the font, size and colour of their work. In Maths we focused on turns, positions and directions, which was trickier than it sounds. This led to a wonderful lesson of directing each other around an obstacle course!

This week Reception have been enjoying the warm weather and making the most of the sunshine! We have taken our learning outside, drawing, creating playdough creatures and writing stories in the outdoor classroom. The children have loved making the most of lots of extra space and burning off some end of year energy! We can’t wait to read their very own Under the Sea stories.

Please click here for this week's newsletter 

Reception were Our Father movers this week in RE as they learnt the Lord's Prayer in sign language.  As the weather was so lovely, we ventured outside to the Outdoor Classroom to explore and talk about the meaning of this special prayer. This made the actions a lot easier and we were able to turn the words into signs. Reception loved their learning so much; they were overheard singing the prayer with actions during lunch the following day! 

Mrs VanZyl led the Monday school assembly as we welcomed back Year 6 from Scotland. The theme of the Assembly was about the calling of Matthew to follow Jesus. Mrs VanZyl talked about what a disciple was and the pupils in Junior 3 acted out the story from the bible of Jesus calling Levi, who was a tax collector, to become a follower of Jesus. Levi did and he later changed his name to Matthew – a name meaning gift from God. Pupils reflected on the important message - to show mercy, compassion, and forgiveness to everyone and to always try and forgive someone even if they have done wrong. If we choose to follow the example and teaching of Jesus, we are choosing to follow Him.

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

Weekly Mission

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Jesus was moved with compassion for people who were worried and looking for help. He sent out His disciples to care for them. How can we carry on that work today?

Activity Sheet 

From the rickshaws of Asia and the gondolas of Italy, to the swampboats of the Florida Everglades, the world is full of transport vehicles designed to navigate different environments and terrains and this week's Lego club saw an array of all forms of transport.  We built an old style classic train with a little loco-motivation, a speedboat for zipping around the bay, big planes, little planes, biplanes, triplanes, even cargo planes as we grabbed our bricks and prepared for take-off! 

Saturday 17 June - 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Our Summer Fair takes place tomorrow, Saturday 17 June and there are a whole host of activities planned to make a great family afternoon of fun.  There are traditional games like the Coconut Shy and Tombolas running alongside craft activities and face painting as well as netball goal shooting, Beat the Goalie and even electronic football target practice as used by Premier League clubs for our sports stars. 

Ticket price includes your choice of a burger or hot dog from the barbecue and salad bar with the option to buy more on the day. All tickets available to purchase on the PTA events platform, and please see the QR Code for quick access to the tickets.

We are serving cream teas for two or a group of four this year for anyone who wants to sit and enjoy tea or coffee with a freshly baked scone, cream and jam plus an individual eton mess.  Sparking cream tea with an additional glass of prosecco per person is also available – please pre-book to secure your seats.

New for this year we will have a Gin and Pimms bar open to serve summer refreshments as well as our normal bar offering our usual range of wine, beer and soft drinks.

Last but not least, tickets for the Grand Summer raffle came home last week in book bags to win prizes such as the Harry Potter Lego Ministry of Magic set and Star Wars The Mandalorian remote control Razor Crest. Look out for the yellow tickets and please return them as soon as you can!

Please click the link for tickets.

The PTA warmly thanks you for supporting the Summer Fair.

Please see the new electronic uniform ordering system.

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

New Uniform Order

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 (Maternity Cover)
• IT Engineer
• Assistant Registrar
• Pastoral Support Manager
• Pupil Hub Manager
• Administrator/Receptionist
• Rugby Coach

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