The Chronicle

“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.”  
― B.B. King  

Dear Parents

I hope that you have been enjoying the warmer weather of late. It's the end of another incredibly busy week, with the school currently preparing for the annual production and almost ready to be collected for transfer to the Spa Centre. I am looking forward to seeing our school’s production of the timeless classic, Peter Pan, firstly at the matinee and then, again, this evening. So many people have worked very hard to bring our production together, especially Mrs Wildey, Mrs Olden, Mrs Paphitis, and a number of other staff, including the school office staff. 
 
I am delighted that our students have been eagerly looking forward to showcasing their talents and skills, and it will be an absolute pleasure to see all our families watching the show today. It is a mammoth task to bring the whole school together into one production. I am immensely proud to have witnessed our school community's diverse talents, courage, and confidence throughout this week (and the past year). I extend my gratitude to all the parents who have supported their children and encouraged them to practise at home. 
 
As we draw near the conclusion of the academic year, it is with a heavy heart that we will soon bid farewell to some valued, much-loved and well-respected staff members who are embarking on new adventures or are retiring. We will soon say farewell to Susanne Jackson-Mayne, Gail Buswell, Lois Thomas and George Jeffrey. We will be thanking them appropriately and recognising all they have done for the school in due course this term. Gail has worked part-time in the Nursery for over 20 years, Susanne is in her eighteenth year of service at Crackley Hall and is looking forward to retiring from teaching after being such an integral part of the spiritual life of Crackley Hall (and in many other areas as well), Lois has recently qualified as a teacher and is seizing a new opportunity and George has been with us for a few months, working in Reception. We are inviting families to contribute towards farewell gifts and to sign their leaving cards, which are available at the Front Office until Wednesday, 28 July. This is not obligatory at all but just an invitation to join the school community in helping to show our appreciation for all they have done for our pupils during their time here. In the next edition of the Chronicle, I will express our gratitude and appreciation for their unwavering dedication and exceptional service to Crackley Hall. We will be announcing details about our incoming staff members during next week. 
 
I am thrilled to share that an exhilarating and action-packed week awaits us. One of our highest priorities is to streamline communication from the school office as we know that all families have to adhere to very busy schedules. Please would all parents take the time to review our message and, when necessary, to respond promptly to ensure a smooth and efficient process. 
 
I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Andrew P, in J6, for delivering a truly outstanding piano performance! Your commitment and dedication certainly paid off, and we are very proud of your achievement. Keep up the fantastic work, Andrew! 
 
I take this opportunity to congratulate our stars of the week; Edward (Nursery), Wilson (RA), Orla (RM), Bevan and Henry (J1H), Theoharis (J1G), Lilyrose (J2B), All of J3, Leo (J4R), Rory (J4S), Alexa (J5L), Sienna (J5W), Lucas (J6H). Keep up the excellent work! 
 
Five of our Crackley Hall athletes took part in the national ISA championships this week, representing the Midlands. They all did very well indeed, and we are very proud of them. I am sure that we will hear a little more on their achievements in this newsletter, or the next. 
 
The school community came together for a fantastic summer fair last weekend. It was a huge success, due largely to the incredible hard work of our PTA Chair, Maria Gordon. I am very grateful to her and her small group of outstanding helpers, including current parents and grandparents, past parents and current staff members. The pupils had a really lovely day and Maria and her small team are already looking at ways to build on this year’s success in order to make it even better next year. 
 
I would like to wish everyone a happy and restful weekend with friends and family. 

God Bless,

Rob Duigan 

If you would like to contribute to the collections for the staff that are leaving Crackley Hall, Susanne Jackson-Mayne, Gail Buswell, Lois Thomas and George Jeffrey, then you are most welcome to drop off any contributions into the school reception, which is open from 7.45am to 5.30pm.

We will be very sad saying goodbye, and wish them all the best for their next adventure. 

We can confirm that Holiday Club will run throughout the summer holidays, from Thursday 6 July - Friday 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 remaining weeks of the Trinity Term;

Week commencing 26/06

Week commencing 03/07

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Pupils in Junior 1 and Junior 2 received their LAMDA examination results this week and have been celebrating their super success. The youngsters achieved a 100% pass rate, with all the children being awarded the top grades of Merit and Distinction. They were delighted to be presented with their certificates in Celebration Assembly today.

Junior 1 and Junior 2 prepared for their examinations in their Drama lessons, they studied the Introductory syllabus where pupils are expected to recite a poem and then discuss a favourite toy. Those who chose to, then took their LAMDA examinations in May.

Preparing for the LAMDA examinations is a fantastic way for all our pupils to develop communication skills. To achieve their top results pupils will have demonstrated excellent diction, clarity and expression.

They all worked so hard, huge congratulations to them all.

The best of luck and 'break a leg' to all our children who are taking to the stage today in our fantastic 2023 summer production, Peter Pan.

This year’s whole school show is taking place at the Leamington Spa Centre and sees children from Reception through to Junior 6 tread the boards in a fabulous adaptation of this classic tale.

Here's a sneak peek from the rehearsals earlier in the week. A huge thank you to our wonderful staff for all their hard work and to parents for their fabulous support in the run up to the performance.

Have a great time everyone - we know you'll be amazing!

A super huge well done to our Crackley Hall athletes who had an absolutely fantastic day competing at the ISA National Athletics finals on Monday. Taking on the very best pupils from across the country, Leo came 9th in the Year 4 600m, James came 7th in both the Year 6 80m and 150m Sprints, Jessie also finished in 7th place in the Year 4 Long Jump. Patrick finished in 5th place in the Year 6  Long Jump while Emily was 5th in the Year 6 150m Sprint.  A fabulous effort from them all!!

Many congratulations to the winners of our Summer Production programme design competition. 

• Amelia Turvey
• Joshua Burley
• Beatrice Parizzi
• Frankie Courtenay-Evans
• Rosie Russell

We know you will have all enjoyed seeing their amazing artwork on the programmes at the performances.

The programme also featured the designs of the competition runners up:

• Charlotte Panton
• Matilda Clarke and Georgie Skrypchuk
• Mairen Steel
• Nell Kiteley
• Chace Ward

It was fantastic to have so many entries. A huge well done to them all.

Sunday 17 September 2023 - 2.00pm to 5.00pm

Princethorpe will be holding its annual Open Afternoon on Sunday 17 September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. All are welcome to visit the College and for younger visitors, there will be many fun subject related activities organised by the departments.

The Headmaster will address visitors during the afternoon and refreshments will be available. 

To book your place please click here.

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

This week Reception have been preparing for the Summer Show. They have been very sensible at the dress rehearsal and they loved trying on their costumes. I think we can all agree that Reception did a great job learning all their words and actions. We are very proud of their performance…what talented children we have!

Whilst putting the final touches to their end of year production of Peter Pan, our amazing Junior 6s have been working hard to put the finishing touches to their Leavers' Mass, which will take place next week. A special thank you to Mrs Jackson-Mayne for her expert guidance as she helped the children rehearse for their final Mass of the year. Leavers' Mass will take place on Tuesday 27 June and will begin at 9am. Junior 6 parents and parishioners are invited to celebrate with us. Well done this week Junior 6; your dedication and hard work is a brilliant example to the rest of the children in the school. Keep up the hard work!

Junior 5W have been channelling their inner Jack Sparrows in rehearsals for the Summer Production this week. The children’s singing has been superb, their dancing excellent and they have now been working on their fiercest pirate expressions to complete the final look. We were so impressed with the children’s costumes at the dress rehearsal on Tuesday and they provoked many comments about how colourful and ‘piratey’ they looked. The children are now very excited to perform. Break a leg, Junior 5!

Junior 4 have been really fired up about their new Science topic entitled 'The Big Build'. In this topic, they have learnt about the various types of bridges that are in existence and they have studied the various shapes and structures used to make them strong. The children then had to plan and build their very own bridges, with whatever materials they desired, and these have been excitedly brought into school, shared, evaluated and tested out. What budding and talented engineers Junior 4 are! Well done to all!

Junior 3 have been amazing this week as, in the busiest week of our year, we prepare for Peter Pan at the Spa Centre. Thank you all for being so efficient and patient, which really helps the children relax and enjoy the rehearsal and preparations. In other areas, digital time has shown it’s er…face and SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) have reared their heads as we revise our English work from across the year.

Junior 3H have been testing and investigating plants and the conditions they thrive or fail in. Currently we have one plant in the cold fridge, one in a dark cupboard, one desperate for water and the other sitting in perfect conditions. We wonder what the outcome will be? Not good in the main I fear. 

It has been another busy week in Junior 2 and there is no slowing down here! We started making a wind-up animal in a rainforest setting during our DT lesson; we can’t wait to see what they look like. We have been learning how to use column addition effectively in Maths, conjunctions in English, writing story endings and discovering how incredible Mary Seacole was. All on top of rehearsing for our incredible performance at the Spa Centre. Have a well-earned rest this weekend, Junior 2.

Ahoy there me hearties! Junior 1 have been the most fearsome pirates in all the land, this week. There has been lots of pirate singing, shouting, and growling to ensure everyone was as fierce as could be. The children were encouraged to show their best singing, clear actions, and loud voices to make sure the Junior 1 performance was as polished as possible. On the day, everyone worked extremely hard to make sure the audience had the best time as we opened the show. We are sure you will agree it was an amazing experience and we hope our families enjoyed watching the performance. Next week, it will be our transition morning, when we will get a chance to visit the Junior 2 staff; we are looking forward to spending time in our new classrooms. 

Please click here for this week's newsletter 

Mr Cottrill led the Monday Mission Assembly as Junior 4S helped to greet everyone in different languages from around the globe. This was to coincide with 'The Day of Many Colours', which falls on 29 June, a day which celebrates and unites our sisters and brothers in the different continents throughout the world, to recognise their place within God's global family. It is a day when we focus on how we can make the world a better place. Mr Cottrill talked about how hands are used in everyday language - lend a hand, give a hand, hand on heart, and asked what we could do with our own hands to help someone. Answers ranged from offering a hand of support, offering a hand of forgiveness, reaching out a hand of friendship and raising our hands in prayer.

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

Weekly Mission

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
God loves and cares for each one of us no matter who we are. We remember that God is with us in every part of our lives, helping us to be brave.

Activity Sheet 

Parents were treated to a fabulous performance on Monday from afterschool club, Move it Shake it Dance Group. After six weeks of training, learning the routines and rehearsing their moves, the children’s hard work paid off with an exceptional display of talent across the year groups.

Crackley’s older pupils kicked things off with a group number, followed by the younger ones, to music from The Greatest Showman, including some fantastic solo spotlights, displaying both dance and gymnastic ability. The second performance to Lost Boy by Ruth B. was a slower, more moving act showcasing synchronicity and perfect timing from the older dancers.

The show ended with an upbeat and energetic display to Disney's Aladdin, Friend Like Me, executed with such infectious energy from the youngsters, that it had the audience on their feet, itching to join in!

Miss Jas commented, 'I'm so proud of them all I could burst! The number of calls I had from parents afterwards was overwhelming. They were a pleasure to teach, and I can't wait for September to do it all again!'

In Lego Club this week we reflected on all the models we had made this past year. From summer gardens drenched with palm trees, to wildlife explorers in the jungle. We had the super-cool strengths of the mighty Superheroes, to princesses with a difference and Ninjas making the odd appearance. We investigated the oceans with Bo the seal and Shelley the turtle. We pretended we were astronauts and invented the most awesome space rockets and celebrated a Coronation too! We went to infinity and beyond with Star Wars and the impressive Marvel heroes. We problem-solved, created and experimented together as a team; we persevered when we thought we couldn’t finish our model, managing our frustration in the process and celebrating in the happiness when we did. But most of all, we had fun firing our imaginations with new ways of learning. Enjoy the summer. Lego Club will be back, but not next week as it's the KS2 Sports Day! 

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

• IT Engineer
• Rugby Coach

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