The Chronicle

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

Dear Parents

I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who helped to make last week's annual production a huge success. Although I would love to name everyone who contributed to the preparations and performance, it would be impossible to fit them all on this page. Nonetheless, I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved, especially Mrs Olden, Mrs Widley and Mrs Paphitis. I also acknowledge the office and maintenance staff, the classroom staff, the catering staff and those who helped with the props. The talents of our pupils, including those in the younger years, never ceases to amaze me, and I am extremely proud of their outstanding performance on stage. For those who missed the live event, I strongly recommend purchasing the DVD to witness the entire spectacle. We will let you know when it is available to order. 
 
I am happy to inform you that the upcoming Head Boy and Head Girl voting is concluded. The candidates were all exceptional, making the selection process challenging. We will announce the two Head pupils at next week’s J5 and J6 prize giving. Other captains will be announced at a pupil assembly on Wednesday, with their badges being awarded at a special ceremony during the first week of the school year in September. Parents and family members will be invited to the ceremony in September. 
 
On Tuesday, at our Leavers’ Mass, we celebrated the work of Mrs Jackson-Mayne and presented her with a certificate from the Archdiocese of Birmingham in recognition for her services to Crackley Hall and to Catholic education over a number of years.  We also expressed our heartfelt gratitude to Mrs Simmonds for her dedicated time, effort, and affection for Crackley. We celebrated Mrs Buswell’s time at Crackley Hall, including all that she has done for our pupils over a number of years. Thank you to Mrs Jackson-Mayne, Mrs Simmonds and Mrs Olden for their work in preparing a wonderful Mass and concert for parents and parishioners. The pupils were outstanding in every way. 
 
Wednesday was a nervous and exciting day for the pupils as they had the opportunity to spend the morning with their new class and teacher. We warmly welcomed new pupils to Crackley Hall, as well as our two new teachers, Miss Rogers and Mr Ashley.  Miss Rogers joins us from King Henry’s, having taught in the state sector prior to that. Although able to teach throughout the school, she has a strong preference to be in Key Stage 1. Miss Rogers is very highly regarded by the pupils and parents at King Henry’s and brings with her some experience in leading ICT and PSHE, as well as having been on the senior leadership team at one of her previous schools. Mr Ashley is currently teaching at Rosemead Prep School in London, working in lower Key Stage 2. He is an Old Princethorpian and certainly displayed a very good understanding of our school ethos. Mr Ashley previously worked at an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rated school and is currently the RE Co-ordinator at Rosemead. He has an interest in sport and the performing arts, as well as being involved in his school’s Eco Team. 
 
It was a beautiful sunny Thursday when we celebrated the Nursery Graduation on the top lawn. The turnout of parents and family members supporting the children was remarkable and a joyous occasion for all. We are grateful for the blessings and the opportunity to witness such a special moment for these young ones. My thanks are extended to the Nursery team and Mrs Glen-Roots. 
 
Thursday also saw us hold our annual KS2 Sports Day which was full of excitement and much celebration. It was well supported by parents and grandparents, with the PTA also involved in selling cakes – thank you to everyone! We extend our gratitude to Mrs Vaughan (and Mr Vaughan) for meticulously organising and coordinating the event and to Amanda Brew and her catering team for providing excellent catering services. Well done to all our athletes and to Jupiter House for narrowly winning the event. 
 
During this morning’s assembly, we expressed our gratitude and said goodbye to some of our cherished staff members: Gail Buswell, Lois Thomas, Susanne Jackson-Mayne and Georgina Jeffrey are all leaving us at the end of the year. We extend our sincerest wishes for their well-being and success in their future endeavours. Their presence will be deeply missed at Crackley Hall. 
 
Excellent work, or kindness and effort from the following pupils earned them stars of the week: Seva – Nursery, Sebastian - Reception A, the whole of Reception M, Aarav - J1H, Lucas - J1G, Liana - J2B, Francesca - J3H, Elle - J3V, the whole of J4R, Evie - J4S, the whole of J5L, Arthur - J5W, Oliver - J6H, Esme - J6V.   
 
We have just received the news that Mrs Holt will leave us during the upcoming holidays. Mrs Holt has always welcomed parents and visitors at reception with a warm smile and a good sense of humour. She has also taken care of many children with love and tenderness, always ready to help with a grazed knee or any other concern. While we bid farewell to her at Crackley, Princethorpe will be extending a warm welcome, where she will assume the role of Assistant Admissions Administrator. My heartfelt congratulations are extended to Marie and we wish her the very best in her new career venture, whilst thanking her most sincerely for all that she has done. 
 
The upcoming week will be brief since the term concludes on Wednesday. Before the last school day of the year, we are holding the two prize giving ceremonies on Tuesday, as well as our leavers’ assembly on Wednesday. Parents have received details of all three events. 
 
As teachers, bidding farewell to our pupils is a challenging yet rewarding experience. Our role extends beyond the classroom as we aim to become their mentors and guides. We strive to help them overcome obstacles and unlock their full potential, not just teaching them what to learn but how to learn. Our objective is to support you, their parents, in preparing them for life outside the classroom by enabling them to think critically and make sense of the world around them. Along this journey, we learn about our pupils, their surroundings, and ourselves. We treat the children as if they were part of our own families, wanting to help them become the best versions of themselves. We are always there to support them, listen to them, and celebrate their accomplishments. Saying goodbye to our Junior 6 and other leavers is never easy, but we have faith that we have provided them with all the necessary knowledge to impact the world positively. This bittersweet moment is worth commemorating, and we express our gratitude for being a part of your child's formative years and for the opportunity to be a part of our journey. 
 
I enjoyed a wonderfully inspiring presentation in my office from a group of Junior 6 pupils this afternoon. They had all chosen to take on the challenge of presenting a piece of their learning and passion, having spent many hours researching their findings. I was so proud, humbled and privileged to have been able to receive their talks and to witness their passion, knowledge and skills in action in another way. It was certainly one of my highlights of the year. I have challenged them to go into the world one day and do something or make something that no-one else has done before! Thank you to Mrs Cowlishaw for her inspiration and congratulations to Julia, Matilda, Georgie R, Andrew, Theo, Frankie and Lucas. 
 
Congratulations to our outstanding tennis team, competing in the ISA Midlands tennis tournament for the first time. The girls won the event and the boys came second. Congratulations to Jia, Kate, Mani, Alexa, Elsie W-P, Sebastian, Isaac and Jack. 
 
I was delighted to present long service award to four Crackley Hall stalwarts. Mrs Olden received hers for over 25 years of service, Mrs Buswell, Mrs Hardwick and Mrs Lammas have all worked at Crackley Hall for over 20 years. We celebrate their contributions and thanks and salute them! Many congratulations! 
 
I wish everyone a most relaxing and enjoyable weekend. 

God Bless,

Rob Duigan 

A reminder that we are eager to get as much information as we can with regards to how our pupils get to and from school as part of our sustainability planning.

Many thanks to those parents who have already filled in the survey, if you have not yet done so please could you complete by Friday 7 July. The link is here.

With best wishes for a relaxing summer holiday.

Ed Hester
Foundation Principal

Please be advised that the children's school medication will need to be collected from the school office by Wednesday (5 July). If you would like to collect it earlier please come to the school office, which is open from 7.45 am - 5.30 pm.

Thank you.

We (a group of Crackley Hall parents) have organised a friendly, charity football match against our counterparts at Crescent School.

The match is to take place at Rugby Borough Football Club (Kilsby Lane Rugby CV21 4PN) on Saturday 1 July, kick off is 1.00pm. The event is in aid of the Birmingham Childrens Hospital charity, we aim to raise as much money as possible through our Just Giving page, any donations would be very well received.

We are hoping to get some spectators along to cheer on the respective teams, everyone is welcome, all that we would ask is that a donation is made via our Just Giving page.

Ruby Borough is a fantastic venue with a full spectator stand under cover and a new club house which will serve drinks and food. 

Hope to see you all there!

Please find links to some summer holiday homework suggestions to help ease the transition into the next academic year from September 2023. 

Junior 1

Junior 2

Junior 3

Junior 4

Junior 5

Junior 6 have received have their packs yesterday, during their Moving Up Session. 

Suggestions for Junior 5 and Junior 6 Reading

List of Statutory Spellings for Years 3 and 4

Common Exception Words for Year 3 and 4

Happy Holidays! We look forward to seeing you all in September, no doubt looking taller and more grown up! 

If you wish to order a copy of the School Production, please use this form and hand it in to the school office at your convenience.

Please ensure all snack pots and drinks bottle are fully labelled up with your child`s name on, in the case of these items getting mislaid we can return them back to children promptly. 

• From the PTA Summer Fair we have had a women's blue Superdry hoody (left in the hall on the summer fair)
• Left behind from KS2 Sports Day, we had a grey striped picnic blanket.
• Next Hoody - teal 
• 2 x pairs of glasses - 1 x blue and 1 x black 

All lost property will be left out for you to peruse through from Monday in the foyer. Anything unclaimed will be donated to either the PTA or to a charity. 

Parents and Guardians are reminded that their child should return their locker key to the school office by Monday 3 July. Keys should be placed in a sealed envelope with the child's name, form and key number written on the front.

Please note that any keys that are not returned will need to be paid for in full. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Looking ahead to the new Michelmas Term, all previous bookings for aftercare will drop off, so parents who require either permanent or occassional Aftercare for the new Term will need to book in their intentions by emailing aftercare@crackleyhall.co.uk or receptionist@crackleyhall.co.uk with as much notice as possible to ensure the children attending, receive a snack.

If you have booked an Aftercare session, it would also be helpful to let your child know.

Please also note that permanent bookings are only valid for the term, due to club and activity changes.

Any children who are not collected from carline, for example if parents are stuck in traffic, will be taken to Aftercare at 4.15pm, when carline finishes and charged accordingly.

Aftercare runs from 3.45 pm until 6:00pm, with charges being £4.75 per hour or part thereof.

Childcare vouchers can be used as payment or part payment for Aftercare.

As the office now closes at 5.30pm, please call Aftercare directly on 07732 036625 if you need the staff after this time.

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

The Little Crackers Nursery team organised a very special ‘Graduation Ceremony’ to celebrate the pre-school group ‘moving on’ to big school. The ceremony took place this afternoon, and the children were each presented with a little scroll by Nursery Manager, Emma Birch.

The children had practised three special songs for the occasion and performed them perfectly much to the delight of the Nursery team.

Miss Birch commented, “The graduation was a wonderful event that marked this important moment for our little ones. We are all sorry to see this fantastic group of children move on, but we wave goodbye with a smile, and plenty of good wishes for exciting times in Reception.”

On Tuesday 27 June, Crackley Hall School celebrated Junior 6s time at school with a Leavers’ Mass. The service reflected on endings and new beginnings, as the school communally said goodbye to this year group. Memories were fondly recalled of the treasured times these youngsters have spent with us over the years. We thanked God for the opportunities they have been blessed with and through our prayers we asked for God’s blessing to be with them on their next stage and to be a guiding light as they navigate the challenges that lie ahead.

During the Mass, Susanne Jackson-Mayne, the RE Leader at Crackley Hall, received a certificate from the Archdiocese of Birmingham for her Long Service to Catholic Religious Education.

After the mass, parents, grandparents and members of the local community were served a celebratory tea. Guests gathered in the School Hall which reverberated with friendly chatter and the clink of china, as teapots and plates piled high with scones, strawberries, jam and cream were carefully served.

Alongside their tea, our guests enjoyed a programme of entertainment as pupils took turns to perform. The Chamber Choir performed five pieces including Strength For The Journey and Corner Of The Sky.

There was also plenty of time to chat with Junior 5 and Junior 6 enjoying talking to the older generations as they enjoyed their tea.

It was a lovely event clearly enjoyed by all.

The latest issue of the Minnacle has just been published, showcasing our pupils' excellent work. The Minnacle celebrates our pupils at their best and the Summer 2023 edition includes plenty of examples of their outstanding efforts. From amazing arithmetic in Reception, through dazzling descriptions in Junior 3 and on to fabulous French in Junior 4 and much, much more.

The next copy of the Pinnacle is available now too, with equally impressive work by pupils at the Foundation's senior school, Princethorpe College. It's wonderful to see and celebrate their talents too!

Printed copies will be sent home with pupils for you to enjoy, or you can read a copy of the Minnacle on our school website here.

As we come to the end of the Trinity Term it was lovely to take time this morning, in our final full school assembly of the academic year, to celebrate and thank our longstanding members of staff.

The Foundation is grateful for the commitment and service given by all staff but this morning it took the opportunity to honour those who have worked at the school for over 20 years. Mr Duigan was delighted to congratulate Mrs Olden, Mrs Hardwick, Mrs Buswell and Mrs Lammas who between them have given nearly 100 years of service to the Crackley Hall and St Joseph’s communities.

A huge thank you to them all for their hard work, dedication and all the contributions they have made.

This term seven pupils have been chosen to take part in a new project at Crackley Hall. These pupils undertook their own research in a topic of their choice to create innovative and exciting presentations. Today, these were presented to Mr Duigan in his office. Each pupil used their own time and initiative, alongside guidance from Mrs Cowlishaw.

The idea was for this to be a fun and exciting opportunity for some of our top attainers in J6.

The seven pupils and their research projects were:

Georgie Rea – Chat GPT

Matilda Clarke – Gun Crime

Frankie Courtenay-Evans – The curse of Tutankham

Theo Cowlishaw – Video games impact on health

Lucas Hobson – Greek Gods

Andrew Parizzi – Which material can withstand a drop the best?

Julia Kozhan – How to build a Go - Kart

Mr Duigan said that this was one of his favourite days of the year! He loved the presentations from each pupil and the time and effort that had gone into each one.

Mr Duigan thanked three PTA members for their services to the PTA over the years. Lucy Lamb, a former Chairperson of the PTA, Tara Card, also a former Chairperson and Jo Write, a former Treasurer have worked tirelessly for the school raising money and oontributing to the astro turf, arranging a pantomime each Christmas, as well as facilitating second-hand book and uniform sales.

We are most grateful for all their support!

We presented Mrs Dolores Simmonds with a little thank you earlier this week, a beautiful bouquet of flowers in gratitude for all the hard work and dedication she has given to Crackley Hall pupils, parents, staff - the list goes on, over the many years she has been with us.  

Her devotion is immeasurable - a huge thank you Mrs Simmonds! We greatly appreciate you. 

As a special treat to the children, the PTA arranged for every child and member of staff to have an ice cream on Friday afternoon. A huge thank you to the PTA for making this possible for the pupils.

We were delighted to see Crackley Hall pupil, Chace, as one of the Queen’s Attendants in the Kenilworth Carnival last Saturday. Chace was selected after a rigorous interview process, where he had to go up on stage and be asked questions about himself and his hobbies. To the Judge's delight, when Chace mentioned he loves dancing with afterschool club, Move it Shake it, he showed them a few moves on stage!

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 in RE we have been thinking about the psalms and prayers we use during Mass and in our own quiet times, to better connect with God and others. The children created their own Psalms centred around their own personal connection with God, thinking about what we are grateful for and being honest about the mistakes we all make sometimes. The children were brilliant earlier on in the week when they led the Leavers' Mass, sharing with us their talents for the performing arts. It is so marvellous to see the children continue to behave in such a mature way and take pride in their hard work. They are always superb role models for all the younger children throughout the school. You are superstars Junior 6, keep up the hard work.

Over this half-term, in English, Junior 5 have been practising their comprehension skills in preparation for next year (Junior 6). They have been using dictionaries to research new vocabulary to help them understand the text better. The children have been writing continuations of stories, ensuring that they include DADWAVERS in their writing to create interesting pieces. By using new and different sentence starters, changing the font size and including stylistic devices, they are making the story exciting for the reader.

This year, Junior 4 have been amazing, impressing us in so many ways and whilst it will be sad to see them move on, we are excited to see them continue to flourish in Junior 5. This week, they have continued to work incredibly hard, achieving some encouraging scores in their end of term Maths tests whilst also having fun trying to build the tallest towers in Science. On Wednesday morning, they learnt their new Junior 5 teachers and then the following day, children enthusiastically donned their house colours, all pushing to achieve victory at Sports Day – we even had the privilege of seeing Mrs Jackson-Mayne join the long jump event! Well done to every single pupil of Junior 4 – they are all brilliant.

This week Junior 3 were tasked with the exciting STEM challenge of building a Monstrance. Pupils have learnt about the religious ornament, called a Monstrance, in their RE lessons. It is used to ‘demonstrate’, hold and show the host and the priest uses it at the service of Benediction. The children had to make a Monstrance that was at least 25cm tall, contained a place for the host, was highly visible and beautifully decorated, whilst also being safe.

Teachers were extremely impressed with how the pupils worked together to first, choose their materials and make a design, then begin creating and refining their idea. ‘It was fantastic to see the pupils, change and improve their models when they didn’t quite work’, commented Mrs Jackson Mayne.

Da Vincis were awarded to all of 3V for their amazing collaborative work on this STEM project.

Junior 2 have had a great week taking advantage of the Outdoor Classroom where we looked at a variety of leaves, comparing them with each other. We have discovered a leaf that has only one blade is called a simple leaf while a compound leaf has two or more blades attached to the petiole. After collecting and comparing leaves, we created a 3D hedgehog picture. We have also been lucky enough to use the Forest School; so much fun was had as we built a house using crates and string and we helped each other by working in a team. That’s what Junior 2 are good at, helping each other and working together. Well done Junior 2!

We can’t quite believe that this was our last full week in Junior 1, time has flown by and we are all a lot taller and wiser than we were a year ago. There were some special activities that went ahead this week; the most exciting was a STEAM Day where everyone had the opportunity to make a cloud spotter and a butterfly suncatcher, which looked beautiful in the warm sunshine. In RE we had a special lesson making prayers for those who we felt were the most special to us and sent them on their way by blowing them into bubbles – how creative! We also had our moving-up morning and everyone was thrilled with their new teachers; we all had fun completing different activities and getting to know new people. Now, with only three days left, we will prepare ourselves for the next chapter in our lives and say goodbye to Junior 1. We will miss you all, we’ve had so much fun together and have loved seeing you grow.

Reception have amazed us this week with their maturity and confidence. They have been working hard to make a piece of work to show their new teachers for next year and spent some time in their new classes on Wednesday. We have seen them grown so much over the year and make such amazing progress. We can’t wait to see them shine in Junior 1!

Please click here for this week's newsletter 

Ms McAloon led Monday’s Mission Assembly and talked about what inspires us. First, the pupils were asked what 'inspire' means - answers ranged from being excited and encouraged, to helping a person grow. This steered itself into another question of who inspires us and makes us say, 'Wow!' The children's answers included: their parents, teachers, God, friends and even family pets. Ms McAloon then shared how, Willard Wigan - The King of Tiny Art, had made her say 'Wow!' At the age of five he was inspired, when his much-loved dog Maxie began digging holes, revealing an ants’ nest. Willard began to make little homes for the ants because he worried that they were homeless; he also made apartments, tiny shoes and hats. However, it was his mum's kind words and encouragement which inspired Wigan to carry onto bigger things. Now, Willard Wigan is a sculptor of microscopic art, controlling his breathing and his heartbeat to create miniature masterpieces within the eye of the smallest threading needles or on the heads of tiny dress pins. Willard believes that 'it is often the smallest things that have the biggest impact upon us'. Jesus also inspired when He was on Earth, which led to Him performing many miracles throughout His life. At Pentecost, the disciples were inspired by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ms McAloon closed the assembly with a message that we are all special and we are all unique, if we just be ourselves.

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

Weekly Mission

Weekly Mission 2

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Today we hear about how we welcome Jesus when we welcome and care for one another and think about how we can be welcoming people.

Activity Sheet 

What a great day of sport we had on Thursday 29 June out on the school fields. So much determination on show in both the track and field events. Well done to everyone in Juniors 3 to 6 for taking part so enthusiastically and showing such fabulous house spirit. Race after race, event after event our outstanding young athletes leapt, threw and sprinted their hearts out.

The school made a full day of it; every child ran in a sprint and every child took part in an individual event and, most importantly, every child had fun.

After all the races and events were finished the points were totted up and the results announced in assembly on Friday morning.

1st Jupiter - 266 points
2nd Mars - 260 points
3rd Saturn - 255 points
4th Venus - 217 points

A very special thanks to Mrs Vaughan and to all the staff for making Sports Day such a super event. Even the weather was kind to us, not too hot and not too cold. It was a fantastic fun-filled day enjoyed by all!

Here are just a few photos.

What an effort from our tennis players on Monday 26 June at the ISA Midlands U11 Tournament. The event took place locally at Sutton Coldfield Tennis Club and pupils faced teams from 27 schools. Crackley Hall’s U11 Girls team were unbeaten all day and finished in joint first place claiming a well deserved Gold medal. The U11 boys did nearly as well, just narrowly losing in the final to bring home Silver Medals.

This event was a first for Crackley Hall and we were delighted to offer pupils the opportunity to play. All our pupils faced tough opposition but played with excellent sportsmanship and teamwork. A huge well done to them all, it was such an exciting day!

The PTA are inviting you all to come along to a Curry night on Monday 3 July. We are sharing a curry and chat at the Sunam restaurant in Kenilowrth at 7pm. All are welcome! 

Please let your class PTA representative know if you would like to join us!

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

• Rugby Coach

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