The Chronicle

This week Junior 6 have started their new cross topic focus about the sinking of the Titanic. In both History and English, the children have been thinking about what life would have been like aboard the Titanic and the events leading up to its historic sinking. Using their research skills, the children were tasked with researching the key events of this catastrophe and making up their own minds about who they believed were the main culprits. The children took to this task with fantastic enthusiasm and produced some super ideas. We have also heard some brilliant presentations from the trenches research task. Well done children, you’ve all worked so hard this week.

As we are in the season of Advent, Junior 5 have been preparing for the true meaning of Christmas. Junior 5L have decorated the tree and brought in their gifts for the class Secret Santa. In RE, they have created Bambinellis, which will be presented at the Advent mass, next week. Junior 5 have been learning about Advent through assemblies and their RE lessons. They have investigated the symbolism of the Advent wreath - history, shape, candles and evergreens - considering the direct links between the traditional wreath and the everlasting love that God has for each one of us.

Junior 5 have learnt about The Annunciation of John the Baptist; and the children have written an empathetic first-person account, as Zechariah, of this key event in preparing the way for the Lord. Finally, this week, the children created a Birth Announcement for John's birth. We look ahead to Gaudete Sunday, when the rose candle (Joy) will be lit as we reach the mid-point of Advent.

Junior 4 have been very busy this week practising for their first school visit to Young Voices, which will be at the Resorts World Arena on Friday 12 January. We have been practising all the songs and dance moves and we are so excited to sing our hearts out at this world famous event. In RE we have been putting the finishing touches to our bambinellis in time for the Advent mass next week and we have been learning about the Jesse Tree and how it represents the family tree of Jesus during the Advent period. Each ornament represents a story from the Bible that tells us about the ancestors of Jesus before He was born. With Christmas Jumper Day on the same day as our Christmas dinner, we all got into the festive mood whilst planning for our class Christmas party to celebrate our first term in Junior 4 together. 

As we move further into advent, it is feeling more and more festive in Junior 3. Last week saw the arrival of the class elves and a flurry of excitement every morning to see what mischief they have been up to. We have also been thinking of others as we fill our reverse advent hamper with treats to donate to those in need this Christmas. We have all been very excited to start planning our own stories this week, based on adapting our class story of Lila and the Secret of Rain. Our stories are all about a very different problem which involves not enough sunshine here in Kenilworth – a problem we can all relate to at this time of year.

In Art and DT, we have been busily putting the finishing touches to our djembe drums and they are starting to look very festive too. We hope they will be ready to take home before the end of term. More festive activities are planned for next week and we are all looking forward to a special class party to celebrate a wonderful term together.

All the children in Junior 2 have been busy getting into the Christmas spirit this week. Miss Rogers, Mrs Burley, Mrs Bhogal and Mrs Steeples are so proud of Year 2 for their performances in the Nativity; the children worked hard to learn the lines, and songs and blew us away with how well they delivered all their lines. Next week we are looking forward to decorating cookies, and exchanging Secret Santas.

All the Junior 2 team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and we can’t wait to see you all in the New Year.

Junior 1 have had the most incredible festive week as we approached the end of our first term. On Monday we all went to see The Gruffalo at Warwick Arts Centre. The children accompanied the little mouse as she went in search of a special nut whilst avoiding being eaten by various woodland animals. Everyone was in fine voice for the audience participation - with the show providing songs, laughs and ‘monstrous’ fun, it really was such a wonderful way to spend our afternoon. We think it is possibly the best show we have ever seen at the Arts Centre.

Wednesday saw us all donning our Christmas jumpers as well as a special Crackley Christmas dinner for lunch. The week ended as it began with the excitement of our very own Nativity show Stable by Starlight and we hope you will agree, it was a resounding success. Well done to Junior 1 for all your hard work in rehearsals over the last few weeks whilst still covering all our curriculum expectations. You all definitely deserve a rest!

What a busy week we have had in Reception, from the dress rehearsal to the final Nativity performance – Christmas Jumper day and Christmas lunch, even house competitions in PE, everyone is getting super excited, and just a little bit tired!  We have been so impressed with our classes this week. The children have been continuing with our phonics learning journey and taking this busy period in their stride. We were super impressed with everyone on Thursday afternoon, congratulations to everyone for a fabulous performance!

From all of us in the Reception Team, we hope you all have a very Happy Christmas and enjoy a well-deserved break.

Nursery enjoyed a tremendous start to the week, with a trip to watch The Gruffalo at the Warwick Arts Centre. Both children and staff were utterly mesmerised by this outstanding performance from the ‘Tall Stories’ theatre company. The children were wide-eyed and delighted to join in with the story, in pantomine style. As a cohort, Nursery must be commended because they behaved impeccably during the outing, and all clearly enjoyed travelling on the ‘great, big coach’ to the venue.

Our Little Crackers then experienced their very own moment of fame, joining in with repeated refrains and performing songs to our Nursery Christmas production, A Little Nativity. It has been heart-warming to see such effort to learn the words, and we thank parents for supporting us with practise at home, which helped the children’s confidence on stage.

Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas lunch have also added to our seasonal celebrations and ensured that this busy week has certainly been full of festive cheer.

During Phonics, this week’s traditional tale has been Jack and the Beanstalk, which prompted spin-off discussion about whether Jack should have taken the giant’s belongings or whether he could have found a different way to solve his problem!

We lit our third candle on the Advent wreath and the children were able to suggest lots of thoughtful ways in which we could get our hearts ready to celebrate Jesus’s birthday on Christmas day. The third candle signifies ‘Joy’ and this word certainly sums up our week in Nursery!