The Chronicle

Dear Parents 
 
As I write this piece today, I look back and cannot believe that another week has flown by. As usual we have had lots going on, with the New Parents Welcome Evening on Tuesday. We had a good turnout of parents - thank you for taking the opportunity to come into school and speak to the staff. I am grateful to all the staff who attended, to the catering team and to Mrs Jenny Vaughan for her organisation of the event. 
 
The Chronicle is the main source of information regarding all school matters and events. You can be confident that, as it is produced by school staff, it should be accurate. We are mindful of the informal communications that go on outside of our knowledge and would like to remind parents and families that the existence of WhatsApp groups, although really useful much of the time, can sometimes convey incorrect information or ‘grow a life of their own’. Sometimes the office needs to deal with the consequences that unintentionally shared misinformation can cause. 
 
As I reflect on this past week, our annual of Blessing of the Stones service comes to mind as one of the highlights. Our new pupils gathered, together with Fr Kevin and staff members, asking God to guide us spiritually over the time ahead and they were able to leave their own legacy of the stone as a symbol of building their young lives on solid foundations. The prayer garden and outdoor classroom area is a peaceful space offering all in the school community time to pause and to just be. My sincere thanks are extended to Father Kevin, Mrs Horan, staff and parents. 
 
On Wednesday we held our celebratory Stay ’n Play party, commemorating 20 years of these gatherings that initiate the very start of a connection for some pupils with us. Thank you very much Miss Birch and the Nursery staff, to Mrs Jenny Vaughan, Mrs Simmonds and Mrs Stephenson for all they contributed to a very busy, happy and exciting morning. 
 
We thank you for your efforts in embracing the new systems we have adopted, such as the aftercare bookings on My School Portal. We are aware there will be niggles as we settle to new ways of working but it will become easier as you become familiar with processes and platforms.  
 
There is still the chance to join us at the Mayoral and PTA Headmasters’ quiz on Friday 27 September. Do you think you can beat the staff or the local town and city mayors? Do please come and give it a try! The PTA provides so much for our pupils and, if you are interested in joining the team, please let the school office know. They will put you in touch with PTA members. Alternatively, please liaise with Chair, Maria Gordon, if you are interested.  
 
At a lovely celebration assembly this morning we handed our Star of the Week certificates to: Nursery – Finley; Reception – Georgia and Hendrix; J1 – Joel and Parker; J2 – Alice and Eli; J3 – Ella and May; J4 – Kenji and Theo; J5 – Alfie and Vincent; and J6 – Scarlett and Ryan. Well done to all of our, most deserving, stars of the week. We were treated to a super singing performance from Anna – she really has a lovely voice and kept all her peers enthralled throughout. 
 
I hope that you will all be able to enjoy a restful and happy weekend, whether with friends and family or watching and playing sport. 
 
 
God bless, 
Rob Duigan 

"World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think the manifestation of human compassion." - Dalai Lama XIV

We are excited to announce that we will be participating in the Young Voices Concert 2025. It will take place on Friday 31 January 2025, at Resorts World, Birmingham. This opportunity is open to Junior 4, Junior 5 and Members of Choral Group in Junior 6.

Look out for further information that will be sent out providing details of the timings and prices.

We are looking forward to it already.

Susan Olden
Director of Music 

Next week each class will be voting for two pupils to represent them in the School Council.

The school council representatives from each class will bring ideas and concerns from their class to the school council. These pupils will meet regularly to inform decision making and planning at Crackley Hall. If your child would like to be part of the school council, please assist them in preparing a short speech stating why they would like to represent their class in the school council.

An important reminder for all Junior 6 parents.

This year, Princethorpe College's entrance exams take place on Saturday 9 November from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

The deadline for registrations for the Entrance Examination is next Friday 27 September. Year 6 parents wishing their children to sit the Princethorpe entrance exam must complete a registration form and submit it with the accompanying registration fee by this date.

More information on the admissions process can be found in Princethorpe's Admissions Update newsletter here or on the Foundation website here.

You can register for the Entrance Examination by filling out our online registration form here. 

If you have any queries relating to admissions please speak to the Registrars at Princethorpe College, either by email at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or by calling 01926 634201/297.

The Crackley Hall Junior Da Vinci programme encourages all pupils to be inspired to be the best that they can be. The Junior Da Vinci programme embraces three adapted principles - Creativity, Practice and Mastery - that the children demonstrate in their learning.

This year we are ensuring that all pupils in the school have opportunities to achieve Junior Da Vinci awards. The attached leaflet gives more information about this programme. 

Chronicle Da Vinci leaflet

Look out for news of the children achieving Junior Da Vinci's in the Chronicle over the year.

Please see detailed below events for the first half of the Michaelmas Term.

This September, Little Crackers Nursery’s toddler group, Stay ‘n’ Play, is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The group first opened its doors back in September 2004 and has been offering a place for mums, dads, grandparents and tots to get together and offer each other friendship and support ever since. Over the years Stay ‘n’ Play has welcomed lots of little ones to its weekly get togethers, and they have all benefited from the care, love and support provided by the nursery staff team. Many of the children have subsequently gone on to join the nursery or Crackley Hall School, where the nursery is located.

To mark the anniversary, on Wednesday 18 September the toddler group hosted a special party. Staff, parents, grandparents and children of all ages including Stay ‘n’ Players past and present, were welcomed to Crackley Hall School to enjoy fun and games, to look through old photos and enjoy a slice of celebratory cake.

Nursery Manager, Emma Birch, said: “It’s amazing that our toddler group is celebrating its twentieth birthday, and we couldn’t let the milestone pass by unmarked. It was wonderful to welcome parents and children back for a special party.”

Longstanding Stay ‘n’ Play staff member, Mary O’Brien, who has helped to lead the group for almost the full 20 years, added, “It’s hard to believe that our earlier children may be at university or even parents themselves now. Everyone had a fantastic time today, and we would like to thank all our families, old and new, for all the happy Stay ‘n’ Play memories across the years.”

Over the years Stay ‘n’ Play has supported the wider Kenilworth community. For many years the group offered outreach sessions led by staff members at St Francis of Assisi RC Church in Kenilworth and the group even went online with weekly story and song sessions to keep connected during the pandemic.

Today, Stay ‘n’ Play continues to provide weekly sessions with regular visiting activities and special events. Everyone is welcome to come along on Wednesday mornings during term time from 10.30am to 11.45am. Upcoming activities include a visit from Bilinguasing on Wednesday 25 September, Forest Fun activities on Wednesday 9 October and the ever popular Christmas Party on Wednesday 11 December. For more information visit: https://www.littlecrackers.co.uk/stay-n-play

On Wednesday morning, we welcomed Father Kevin into school for our Blessing of the Stones service. Pupils new to the school gathered outside in St Joseph’s Prayer Garden where Father Kevin blessed their decorated stones before they were placed in the box underneath the cross. Junior 4 pupils who were swimming first thing had their chance to lay their stones in the afternoon with Ms McAloon.
Each stone represents a member of the Crackley Hall community and together the growing collection of stones provides a lasting legacy of children’s time at Crackley Hall School.
Intended as a place for prayer and reflection, our prayer garden is a special location within Crackley Hall's confines offering a peaceful place for students and staff throughout the year.

It was a pleasure to welcome new parents to school on Tuesday, for an evening of wine and canapés. Each year at the start of term, we host this event to provide an opportunity for parents of new students to meet and chat with teaching staff and other parents. Maria Gordon, the PTA Chair, was also present to introduce the PTA and highlight the wonderful work they do.

We hope you found the evening informative.

NEW Pathway to Princethorpe - Admissions Podcast

Discover the ins and outs of applying to Princethorpe College in this new informative podcast series. From choosing the right school to preparing for the entrance exams, this podcast aims to help parents navigate the admissions process step by step. This is perfect for parents whose children are looking to join Princethorpe in Year 7 to Year 10. Join Catherine Rogers, Registrar and Georgia Newborough, Assistant Registrar, as they explore Princethorpe, share expert tips, and demystify the journey into independent secondary school.

Each episode is released every Friday on Spotify YouTube and Amazon Music, please click the links below and subscribe so you do not miss an episode.

Spotify

YouTube

Amazon Music 

Wednesday 25 September - 10.30am to 11.45am

Join us next Wednesday morning when we will be welcoming BilinguaSing for a sensory music class with a difference.

Come and play and join in the fun. Just £2.50 per family.

For more information click here.

Thursday 26 September 2024 - 6.00pm to 8.00pm

Crackley Hall School and Little Crackers Nursery in Kenilworth, are hosting a dedicated Nursery, Reception and Junior 3 Open Evening on Thursday 26 September from 6.30pm.

This Open Evening is for prospective families wishing to join Little Crackers Nursery or Crackley Hall's Reception or Junior 3 classes in September 2025 and beyond. 

It's a perfect opportunity to see the school and talk to key members of staff who will be teaching and supporting your child. 

To book your place please click here. 

If you can't make the Open Evening but would like to look around the school, you can book a personal tour buy contacting our Registrar, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk and come on a day to suit you.

For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk

Friday 27 September

Our PTA are holding our annual charity and support event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, next Friday.

In order for us to facilitate this wonderful event, we ask for donations of fresh, home-baked cakes and other baked goods or high-quality shop-bought goods.

• Parent cakes – available at morning drop off (and pick-up depending on availability) £1/£2. Please bring any change you have to fill our buckets!
• Pupil cakes – available at break time £1 each (max of 2 cakes). All monies raised will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Crackley Hall Macmillan Coffee Morning

Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November, 8.00am to 5.00pm

We know many of our pupils enjoyed the Foundation's Holiday Camps over the summer, and we are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Team Super Sports again to offer an action-packed October half-term for children aged 5 to 16 years. From Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November, our Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Children aged 7 to 16 can choose from a variety of sports, including rugby, cricket, football, gymnastics, netball, hockey, and tennis to create their own personalised sports camp! For our younger campers (ages 5 to 7), along with sport we’ve got arts, crafts, and dance activities to keep them engaged and having a blast!

Why Team Super Sports? They’re experts in sport and multi-activity holiday camps, providing top-level coaching for all abilities.

Click here to visit the Team Super Sports website to secure your child’s spot.

Camps are priced at £37 per day or £150 per week. Book before Sunday 29 September to receive an extra 10% off for early booking!

Crackley Hall’s Holiday Club will continue to run as normal, information will be shared soon.

Our Stars of the Week this week are: 

Congratulations to them all!

We love to celebrate our pupils' talents, so every week in Celebration Assembly, we hear of the children's successes and achievements and we watch performances by some of our pupils.  Here are some photos from this morning.

A huge well done to all!

In RE lessons, Junior 6 have been exploring different genres and styles of writing in the Bible. They wowed their teachers with a variety of persuasive performances about topics that matter to them; for example caring for the environment and being kind to others. The children chose how to convey their message, presenting their work using rap, poetry, a letter, or a story.

The children have also been studying mountains in Geography. They looked at the major mountain ranges of the world and where they are located. Then, they learnt about the locations of mountain ranges in Europe.  Another great week, keep climbing Junior 6!

In Computing, Junior 5 have been learning about staying safe online using an acronym, SMART (Safe, Meeting, Accepting, Reliable, Tell). They have been responding to different scenarios, identifying mistakes made.

Junior 5 have also begun to explore the texts Flanimals. The children even created their very own Flanimal and invented words for them. They used imaginative and ambitious vocabulary to describe their Flanimal's appearance, how it moves and where it lives.

Junior 4 have had a brilliant week. In Maths, they have been learning about estimating the position of a number on a number line. They calculated the value of each interval to make their work easier and even looked at number lines with no marks on.

In Science, they have been studying classification, specifically classifying plants and trees based on their visible characteristics. The children went out to the Forest School area to photograph the leaves of various trees. They then noted down all of the characteristics they noticed to help them classify them.

The week has absolutely flown by in Junior 3, as the children settle down to their new routines and different lessons.

In Science, they talked about how important a balanced diet is before designing their own healthy lunch, which included some creative combinations! It has been wonderful to see how the children have all thought carefully about how minerals and vitamins can help keep us healthy and strong on the inside as well as the outside.

Their English lessons have focused on grammar, which has included the correct use of speech marks and expanded noun phrases, whilst still using their chosen text – Stone Age Boy for inspiration.

They have also been putting the Base Ten equipment and the place value counters to good use whilst they explored hundreds, tens and ones in their Maths lessons. It has been such a busy week of learning!

This week, Junior 2 have been continuing their work on the story of Rapunzel. They have impressed us with their ideas around the differences between various versions of the tale, and shared what they thought about the story. They also wrote super adjective sentences to describe Rapunzel and thought carefully about what they would ask her if they could meet her in real life. We continue to be ‘wowed’ by Junior 2 and their super efforts!

Junior 1 enjoyed a sensory walk this week using their senses to guide them. They walked through nature and enjoyed the peaceful spaces surrounding them. They felt the different textures under their feet and listened to the beautiful sounds of chirping birds. The children were fully able to immerse themselves as they enjoyed the connection they made to the natural world. They also excited their taste buds this week by tasting a variety of foods, with Marmite being a hit or miss taste - you either love it or hate it!

On Wednesday, Reception children really enjoyed meeting Father Kevin in our Outdoor Classroom for the Blessing of the Stones. The children were eager to see their stones added to the school collection, just as they have now become part of our school family.

In the classroom this week has also been all about our pets - and the pets we wish we had! The children have drawn pictures, had a go at some lovely early writing and continued with their phonics journey. In Maths we searched for matching socks - making sure the patterns were the same as we spotted checks, stripes and spots.

As we come into the Harvest period, we take time to reflect on God’s goodness to us and the blessings we have. We would like to invite the whole school community to join us in supporting our local Foodbank during this school year. Each year group will have an opportunity to have a month in which they support the foodbank.

For this first month we are asking for donations from all classes to be brought to school by Monday 30 September. Please see below for a list of most needed items:

Most needed food parcel items.......

• Tinned Vegetables
• Instant Mash
• Tinned Rice Pudding
• Chocolate
• Biscuits
• Crisps
• Small Bottles of Squash
• Ketchup/Mayonnaise
• Toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Shower Gel
• Washing Up Liquid
   

Ms McAloon led an inspiring school assembly this week which encouraged the children to reflect on the school prayer and its connection to peace. She guided the children to identify key words from the prayer that promote peace: 'kind', 'cheerful' and 'friendship'.  These words were then linked with the school's ethos of 'Love, Learn, Live and Grow', creating a powerful link between the prayer and the school's core values.  Recognising that following Jesus' teachings isn't always easy, Ms McAloon listened to the children's ideas of perseverance, resilience and doing your best when faced with challenges.

Referencing Sunday's Gospel, where Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, Ms McAloon posed the same question to the pupils. Their responses were thoughtful, describing Jesus as God's son, Holy, Almighty, a shepherd and someone who is always in your heart.

The assembly coincided with the upcoming International Day of Peace on 21 September. Ms McAloon emphasised that we can nurture a culture of peace by following Jesus' example and creating both inner and outer peace. She concluded with Mother Teresa's poignant quote, "Peace begins with a Smile", reinforcing the idea that even small actions can contribute to a more peaceful world.

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

Weekly Mission

Week Beginning Monday 23 September 2024

Please remember to check team sheets and find further fixture information on www.crackleyhallsport.co.uk or on SOCS.

Please can we remind all parents that whilst sports fixture information, once published, usually remains the same, parents should check www.crackleyhallsport.co.uk or SOCS on the day of the fixture for the most up to date information.

Pupils from Juniors 1 and 2 were learning the basic stance and steps in their fencing club session on Wednesday lunchtime. Provider Shakespeare’s Swords had the children all kitted out, much to everyone’s excitement, and patiently encouraged them to adopt the correct position. The youngsters then learned how to step forward and step backward safely and then went on to learn the first attack move the lunge.

Señora Green and Señora Westerman were incredibly happy to welcome Junior 5 and Junior 6 children to the first Spanish Club of the term on Monday.

The children learnt how to greet others in Spanish and discovered that there are 21 countries in the world where Spanish is an official language. They thoroughly enjoyed playing our ‘asesino’ game which involved someone in the role of police officer guessing which child was the criminal with lots of chanting of new language! We finished with listening to Shakira’s Spanish Waka Waka song and then said ‘Hasta luego’ and happily went to lunch thinking of Colombian dance moves and Spanish sunshine.

This week in STEAM club the challenge was to build a tower as tall as possible from paper straws and masking tape, to support a marble. The marble was not allowed to be taped in place. Three very different ideas were built with heights of 46cm, 47cm and 94cm respectively. A huge well done to Harry and Charlie for building the tallest tower.

Information on our Michaelmas Clubs, including pick up location and times, can be found below:

Michaelmas 2024 Clubs Timetable

Reception and Key Stage 1

This half term’s House Art Competition is to create a wonderful superhero, please see the link below for the instructions.

Key Stage 2

For this competition we would like pupils to design your own comic strip, please see the link below for the instructions.

The winner of the KS2 competition will also get to design a new comic strip using the superhero from the winner of the Reception/KS1 entries.

Good Luck!

The instructions can be found here.

• 1st place - 25 house points
• 2nd place - 20 house points
• 3rd place - 10 house points
• All entries will receive 5 house points

Closing date is Tuesday 15 October.  Please hand your entries in to Ms Holmes.

We have been delighted with how kindly the Badgers and Hedgehogs have received this week’s new entrants. This is our third week of transition and the children have worked hard to embrace all our new routines, and are gelling beautifully as a cohort. Dormice have also been establishing routines for the new starters and it's lovely to see how well they are settling.

Our specialist PE and Music lessons have begun this week and within the classroom we have introduced daily focus sessions for Maths and Phonics. So, all the ‘enhanced elements’ of our weekly Early Years timetable are now embedded as part of the children’s expected experience, alongside the standard EYFS curriculum.

During Circle time this week the emphasis has moved from reporting to imagining. For example, the children have each taken turn to describe how they would like to travel to school and came up with lots of original ideas, such as ‘on the back of an elephant’, ‘riding on a spider’, ‘in a hot air balloon’, ‘in a really fast racing car’.

All our Badgers have begun taking home story books, which they have chosen themselves and which they are invited to exchange whenever they so wish. The current titles are from the Usbourne Farm series and the Maisy collection. I will exchange the bank of books at half term, when I will also include a selection of non-fiction texts.

Our subtraction counting rhyme for the week has a Forest School theme and involves the children visiting Mrs Squirrel’s shop to buy her spiky pinecones, purchased with log slice currency. It is a funny song and has had all the children in giggles.

It has been a such a happy and productive week in Nursery. Well done everyone!

Come and join us for a fun social evening with Mr Duigan, as well our esteemed host Alan Chalmers, the Mayor of Kenilworth, in our joint Quiz Night!

Our Quiz takes place on Friday 27 September from 7.00pm to 10.00pm at Crackley Hall School. Tickets are £10 per person for the quiz, which comes with a cheeseboard.   

We are asking you to form a team of up to eight, however, if you cannot find that many, do not be put off, you are more than welcome to come along! You can also ask us to sit you with others to form a team - just say and we can sort it out!  

Please do not bring any drinks as we will be happy to serve you at the PTA bar with a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments. See the link below for tickets and further information. 

Mayoral and PTA Headmaster's Quiz Night Tickets

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Ms Holmes is looking for unwanted costume jewellery and plastic bottle tops please.

You will notice that instead of a hard copy calendar, this year we have a new digital calnedar. It includes an interactive contents pages and handy live links to emails, websites and phone numbers. All can be easily downloaded onto your device of choice and the calendar is designed to be mobile friendly for ease of reference.

All the schoool's publications can also be found on My School Portal under School Information and will be updated during the year as necessary.

This move to a ‘digital first’ approach for our publications, is part of the Foundation’s drive to be more sustainable, reducing paper use, printing and postage costs and providing a more user-friendly experience.

Michaelmas Calendar Card

Please find Michaelmas Termly Curriculum Sheets for your information:

Reception

Junior 1

Junior 2

Junior 3

Junior 4

Junior 5

Junior 6

School Day Timings

The school day commences at 8:30am promptly, and pupils should arrive at 8:20am for registration, to ensure that that they have plenty of time to get to their first lesson punctually.

Early Birds runs from 7:45am to 8:20am.

Any pupils arriving after 8:30am, must sign in at the School Office.

End of the day collection times and locations are as follows:

Registration

Pupils are electronically registered in the morning and after lunch. Registration closes at 8:30am and all children arriving after this time, will need to register with the School Office on arrival. Lateness is recorded and monitored closely. Persistent lateness and/or absence from school will clearly affect a pupil’s achievement and learning.

End of the day collection times and locations are as follows:

End of the day collection times and locations after Games Lessons (if not taking part in sports clubs) during the Michaelmas Term are as follows:

From September 2024 Aftercare will need to be booked through My School Portal.  You will be able to book the whole term in advance, and you are able to cancel this yourself, should you need to.

https://princethorpe.myschoolportal.co.uk/login 

The sessions available are:

Session 1 - 3:30pm to 4:30pm (includes drink and biscuit)

Session 2 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm (includes tea)

Both Sessions - 3:30pm to 6:00pm (includes drink, biscuit and tea)

The costs for Aftercare are £5.00 per hour, or part thereof. You will only be charged for the time that your child spends in Aftercare.

If you require tea, please ensure that you have booked by 12:00pm on the day.

Please ensure that you book Aftercare in good time, as the School Office will be unable to log in to book Aftercare on your behalf.

Morning Drop Off

If using the carline, please move carefully around the roundabout before dropping your child off. Do not stop in the middle of carline, do not block in parked cars or empty spaces and do not use the staff parking spaces.

If you need to walk your child into school, or need to come in for any reason, please use the Lower Playground to park considerately, before making your way into school.

The Sports Field is always open for parking in the morning, please consider parking here and walking over to school to alleviate congestion. Please do not park in the local residential roads where possible. 

Afternoon Collection 

Please arrive promptly at your child’s collection time, as arriving early can cause unnecessary congestion. If using the carline, please move carefully around the roundabout, being extremely aware of pedestrians and other cars.

If you need to come into school for any reason, please use the Lower Playground to park considerately, before making your way into school.

The Sports Field is always open for parking in the afternoon, please consider parking here and walking over to school to alleviate congestion. Please do not park in the local residential roads where possible.

Informing the School of pupil absence

Parents must inform the school via the online absence form on My School Portal or telephone 01926 514444 and leave a voicemail on Option 1, as soon as possible, before 9:00am, if they know that their child will not be in school for either the whole day or any part thereof. For unplanned absence, parents must complete the Absence Form. This can be found on the dashboard or in the My Children section of My School Portal.

If a pupil has a pre-planned appointment, e.g. medical, please inform the school in advance on the Requesting Student Absence: Planned Form, which can be found within the My Children section of My School Portal. This can then be pre-coded on our attendance system. Having alerted the school for any reason of absence it is not necessary to follow up the absence with a written note.

We ask that, where possible, all pupil appointments (e.g. medical or dental) are made out of school hours, to avoid disruption to learning.

Holidays

Parents are strongly discouraged from taking their children out of school and family holidays should always be taken in the school holiday period which is published over a year in advance. Permission for leave of absence for valid reasons such as a family funeral, should be sought in writing and in advance via My School Portal, with as much notice as possible.  Pupils with persistent absence may be asked to provide medical evidence.

If you wish your child to have music tuition at school, then please complete the attached form and return it back to the school office. 

Reception are able to undertake Violin lessons only. Pupils in Junior 1 can access the full range of lessons available. 

Expression of Interest Form

We regularly recruit for a variety of roles, please do share news of the vacancies with interested friends and family. Current vacancies include:

Crackley Hall School

• Site Supervisor

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