The Chronicle

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.

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