The Chronicle

Over the summer holidays, 18 Crackley Hall pupils completed the Marvellous Makers Summer Reading Challenge. To recognise their reading achievement, at break time today, Mrs Van Zyl, Crackley Hall’s English Lead, gathered the pupils together to award them a ‘Practice’ Junior da Vinci and a special bookmark prize.

Organised in conjunction with Warwickshire Libraries and The Reading Agency, The Marvellous Makers reading challenge aimed to fire up children’s imaginations and develop their storytelling and creative skills. Over the course of the school holidays, pupils were encouraged to read six books from their local library. Every child who completed the challenge received a Marvellous Makers certificate.

It was a great way to keep pupils reading, especially when the children weren’t in the classroom, and Mrs Van Zyl was impressed with how many pupils took part. A number of them read many more books than the six required, with Ralph reading a total of 14 and even being invited to receive his certificate from the local Mayor in a presentation at Kenilworth Library.

It was lovely to hear of the children’s summer reading exploits; reading for pleasure is one of the most important skills a child can learn. 

Yesterday, Thursday 3 October, children across school celebrated National Poetry Day by exploring a wide range of poems, many linked to the core texts they have been studying.

Junior 2 read the hilarious poem Rapunzel by Kenn Nesbitt. In this alternative version of the traditional tale, Rapunzel decides that she has had quite enough of hanging around waiting for Prince Charming to rescue and marry her and, instead, cuts off her billowing tresses and follows her own dreams to join a rock and roll band. Junior 2 had great fun performing this poem with great gusto and it has definitely inspired some poets amongst them.

Children in Junior 3 and Junior 4 worked extra hard in their performances of their LAMDA poems. The children focussed on communicating the joy of the poems through their vocal and facial expression which, in turn, brought smiles to the faces of the audience. The benefits to both the performing children and the ones watching was palpable.

What lovely ways to celebrate such an important day in our calendar.

October is Black History Month in the UK. This year, we have decided to move away from termly and half termly JDV challenges and are using a monthly theme to suggest activities to challenge and interest pupils.

Each month different activities will be suggested. Pupils do not have to complete all, or any of these activities. They are available to all pupils in all years, so pupils can choose to investigate something that they are interested in.  

Please bring any examples of activities that have been completed to Mrs Cowlishaw to share with the whole school.

Black History Month – October

In the UK, Black History Month is a national celebration that aims to promote and celebrate the contributions Black people have made to society. It’s also an opportunity to promote an understanding of Black history more widely and gives everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.

2024’s theme is 'Reclaiming Narratives'. This is about recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.

Here are some activities to try:

Art

Investigate the life of famous artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Alma Thomas, can you create your own piece in their style?

The Brilliance of Basquiat

How to create an Alma Thomas collage for kids

Music

Here is an example of a listening calendar for October. Songs from 20 amazing, influential musicians. Which one is your favourite? Did this inspire you to listen to more music by any of these artists?

Sport

Find out about the lives of these famous sports people. What makes them so inspirational? How have they used their fame to change lives of others? Can you find any others that are just as inspirational to add to our list?

• Marcus Rashford
• Lewis Hamilton
• Tessa Sanderson

Historical Figures

These people have all been influential and have made history by doing something amazing. What can you find out about them? Can you find out about other historical figures to celebrate Black History Month?

• Walter Tull
• Mary Seacole
• Samuel Coleridge Taylor
• Diane Abbott
• Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Poetry

This week we celebrated National Poetry Day. Benjamin Zephaniah was a pioneer of dub poetry and one of the most influential and outspoken voices in contemporary British literature, and he was from Birmingham.

Here is his poem about Christmas Turkey. Do you like his style? What do you think his poem is about? Can you create two lines of poetry that rhyme, from the Christmas Turkey perspective? Write your own poem in Benjamin Zephaniah’s style.

"Talking Turkeys" Kinetic Text

Recommended reads – have a look at some of these books to expand you reading horizons.

• Race to the Frozen North – Catherine Johnson (The story of Matthew Henson and Captain Peary and the race to the North Pole)
• Respect – Michaela Morgan (Based on the amazing true story of Walter Tull)
• Hidden Figures – Margot Shetterly & Laura Freeman (A picture book of the incredible true story of the four women who helped NASA launch men into space)
• Counting on Katherine – Helaine Becker (A non-fiction book celebrating the life of Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who played a crucial role in the Apollo 11 mission to put a man on the moon)

I hope you enjoy these activities – please let me know how you get on, and bring in some examples of things you have found out!

Mrs Cowlishaw

The school celebrated Mass on Tuesday for the harvesting of food around the world and of the importance of looking after others in a wider community. Father Kevin, who led the Mass along with pupils from Junior 5S, offered the Mass for the life of the school. 

Father Kevin delivered a thoughtful homily that connected the feast days of two saints - St Therese of Lisieux (1 October) and St Francis of Assisi (4 October). By drawing parallels between these two saints, Fr Kevin emphasised their shared mission of helping God's kingdom flourish. From Saint Therese with her idea that small actions matter, and from St Francis on how we are all brothers and sisters - from the moon, the stars and the importance of caring for water resources and forests. Father Kevin concluded by encouraging everyone to perform small acts of love in God's world so it is a beautiful place to live.

Junior 5, pupil, Patrick has come up with a lovely fundraising suggestion that we just could not let pass us by.

From Monday 7 October, Patrick will be bringing in a limited daily supply of his homegrown pumpkins to sell here at school, there will be a variety on offer, the traditional orange ones, but also green and white varieties and maybe even different shapes too. They will be replenished daily.

Thank you to Patrick for this wonderful idea for raising money for charity, we will let you know how he gets on. 

If you would like your child to buy a pumpkin, please send in either £5, £3 or £2, and we will send your child home with one.

Once they`ve gone, they`ve gone!