The Chronicle

On Monday 7 October, Crackley Hall School took part in Princethorpe’s Year 5 Maths Challenge. Hosted and organised by the College, it’s an exciting maths competition for primary school aged children. Crackley Hall took two teams of two to compete alongside 52 pairs of enthusiastic and very talented mathematicians from 28 local schools. Our Junior 5 pupils took part in a series of puzzles against the clock. In five eight-minute rounds the children tackled Tangrams, the 24 Game, Shape Arithmetic, Number Detectives and Matchstick Puzzles. Ably supported and marked by a team of Princethorpe’s Year 8 pupils, the competition stretched and challenged our pupils with mathematical activities that required both reasoning skills and mathematical knowledge. Well done to Remy, Hector, Beatrice and Sophie who represented Crackley Hall with pride. Mrs Cowlishaw, who accompanied the teams, said, “The children had a great time and really enjoyed putting their maths skills to the test. There were some very talented mathematicians taking part and our pupils made Crackley Hall School proud.”

Crackley Hall’s U11 Girls played in the ISA Girls’ National Football Festival at Dixie Grammar on Monday 7 October.

In the group stage, the girls won their first pool game 2-0. They then narrowly lost the next two pool games, against the strongest teams in the tournament. That put them third in their group, and they went forward to the Plate play-offs.

They first faced Old Vicarage School in the semis. OVS scored first but, after a tightly contested few minutes, Crackley responded. The final score of a well-matched game was 1-1. That meant a penalty shoot-out! Eleanor, Milly and Jessie stepped up to take the penalties (Jessie was also in goal!) That was a truly nail-biting affair. Eleanor scored in the top right corner, then Jessie saved OVS’ first attempt. Milly’s shot was saved by the OVS keeper and then OVS scored. So, it was all down to the last penalty, Jessie scored Crackley’s final penalty and then saved the OVS shot, taking Crackley through.

In the Plate final, the girls faced Birchfield School. They went out confident and determined and managed to score quickly. A few minutes later, they took the score to 2-0 and then held off the Birchfield attack until the end.

The team earned themselves gold medals and a lovely shield. Well done to them all.

Crackley’s squad included: Eleanor, Milly, Jessie, Grace, Mahnoor, Ella, Evie, Morgan, Charlotte and Scarlett (who was unable to play due to dislocated elbow).

On Wednesday, we welcomed lots of lovely little ones all kitted out in their bright wellies and puddle suits to Stay 'n' Play Forest Fun. After the recent downpours, it was a free play session with the children allowed to wander and explore. There was lots of skill building though, as the youngsters developed their physical walking and balancing skills on the damp, uneven forest floor. Everyone made the most of the unstructured session, negotiating the different obstacles, exploring the slides and the swings, the mud kitchen and just getting stuck in and muddy. It was fabulous to see their growing confidence, independence and sense of accomplishment as they made the most of all the woods has to offer. And best of all, the rain held off all morning.

Don't forget that Stay ‘n’ Play is back in the school hall next Wednesday morning from 10.30am and our next activity session takes place on Wednesday 13 November when Stay ‘n’ Play will be hosted in our school nursery to give parents and youngsters the chance to play and explore.

Mrs Lammas and Junior 6 welcomed PC Darren Lund into school this week for a session on how to stay safe online and on our online presence. As in precious years, Darren discussed the issues that we might face online such as cyberbullying and cybercrime. He then moved on to question the pupils on the legal ages for apps and games.

Did you know, most apps have an age recommendation of 13+?

Pupils watched a dramatization about a girl who doesn’t have her privacy settings on, leaving her vulnerable for anyone to contact her online. As always, the pupils came away from the session feeling empowered to leave a positive digital footprint.

Our thanks go to the Warwickshire Police Youth Engagement Team for their superb knowledge and skills in this area.

The latest issue of The Old Princethorpian, the Princethorpe Foundation’s termly e-newsletter for past pupils, staff and parents, old and new, is out now!

Visit: www.oldprincethorpian.co.uk to have a read.

The newsletter aims to keep our alumni in touch with each other and news, developments and events across the Foundation. It includes the latest Foundation and College news, and plenty of news and updates from OPs across the decades.

It includes a shout out from Gill Pittock, who attended St Joseph's from 1967 to 1981, and would like to reconnect with her former classmates.

If you have any comments on the e-newsletter or news to please do get in touch, email us at oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

The next events in the OP calendar include our Prize Giving Drinks Reception for last year's Upper Sixth on Friday 22 November and the College PTA Christmas Fair on Sunday 1 December.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

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

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!