Dear Parents 

I find it hard to comprehend that this has been the final week of the Lent Term. Where is this year going? 

We have had a wonderful week in the lead up to the Easter holidays. Junior 5 enjoyed a super few days away on their residential outing to PGL. The sun shone down on all the activities; some highlights I have heard about were the giant swing, high ropes, raft building and the breakfasts! These experiences are wonderful to go through; having fun, learning new skills, and enjoying togetherness in a different way. My sincere thanks are extended to all the staff who prepared for, led and accompanied this trip. We missed you and the J5’s this week, but it looked like you all had a super time.  

Father Kevin came into school on Monday to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation to some pupils from Junior 4 and Junior. In life, we all need to reflect and renew after moments of doubt and weakness. Thank you to Father Kevin and Mrs Forino for arranging this for our pupils. 

We join in thanksgiving with our Muslim brothers and sisters, especially those in our school community, who celebrated Eid on Monday, after their observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan.  

Thank you very much to the PTA who kindly ensured that all the children received Easter treats this week. Please look out for the tickets for the Summer Fair and the 80^th Anniversary Ball. See accompanying article for further details. I also appreciated a most useful meeting with our co-chairs of the PTA this week and I know that there are many exciting plans afoot. 

Thank you very much to all our parents who have, so kindly, supported the annual fund. It is greatly appreciated. I am also delighted that we have been able to announce our fee rise so early this year and that we are able to provide reassurance to all of our wonderful Crackley Hall families during these turbulent times. 

After the holidays, I will be providing further updates on actions taken as a result of the parental questionnaire. This initiative has really helped in informing our school development plan and also providing assurances that parents and staff are all thinking alike in many aspects. 

Congratulations to this week’s Stars of the Week: Nursery – Finley; Rec – Jeea and Bella; J1 – Felix and Joshua; J2 – Jacob and Autumn; J3 – Royce and Sam; J4 – Liana and Jai; J5 – were absent due to PGL; J6 – Charlotte P and Jude. Well done to all those who received Lamda and music certificates, to those who were awarded Crackley Compass stars and those who received their Da Vinci certificates.  Mars were the winner of the House Points this week - well done. 

We had a most interesting and successful visit from the senior editor of the Good Schools Guide on Monday. It was rigorous and intense but the pupils and staff who spoke to her were all phenomenal. Thank you to them, and to the parents who were approached for their opinions. The report will be published shortly. 

Thank you very much to all my staff for everything they have given over the past term. They really do care and I am so grateful for all they do for our Crackley Hall pupils. 

Thank you very much for all you generous support in so many ways over the past term. We are blessed to have such a wonderful parent and family community. 

I would like to wish our families a very happy Easter when it comes and that everyone is able to enjoy a very restful and relaxing holiday period. 

I wish everyone a happy and restful weekend. 

God bless, 
Rob Duigan

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." - St Teresa of Calcutta

Mrs O'Carroll-Bailey, our RHSE coordinator has requested if parents would please complete the attached survey, on teaching of RSHE this term within school. It is so important to get feedback, and if you feel able to spend a couple of minutes answering just a few questions it would be greatly appreciated.  You can access the survey here.

Thank you.

As parents were notified in December, from the Trinity Term the optional Early Birds Care session will now incur a charge of £3.50 per child, per session. Our Early Birds Care has proven very popular, and numbers have increased substantially, requiring additional staff to be on site early to supervise pupils. The charge will apply to any child using the Early Bird Care between 7:45am to 8:15am. Any charges incurred will be added on to the next termly invoice. As this is deemed as "wraparound care" these charges can be paid for using childcare vouchers. 

If your child is arriving at school early for a club, music lesson, parent teacher meeting, or an early departure fixture or trip, please inform the Early Birds Staff of the reason, so as not to incur any unnecessary charges. We will allow a reasonable amount of time for early arrival as stated above, however, this will be closely monitored. 

Please click here for the timetable of co-curricular clubs for Trinity Term 2025. 

SOCS will open for registration on Monday 21 April at 6.30pm. All details of sign up are included in the information sheet here. 

Registration will remain open until the end of Monday 28 April.

You will be able to sign up for all of the internal school-based clubs on SOCS. Some clubs have limited numbers and these tend to book up very quickly.

Externally run clubs do not need to be registered for on SOCS instead you should contact these clubs directly.  Please find information below.

Crackley Hall - Complete Cricket 

Crackley Hall - Fencing

Crackley Hall - Move It, Shake It 

Crackley Hall - Tennis 

Crackley Hall - Rugby Tots 

The Summer Production will be taking place on Wednesday 11 June, with shows at 1:00pm and 5:00pm.

Please see below for information regarding costumes.

Costume Letter - Reception to Junior 5

Costume Letter - Junior 6

Please see the attached menus for the Trinity Term. These rotate on a four weekly basis.

Week 1 Lunch Menu 

Week 2 Lunch Menu 

Week 3 Lunch Menu 

Week 4 Lunch Menu 

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 Da Vinci leaflet gives more information about this programme. 

We have moved 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. Bring any examples of activities that have been completed to Mrs Cowlishaw to share with the whole school.

Please see here for April's challenge. 

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

Should you require Aftercare please book this 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 5:00pm (includes drink and biscuit)

Session 2 - 5:00pm to 6:00pm (includes tea)

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

If you require tea, please ensure that you have booked by 1:00pm 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.

Aftercare will be open for booking on Friday 11 April from 6:00pm

The latest edition of Crackley Hall and Little Crackers Nursery's Admissions Update e-newsletter has just been published and is available to read here. Please do share it with interested family and friends.

Packed full of information and news it gives prospective parents a feel for school life, details of forthcoming events and helpful advice about the admissions process, particularly for those who are looking at entry in September 2025 and beyond.

It reminds prospective parents that Crackley Hall's and Little Crackers’ next Open Evening takes place on Thursday 8 May 2025 from 5.00pm to 7.00pm.

Our Admissions Update Newsletters are published twice a year to coincide with key admissions periods, the next edition will be out in Autumn 2025.

To register for the Open Evening or for further information on admissions, please do contact the school's Registrar, Jenny Vaughan, on 01926 514410 or by email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk. More information is also available on the school website www.crackleyhall.co.uk/admissions-crackley.

Warwickshire’s Road Safety Team visited school to work with Junior 6.

Pupils took part in a special session refreshing their knowledge and understanding of road safety and looking at why young people can fail to act safely when they are out and about on the roads.

As the children move on to secondary school, they will face many distractions such as the use of mobile phones and headphones, time pressures and peer pressures, and these can all impact on their road safety decisions.

During their session, pupils learned to identify impulsive behaviour and how to develop coping strategies to enable them to stay safe.

Many thanks to Warwickshire Road Safety for providing the safety session.

Crackley Hall's Easter Holiday Club will run Monday 7 April to Friday 11 April, Monday 14 April to Thursday 17 April and Tuesday 22 April to Friday 25 April 2025 with sessions available from 8.00am to 6.00pm, providing flexible childcare for parents. The club is led by Crackley Hall staff who the children already know and is open to all pupils who attend school here. Email us at holidayclub@crackleyhall.co.uk to book your place.

The children will enjoy a wide range of engaging and enriching activities, from sports, crafts and baking, to fun themed days. We will also use the school's minibuses to take the children out on day trips to places like Ryton Pools Country Park, indoor soft play centres and local bowling and cinema venues.  Come and join us!

A full programme is available to view here.

Not experienced Team Super Sports Camps before? Team Super Sports is offering all Princethorpe Foundation parents a FREE DAY at camp this Easter if you have not attended before! Simply click here to book your spot. 

Checkout this video of the Super Sports Camp at Princethorpe to see what they get up to. 

Team Super Sports Camps are held at Princethorpe College from Monday 7 April to Friday 25 April (excluding bank holidays), the Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Children aged 7 to 16 can choose from a variety of sports 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!

Camps are priced at £38 per day.

Sibling discounts and flexible booking options available!

Click here to book your Team Super Sports camps 

Crackley Hall’s Holiday Club will be running as normal click here to read their article to find out more information. 

The Tale of Peter Rabbit​
Wednesday 9 April - 2.30pm and Thursday 10 April - 2.30pm and  4.00pm

As part of the Foundation's drive to increase non-fee income, our Commercial Enterprise Team are delighted to be hosting LOL Theatre Company's lovingly adapted production of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in The Clarkson Theatre in the run up to Easter.

When young Peter Rabbit disobeys his mother and enters the forbidden garden belonging to Mr McGreggor, he indulges himself with lettuce, green beans and radishes, however he soon starts to feel sick and goes in search of some parsley to soothe his stomach ache. Who does he encounter when he ventures further into the vegetable patch? None other than Mr McGreggor himself! After a frantic chase, he loses his clothes and his sense of direction. Will Peter Rabbit escape Mr McGreggor's clutches and return home unharmed? More importantly, will he learn his lesson and listen to his mother's warnings next time? Let's hope so!

This 45-minute family friendly production is based on the classic short story by Beatrix Potter and teaches about the importance of listening to warnings, doing the right thing and facing the consequences of your actions. Recommended for ages 4 and above.

This enchanting theatre show brings Beatrix Potter’s beloved characters to life! This is a public performance and all are welcome.

Tickets

• Adult ticket - £10
• Child ticket - £5
• Under 4s go FREE

Click here to book your seats.

As part of their preparation for secondary school transition, we will be taking the Junior 5 classes to our Foundation senior school, Princethorpe College on Thursday 1 May for a ‘Step Up To Secondary School’ Taster Day.

The dedicated Taster Day will begin at 9.30am with the children transported to the College by minibus. Pupils will experience a variety of classroom sessions, a tour of the school and a question and answers session with current pupils. Break and lunch will be provided and there is no charge for the day.

At the end of the afternoon, parents are invited to a Parents’ Information Session and optional tour of the school. The session will commence at 4.15pm and finish at approximately 5.30pm for those who would like a tour. Light refreshments will be served. Grove du Toit, Princethorpe’s Headmaster, along with other key members of staff, will be on hand to talk to you about the College, its ethos and vision and to answer any further questions you might have about the admissions process for Foundation pupils who are now able to take advantage of the Early Offer Scheme. Click here for details.

For those parents who are unable to attend the Parents’ Information Session, your child will be transported back to school for 3.30pm. Children whose parents are collecting them from Princethorpe will have an extra lesson before their parents arrive.

This event is well timed to give pupils and parents a good feel for the College before the registration deadline for the Early Offer Scheme on Tuesday 6 May.  Early offers will be made to Foundation pupils on Thursday 12 June as appropriate.

If you have any queries regarding the Early Offer Scheme please feel free to contact the College’s friendly Admissions Team, Cathering Rogers, Registrar, and Georgia Newborough, Assistant Registrar, on 01926 634201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Our Stars of the Week this week are: 

• Nursery - Finley
• Reception A - Jeea
• Reception OC - Bella
• J1R - Felix
• J1H - Joshua
• J2M - Jacob
• J2V - Autumn
• J3C - Royce
• J3W - Sam
• J4A - Liana
• J4C - Jai
• J5L - PGL
• J5S - PGL
• J6H - Charlotte P
• J6V -  Jude

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!

Congratulations to all our Junior da Vinci award winners this week:

• Mathematics - Joel
• Art - Darcey
• PSHE - Amelie, Alice, Autumn, Sebastian, Grace and Jude
• English - Rosie
• Computing - Elliott, Jovan and George
• French - Ben

Our Junior 6 historians have been exploring the vital work carried out by women at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. The amazing skills and efforts of Allied codebreakers such as Mavis Batey, Jean Valentine and Jane Fawcett played a central role in the Allied victory. The children were surprised to learn that the women were not even allowed to discuss their work for a long time after the war had ended. Junior 6 read texts about some of these incredible codebreakers to find out more about their lives and achievements during the war. The children then had a go at using morse code to say their name! We were also very impressed to see Jessica’s Second World War air raid shelter that she had made recently. Lovely work to end a brilliant term Junior 6! 

This week, Junior 5 have been having a fantastic time on their residential trip to PGL, Boreatton Park. The children have been enjoying learning new skills through a range of different activities: archery, giant swing, high ropes and more. They have also been demonstrating their teamworking skill in raft building where they had to work together to create a raft that floated along the river. The children had activity packed days as well as enjoyable evenings with Laser tag, PGL games and a campfire. Overall, the children have had an amazing time and a valuable experience.

This week, Junior 4 have wholeheartedly embraced their roles as eco-warriors, diving deep into our whole school focus of Sustainability by researching renewable energy sources. The children worked in groups to investigate various renewable energy sources, integrating their learnings from both Geography and Science. Each group took the time to research different energy types, looking into how these sources work and their impact on the environment. The children presented their findings with enthusiasm and creativity, eager to share their insights with the rest of the year group. The topics explored were tidal power, wind energy, solar power, geothermal energy, and hydroelectric power.

It was inspiring to see them take pride in their research, demonstrating a strong commitment to understanding sustainable energy solutions and sparking meaningful conversations about the importance of renewable resources and the role each of us can play in protecting our planet for future generations.

This week, Junior 3 have continued to strive to be the best that they can be in all areas of their learning! In Geography, they have been studying how coastal erosion occurs and the impact of that on coastal areas. They discussed the challenges our coasts face, in addition to coastal erosion, and they have considered what they can do to make a difference. Many shared that during the Easter break, and along with Ms Holmes’ Seesaw task for the Easter holiday, they are going to pick up some litter on a beach they are visiting – we can’t wait to hear about them helping our coasts and having an impact on the wider community. In Maths, we have continued developing our fraction skills and have been applying our learning to solving word problems. As writers this week, still thinking about ‘The Mousehole Cat,’ we have been considering how to uplevel our sentence structures, writing sentences comparing the Great Storm Cat and the Storm Kitten, using conjunctions, ambitious vocabulary and interesting openers.

This week, Junior 2 have been busy completing their writing inspired by the traditional 'Chinese Magic Paintbrush' tale. Over this half-term, they have written their own interpretation of the second part of the story, have created their own poem and have now written a letter to Shen to try and persuade her to help them. We have been amazed by their creative ideas and fabulous, accurate writing!

The Easter story has been the main focus in English this week for Junior 1. Some super understanding was shown through a comprehension task and sequencing of the events in the correct order, but our main task was to write what happened on each day of Holy Week and present them in the shape of a cross to remind us what happened to Jesus on Good Friday. After learning all about the importance of Easter in the Christian faith, we also had some fun making Easter baskets, nests, hats and cards. We also had time to practise our poem in Drama for our Lamda exams that are coming up early next term, and Mrs Paphitis was very impressed with how well we know them already. We are now ready for a lovely Easter break and wish everyone a very Happy Easter.

This week the children have been preparing for Easter. They have enjoyed  making chocolate Easter nests with shredded wheat and mini eggs. They have written and created some beautiful Easter cards for their family and enjoyed an easter egg hunt outside in the sunshine.   We hope you all have a lovely Easter from all of us in the Reception team. 

Weekly and daily Masses are held at St. Francis RC Church, Warwick Road, and St Augustine RC Church, Beehive Hill, Kenilworth.  

For dates and times follow the link above and scroll down. 

Please see link below for this week's mission

WEEKLY MISSION 

Our Sports Information Booklet provides you with key information across the department including contact details, fixtures and selection and kit requirements.

Sport Information Booklet 2024-25

If you have any questions or queries, please contact Head of Games, Mr Stedeford. 

We are delighted to announce our Peripatetic Music Teacher, Emily Stewart-White, is opening up the registration window to her rather successful Key Stage 1 pBuzzify (beginner pBuzz trombone) and Key Stage 2 Cornet Club (beginner cornets) for more members.

If you would like to sign up your child(ren) to these clubs please contact Emily, as soon as possible now, so she can collate interest and plan timetables. 

See here for more information.

This week in Dormice, we've had a fantastic time enjoying the beautiful sunshine while exploring the sand. The children have been thrilled to play with the dinosaurs in the tuff tray, sparking their imaginations and creativity.

In celebration of Easter, we've crafted some delightful Easter-themed creations that the children will be excited to take home at the end of the week. Additionally, we've had fun exploring the sensory tray, which featured a special visit from the Easter Bunny, adding an extra touch of magic to our activities.

Badgers and Hedgehogs took turns to tackle this week’s maths capacity challenge, to fill a 1 litre jug, using only a 10ml syringe. Friends raced neck-to-neck, keeping pace with each other through the whole task, which made for an exciting spectator sport!

During the Easter craft activity, the children’s scissor skills were put to the test, cutting zigzags across cardboard plates to recreate the jaggedy edge of a cracked egg shell, for their cheery, cheepy-chick cards.

Music and Movement has been our theme for the final week of term. We strengthened our hands and finger muscles by going along to the ‘dough disco’, each with a ball of play dough to manipulate on cue. Then we exercised our whole bodies in time to the Anvil Chorus from Giuseppe Verdi's opera ‘Il Trovatore’, as we imagined visiting a construction site. Later in the week, we imagined preparing a meal to the music of Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms.

During RE, our pre-schoolers heard the story of Jesus’s donkey ride into Jerusalem. They acted out the story and waved paper palms as well as laying down their coats to make a special carpet along the dusty road in Israel. Everyone wanted to welcome Jesus to town!

Our friendly baby and toddler group returns to Little Crackers Nursery after the Easter break on Wednesday 30 April.

We meet at 10.30am to 11.45am on Wednesdays in term-time, mostly in the school hall, although we have a fabulous programme of visiting activities when we make the most of the school’s facilities.

Our special events in the Trinity Term include:

• Forest Fun - Wednesday 14 May
• Look Inside Nursery - Wednesday 11 June 
  For this session you'll be able to play with all the toys and explore all the facilities our nursery has to offer.
• Teddy Bears' Picnic - Wednesday 18 June 

These special activities need to be booked in advance as places are limited. To book your place please contact Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or email staynplay@littlecrackers.co.uk

We love to see familiar faces and new friends and hope that you can join us. Children are welcome from 0-4 years old.

Summer Fair - Saturday 17 May - 12.00pm to 3.00pm

Crackley Hall’s Summer Fair tickets are on sale now. Please use the QR code to purchase your tickets or follow the link below. Buy your tickets by Thursday 8 May and get your name entered into a draw to win two tickets to the Crackley PTA Ball.

Crackley Hall PTA

Donations

We are looking for donations of new or good as new soft toys, games and toys, and in date bottles for our tombola. This would be much appreciated. Please leave them in the foyer by the front office. 

Summer Raffle 

We are looking for donations/contributions toward our summer raffle, please let us know if you can help. You can let us know by email, we’d love to hear from you!  chair@pta.crackleyhall.co.uk

The PTA would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped with setting up and running the Cross Country Festival on Tuesday and Wednesday 25 and 26  March. It was a great success! 

PTA Pre-loved Uniform 

Many thanks for all the donations that have been sent in this year - without these we literally could not operate! The PTA are desperately in need of donations, specifically sports kit, and KS1 uniform (blazers, jumpers and clip on ties). Please put your donated items in the boxes provided that are located in the hallway at the front of the school.

When we return to school after the Easter Holidays, all children are to wear their summer uniform.

Please see below for details of this.

General Uniform

As previously communicated, from September 2024 the current boys' and girls' uniform was replaced with two uniform options, simply named 'Uniform Option 1' and 'Uniform Option 2'. The two lists contain the same uniform items as they previously did. Children and families can choose which of the two options is right for them.

Summer Uniform - Option 1

Black school trousers or knee length school shorts (NOT cargo style) with standard white white shirt and tie, black school socks, jumper and blazer.

Summer Uniform - Option 2

Reception to Junior 4 - summer dress, white school socks, jumper and blazer.

Junior 5 - either summer dress and white school socks or tartan skirt with white revere collar blouse (no tie), black school socks, jumper and blazer.

Junior 6 - tartan skirt with white revere collar blouse (no tie), black school socks, jumper and blazer.

Hair

Hairstyles and colours must be suitable for school and natural in colour. All long hair must be tied back using suitable hair accessories in burgundy or black. Hair accessories can be purchased from the Uniform Shop and the School Office.

Make Up and Nail Varnish

Make up and nail varnish must not be worn.

Earrings and Jewellery

Earrings and jewellery must not be worn.

Foundation Uniform Shop

The Foundation Uniform Shop is open from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Monday to Wednesday during term time, and by appointment only during the school holidays.

Please call directly on 01926 634272 to make an appointment or alternatively email uniform@princethorpe.co.uk

Online Uniform Ordering Form

Please see the new electronic uniform ordering system.

New Uniform Order

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

Princethorpe College

• Performing Arts Technician and Administrator

Crescent School

• Class Teacher – KS1
• Class Teacher – Lower KS2
• Class Teacher – KS2 (part time)
• After School Manager

For further information please refer to the link below 

Full details and how to apply are available via the following link: Join Us

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

Please see below some useful links to our documentation. 

• Absences And Leave Requests - Lost Property
• Administration Of Medication Form
• After Care
• Contact Information
• Medical Links
• Expression of Interest For Individual Music Tuition
• School Day Timings
• Uniform Order Form
• Trinity Clubs Timetable