The Chronicle

Dear Parents

It was wonderful to welcome everyone back to school on Monday and I was delighted to hear so many stories of a super summer spent with families and loved ones, either at home or abroad.  The staff were here a few days earlier, having enjoyed a happy and stimulating few days of in-service training.  Indeed, most members of staff spent a part of their holidays in school preparing for the new school year.  Thank you to all of them for their work at the start of a busy term.

I would especially like to welcome all our new children and their families to Crackley Hall.  I have been able to catch up with most parents and I am delighted to hear that, in the main, all new children have settled in very quickly and easily.  Thank you to everyone who has helped to make our new children feel so welcome.  We hope that our new families are able to spend many happy and productive years at Crackley Hall and as members of the Princethorpe Foundation.

We welcome Mrs Susan Glen-Roots to the school as Reception Teacher and Assistant Head for Early Years and Key Stage 1.  We will also be welcoming Miss Molly Pearce to Crackley Hall as Teaching Assistant – Molly joins us on Monday.  Mr Steve Vaughan is staying on at Crackley Hall as a Teaching Assistant and Trainee Teacher and I hope that he continues to enjoy his new profession.  As mentioned previously, we are very happy that Mr James Ferris remains with us for another term in order to help see our Junior 6 pupils though the various upcoming entrance exams.

We enjoyed a very happy start of year Celebration Assembly this morning and just about managed to make the finishing time of 09:30!  It is always such a pleasure to hand out awards to hard-working, polite and successful pupils.  Well done to all of our recipients this week, especially Aryan Mehta and Henry Fox on their outstanding achievement in the recent tennis competition(s).  I was also delighted with the pupils’ excellent results in their music and LAMDA examinations – well done to all of them.  It was a pleasure to welcome all our new parents and grandparents to their first celebration Assembly.  Thank you to our PTA members for providing the tea and coffee pre-assembly.

I would like to publicly congratulate Miss Anderton, now Mrs Malcolm, on her recent marriage to her husband, Karl.  I am sure that you will join me in wishing them many years of happiness together.  We also congratulate the Gordon family on the arrival of Clement, brother to Andrew, over the holidays; and the Cowlishaw family – Noah, Theo and Beatrice were delighted that mum and dad brought home a new baby sister, Ella Rose.

Please spare a thought for some of our Junior 6 pupils who are sitting their 11+ entrance examinations this weekend.  We wish them well and keep them in our prayers.

It was a great summer for English cricket!  They duly disposed of both South Africa and the West Indies.  Well done to them – not a good sporting summer from my perspective.

Thank you, once again, to everyone for the many cards and gifts that we, as a staff received at the end of last year – I do hope to get back to people individually very soon.  Your generosity and kind thoughts are very much appreciated.

I wish you all well for the upcoming academic year and will rely on your continued excellent support as we do our best to challenge your children to be the best that they can be.

Lastly, let us all keep in our prayers the people of the Caribbean area and those in the southern parts of the USA as they have to face the disaster that is Hurricane Irma.

I hope that you all manage to have a happy and restful weekend.

God bless,

Robert Duigan