The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I have been fortunate to have attended the Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference with Mr Hester in Liverpool where we have benefited from some inspiring educational talks and seminars.  Archbishop Malcom MacMahon celebrated Mass for all delegates earlier today and this brought the conference to a close.  I always try to bring some of what I learn back into our school.  I am grateful that staff have been keeping me updated on the various events in school over the past couple of days and am particularly grateful to Mr Cottrill and Ms Dyer for all they have done in my absence.

On Monday this week, the J6 classes enjoyed an informative visit to Coombe Abbey to learn more about rivers.  My thanks to Mrs Lammas for organising this outing and you can read more about their findings later in the Chronicle. I know that everyone who participated enjoyed the visit despite the cold.

I am grateful to Mrs Glen-Roots for leading the celebration assembly this morning and have been informed that Toby Lucas played a lovely piece of music on the cello; well done Toby.  Last week Holly Lloyd-Evans sang a beautiful solo during assembly.  I am always most impressed by anyone who can perform on stage and to perform solo takes bravery and confidence.  I know that there are many young people in school who are able to play an instrument, sing or have a special talent and we will continue to support all those children and nurture their abilities.

Congratulations to all of our stars of the week and I look forward to hearing more about their individual awards later.  I have also been told that our Formula 1 group, ‘Speed Stingers’, made a presentation to everyone this morning.  If you are able to support our young budding designers, please do get in touch with Mrs Spillane and she will be only too happy to hear from you and in return the F1 group will be able to promote your company on merchandise and on our pit display, in addition to local media coverage and VIP tickets with other company sponsors.

As you may have noticed, we held our Open Day on Tuesday which was incredibly successful and I have received some very positive feedback and complimentary comments about the school and our pupil guides.  The children who escorted our guests around school spoke with pride and enthusiasm, something which was also noted during our inspection.  Thank you to all of you involved in the day, particularly Mrs Jenny Vaughan.

Father Kevin said Mass today to celebrate the beginning of a new school term and calendar year.   The focus of today’s Mass was to contemplate how we can all make changes in our lives, no matter how small, which will enable us to serve God.   Congratulations to Martha Summers who received RE Book of the Week for her piece about her own personal beliefs and the difficulties in developing and exploring your own faith.

This week has seen an unprecedented amount of sickness across the school and I hope that the weekend will give children the rest they need to recover from the various bugs circulating.  If your child is suffering from a sickness or stomach bug, please ensure that they remain absent from school until 48 hours after the last episode.

I am sure that you will already know that our pro-active PTA have organised an Auction of Promises which opens today.  There is always something which is worth your bid and I would urge you to support their efforts as all proceeds will raise money from which the children will benefit.

We share our best wishes with our swimmers who are representing the Midlands at the ISA National Gala in the Olympic pool this weekend.  We look forward to hearing how Eva Plevin and Lily Carroll do on Sunday.

I wish you all a happy and relaxing weekend.

God Bless

Robert Duigan

We have a number of trips coming up over the next few weeks. Please see the relevant letters below. This information is also available in the Trips and Important Dates section. 

J2 Great Fire of London Costume letter - Tuesday 30 January

J5 & J4 Young Voices Information letter - Friday 26 January

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Three able Crackley Hall School mathematicians are set to pit their wits against children from around the world in the Bonus Round of a mathematics competition in February.

Back in November seven children from the school’s Mathematics Club took part in the Primary Maths Challenge (PMC), a competition for pupils who enjoy problem solving puzzles full of interesting and stimulating mathematics. The PMC is a test with multiple-choice questions which develops mathematical reasoning skills and it is aimed at pupils in Years 5 and 6.

68,000 pupils from almost 1,700 schools took part in the 2017 Challenge and Crackley Hall was delighted that all seven Crackley participants were awarded certificates of achievement.  However, it has just been confirmed that three pupils, Annika Saravanan J6, Erin King J6 and Alistair Darnell J5, achieved scores good enough to secure them a place in the Bonus Round of the competition which will be held on Wednesday 7 February.  

Jayne Geran, Assistant Head Academic and Key Stage 2, said, “Annika, Erin and Alistair should be incredibly proud of qualifying for this extra stage, as getting to the Bonus Round is a great achievement and shows just how talented they are. What is most satisfying though, is to see how much fun they have had along the way.”

Would you like to sponsor our Jaguar Primary School Challenge?

If you work with or for a company that you think may be interested in supporting 'Speed Stingers', our 'F1 in Schools - Jaguar Primary School Challenge' team, we would like to invite you to into school next week to watch their presentation to see if you would like to help them through sponsorship or support more formally.

The presentation will take place on Wednesday 24 January at 4.00pm. If you would like to find out more about sponsoring the team or to attend this event, please email Mrs Spillane - margaretspillane@crackleyhall.co.uk.

Each year, Jaguar Land Rover runs its 'F1 in Schools - Jaguar Primary School Challenge', and, once again, Crackley Hall are excited to be putting a team of four forward. Our team is called ‘Speed Stingers’ and we are taking part in the Regional Finals on 26 April at Princethorpe College. The link for more information about the JLR Primary School Challenge is: www.f1inschools.co.uk/primary. Please take a look if you have time.

This week J6 ventured to the wild open spaces of Coombe Abbey Country Park to take to the waters as part of their Geography curriculum. What is normally the playground for Coventry was turned over to scientific analaysis as our budding Geographers first learnt about and then recorded the features of a river channel. Pooh sticks in hand they analysed speed of flow and considered water systems and channel erosion.

Then, with net, magnifier and ID card at the ready they were off to Coombe's Top Pool to discover the aquatic bio-diversity on offer. Shrieks of delight could be heard as dragon fly lava made themselves known from between the leaf litter of each child's tray. Such a busy day was rounded off nicely with lunch and a quick scoot around the children's playground before this weary group of pupils boarded the bus for the short trip home. 

An energised Mrs Lammas (J6L Class Teacher and Geography Co-ordinator) summed up the warm feeling, "Trips like these take the subject from the page and into the real world, the memories of which, and hopefully a love of Geography, will stay with them for life".  

Five times a year Crackley Hall throws its doors wide open to welcome prospective pupils and parents into school.  It is their chance to see what is so very special about Crackley Hall and what makes it a place that has been described as the ‘next best place to home’ by its pupils.

The latest Open Day took place this week on Tuesday 16 January 2018 and the school was pleased to welcome lots of interested parents and would be pupils.

Rob Duigan, Headmaster commented, “We were delighted with the level of interest in admission to the school.  We know many families who already have children at the school will have recommended it to friends, but our ‘Excellent’ grades achieved across the board in the recent ISI inspection has clearly heightened parental interest."  

Pupils from Year 6 took visitors on a tour of the school, confidently answering questions whilst they showcased the school’s fantastic facilities.  Staff and pupils in other years continued with their normal lessons but welcomed visitors to their classrooms warmly.  Parents were able to talk with staff and children and afterwards meet Mr Duigan.

Parents are reminded that the deadline for applications for admission to Reception in September 2018 is early next month, Monday 5 February.   Parents interested in applying for places in other years, current Reception to Junior 5,  are advised to contact Jenny Vaughan, Admissions and Marketing Secretary on admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk or 01926 514410 to enquire about availability.

Crackley’s next Open Morning takes place on Saturday 10 March from 10.30am to 12.30pm and will include tours, performances and activities showcasing the school.  

Tuesday 20 March 2018, 10.30am to 12.30pm 

Princethorpe College is pleased to announce a new Open Event date for your diaries. On Tuesday 20 March, the College will be open to visitors from 10.30am to 12.30pm. A perfect opportunity to view the school on a normal working day, with pupils from Years 7 and 8 acting as tour guides (so you may see a familiar face or two!).

All are welcome and there is no need to book. For further information, please contact the Registrar, Mrs Vanessa Rooney on 01926 634201 or at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.  

The College’s next Open Event after the March Open Morning will be the Open Evening on Wednesday 6 June 2018 from 6.00pm to 8.30pm.

Please click the image to scroll through a few of the images from this week's events. 

On Friday 19 January, Father Kevin celebrated Mass to mark the beginning of a new school term and the new calendar year.

Pupils took time out of their busy day to  think about ways that  we can all make changes to our lives, which will enable us to serve God, create stronger friendships and develop an understanding of our faith. The opening hymn, Colours of Day, encouraged pupils to be the light to chase away the darkness and the flame that lights the way.

Our thanks as ever go to Father Kevin for helping us celebrate new beginnings. 

Friday 28 January - 9.30am

Thank you to the parents who attended the Holy Communion meeting on Tuesday night.

There will be an enrolment for the Holy Communicants of 2018 at 9.30am Mass on Friday 28 January, at St Francis Church.

Martha Summers receives RE Book of the Week this week for her wonderful discursive piece on her own beliefs. In this piece of work, Martha has captured the difficulties in developing and exploring your own faith.

U11 & U 10 'A' Team- 3-0 (Loss)

Player of the Match - Ashton Jones

U11 & U10 'B' 1-1 (Draw)

Player of the Match - Jamie Phillips

U11 'C' 3-0 (Loss)

Player of the Match - Oscar Glover

U11 'D' 2-0 (Win)

Player of the Match - Jack Mills

Special mention for Jack Mills for such a marked improvement in his game.

U9 'A'       1-0 (Loss)

Player of the Match - Avar Khatkar

U9 'B'       1-1 (Draw)

Player of the Match - Alfie Blenkinsop

U9 'C'       3-1 (Loss)

Player of the Match - Lucas Summers and Thomas Martins

U10 'A'    13-1 (Loss)

Player of the Match: Francesca Kelly

U10 'B'    10 - 1 (Loss)

Player of the Match: Cecilia Holdgate

Friday 26 January 2018

Unfortunately there will be no orchestra at lunchtime or cross country club after school as staff are out on a trip.

Please find below the registration forms for the clubs run by outside providers.  You will need to complete these forms and return them with payment to the school office.  You will also need to register for the club on SOCS. You can access SOCS here: www.crackleyhallsport.co.uk

Irish Dancing

Rugby Tots registration

ATMA Karate

Chess

Ballet

Rock band

This week has really flown by, with so many exciting things going on.  We all joined in to tell the story of The Little Red Hen, and after finding out how the animals who didn’t help weren’t able to taste the bread, everyone was keen to join in when Miss Gail made bread with us!  It was lovely soda bread and many of us we were able to enjoy it for our snack as well as take some home. 

Miss Gail also celebrated her birthday this week, and as she was ‘a very important number’ Mr Duigan popped in to help us sing to her and give her some lovely flowers! 

Miss Jane painted some red hens for our new story display, and Miss Lisa has been so proud of her pre-school group this week as they are finding sounds in their names and getting much better at holding their pencils correctly to write the letters. 

Our ‘extremely enormous ipad on the wall’ has been so useful when practising our anti-clockwise writing shapes, we can do some very big writing when we want to!  Have a great weekend, see you next week.

For further details of the 'fun and goings-on' with Nursery please click on the attached link.

Little Crackers Nursery are in need of some all-in-one waterproofs aged 4-5 years and some sturdy tricycles. Before the PTA looks into funding, if anyone has any of these items at home that their children have outgrown then please consider donating them to the Nursery - they would be very grateful and they would be put to good use. 

Crackley Hall PTA

Saturday 3 March 2018, 1.00pm - 3.00pm

A firm favourite in the Crackley Hall calendar is the PTA Family Bingo event! Be sure to save the date for now and more details will follow shortly. 

This year's online Auction of Promises is now LIVE!  We already have a fantastic array of prizes which have been donated by local businesses but we are asking each family to come up with a 'lot' that you, or people you know, may be able to donate - anything from a home baked cake to use of a holiday home or a service (babysitting, gardening, tuition, sharing a skill you have). 

Please take a look at the Auction website, which will be live until 4 February, to see what is already on offer. Prizes will continue to be added whilst the website is live so keep checking in to see the new lots. Visit https://auctionofpromises.com/auctionread.aspx?a=3125

If you have any queries, please speak to Julie Hutton or email ptafundraising@crackleyhall.co.uk.

Winter Ball - Saturday 3 February at the Woodside, Glasshouse Lane, Kenilworth

If you have expressed an interest in the Winter Ball on 3 February, you should have received an email with details of how to pay and select your menu choices.

There are still a few spaces left so if you would like to join us or if you have any questions, please speak to Julie Hutton or email ptafundraising@crackleyhall.co.uk.

There will be a raffle at the ball and although we have received some great prizes from generous local businesses, we would be grateful for any further contributions (maybe unwanted Christmas gifts?).  There is a box in the school foyer where you can leave any donations.

Please see the poster for further details. 

William Verity J1G – has lost his named coat, his named jumper and a named Light Blue Recorder Bag.

Henry Verity J3V – has lost a named coat and named jumper.

Naryan Cheema J5V  has lost a green pencil case with a football cover.

Harkirit Jandu J6L has lost a coat.