The Chronicle

Dear Parents,

We have managed to avoid the snow so far this week but it has been incredibly icy on the local roads and pavements.  I am very grateful to our Caretaker, Mr Hardwick, for his efforts early in the morning and later in the evening spreading grit around our grounds to ensure that staff, children and parents are as safe as possible. Please take care over the weekend should the snow arrive.

We are delighted to welcome Richard Hill as part of the Aftercare team this week.  Richard is a keen and very able sportsman, has completed the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, attended Camp America as a helper/leader and is an old Princethorpian.  Please do say ‘hello’ to him when you collect your children from Aftercare.

Whilst there haven’t been any external visits this week, we have welcomed visitors to school including UNICEF, representatives from the Coventry Night Shelter and Junior 1 children from St Augustine’s Primary School.  The response to the request for donations to the Coventry Night Shelter has been heart-warming and I would like to thank you most sincerely for your generosity.  I am delighted to be able to tell you that just over £270 was raised and will be donated to the charity which will make a significant difference to this local cause.

Unfortunately there has been some disruption to sports fixtures and clubs this week due to the extremely cold weather.  This is unavoidable and out of our control with all decisions made with the health and safety of your child being of the utmost importance.

I was delighted to award an abundance of Bronze Certificates today, as well as a Silver Award.  Well done to all the children and I am sure they are all proud to wear their new achievement badges.  Congratulations to all our Stars of the Week: Charlie, Joseph, Aaron, Evie, Lexi, Amelia, Theodora, Carolina, Sam, Scarlett, Iman, Constanza, Honey, Joe and Isabella.  RE Book of the Week was awarded to Isaac and we had two Gymnasts of the Week - Oliver and Kyra.  Thank you for your continued support by encouraging the children as much as we do in school; they all enjoy receiving their awards in recognition of their hard work.

The performances by Junior 3, Willow, Iman and our Choral Group this morning were absolutely lovely and certainly were testament to all their hard work and effort.

Whilst on the subject of Celebration Assembly, the PTA are considering the option of not using disposable cups for the pre-assembly refreshments – possibly from after half term.  Alternatives being considered are that parents might like to bring their own re-usable cup with a lid or we would use the school’s tea/coffee cups.

Whilst tennis, cricket and football, along with the four nations netball, have taken up most of the interest on recent sporting television, we have the Six Nations starting this evening as France play Wales in Paris.  Ireland are up against England and Scotland play Italy on the opening weekend of fixtures.  Most ‘experts’ tell me that Ireland are going to walk away with it but I know a few Welsh people who disagree – perhaps England might find form again?  It promises to be a fantastic tournament.

I do hope you all have a restful weekend with your families.

God bless,

Robert Duigan

Week Commencing 4 February

Due to the ISA X-Country sports fixture on Wednesday 6 February, Choral and Chamber Choir will be swapping days (Chamber Choir will run on Tuesday and Choral Choir will run on Wednesday).

This is just for one week and we will return to normal the following week.

Monday 18 February - Friday 22 February 2019

If you struggle for child care during the holidays, look no further. The Crackley Hall Holiday Club will be taking place during the February half-term holiday.

It will commence on Monday 18 February and run until Friday 22 February 2019.

There will be exciting crafts, games and activities taking place at school between the hours of 8.00am and 6.00pm.

Please be aware that places are limited (due to staff ratios), and are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Over Christmas we were fully booked on a number of days and even had to start a waiting list.

Children were kept busy with baking, arts and crafts, films, team building activities and festive party games. There's always lots of fun to be had!

Please follow the link to book a place https://princethorpecollege.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/

We have a number of trips, events and activities coming up over the next few weeks. Please see the relevant letters below:  

J5 LAMDA Information Letter

J5 LAMDA Consent Form

J6 LAMDA Information Letter

J6 LAMDA Consent Form

Please find attached the termly curriculum sheet for your child's year group:

Reception

Junior 1

Junior 2

Junior 3

Junior 4

Junior 5

Junior 6

Any medicines brought into school must be handed in at the office. They must also be clearly labelled with the child’s name, and dosage instructions, accompanied by an authorisation form (see below). We need a new authorisation slip for each new batch of medicine. Medicine to be returned home must be collected from the office by an adult and cannot be handed to a child.

If your child needs regular medication, such as an inhaler, please ensure there is one in the school office.

All medicines should be collected from the office at the end of the academic year; we cannot store medication over the summer period.

Authorisation Form

Cyber-crime – please be vigilant

Parents are asked to be vigilant when reading emails relating to the payment of school fees and any other items to the Foundation.

We continue to receive reports regarding spam emails being sent to parents of independent schools asking them to pay future fees to a ‘new’ school bank account.

Please be advised there has been no change to the bank details of either Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall or Crescent and there is no intention to make any changes in the foreseeable future. Any electronic notification that appears to be from any of the Foundation schools changing these details may be fraudulent.

Our bank details are available on the Parent Bills, the Online Payment Portal and for Princethorpe in the Princethorpe College Information Booklet 2018 – 2019, and only those details should be used.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues in the Bursary if you are have any doubts about the correct details or indeed if anything appears suspicious.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

It's rare that our children will have a direct link with the wonderful world of professional theatre. So, it was with great pleasure that we welcomed Tom, a former Crackley Hall pupil, to our school hall, for an 'audience with' style afternoon during their Drama lesson, where the amassed ranks were energised with his experiences, tales and workshops. 

This was no simple 'how-to' tick list, but more a hands-on walk through what his rehearsal days consist of, including singing and dancing workshops, with naturally enough Tom showcasing his own talents as a finale. With such talent on show it's no surprise that Tom has trod the boards for the Royal Shakespeare Company in shows as varied as Matilda, where he played Bruce, Julius Caesar and A Christmas Carol.

Many thanks for coming Tom, we do hope you enjoyed your slice of cake and trust you'll already have an idea what you might spend your book token on.  

'Every act of kindness counts, no matter how small.' So was the message of giving brought to life by Mrs Porretta (Grandmother to Andrew, J6V) in a most engaging story of, a former Crackley pupil, her grandaughter Thalia's charitable deeds during collective worship. 

Mrs Porretta told our pupils of Thalia's good work for the homeless; a fund raising drive that originally took inspiration from an award winning picture penned by Thalia. Close inspection of the artwork revealed a homeless person sat in a rain-soaked doorway, almost invisible to all apart from a girl, who is Thalia, pictured underneath an umbrella. What began as a picture quickly turned into campaign, and cards with this scene can now be purchased for a donation from the school office, with the money going to Shelter, the charity for the homeless. Certainly, Chris Edwards, who is the Chief Operations Officer for Hope Coventry and closely associated with the Coventry Night Shelter, would greatly appreciate your support.

This week J5R hosted Year 1 from St Augustine's School, Kenilworth in the school hall for Collective worship where they reflected on 'being unique' and 'God's creation'. During the session a range of activities focused our young charges on the topic at hand. These began with the snap of scissors for the joint making of a prayer chain, then coloured fingers applied to paper in the form of a sunflower; both of which sought to emphasise the notion of our individual uniqueness as part of 'God's creation.'

Clearly, the idea of nurture wasn't lost on our guests, as they planted sunflower seeds whilst being invited by Crackley pupils to reflect on those things that we all needed to nurture and develop. To finish, both joined together in a rousing rendition of 'My God, is a Great Big God', followed by a heartfelt prayer read aloud by Martha. 

We are very grateful for Mrs Jackson-Mayne (J4J Class Teacher and RE Coordinator) for organising such a special day, and to the pupils of J5R for being such dedicated, kind and able hosts. 

This week the good folk of Warwick University's UNICEF Department called into Junior 6 to raise awareness of issues relating to gender across the world. The thought-provoking presentation and workshop sought to make our pupils reflect on the life experiences of others around the world.

Firstly, the children were asked to write down the type of work they would like to do when they are older. Then they were asked to consider the job they had written down - did this reveal anything about the choices that they were free to make? For example, wanting to be a firefighter might have no meaning here, but in many parts of the world stereotyping and prejudice persists often to the detriment of all. 

Mrs Horan summed up the empathetic feeling that spread across both classes, "It was a most interesting and informative presentation that made you realise how hugely important gender equality is.  We should all be free to follow our dreams and encourage others to pursue theirs." 

This Monday students from Warwick University's UNICEF Department came to our lovely school to host a most interesting seminar on climate change for the great geographers that comprise Junior 4.

Tied in with our current Geography curricular topics of reduce, reuse and recycle our guests focused in on how our actions with regards to greenhouse gases have implications for each other and our precious blue planet.

And so a most entertaining and informative seminar unfolded before the children of J4H and J4J.  Beginning with the Paris Agreement of 2020 and ending with a most enlightening insight into the plight of the many Mongolians and Indians choked by both car and coal pollution.  It was shocking to find out that some children on the Indian sub-continent are afraid of dogs, only because they are unable to see them in the smog that surrounds them, in their towns and cities.

We are indebted to Mrs Lammas (J5L Class Teacher and Geography Coordinator) for inviting such engaging and enlightening speakers to enrich the lives and understanding of our students. 

On Friday 25 January, pupils from Junior 4 and Junior 5 joined over 6,000 other local school children to sing their hearts out at the annual Young Voices concert at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. 

Following a full afternoon’s rehearsal under the inspirational conductorship of David Lawrence, the children were ready to perform, to amaze the audience and to have the time of their lives. 

Performing this year were 15-year-old Beau Dermott, whose big voice got her a golden buzzer on Britain's Got Talent in 2016, Sharlene Hector, lead vocalist of Basement Jaxx, and world-wide superstar, Tony Hadley!! Dance troupe Urban Strides also had the whole arena on their feet joining in with their catchy routines.

For everyone involved it was an unforgettable afternoon and evening, a fabulous spectacle, a celebration of all sorts of music, an experience that will stay with them for a lifetime.

A pdf copy of the Lent Term 2019 Calendar can be found below.

Please be aware that events are added as the term progresses, so remember to keep an eye on the Chronicle for any additions/changes.

Lent Term Calendar

Please click on 'View Gallery' to scroll through a few photos from this week's events.

RE Book of the Week has been awarded to Isaac (J1GR).

Wednesday 13 February - Mass

The next Mass, which will be led by Junior 6V, is on Wednesday 13 February at 9am, all are welcome. As it is close to Valentine’s Day it will be on the theme of love.

Monday 25 February - Friday 1 March - One World Week  

This is a special week where the children learn about different faiths and beliefs in more depths. This is an ideal way for pupils to develop an understanding and respect of the different ways people express their faith.

Help Wanted: We would like volunteers from all faiths to come and talk to the children about their faith and beliefs. 

Please contact Mrs Jackson-Mayne on sjacksonmayne@crackleyhall.co.uk or speak to your class teacher if you are happy to come and talk to a class about how you live out your faith.

We are pleased to announce that Oliver (J3H) and Kyra (J3H) are our gymnasts of the week.

U11A Football v Croft 1-1 (draw)

Player of the Match - Seb (J6L)

On Wednesday the U11A Football team travelled to The Croft to play in an 8-a-side match. It was an extremely close and hard fought match. Although we went 0-1 down early on, we managed to equalise before half time with Seb finishing off a corner from Sam J. The second half was end to end action with chances for both teams to win it. Seamus made some important saves too. The match finished 1-1, which was probably a fair result for both teams. I was extremely proud of the team's effort. The man of the match was Seb for excellent defensive tackles. Special mention to Charlie in defence as well.

(Written by Sam)

Please see details below:

Tennis Camp at Kenilworth Tennis Club

Please see the attached letters for more information on individual clubs: 

Bayleaf Cookery Club

Irish Dancing

Karate

Mad Science

Chess

Rugbytots

Cricket

Tennis

Yoga

Ballet

Guitar

Mini Brass

Happy Friday everyone!  Today we talked about the wonderful winter weather, but mostly about the lack of it!  Who knows, maybe this weekend we will have some snow.  If we do, and you decide to go out and about to enjoy it, please bring in some of your photos so that we can talk about the changes in weather and temperature that you enjoyed next week.  Winter can be so cold, wet and grumpy but we are concentrating on finding the beauty around us instead. 

Have a great weekend.

Newsletter

Friday 22 March 2019 at 7:30pm

You are all cordially invited to join our ever popular quiz night hosted by our very special quiz master for the evening, Mr Duigan, on Friday 22 March 2019 at 7.30pm.

Teams of up to 8 people are invited to battle it out against other year groups and our reigning champions from last year, the Crackley Hall teachers and staff, to take this years winner’s title.

Tickets are on sale now and are limited to a maximum of 12 teams only, so please don’t miss out.

The tickets are priced at £7.50 each and include a shared cheeseboard. You are welcome to form your own teams or book individually and we will allocate you to a team of parents from your child’s year group. A licensed bar will be available on the evening to purchase refreshments and you are encouraged to bring any additional nibbles to enjoy. We regret that this event is for grown ups only but there will be lots more family events to look forward to throughout the year.

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a fun and sociable evening. If you have any questions regarding the event you may email Melissa Fox mfox1401@gmail.com who will be happy to help.

To purchase your tickets please click here.   

Grasscrete area – please be aware that this area is reserved for staff parking and parents are asked to use the lower playground or street parking if they choose to walk their child into School.  

Please ensure that when using the car park directly outside the entrance, you park considerately and move all the way around the roundabout to drop off.   

Please do not park next to the roundabout on the entrance to Littleton Close.

Reporting to the Foundation Estates Manager, we are seeking to appoint an Electrician to maintain and service all electrical engineering plant and equipment on Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall and Crescent School sites. They will carry out technical duties in the college theatre and assist in the supervision of electrical contractors. A flexible and pro-active attitude to duties and additional working hours will be required.

The successful candidate should have an appreciation of the priorities of a school environment and have the ability to appropriately interact with pupils of all ages, especially when providing technical support in the Theatre.

This role is working 40 hours a week, on a 7 days’ contract. The working pattern will include evenings and occasional weekends on a flexible basis, according to the needs of the school, with core hours Monday to Friday. We will also welcome part time and job share applications for this post.

The salary for this role is £28,000 to £35,000 (full-time equivalent) – depending on experience.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the fast growing foundation that values their staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Princethorpe College application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing suitability for the role.  Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Monday 4 February 2019 at 9am, and interviews are likely to be held on Thursday 7 February 2019.

Further details are available from the School website www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment opportunities

Unnamed blue inhaler found.

Patrick (J1G) has lost his Lightning McQueen lunch box.

Jimmy (J5R) has lost his named maroon and black Crackley sports jacket.

Alfred (J3H) has lost his named rugby boots (blue/black), boot bag (black), and water bottle (blue). 

Jenson (J1GR) has lost his named Tennis racquet.

Sara (J1PG) has lost her Bronze award badge.

Thomas (J5L) has lost his blazer.

Archie (J5L) has lost his named tracksuit jacket.

India (J6V) has lost her named sports jacket, black skins and red sports socks.

Seb (J5R) has lost his named black sports fleece.

Joseph (Rec) and Sam (J4JM) Beaman-Henderson have both lost their named winter hats

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Parents, please ensure that all school uniform and sports kits are named.

Could you please check all uniform and sports kits at home – if any of it is not yours, please let the School Office know, and return it to us as soon as possible.