The Chronicle

Dear Parents

This will be an abridged version of the Chronicle with the main purpose of updating you on the events of the week so far and give you a few brief messages regarding housekeeping, not to mention wishing you a very happy Easter break.

On Monday we waved goodbye to Junior 5 as they departed for their residential visit to Alton Castle.  I know from the Tweets and updates from Mrs Hill that all have thoroughly enjoyed their time away.  I do hope you have appreciated the Twitter feed and I am sure that you all enjoyed being reunited with your children on Wednesday afternoon.  My thanks to all the staff involved in co-ordinating and supervising this visit including Mrs Lammas, Mrs Hill, Mr Stedeford, Mr M Duigan, Mrs Blyth and Mrs Roberts.

Whilst Junior 5 were preparing for their departure, Junior 6 visited St Augustine’s for the Stations of the Cross Service.  I was able to accompany the visit together with the Junior 6 teachers and very much enjoyed being part of this special event.  I am very grateful to Fr Kevin and Mrs Horan for leading and supporting the classes through the various Stations.

The children gathered for the awards assembly on Wednesday and I am very grateful to Mr Cottrill for hosting this assembly in my absence.  This is an event which I hope to repeat every term to ensure that the skills, talents and behaviour of all children are celebrated and recognised.

I will be sending a separate letter to all parents during the Easter break with a reminder of arrangements for before and after school procedures.  This is to alleviate traffic congestion at school, ensure correct collection and drop off times for early birds, carline and after care.  I would urge you to read this article in detail, as it will assist the whole school community, as well as the local neighbours and the greater Kenilworth community.

Crackley Hall will remain open during the Easter break with Nursery and Holiday Club operating every day from 8.00 am until 6.00pm apart from the Bank Holidays.   The school office will be open but operating reduced hours, therefore if you need to visit the office for any reason, please contact school beforehand to ensure that a member of staff will be available to assist with your enquiry.

I hope that you all enjoy a wonderful, relaxing Easter whether you are at home or on holiday and I look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 29 April.  The Trinity term is always an incredibly busy one with important events such as the France trip, Move Up Day, Sports Days, the School Production, End of Term Mass and Prize Giving.  Please do not forget that children will be able to wear their summer uniform and hopefully enjoy some warm late spring weather when they return at the end of the month.

Thank you for your support and commitment to our school and your child’s education over the term and I’d like to end off by saying a huge ‘thank you’ to all our staff for their dedication over a long and busy term.

I’d like to wish you a relaxing and happy holiday.

God bless

Robert Duigan

Attached is information provided by National Online Safety about the social media platform Youtube.  It provides advice and guidance to parents on how to keep you child safe when using the platform.

Youtube Information

Mr Cottrill
Deputy Head

J5 are warmly invited to a taste of senior school life at Princethorpe College on Wednesday 1 May 2019.

The taster day will begin at 9.30am when the children will be transported to the College by mini-bus from Crackley Hall. Pupils will experience a variety of classroom sessions, a tour of the school and a question and answers session with our current pupils. Break and lunch will be provided and there is no charge for this day.

At the end of the afternoon, you are invited to join us at 4.15pm for an informal Parents’ Information Session. Offering information on entry to the College for September 2020 and light refreshments will be served.  Ed Hester, the Headmaster along with other key members of staff will be available to talk to you about the College and to outline the admissions process. Children will also have the opportunity to trial the online CEM test, one of the exams that prospective pupils complete during the Entrance Examinations day, which will take place on Saturday 9 November 2019.

Please follow the link to access the online booking form for the J5 Taster Day.

https://www.princethorpe.co.uk/crackley-y5-taster-day

Please complete and submit the form by 5.00pm on Thursday 18 April to secure a place for your child.

For those parents who are unable to attend the Parents’ Information Session, your child will be transported back to Crackley Hall for 3.30pm.

We hope you can join us and look forward to welcoming you to Princethorpe College.

With kind regards from the Admissions Team at Princethorpe College

Please note that the School Shop (based at Princethorpe College) will be closed during the Easter break from 4.30pm on Wednesday 10 April 2019 until 10.30am on Monday 29 April 2019. 

For uniform requirements please contact Nicola Browne on 01926 634272 or at uniform@princethorpe.co.uk.

Nicola Browne
Foundation Shop Manager

In a special assembly on the last day of term, Mr Cottrill announced the recipients of the Lent Term Crackley Hall Pupil Awards.

Pupils were recognised for their contribution to the school in a number of different ways, including awards for kindness, helpfulness, school spirit, effort, organisation, neat work and academic achievement.  Many congratulations to all of this term's winners.

There will be one final set of pupil awards at the end of the Trinity Term and Mr Cottrill encouraged everyone to continue to try their best.

Well done to all of Crackley Hall's pupils, those who won awards and those who tried hard but just missed out this time round, we are proud of each and every single one of you.

To help our Junior 6 pupils understand the Stations of the Cross a little more, the class visited St Austin’s Church to re-enact the different stages through readings linked to each station. It was lovely to see the pupils take on the different roles with reverence and respect.

We extend our grateful thanks to Father Kevin for conducting personally our faithful in their responses at each station.

From Monday 8 April to Wednesday 10 April, Junior 5 enjoyed a wonderful trip to Alton Castle in Staffordshire where they took part in a residential retreat. The short trip was muddy, exhausting and memorable but above all, it was a lot of fun!

Alton Castle is a residential youth centre run by the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The centre promotes the personal, spiritual and social development of the children who visit through retreats based around a variety of outdoor activities, that make the most of the beautiful location.

The themed trip is packed full of fun activities and pupils were also encouraged to join in with evening reflections and prayers and to help prepare for and experience Mass.

There were plenty of exciting activities to be experienced, from bucket ball to trekking, bike riding to night line and archery to survival. The activities all provided challenges that developed the children’s confidence and teamwork skills. The climbing wall and adventure course proved particularly big hits, working up formidable appetites for the delicious food that was provided throughout the stay.

The children also took part in a beautiful Mass. It was a wonderful service and some of our Junior 5’s enthusiastically assisted with the readings and helped with the altar serving. After the calmness of the Mass came the excitement of the evening Talent Show and Disco, which featured a range of different acts, which were very entertaining. 

And before everyone knew it, the time had come for the return journey to Crackley Hall. Weary children were met by their welcoming parents who, no doubt, delighted in listening to their many tales of this exciting and memorable trip.

Thank you to all the staff who gave up their time to support the trip: Mrs Lammas, Mrs Roberts, Mrs Hill, Mr Stedeford, Mr Duigan and Mrs Blyth. 

It was all about finishing touches this week as Crackley Hall’s F1 team, Firecrackers, aka Amelia Hunt, Woody Osborn, Jasper Nicholls, Henry Verity and Thomas Zanyi, prepared for the Jaguar Primary School Challenge.

First, the excited race crew tried on their jumpsuits.  They looked absolutely amazing thanks to Stephanie Harvey from Sew2it who had generously helped create a superb flaming motif to decorate the team’s commanding black uniforms.  Then it was time for a photo call to capture the team looking their best so that the pit boards and marketing materials could be finalised.  Thanks once again to Mike from Chapter Agency for his help producing those. Finally, there was just time to carefully add the wheels to the team’s race cars.

It is not long now to race day, Thursday 2 May – good luck team Firecrackers!

Last Monday Miss Margot from the Father Hudson Society gave a most thoughtful and engaging assembly as to the charitable work undertaken by their volunteers. No doubt the name is familiar to all at Crackley Hall, as their 'little boxes' really do work wonders for causes close to and far away from home. 

Who would have believed that the coins and notes deposited by Crackley pupils and their wider family make such a difference to the visitors of the Birmingham Night Shelter. We are indebted to the charity's representatives and very grateful for them taking time out from their pressing work to detail where and how our donations are used.

Please check your child's school bag as they will have a little blue and yellow box to fill too, and this year we hope to surpass our previous generous contributions.    

Please find details attached of the schedule for the Trinity Term:

Schedule

Can we please remind you that if choosing a club led by an external provider, you must sign up both on SOCS and with the provider themselves.

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

Bayleaf Cookery Club

Karate

Mad Science

Chess

Rugbytots

Cricket

Tennis

Yoga

Ballet

Mini Brass

Non Uniform Day

Friday 10 May 2019

There will be a non uniform day for all Crackley Hall pupils on Friday 10 May. In return, all children in Nursery, Reception, J1 and J2 are kindly asked to donate a box of chocolates or sweets and all children in J3, J4, J5 and J6 to donate a bottle. We are also requesting any unwanted books in good condition that you have for our second hand book stall, new unused gifts for a separate stall and for all you makers and bakers out there, we would greatly appreciate any whole cakes (not cupcakes), and any home made produce, such as chutneys, jams, pickles or eggs for our home made produce stall. All can be left in the boxes in the foyer from Tuesday 7 May. 

Many thanks for your continued support. 

Family Fun Day - Tickets On Sale Now!  Saturday 11 May - 1.00pm to 4.30pm

Tickets for this year's Family Fun Day can be purchased here:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/crackley-hall-pta

Entry can only be made with an advanced ticket, as the ticket includes BBQ food or a hog roast and the PTA need to know how many to cater for on the day.

Early bird tickets are on sale until midday on Tuesday 7 May at £5.50 per adult and £3.30 per child, this will also include a complimentary glass of Pimms on arrival for the adults or a non alcoholic alternative.

After this the standard price for tickets available until Friday 10 May at midday is £8 per adult and £5.50 per child.

When buying your tickets please select whether you want the hog roast option or the 8oz burger or the jumbo sausage. The hog roast numbers are limited so don’t delay in buying your tickets!

We are able to accommodate a few external stalls so if anyone is interested please email mfox1401@gmail.com

We are also always on the lookout for extra helpers, so if you can help on the day or in any way beforehand and haven’t yet let us know then please do - thank you! 

Crackley’s Got Talent

The PTA have organised the annual talent show for the past eight years, latterly held as part of the Family Fun Day.  It has always been hugely popular, from the number of children performing to Mr Cottrill’s memorable joke-telling in his role as host, and loved by the gathered audience of the school community. Over the last couple of years it has been difficult to accommodate all the acts and so after much consideration and with a desire to keep it as a non-competitive event, it has been decided that there will be two acts per year group, selected by pulling names out of a hat, in golden-ticket fashion.  These performers will be asked to perform at the Talent Show at the Family Fun Day on Saturday 11 May.

Further details are contained in the Entry Pack, including an Entry Form which were in your children’s book bag last Friday - these should be returned to your children’s class teacher by Wednesday 1 May, with the lucky entries announced in Assembly on Friday 3 May.

We encourage entries from all year groups and welcome variety.

Entry Pack

Raffle

You should also hopefully have received your raffle tickets in your children's book bag alongside a flyer which tells you all about some of our amazing prizes including use of a 4 bedroom holiday villa in Spain, a family ticket to Drayton Manor Theme Park, worth up to £130, a hamper of mixed drinks plus family days out, beauty vouchers and meals in local restaurants.

Each family will receive 10 tickets and we ask that you return ticket stubs and money as soon as possible.  Please also return any unused tickets.

If you require any more tickets, they will be available from the school office or members of the PTA before Friday assemblies, as well as at the Family Fun Day.

If you have any unwanted gifts that you would like to donate as a raffle prize, they will be gratefully received and can be left with the school office.

Interested in working for the Princethorpe Foundation?  We currently have the following vacancies:

• Facilities Assistant Manager
• Handyman
• Car Park Supervisor
• Spanish Assistant

Full details of the roles and how to apply for them are available on the Foundation's website:

https://www.theprincethorpefoundation.co.uk/join-us