The Chronicle

Dear Parents

The end of this half term seems to be upon us quicker than ever this year but no doubt you are all ready for the break before bracing yourself for an incredibly busy second half term.  I have helped prepare this week’s message whilst returning from the Junior 6 visit to France, which has been a wonderful experience. I am very pleased and privileged to have been a part of the trip. The wonderful Junior 6 children have had a fantastic time with their friends, making memories to last a lifetime. Their parents would have been so proud of them. I hope the parents of the Junior 6 children enjoyed the Twitter updates which Mr Stedeford provided and I would like to thank everyone who has made this visit possible including Mrs Williams, Mrs Vaughan, Mr Stedeford, Mr Kefalas, Mrs Paphitis and especially Mrs Horan who organised the tour.  My grateful thanks are also extended to Mrs Dyer and the office staff.  I also appreciate the additional work and support of Mr Cottrill and team in my absence.

Whilst some of the school were enjoying French life, Junior 2 visited closer to home when they spent a day at Kenilworth Castle this week.  Luckily they had a warm day to explore this local historic site and I can see from the photographs that much fun was had.  Thank you to Mrs Hardwick, Mrs Malcolm, Mrs Convey, Mrs Kaur and Mrs Wild for their part in arranging this visit.

Mrs Glen-Roots hosted assembly in my absence this week and I understand that the Stars of the Week have been awarded to Daisy, Oliver, Elizabeth, Beatrice, Andrew, Jakob, Alfred, Lily, Henry, Helayna, Soren and Harry.

This week’s RE Book of the Week has been awarded to Sara in J1.  I am pleased to learn that Sienna, Sara and Patrick are our gymnasts of the week. Well done to you all.

Miss Pavett was presented with a bouquet of flowers to mark the occasion of her marriage and was entertained by a wonderful rendition of Daisy Bell before being showered in confetti.  

Although it is half term next week, holiday club will be open from Tuesday to Friday and there are still spaces available on certain days should you wish to book.  If you require a booking at short notice, please contact the school office first.

The first week back after half term has several important events in the calendar.  We return on 3 June and I have been asked to remind parents that children, who are entertaining the Parishioners on Wednesday 5 June, will need to bring in their musical instrument (if they are in Orchestra) or a bandana and eye patch (if they are in Choral Group).  The Cream Tea afternoon for Parishioners and Grandparents is a lovely event meticulously organised by Mrs Simmonds and we look forward to welcoming guests on Wednesday afternoon.  Unfortunately there is a limit to how many we can accommodate on this occasion so please let the school office know regarding grandparents’ attendance.

Parents are invited to respond to the ‘All About Me’ presentation which will be held on Thursday 6 June at 6.00pm in the Hall.  This meeting, led by a Relationships and Sex Education Consultant working on behalf of Warwickshire County Council, will be an opportunity to discuss the education programme that teachers will deliver to your children after half term.

Due to Holy Communion taking place on Friday 7 June, our usual assembly will be scaled down to birthdays, star charts and stars of the week only.  Any achievements and trophies gained outside of school will be celebrated the following week.  This is to allow children to have an early break before boarding coaches to Kenilworth town centre.  The whole school will be in church to celebrate their friends receiving their First Holy Communion.  This is a significant event not only in our calendar, but also in a child’s life and I am honoured to be able to celebrate this occasion with them and the rest of Crackley Hall.

Finally, I would like wish you a wonderful bank holiday weekend and half term and wish Miss Pavett the very best for this weekend and the future.

God bless,

Robert Duigan

As you are no doubt aware, the Key Stage 1 Sports Day (Reception to Junior 2) will be held on Monday 17 June on the sports field.  Mrs Vaughan would like all children to arrive at school in their PE kit and wear a plain coloured T shirt that represents their house colours.  Matching coloured socks and hair accessories are also permitted.

To remind you of the house colours:

Saturn - yellow

Venus - green

Mars - red

Jupiter - blue

Parking will be available on the field and our PTA have kindly offered to provide refreshments for this occasion.  Now all we need to do is keep our fingers crossed for a nice dry day.  If for any reason this date needs to be postponed, the School Office will contact you and we will hopefully reschedule for the following day.

Tuesday 28 May - Friday 31 May 2019

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

It will commence on Tuesday 28 May and run until Friday 31 May (Please note that school will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday).

There will be exciting crafts, games and activities taking place at school between the hours of 8.00am and 6.00pm. Children are kept busy with baking, arts and crafts, films, team building activities, party games and trips to the park or common. There is always lots of fun to be had!

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

We do sometimes get fully booked, so you are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.

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

Please find information attached regarding costumes for the Summer Production.

J6 Letter

Rec - J5 Costume Letter

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

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Dear Parents

We are very pleased to inform you of an exclusive cricketing event to be held at Crackley Hall after half term for our Junior 4, 5 and 6 boys and girls. Complete Cricket, who have been working alongside us as a club provider since last year, are delighted to announce a Batting Masterclass with England & Warwickshire CCC legend Ian Bell MBE.

Date: Tuesday 11 June 2019
Times: 4:30pm – 6:30pm

Venue: Crackley Hall School, St Joseph's Park, Kenilworth CV8 2FT

Cost: £60 pp
Places Available: 30

The batting masterclass will offer all players attending the unique opportunity to be coached by an England legend. There will also be a Question and Answer session at the end of the Masterclass together with an opportunity for photos and autographs. Please note that we have 30 places available on this course and will be sold on a first come first served basis via our online booking system. All bookings and booking enquiries will be dealt with by Complete Cricket. Crackley Hall School is only providing the venue for this event.

Children attending will have the option of going home first before returning to school. Alternatively they will be allowed to remain at school in Mr Lamprecht’s care until the event starts. Please note that normal Crackley Hall aftercare will not be used in this regard. As it is a two hour session we do ask that children have additional drinks and snacks provided from home. Parking for parents will be available on the gravelled area by our playing fields.

The Complete Cricket website and booking system is now live for the Ian Bell Masterclass at Crackley Hall using the link below.

https://www.completecricket.co.uk/ian-bell-batting-masterclass-june-2019-crackley-hall-school/

Thank you for your support. We look forward to hosting this exceptional opportunity for our pupils.

Kind regards

Charles Lamprecht
Assistant Head: Co-Curricular

Jamie Spires, Sales and Marketing Director, Complete Cricket (International) Ltd

+44 (0) 7884 313 721             jamie.spires@completecricket.co.uk

Junior 1 pupils were treated to a hands-on history lesson when they took a peek into St John’s Museum’s old toy collection.  The museum, which is based in Warwick, brought a range of real and replica toys and games into school on Thursday 16 May to run an interactive workshop for the children as they approach the end of their topic on ‘Toys’.  They gave a talk on the history and construction of the toys in the museum’s collection before letting the children loose to investigate all the toys.

The workshop consolidated the children’s studies supporting both the History and Design Technology curriculums. The collection included toys from the Victorian era through to the 1970s.    The children explored how toys have changed over the years as technology and materials have developed.  They found out interesting facts such as Victorian toys were developed to teach children important skills.  Although that did not stop Victorian children from having fun!

Assistant Head – Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, Susan Glen-Roots commented, “It was a fascinating workshop, the children were really interested and listened beautifully before playing very carefully with the old toys.  I am very proud of them and it was wonderful to see them having so much fun.  Sessions like these really do help to bring the curriculum to life.”

On Thursday 23 May Crackley Hall School joined thousands of schools worldwide in taking lessons outside in celebration of Outdoor Classroom Day.

Forest School practitioner, Verity Clark had organised a range of resources and activities to encourage her fellow teachers to take their classes outdoors.  On the day Reception, Junior 1 and Junior 2 together with the Junior 6s in school this week spent time in the school’s woods.  Other classes made the most of the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine, with for example Art lessons taking place in the grounds.

Outside learning teaches critical life skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and creativity and spending time outdoors supports positive mental health.  Whether constructing a simple rope swing, examining invertebrates or taking part in role-playing games it was clear that all of the children enjoyed their time outside.

Mrs Clark explained, ”We run regular Forest School sessions here at Crackley but Outdoor Classroom Day has given us the opportunity to celebrate our outdoor learning even more.  We have our own wonderful wood on site that we are slowly opening up for the children to use.  Children really do thrive in the outdoor environment and get very excited about their learning.”

One word, 'captivated'. That sums up the almost magical spell cast over Crackley's assembled pupils by Pilgrim Puppets last Monday. Their premise is simple enough; re-tell Bible stories through the medium of puppetry and song in schools and churches, as a simple story told well is easy to understand.

The furry friends brought the parables of Jesus heals a man, Luke 5:17-39, and the feeding of the five thousand, Mathew 14:13-21, easily to life.  Puppetry skills take years of dedicated practice to perfect, so it was no surprise that the gathered crowd greeted Amy (J5R) with spontaneous applause when she revealed herself as one of the puppeteers dressed in black - we are reliably informed that her favourite puppet is the Giant. Such was the total immersion, that even the Chronicle's reporter asked the puppets to look and smile into the camera!

Our grateful thanks are extended to Mrs Farquharson for providing the whole school with such a fabulous opportunity to see such an engaging, insightful and fun packed performance.  

Junior 2 had a monumental tour of our local medieval fortress Kenilworth Castle to finish off their study of castles in History this term. They have been busy studying the role of castles in the classroom, so the day provided them with a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our local castle and what life was like back then. Their trip included a guided tour of the castle buildings including the Keep and the Great Hall, where they even got the chance to climb the towers. The children clambered up the battlements, explored the ruins and re-enacted a pageant before settling down to enjoy a picnic in the beautiful castle grounds.

Learning through play is a Key Stage maxim, so our charges set about storming the castle, marching towards the front door, then raising their shields to avoid the arrows showering down. Such exertions were subsequently replaced with a hunt for architectural clues, where the children were required to decode the features of fireplaces, staircases, toilets, wells and arrow slits. They had a go at imagining they were archers firing arrows at the enemies through the arrow slits and then went to the highest points to watch for approaching enemies. Then it was down to the kitchens, where they were treated to a variety of smells such as rotten veg, fish, sweat, honey and wood smoke - all to help them imagine what like it was like hundreds of years ago.

Learning days don't get much more engaging and insightful than this, so we are very grateful to our Junior 2 Class Teachers and Assistants for facilitating such a magical day out. 

An intrepid band of Princethorpe College staff, parents and former pupils are to take on an epic challenge over the May half term holiday when they cycle 110 miles between the French towns of Saumur and Amboise in the Loire Valley, in aid of Mary's Meals.

This is the second Cycling Pilgrimage undertaken by Princethorpe College, the last being part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2017. The 20 cyclists and their supporters will travel to France by coach and cycle 110 miles over two days, with a rest day in between in the beautiful chateau town of Azay-le-Rideau.

Comments, Foundation Headmaster, Ed Hester, “110 miles in two days is no mean feat and all the pilgrims deserve to be encouraged. Many of the cycling pilgrims are taking part for a second time and we are expecting once again for there to be fantastic camaraderie on the trip. With pilgrims aged from under 20 to in their 70s this really epitomises Princethorpe’s spirit of family.” 

The cyclists will once again be raising money for the College's chosen charity, Mary's Meals and have set a target of £2,000, enough to feed 143 children at Makalanga Primary School in Malawi for a year. 

If you would like to support them please go to their fundraising page here.

Follow their journey on Twitter - @PC_Pilgrimage

Richard Hill, Aftercare Assistant and former pupil of Crackley Hall and Princethorpe College, who is studying a Degree in Sports Science, will be leaving today to start a year's placement at Southampton Football Club, working for the Premiership Football Team alongside their football players. 

Richard was delighted to be offered the prestigious placement and will be travelling to every game with the football players, his work will include working with the team supporting their fitness training.  Richard will be very busy indeed, but is looking forward to it immensely. 

Richard has enjoyed his time with the Aftercare team, run by Dr. Wasey Foladi, very much. Richard said, "The children are all amazing and each one of them has something very special and unique to offer. I hope they continue to learn from Crackley Hall, it is a place that holds many, many happy memories for me."

We all wish Richard the very best in Southampton.

If any parents have a plastic rotating garden see-saw we can use for our show please can you contact Mrs Wildey - please click on the link below for more details:

Garden See Saw

Wednesday 5 June - 1.00pm to 3.00pm

On Wednesday 5 June, Crackley Hall will be hosting a very special Cream Tea event in the school hall for grandparents of children in school, retired and housebound parishioners:

Please see details below:

1.00 - Car Park opens 

1.15 - Attendees to be seated

1.30 - Cream Tea starts

3.00 - Cream Tea ends

If this event is of interest, please contact the school office via email: receptionist@crackleyhall.co.uk or telephone 01926 514444 with your details.

Wednesday 5 June 2019 - 6.30pm to 8.30pm 

The College's Summer Open Evening will take place on Wednesday 5 June from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. This is an informal opportunity for prospective families to look around the school and to meet members of staff and pupils.

There will be activities in each department for children to participate in, and the Headmaster will also address visitors in the Chapel during the evening. Light refreshments are available.

There is no need to book.

For further information please contact the Registrar, Mrs Vanessa Rooney, on 01926 634201 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Thursday 6 June 19 - 6.00 to 7.00pm

We’d like to invite you to a meeting to discuss the new All About Me Programme which we will be delivering after half-term.  The meeting will be led by Jonny Hunt, a Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Consultant, working on behalf of Warwickshire County Council.

The All About Me programme is designed by Warwickshire County Council’s Public Health Respect Yourself Team. It is an evidence based programme of Comprehensive Relationship & Sex Education and is endorsed by the Sex Education Forum, a national organisation which shares good practice in the field of RSE.

All About Me is designed on a spiral curriculum and based on a values and human rights approach. It is built on the premise that it is much better to drip feed positive messages and have little conversations, to ensure that children will feel prepared for the changes of puberty and for the challenges of moving on to high school.

The programme is split in to five core categories; children having one lesson from each:

All About Me - personal identity

My Relationships - families, friendships and personal relationships

My Body - understanding anatomy, autonomy, and changes during puberty

My Thoughts, Feelings & Behaviours - emotional literacy

My Choices & Personal Boundaries - understanding consent

All About Me is designed to review and reinforce all of the key messages from Protective Behaviours, allowing children to refresh their support networks and build on previous learning. This teaches the children the key messages designed to keep them safe.

We hope that by attending the meeting, any questions you may have around Relationships and Sex Education will be answered.

Trinity 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 Sara (J1G).

It was super to see Junior 3 fully participating in the Passover Meal during their RE lesson on Tuesday 21 May. Sharing the meal helped pupils to understand the origins of the Holy Eucharist that we now share at Mass.

All the pupils took on the roles of a Jewish family celebrating the feast of Passover and enjoyed sharing a meal together. Father Kevin helped to explain the significance of using the matzah bread and the seder plate. It was a great opportunity to build on the work completed on Judaism in the school's One World Week.

Pupils were able to try the bitter herbs and the sweet paste to remind them of the story of Moses freeing the Israelites from slavery.

All the Holy Communicants took part in the afternoon to help them prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Our thanks go to Mrs Simmonds and Mrs Jackson-Mayne for kindly preparing the food and the room and also the teachers for preparing the pupils so well.

Friday 7 June 2019 - 11am

Please remember all are invited to the Holy Communion Mass which will be held at St Francis Church at 11am on Friday 7 June.

Thank you for all your kind donations so far. Please can we ask that all the boxes are returned to the school by Monday 3 June.

Thank you.

This year the Independent Schools Association (ISA) U11 Kwik Cricket Tournament coincided with our Junior 6s annual trip to France, so on Monday 20 May it was a team of 12 Junior 5s that set out for Moddershall Cricket Club in Staffordshire to represent Crackley Hall in this Year 6 tournament.

Playing were 16 teams from across the Midlands and so for the first round the schools were split into four pools. Crackley started against Heathfield Knoll and under the watchful eye of their coaches the boys worked hard at their game, listening carefully to instructions and feedback and putting the advice to good use as the matches progressed.

Playing in the team were Louie Crawley, Sam Grindal, Henry Fox, Harvey Hollier, Conor Horan, Edward Hunter, Avar Khatkar, Jimmy Loftus, Fintan McGrory, Aryan Mehta, Zach Rose and Alex Vaughan.

Keen to make their mark against the older teams the boys stayed focused and claimed two wins out of the first three group stage matches. They were pleased to end second in the group and go on to contest the 5th-8th place play-offs.

In the play-offs we lost both matches, but the boys deserve credit for their grit and determination to succeed for each other.

The boys finished in overall eighth position. Most valuable player is shared between Henry Fox and Fintan McGrory for making the most of the opportunities on the day. Special mention also goes to Avar Khatkar and Louie Crawley for their superb bowling under pressure.

Assistant Head Charles Lamprecht, commented, “The final matches saw the boys take some blinding catches and improve their match awareness. Overall their progress on the day was truly evident and they took this experience with them into the matches later on in the week vs King Henry's.”

We are pleased to announce that Sienna, Sara and Patrick (All J1G) are our gymnasts of the week. 

U10 Rounders vs Crescent 18 - 11.5 (win)

Player of the Match - Scarlet

U10 Boys Cricket v King Henry VIII 55/6 - 54/4 (win)

Player of the Match - Aaron Cooper 

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

Plenty of fingers and toes were transformed into endearing Father’s Day gifts at our Little Crackers Stay 'n' Play Paint and Glaze session.

Emma from Rugby based Paint and Glaze created lots of wonderful pottery gifts using the children's hand and footprints.  This was Emma’s third visit this year, following the success of her Christmas sessions, and we were delighted to have her back again!

The visit from Paint and Glaze is part of a programme of different visiting activities at the group. To find out more about our upcoming activities, please visit www.littlecrackers.co.uk/stay-n-play

Our final Stay n Play activity session this school year will be the annual Teddy Bear’s Picnic which takes place on Wednesday 19 June.

Wishing everyone a happy Bank Holiday Weekend! 

Have fun in the sunshine, don’t forget your hats and sun cream, and tell us all about it after the break. 

It looks like our all year round children will be making the most of our butterflies next week, they haven’t popped out yet! 

Let’s hope they take lots of pictures for those of us on holiday. 

Newsletter

Lost

Thomas (J4W) has lost his blazer.

Jakob (J2M) has lost his blazer and his coat.

A dark navy grey water bottle with a grey lid and white writing has gone missing from music room.

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

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

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

• Reprographics Assistants
• Gardener/Groundsman
• Graduate Sports Coach
• Traffic Coordinator

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

Attached is a flyer with useful information on Warwickshire's Well-being services.

Warwickshire Health And Well-being Service Flyer