The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I hope that you have been able to enjoy some of the beautiful weather and Autumn sunshine this week.

I would like to start this week by thanking the PTA for organising two recent events in which both parents and children have been able to participate.  The first took place last Saturday where children were able dance to their heart’s content without a sound being heard by anyone else while parents had the opportunity to sit and chat in the glorious sunshine.  It was the first silent disco to be held at Crackley Hall and it was very well received, judging by the reactions from the children.  The second event took place last evening and was another ‘first’ for Crackley Hall.  The Business Networking Event proved very interesting and I hope that all those who attended found it worthwhile.  I thought that the speakers were excellent and feedback I’ve had from attendees was overwhelmingly positive.  Additionally, I also know that the PTA have some new parents who will be willing to be involved at various levels and events in the future.

The much-anticipated opening of the new ‘Garden Room’ and relaunch of Little Crackers Nursery took place on Wednesday this week.  We welcomed visitors, regular Stay ‘n Play parents and children who all joined in the fun and activities with staff of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.  We were able to make full use of the outside facilities and also appreciate all the new equipment available in Little Crackers.  You will be able to read more about this later in the Chronicle but my thanks are extended again to the Early Years team, Melanie Butler, Helen Stephenson, Jenny Vaughan, Verity Clark and Charlotte Hancock for their efforts in co-ordinating the event.

It would certainly appear that we are enjoying a term of ‘firsts’ with another new experience today.  The Reception classes were lucky enough to see several owls today when Raptor Exotics visited Crackley Hall.  The children, who have been reading Owl Babies during class, patiently sat and watched the owls swoop over their heads and then return to their handler.  Thank you to Mrs Convey for organising this magical and informative visit and for Helen Stephenson for capturing the day on camera.

As mentioned in an email to parents this week, there will be some changes to our catering provision from next week.  We have listened to feedback provided in last term’s parental questionnaire and, in consultation with Holroyd Howe, it has been decided that cakes and similar desserts will only be served at lunchtimes on a Tuesday and a Thursday.  We will continue to serve healthier desserts such as yogurts and a selection of fruit from which the children may choose.  Snacks at breaktime will remain the same, with children having the option to bring something in from home if they wish.  My thanks to Mr Sansum and his team for helping to facilitate these changes.  Mr Cottrill will be closely monitoring our menus and the choices that pupils are making.

I was delighted to award stars of the week to Hugo, Hector, William, Grace, Elsie, Jakob, James, Hattie, Merryn, Niamh, Alyx, Max, Arun, Skye, and Matilda; well done to you all.  Our Gymnast of the week was Cadie and RE Book of the week was awarded to Lily – well done to both of them.  Soren and Martha both sung beautifully at assembly and were most impressive with their routines – thank you for sharing your talents with the school.

Before signing off, I would like to let you know that the Parent Consultation evenings, which will take place on 8 and 10 October, will be available to book online from Sunday afternoon.  Please keep a look out for a letter from Mrs Hill which will explain the appointment booking procedure and contain a link to My School Portal.

The Rugby World Cup started today with hosts, Japan, beating Russia.  There are a few good matches scheduled for this weekend – mostly at civilised times.  Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the Saturday sunshine before the rainy weather sets in.

God bless,

Robert Duigan

Friday 27 September Before School

Crackley Hall's Choral Group will be singing at the Macmillan Coffee Morning next Friday before school, all are welcome to come and listen to the children whilst enjoying a cup of coffee for a very worthy cause.

Please note that Choral Group will still meet as normal on Tuesday morning but there will be no Recorder Group next Friday.

Please be advised that The School Photography Company will be taking class, sibling and individual photographs on Thursday 26 September.  It would be appreciated if children could wear their winter uniform, wherever possible.

The photographs will take place in the Hall and parents will be able to bring pre-school siblings in for the sibling photographs, at 9:00am.  An Evolve consent will be sent out regarding this.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the School Office.

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 2019 – 2020, and only those details should be used.

Parents are asked to be vigilant in respect of any communications purporting to be from the Foundation requesting money that does not match our normal procedures.

Please note:

• invoices are only available through the on-line parent fee portal;

• our bank account details will NOT change during the academic year 2019-20;

• if you receive an email purporting to amend our bank details, do not make any payment and please contact us by telephone immediately to clarify;

• we do not email details of unsolicited discounts for payment of funds.

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.

Please contact the Bursary if you have concerns about any communication you receive and in particular if you receive any request for payment of funds outside our normal routines.

Please note we do not accept payment in cash for the fee bill.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

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:

On Wednesday 18 September Little Crackers Nursery invited Warwickshire Wildlife Trust into school to help celebrate the nursery’s exciting ‘back to nature’ makeover.     

Over the summer holidays Little Crackers Nursery, at Crackley Hall School, has been transformed with a new natural look in its spacious rooms that includes new furniture, flooring, decoration and a completely new indoor/outdoor Garden Room with a decked area, a sunken sand pit, a glazed roof and retractable folding doors that open up to the woods behind.

In the morning the nursery’s Parent and Toddler group, Stay ‘n’ Play, explored the new look accommodation and took part in wildlife themed activities in the bright rooms.  Outside they went into the school’s woods and joined in wildlife themed activities run by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. The children really enjoyed searching for toy hedgehogs and making hedgehog homes.

In the afternoon the nursery children had their own party, with wildlife activities inside that included snail studies, bird watching and woodland craft before also joining Warwickshire Wildlife Trust outside for some wonderful Woodland Fairy Folk fun.

The summer makeover has also seen Improvements to the front nursery playground and the nursery children are now enjoying regular visits to the newly opened woodland at the back of the main school.  The ‘back to nature’ summer makeover means that the children now enjoy outdoor learning experiences in three very different settings.

To celebrate the new look Little Crackers has adopted new animal names to reflect the ‘back to nature’ theme, with the Terrific Twos becoming Dormice, the Thrilling Threes changing to Hedgehogs and the Fabulous Fours transforming into Badgers.

Comments Susan Glen-Roots, Assistant Head – Early Years and Key Stage 1, “This is an exciting project which will transform our children’s experiences in nursery.  A more natural environment inside creates a sense of calm whilst stimulating interest and providing the children with a blank canvas in which to learn and develop. This, coupled with more opportunities to take their learning outdoors and explore the wonders of the natural world will reap fantastic rewards in terms of self-confidence, imagination and physical development.”

The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust had lots of fun with the youngsters helping them explore the natural surroundings and encouraging their interest in wildlife.  

The latest edition of Crackley Hall and Little Cracker's Admissions Update e-newsletter was published last Monday.  The newsletter reminds parents that our next Open Day takes place on Tuesday 1 October between 10.00am and 3.00pm and our Nursery And Reception Open Evening will be on Thursday 21 November between 7.00pm and 8.00pm.

Designed to give prospective parents and pupils a feel for Crackley life, provide information on forthcoming events and offer helpful advice about the admissions process, it is particularly relevant for those who are looking at entry in September 2020.

Our Admissions Update Newsletters are published twice a year to coincide with key admissions periods, the next edition will be out in Spring 2020.

Please click here to go to the Admissions Update newsletter.

Or if you have any queries relating to admissions please do feel free to email the team at admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk or telephone our Admissions Secretary, Jenny Vaughan, on 01926 514410.

Crackley Hall enjoyed an extra special flying visitor today when Dave Sharpe from RaptorXotics brought his Owls into school to visit the children in Reception. 

Dave brought in three different species of owls including a white-faced owl, a spotted owl and a barn owl as well as a hawk to help the classes understand how the different birds of prey hunt.  He also brought in one of the owls' favourite foods – a rat called Squeak who the children also all got to meet.

The children learnt so much about the owls such as where they live, what they eat and how they hunt for their food at night time.  Did you know that owls are nocturnal animals and hunt in silence using their hearing?  Dave even flew the owls across the hall over everyone’s heads so the children could see their wings and feathers. They flew so quietly it really was very hard to hear them.

The children were enthralled, it was such an amazing experience, one that will really help the children with their learning in lessons next week.

On Tuesday 5 November we will be having our very first Super Hero Day, as part of our Vocations Week. Please come to school dressed as a Super Hero.

The aim of the day is to think about how we can all be super heroes and come to people's rescue by doing super acts of kindness for them.

More details to follow.

With a little over seven weeks to go, the countdown to Princethorpe's Entrance Exams for admission in September 2020 has begun. This year the exams for Year 7 to 10 entry will take place on Saturday 9 November from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

The College's friendly Admissions Team has been kept busy over the summer accepting registrations from prospective parents.  The deadline for registrations is ideally Friday 4 October, to enable the seeking of references from junior schools. Junior 6 parents wishing their children to sit the Princethorpe entrance exam must complete a registration form and submit it with the accompanying registration fee by this date.

There are still opportunities for prospective pupils and their parents to visit the College before the Entrance Exams, including the College's Open Morning on Thursday 26 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm, when pupil tour guides will be available to show visitors around the school.

Comments Melanie Butler, Assistant Head, Marketing, Admissions and Communications, "Parents and pupils still have time to register and one final opportunity to visit the College before the entrance exams.  We post the results out at the end of November, making for an exam-free Christmas holiday, which has got to be good news."

More information on the admissions process can be found in Princethorpe's Admissions Update newsletter here or on the Foundation website here.

If you have any queries relating to admissions please feel free to email the Registrars at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call them on 01926 634201.

Over 50 parents attended our New Parents Welcome Evening taking the chance to meet staff members and fellow new parents whose children had joined the school over the last year. Headmaster, Rob Duigan, welcomed everybody, introduced the dedicated Crackley team and talked about what makes Crackley such a special place.  Parents then had the chance to meet each other whilst enjoying the buffet.

The PTA were also on hand to warmly welcome all the new faces and encourage Crackley’s newest families to get involved in the wider life of the school.

Thursday 26 September - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Foundation senior school Princethorpe College is holding an Open Morning on Thursday 26 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm. This is a chance to look around the school on a normal working day, prior to Entrance Examinations Day on Saturday 9 November 2019.  Year 8 and 9 pupils will act as tour guides and light refreshments will be available.

Those wishing to register for Entrance Examinations are reminded that they should do so by the deadline of Friday 4 October to facilitate the gathering of references from junior schools. Registration forms are available from the Registrar, Mrs Vanessa Rooney on 01926 634201 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Entrance Examinations will take place on Saturday 9 November 2019 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. More information is available on the College website, click here.

Tuesday 1 October - 10.00am to 3.00pm

Please do spread the word that Crackley Hall and Little Crackers Nursery are opening their doors for an Open Day on Tuesday 1 October from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This is an opportunity to look around the school and to meet staff and pupils on a normal working day. There is no need to book, all are welcome.

There are some places available across the school and we will be recruiting for places in Reception 2020. Please speak to our Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan for availability in other years.

If you can’t make the Open Day but would like to look around the school, please call our Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk and come on a day to suit you. We welcome visitors on most days.

For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk

Calendar

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

All are welcome to join us for the Mass on Tuesday at 9.15am in the Hall.

This is a Mass just for Junior 5 pupils and will be a lovely opportunity for the class to celebrate Mass together.

RE Book of the Week has been awarded to Lily (J4JM) for her thoughtful reflections on Religious Art and maintaining a high standard of work in her RE book.

On Monday 16 September Crackley Hall took part in Princethorpe College’s U10 Primary Football Tournament. The event was well attended with nine teams taking part in glorious autumn sunshine out on the playing fields.

Junior 5 pupil, Max Kiely reports:
On Monday the U10s football team travelled to Princethorpe for a tournament. We all played amazingly well throughout the several games, we won 2, drew 2 and lost 1 and were then selected for the third and fourth playoffs where we didn’t disappoint! We were 2-0 down with about 5 minutes to go and we managed to win 3-2 and came third overall! I think that man of the match goes to all of the players in the tournament.

Commenting on the tournament Mr Stedeford said, “Crackley Hall played superbly. The children showed resilience and tenacity and worked well as a team. They deserved their third place. Well done all.”

Playing for Crackley hall were: Noah Cowlishaw, Rosa Davis, George Fry, Max Kiely (Captain), Solon Nishiyama, Finlay Williams (Vice-Captain) and Freddie Young

Taking part in the tournament this year were teams from Crackley Hall School, Crescent School, The Croft Prep School, St John’s Priory School, Cawston Grange Primary School, Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, The Revel Church of England Primary School and Claverdon Primary School.

We are pleased to announce that Cadie (J6V) is our gymnast of the week. 

The sun was shining on us as we embarked on an exciting week in nursery. 

We were lucky enough to spend two sessions outside in the woods, and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting the ladies from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust who took us on a hedgehog hunt and helped us to make fairy castles.

Our re-launch was a great success with snail racing in the Garden Room and woodland crafts, and we welcomed many new faces to see our lovely space.  

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who was involved, and an even bigger thank you to our children who behaved beautifully and showed everyone what fantastic ‘Little Crackers’ they are! 

Wishing you all a happy weekend, with plenty of autumn sunshine to make you smile.

Newsletter

Last Saturday 14 September Crackley Hall held its very first silent disco. The Crackley crowd loved being able to choose their own music and dance along with their friends, whilst their parents made the most of the wonderful peace and quiet and a welcome chance to unwind. The weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining and all afternoon the atmosphere was electric.

It’s an event that the PTA will definitely run again as the children really enjoyed themselves with feedback that included, 'The best day at school ever!', 'Brilliant, worth every minute, we had so much fun!' and 'When is the next one?'

All in all the disco was a smash hit and fantastic, super fun!

Wednesday 25 September 2019 - 7.30pm

We are always looking to welcome new members, so if the PTA is something you would like to be involved with we would be very pleased to have you join us. The committee get together once per half term and would really welcome some new faces.

If you would like any further information or to be added to our email list, please contact mfox1401@gmail.com

Friday 27 September 2019 - from 8.00am

We will be taking part in the Macmillan World's Biggest Coffee Morning this year again. For those of you that have to get to work we will be offering a drive through tea and coffee service at morning drop off, or if you have a bit more time there will be tea and pastries on the patio area outside the school hall.

The children will also get an opportunity to buy cakes at break time. We will be asking for small cake/biscuit donations from certain classes nearer the time.

Friday 11  October 2019 - 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 11th October 2019 at 7.30pm.

Teams of up to eight people are invited to battle it out against other year groups and our reigning champions from last year.

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 https://www.pta-events.co.uk/crackleyhall/#.XYRlLyXTXDs

Friday 18 October 2019

This is a rare opportunity for your children to break a maximum of 3 school rules at a small cost of 50p per rule broken.

A list of rules that can be broken will be published nearer the time.

Saturday 30  November 2019 - 1.00pm to 4.00pm

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas yet? Some might say yes but please save the date as it will come round quickly!

Please email mfox1401@gmail.com if you might be able to help. Thank you for your support. 

Lost

Thomas (Rec GR) has lost his clip on tie

Beatrice (J2M) has lost her homework folder 

Found

J4 Girls Swimming Kit (Blue swimming costume, strippy towel, swim hat and swim goggles)

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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.