The Chronicle

Dear Parents

The last day of April seems to be upon us very quickly and we are looking forward to a more positive summer where we can hopefully spend more time with our extended families once again.  I must say that I have appreciated the little rain we had this week which was much needed.

Yesterday I hosted a meeting with our Junior 5 parents, guiding them through the secondary school application process and various options available.  This is an important transition for the children and, whilst I hope that you found the meeting useful, I understand that some of you may have further questions following the meeting.  Please do contact the school office if you would like to meet either of the Junior 5 form teachers, Ms Ellis or me via Teams, or on the ‘phone, during the next few weeks.

Junior 2 took part in an online presentation where they learned about the Fire of Warwick this week and have also been very busy tending to their newly planted seeds.  I look forward to seeing how these develop over the summer.  Please look out for the Mathletics challenge on Wednesday next week and the Maths Number Day next Friday.

During this morning’s assembly I announced the following Stars of the Week: Bevan, Cleo, Thea, Zachary, Lena, Isabelle, Ria, Joseph, Lennon, Hattie, Harry, George, and Theo.  We also celebrated several bronze awards and da Vinci’s for Penny, Sara, Joseph, Darcey and Beatrice and two awards for Arthur.  Well done to all the recipients – well deserved by everyone!  My special thanks go to Alex in Junior 5 for playing so well at the end of assembly today.  Congratulations to Isaac on his fantastic performance and first place in his age group in the Leamington Open Tennis Championship.

I was delighted to see so many Grade 1 and 2 LAMDA Certificates being ‘presented’ today to our Junior 5 and 6 pupils.  The children have worked incredibly hard to achieve their results – all distinctions or merits - and the well-deserved certificates will be with them shortly.  Thank you to Mrs Wildey for co-ordinating the LAMDA examinations and helping to prepare the children.

This week also saw a return to sporting fixtures with the U10 and U11 cricket teams competing against Bilton Grange; and Olly, Finlay and Freddie have provided match reports in assembly this morning.  Well done to the boys and also all those who represented the school. We have eagerly anticipated the return of inter-school sport and I certainly hope that our fixtures will continue to grow as lockdown restrictions ease.

I would like to remind parents about our procedures at drop off and collection times.  Please keep your speed to the limit displayed (5mph) when on site or when approaching the school gates as many in the school community cross the road just before the main gates.  Please stay vigilant and careful at all times, move safely around the turning circle and follow the guidance of staff on duty.  We try to keep the car line moving as efficiently as possible to prevent congestion in the approach to school so that we don’t back up onto the Coventry Road and I trust that I can continue to rely on your support and co-operation in this regard.

I would like to wish you all have a wonderful extended weekend and look forward to seeing children back in school on Tuesday next week.

God bless,

Mr Duigan

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

Friday 7 May – We are celebrating Number Day!

On Friday 7  May, all Crackley pupils will be having a fun day of maths activities and we will be taking part in Dress up for Digits. All pupils are asked to wear a costume or an item of clothing with a number on it (football shirt, cap, netball shirt or even a onesie) or get even more creative by dressing in a costume with a maths or numbers theme. To help raise money for the NSPCC, we are asking for a suggested donation of £2. We can’t wait to take part in all the activities!

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Get ready for a Maths Competition like no other!

Who is invited: All pupils in J1-J6

When: Wednesday 5 May

Where: Online via your Mathletics login

Details: Will be sent direct to your Seesaw account – follow the directions to join the competition.

Remember - You have to be in it, to win it!

Awards for each class – top three scores.

We were delighted to hear that Junior 5 pupil Jasmine and her pony Rory did really well on their first time out at Broadway Horse Trials.

Jasmine had been training really hard and was pleased to receive her best dressage score ever, she had an unlucky pole down in the show jumping round but then rode brilliantly in the cross country to finish clear inside the time. The course was hilly and long with lots of challenges and, at 10-years-old, Jasmine was one of the youngest competitors in her section. Jasmine and Rory came 8th out of 31 starters which is a really super result.

She is out competing again this coming weekend representing Crackley Hall at Swacliffe in the Schools Equestrian Games (SEG) 70cm class at the One Day Event. Then on Sunday 16 May she will be representing The Princethorpe Foundation at Dallas Burston for the SEG Arena Eventing in the 80cm class, alongside former Crackley Hall pupil Rosie Moreton.

A huge well done to Jasmine and the very best of luck to her and Rory in their upcoming competitions.

Last Friday 23 April, Princethorpe College hosted its Spring Concert, thanks once again to the wonders of technology. Masterminded by their fantastic Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, it was another virtual recital for the school community to enjoy. It included a second Foundation-wide musical collaboration after last summer’s super performance of The Climb.

In a rousing finale the, 90-strong, Foundation Virtual Music Group performed You Will Be Found from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. This latest ‘Big Sing’ brought together the talents of our community playing and singing from the safety of their own homes. Its message of hope was both inspiring and uplifting for us all and serves as a reminder to anyone who feels lost or uncertain that, as the song says - you are not alone.

We say a huge thank you to Gil and the wonderful Princethorpe Foundation vocalists and musicians for providing such wonderful entertainment for a Friday night.

If you haven’t seen the performance you can watch the finale here: https://vimeo.com/540681358

Please do not ask for your child to accompany another child home unless you have formed a childcare bubble with that family. Whilst we do not wish to seek information regarding individual family arrangements, if you are bringing or collecting another child to and from school, we will assume that you have formed your childcare bubble with that family.

Thank you

The Council have asked us to share the following information with you:

Kenilworth Town Council has opened a book of condolence following the sad death of HRH The Prince Philip, which in due course will be sent on behalf of local residents to Buckingham Palace. Given COVID restrictions, people are invited to send any contributions to this book by email to the Town Clerk (kentc@kenilworth.org) or written condolences to be included in the book can be posted to the Town Clerk at Jubilee House, Smalley Place, Kenilworth CV9 1QG. There is also a letter box outside Jubilee House in which statements of condolence can be hand delivered.

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Hardwick's class is Nieve

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Glen-Root's class is Thomas

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes's class is Charlie

Mathlete of the week for Mr Stedeford's group is Tommy 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Van Zyl's class is William

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Wildey's class is Lexi 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Burley's group is Carter

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Roberts's group is Alfred

Well done all!

Saturday 22 May - 1.30pm to 5.30pm

Princethorpe College warmly invites Junior 5 pupils and their families to a specifically tailored Foundation Prep Schools Year 5 Taster Experience and Open Afternoon. Children to arrive at 1.30pm Parents to return for 4.15pm.

This special event is aimed at giving prospective pupils a taste of senior school life through a variety of sample lessons and their parents the opportunity to hear Ed Hester, the Headmaster, speak about the College’s ethos, aims and vision. Towards the end of the afternoon there will be the option for families to have a guided tour around the school and grounds conducted by Sixth Formers. Members of the Senior Leadership and Admissions Team will also be on hand to answer any questions you may have at the end of the tour.

Light refreshments, including legendary Princethorpe cookies, will be available. The event will be very carefully managed within government guidelines. 

To sign up for this event please complete the online form here by 9.00am on Wednesday 5 May 2021.

Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet

This week, in RE, Junior 6 have continued to think about the story of Doubting Thomas and how he did not believe in Jesus' resurrection until he actually saw it for himself.  Junior 6 debated whether it is possible to believe in something even if you have not seen it and whether it depends on who has told you it, your own knowledge of possibilities and the exaggeration factor that may be involved. 

We discussed whether one llama on the playground was more believable than one hundred and whether Mr. Duigan telling us about it was more believable than Annalise!  We then considered times and events in our own lives when we have believed things without seeing them and vice versa.

Junior 5 have had another great week of learning. In Science they have carefully labelled the various parts of a flowering plant and have identified both the male and female parts. They have also learnt how flowers reproduce through pollination and by seed dispersal.

There has been excitement in sports as some of our boys were selected to play Cricket against Bilton Grange School, and they impressively only lost by one run!  We are looking forward to all of our imminent sports fixtures.

In Geography, we are continuing to enhance our mapping skills and we were very excited when we used Google Earth to see where we live!

Junior 4 have continued to impress their teachers this week with their enthusiasm for the topics we are covering. In Mrs Widley’s English class they have been rehearsing persuading others to visit where they live in English. In Drama they are learning about Viking sagas so they have been visualising Viking lands of the gods and legendary characters like Odin, Freya and goblins! 

Coinciding with a change in weather this week, J4 are learning to talk about the weather in French.  Mrs Jackson-Mayne’s Maths group have begun the topic of data handling. This topic lends itself to talking and investigating maths. Pupils have been encouraged to discuss their data and consider the best ways to display it.  Mrs Burley’s Maths group are ensuring that they are secure with written methods of subtraction and in English they have been planning a letter from the viewpoint of the Big Bad Wolf who is complaining about Little Red Riding Hood and the damage that she is doing to the woods - we have had great fun! 

At the beginning of the week, all pupils shared their memories of the last year. It has been a privilege to read their personal observations and feelings over the last year. It is hoped that some of these will go into the Time Capsule which will be buried at the end of this academic year.

This week Junior 3 have continued to enjoy exploring the story of Daedalus and Icarus through lots of drama activities. We have also been practising a range of writing skills, such as using a wider range of conjunctions, time adverbials and ambitious vocabulary to add real sparkle to our sentences. We are now ready to begin drafting our own versions of this popular Greek myth and have been sharing lots of exciting ideas.

In our Art lessons, we are working on a collaborative project to create an enormous pair of wings (just like Daedalus and Icarus) inspired by the modern-day street artist, Kelsey Montague. Of course, with our wings, we will remember ‘not to fly too close to the sun!’

Junior 2 have been busy blowing Ms Holmes’ and Mrs Bhogal’s socks off with their measuring skills in Maths and finding out more about The Fire of Warwick, ready for their presentation by St Johns Museum. The Plague still reigns supreme, as the children wrote about the horrors of the Bubonic Pandemic in 1665! They have lived through a lockdown or two themselves so this has been really cool.

Mrs Burley has been helping the children to find out more about ‘coding’ using Daisy the Dinosaur in computing and in a delicious link with Science, Madame Tatton has been teaching the pupils how to say fruits and vegetables in French! The children have started their watering rota for our planters in the school grounds. Already the plants and seeds are growing and germinating. We look forward to seeing how tall our sunflowers and beans will grow with the lovely sunny weather and odd bursts of rain!

Junior 1 have been continuing with their geography theme of Capital cities in the UK and this week it was the turn of Edinburgh. Both classes were so excited to use the VR sets to look around Scotland’s capital and it was wonderful to hear their squeals of delight when it felt as though they were actually there! The children then went on to write a postcard to describe what they had seen.

In our History lessons, we have learnt about the Viking longboats and we have begun to make our own. As there is so much to do to make our boats authentic, we will be completing them next week. We have also been busy using lots of different resources in our Maths lessons, to explore the concept of arrays and doubles, and to be able to remember all of the associated number facts.

Mrs Armitage has continued to enthral us in our English lessons and this week everyone has written a story map, found the missing parts of the story and even written some speech bubbles to show what Mrs Armitage adds to her increasingly full bike! As ever, it has been a week of fun and learning in Junior 1.

It has been another busy and productive week in Reception as we have looked at the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in greater depth. We learned some important new words, such as chrysalis and metamorphosis and have been getting regular updates on the caterpillars that one of our pupils has at home.

Much fun has been had in art as we have been enjoying painting caterpillars, butterflies and leaves with water on the path outside. You can imagine how excited we were when a Red Admiral butterfly flew by and then landed on some of us! We also noticed that when the sun came out the pictures faded away, and we learned that this is called evaporation.

Ted is our Shining Star in Junior 3 this week for his detailed work on the ‘Diary of a Disciple’.

Junior 4 Shining Stars who received either a Creative or Mastery Da Vinci for their role play work this week include:  Lawson, Isabella, Olivia, Jia, Miley, Alexa, Elena, Jay, Kate and Lennon in Junior 4B and Matilda, Sebastian, Lucas, Chloe, Theo and Amelia in Junior 4W, with Penny receiving a full Da Vinci for all her exceptional RE work, including her role play.

Pupils in Junior 3 have been thinking about what happened to Jesus after Easter Sunday. In groups they have explored the disciples’ feelings and their sense of loss, followed by their astonishment and disbelief when they see Jesus. Pupils have acted out scenes and used this to combine literacy skills and RE by writing a diary account of the Ascension.

Holy Communicants

Pupils making their First Reconciliation will meet with Father Kevin on Friday 7 May to talk about the importance of reflecting on behaviour and reconciling our differences with others.

All pupils, in Juniors 3, 4 and 5 who are preparing for the Sacrament of Holy Communion will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on the afternoon of 12 May.

Next Mass

Our next Mass will be led by Junior 3 is on Monday 24 May at 2pm. Pupils will receive readings next week to practice so that they can be fully involved in our first Mass this year.  Only pupils and staff to attend.

Just a little reminder for the children to return their Good Shepherd Appeal boxes.

Please hand them into the school office.

Please find information below:

Childrens Liturgy

Activity Sheet

Please click on the link below for this week's weekly mission;

Weekly Mission

Report written by Freddie Young – Captain of this Match against Bilton Grange.

On Wednesday, 29 April the U11A team played against Bilton Grange away.  It was a great game.  However, we lost narrowly.  Most of the team had not played a cricket match for Crackley Hall before. Yung was Man of the Match on his debut for Crackley.  Maxwell got a wicket and three catches.  Freddie got a run out and Fin got a wicket maiden (0 runs 1 wicket in 6 balls).  Thank you Mr Kefalas and Mr Vaughan for taking us to the match.

This week in Lego Club we delved into the world of wildlife exploration in the jungle.  We uncovered a forest thick with trees and slippery leaves and created our very own animal rescue centre – always handy when dealing with endangered species like elephants, pandas and giant otters.  We had Bo the Seal and Shelley the turtle, to name but a few.

Venturing further into the depths of the dark jungle habitat, we discovered a forest fire, only to be extinguished by a solar powered aeroplane’s water sprinkling system aided by a lady with giant arms scooping up any distressed animals to the safety of a ready-made river on the aeroplane! 

How we love our dramatic and creative play!

This week we have kept a careful eye on our lovely caterpillars, the children have chatted to them while having their snack, they have showed the pot to their friends, and at one point someone even read them The Very Hungry Caterpillar!  I can confirm that all this love and attention has worked, and they are now so big they barely fit in their pot!  This morning we noticed that they had started creeping up to the top, sleepily hanging from the lid, and beginning to form into a chrysalis.  Hopefully we will have butterflies very soon.

The rest of the week has flown by as we negotiated rain and wellies, as well as bright sunshine.  The children are regularly watering their seeds and keeping their fingers crossed for flowers soon.  I hope you all enjoy the Bank Holiday on Monday, and maybe if we keep thinking positive thoughts we might be able to flip the weather forecast and enjoy a little sunshine! 

Newsletter

PTA New Parents Meeting - Wednesday 5 May 2021 - 7.30pm

The Crackley Hall Parent and Teachers Association are delighted to invite you to attend a New Parents Meeting on Wednesday 5 May 2021 at 7:30pm.

We know that starting a new school can be just as daunting for the parents as for the children and, usually weeks after the children have more than found their feet, we are still struggling to navigate our way around!  We normally host a New Parents Evening in September after term has started but due to the ever increasing restrictions at the time, it was just not possible.  We've had so many wonderful new families join our school during the course of this academic year and last, so we thought that now would be a prime time to get together (albeit virtually!).  

So if you are an established parent or a new one, we would love to see you at the meeting.

The link to the meeting was sent earlier this week via ISAMS.  If you have any questions, queries or technical problems with the link, please email ccamilleriwillis@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

With very best wishes,

Lucy Lamb

PTA Chair

Ordinary Meeting – Wednesday 12 May 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 for you to join us. The committee get together once per half term and would really welcome some new faces, now more than ever. 

If you would like any further information or to be added to our email list, please contact Chanel Camilleri-Willis ccamilleriwillis@gmail.com

Dust off the dresses, shine those shoes and un-crease those coats.  As always, thank you, to our wonderful second hand uniform team, Nikki, Linda and Katie, for being ever patient and serving our wonderful school community with much needed preloved uniform.

Please feel to contact them on ptauniform@crackleyhall.co.uk to arrange an appointment, or to simply check stock availability.

To offer this service, we rely on wonderful donations from you. So if you have any good quality uniform your child has outgrown, please use the collection box in the school front entrance.  It will then be quarantined for 72 hours before offering for sale.

All money raised from the PTA Uniform shop is spent on extras for your children throughout the year at school and helps the children’s day become even more special!

We are recruiting for a variety of roles currently, as you will see below, so please do share with friends and family by word of mouth.

Further information and application forms on all roles are available on our website - Join Us

• Teacher of Politics and History (maternity leave) at Princethorpe College
• Exam Invigilators at Princethorpe College
• Teacher of Art at Crescent School
• Key Stage 1 Teaching Assistant at Crescent School
• Key Stage 2 Teaching Assistant at Crescent School
• IT Engineer at the Princethorpe Foundation

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

Could you please regularly check all uniform and sports kits at home – if it does not belong to your child, please return it to the School Office as soon as possible.

----------------------------------------------------------

Lost Property

William(J3V) has lost his tracksuit top

Harrison (J2H) has lost his named tracksuit top

----------------------------------------------------------