The Chronicle

Dear Parents

Welcome to the final edition of the Chronicle for 2021.  It’s been a challenging year in many respects but with the wonderful support of our families, friends at home and in school, we are now able to look forward to spending some time together with our loved ones during the Christmas break.  As a school, we have managed to stay open all term, arrange as many fixtures and events as possible. For this, we are most thankful. It was especially wonderful to be able to welcome families back into school for the various assemblies and Advent services and Nativities.  We will have to pray hard that we are able to continue this approach from the start of next term and that the Covid virus does not force us into more stringent measures of trying to prevent a further outbreak at Crackley Hall.

During this last full week, the pupils and staff have been particularly busy.  As mentioned, we have held Nativities and Advent Services and have also had academic assessments, our Christmas lunch, the Christmas Fayre and today we had a spectacular display of Christmas jumpers to support the charity, Save the Children. 

I would like to sincerely thank the PTA and the parents who assisted on Monday morning with the Christmas Fayre.  Each class visited the fayre during the course of the morning where they could win prizes, have their faces painted, play stall games, choose treats, make Christmas cards and also visit Father Christmas himself.

Our Nativities were held on Tuesday with Nursery to Junior 2 each performing to their families in the Hall and Junior 3 and Junior 4 each presented and performed separate Advent celebrations on Wednesday afternoon and evening. I am so pleased that the children were able to experience being on stage and having an audience after all their efforts during rehearsals.   I am very grateful to Mrs Olden, Mrs Wildey and Mrs Jackson-Mayne for co-ordinating these events and to Mrs Griffin, Chair of Trustees, for taking time to attend.  My thanks are also extended to Mr Kefalas for filming the events and Mrs Stephenson for capturing the performances on camera.  My thanks are also extended to the classroom staff who helped with preparations and the office and estates team for assisting with logistical arrangements. If you were unable to attend the nativities or advent service, Mrs Taylor will be able to send recordings of these performances next week.

Our catering team provided the whole school with a magnificent Christmas lunch on Wednesday and I was delighted that Father Kevin and Father David were also able to join me on this occasion.  I know that the staff enjoyed the lunch and I am sure the children were also particularly grateful for the super spread, although there may have been a sprout or two left on the plate.

I am most grateful to Father Kevin for all his care and support over the course of the term, including celebrating Holy Mass, hearing confessions and helping to plan the sacred and spiritual events of the term. He is always most willing to lead in his ministry and I wish him and Father David a most blessed and happy Christmas. It was also a pleasure to welcome Father Kevin to our Junior 3 Advent Service this week.

During assembly this morning it was wonderful to see so many different Christmas jumpers on display.  I was able to congratulate our Stars of the Week: Sanniv, Haris, Henry, Chace, Savannah, William, Leo, Josh, Isla, William, Oliver, Beatrice, Mya and Hattie.  There was an impressive collection of Junior da Vinci’s awarded too; congratulations to everyone on your exemplary efforts. Well done to the pupils who earned their bronze awards and to Marley on his certificate from the Catholic Independent Schools’ Association for his Christmas card design.

Next week will come and go all too quickly but we will be able to hold Mass in school for J6 and J5, class parties, class award assemblies and a panto (live and live streamed) before the end of school on Tuesday.   Holiday Club will be open from Wednesday 15 December until Thursday 23 December and the school office will also be open between 9.00am and 4.00pm until 23 December.  The school will close from 24 December and will re-open from Tuesday, 4 January 2022.  If you need to book Holiday Club or cancel your booking, please contact the school office by Tuesday, 14 December.

An electronic calendar card will be sent to all parents during the Christmas break and I sincerely hope that we will be able to keep all events in the diary, but I will update you regarding any changes to our Covid arrangements as we continue to follow the Government advice.

Although England have rallied today, I fear that the Aussies are teaching the England cricket team a big lesson in the first Ashes test.  I hope that you are all able to have a restful weekend.

Thank you for your support and interest over the past term; it is greatly appreciated and what helps to make us the school we are.  I will never underestimate the importance of a parent’s role and appreciate all the support that our mums and dads give their children and the school.  I am also most grateful to my excellent staff for all their hard work over such a demanding and challenging term. High standards have been maintained whilst coping with additional pressures and demands. The front office, ably led by Mrs Taylor, the estates and support teams and the academic team, led by our most capable SLT have all helped to grow and improve the school and ensure a smooth and happy experience for our pupils. The pupils are to be commended on their hard work, kindness and determination. Our staff and pupils all deserve a good rest and I hope that everyone finds the time to be with loved ones over the Christmas period. I should like to wish everyone a most blessed and merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

God bless,

Mr Duigan

Pupils lost property will be on a table in the foyer from the beginning of next week until the 22 December.

Please feel free to come in and browse to see if there is anything that belongs to your child.

Only one person at a time please.

Thank you 

Holiday club will run from Wednesday 15 until Wednesday 22 December 2021, and then again on Tuesday 4 January 2022.

It will be open from 8.30am to 5.00pm each day, and will cost £30 per child. Hot lunch will be provided.

Bookings for the Holiday Club can now be made through the School Office - 01926 514444

Thank you

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

A talented young dancer from Crackley Hall School is currently performing at the Birmingham Hippodrome in what for many is one of the treats of the Christmas season, the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Christmas production of The Nutcracker. For Junior 6 pupil, Aaron Anderson, this is an amazing and exciting opportunity to gain performance experience on stage alongside world-class dancers.

Ballet is a performing art that takes years of hard, physical training to master. Young Aaron has been dancing since he was two-years-old and currently trains every Saturday morning at the Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham in their Young Dancers programme. He is also a Junior Associate of the Royal Ballet School a prestigious and very competitive training programme for the best young dancers.

Aaron is really enjoying performing and being part of a big stage production commenting on how exciting it is. Our Director of Music, Mrs Olden was lucky enough to watch the production last weekend, and she said, “How fantastic for Aaron, it is wonderful to see pupils who believe in themselves following their dreams.”

A huge well done to Aaron, we are all very impressed!

Junior 2 performed their nativity, A Midwife Crisis, to a delighted audience of parents on Tuesday 7 December. It was a modern take on the traditional nativity story and told of a very busy midwife and her put-upon donkey Steve.

Determined not to miss a very important birth, she rushes out into the night in search of a shiny golden palace fit for a king. Steve doesn’t think he’s ever heard of Bethlehem Palace, but the midwife is in no mood to listen and off they go to look. On reaching Bethlehem, the townspeople, shepherds and kings that they come across have never heard of the palace either and the midwife starts to panic. However, with the help of some angelic angels and a very bright star, the midwife is led to a humble stable to find the very special baby already waiting for her.

It was a fabulous performance from all the children who delivered their lines with panache, danced exuberantly and sang enthusiastically. Headmaster, Rob Duigan, congratulated them all commenting, “Children you were absolutely fantastic.”  He thanked the staff involved in putting together the show and thanked the parents for coming.

Well done Junior 2, what a wonderful and uplifting nativity that was.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Reception children took to the stage to perform Busy, Busy Bethlehem, a nativity told through the eyes of a busy Bethlehem solider.

Bethlehem is busy, busy, busy with preparations for the day of the approaching census. Watching the excitement and directing the crowds is a little soldier sent to Bethlehem by Caesar Augustus. He loves to organise everybody and thinks that nothing could be more important than being in charge.

So when Mary and Joseph arrive late, the little soldier is initially very cross, but something changes and he can't understand why. He forgets all about organising and follows the shepherds and wise men to discover a very special baby has been born.

The simple story was told beautifully with each child carefully enunciating their individual lines. We are so proud of all of them, they performed brilliantly. A huge well done to Reception.

On Tuesday morning, Junior 1 proudly took to the stage to perform A Little Bird Told Me, a lovely nativity full of catchy songs that the children really enjoyed.

One cold, snowy night in the middle of winter, little Robin is shivering away wishing he could be somewhere a little warmer when a little bird tells him of some exciting news about the birth of a very special king far away in Bethlehem. Robin is invited to join a flock of birds flying south to find the baby. On their way the birds meet shepherds, a star, angels, wise men and their camels and come up with their own unique present for Jesus.

All great fun and what an enthusiastic performance, great job Junior 1, we think you were amazing!

The title of Little Crackers’ Nativity this year was Away In A Manger and it told the story of Maurice the mule and his very special manger. 

The performance took place on Tuesday morning and it was wonderful to have parents back in school to watch. A lot of hard work had gone into the rehearsals, learning the songs, memorising the lines, sorting out costumes, scenery and planning the production, and what a spectacle it proved to be. The children enthusiastically (for the most part) sang and those with lines delivered them with panache. ‘There’s a baby in my manger, it’s amazing,’ said Maurice the mule, and so it was.

Performing on stage to a large audience of excited parents takes more than a little courage, but our Nursery animals, stable folk, star, shepherds, wise men and Mary and Joseph were all magnificent.

Nursery Manager, Clare Bird said, “The children loved the singing and acting, and they all did so well. We did have a few wobbles but this type of activity really helps the children gain confidence. I am very proud of them all. They were amazing.”

Kind-hearted youngsters at Crackley Hall School have been writing cards and wrapping presents to be given out at Christmas to local housebound and disabled parishioners. The children, who are in Junior 5 and Junior 6 at Crackley Hall School, are all members of the Minnie Vinnies, the junior arm of the charity St Vincent de Paul Society, an international Christian voluntary organisation with local and regional networks dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage through the provision of practical support to anyone in need.

The children are pictured here with Mini Vinnies’ Co-ordinator, Mrs Simmonds, and their handiwork – how thoughtful they all are.

The magic of Christmas arrived early at Crackley this year, when Father Christmas popped in to see everyone at the PTA’s Children’s Christmas Fair. The excitement in school had been building for weeks, with advent activities, nativity rehearsals and the odd visit from a cheeky elf or two!

So, it was a lovely surprise for the children to be called down in turn in their class to discover the marvellous PTA elves and fairies had laid on a super treat. The school hall had been transformed into a winter wonderland filled full of activities and games and behind a screen was the big man himself.

Father Christmas had taken time off from all his festive preparations to come and meet the children. In turn he spoke to each class asking and answering questions, discussing essentials such as who had been good and who was and wasn’t on his list. Then every child was encouraged to share their Christmas wishes and to hang them on the magic sparkling tree before the elves sent the youngsters off to the fair clutching a small gift of a teddy bear.

Then oh what fun they had, playing the tombola, making reindeer food and Christmas baubles, trying their luck at hook-a-duck, enjoying candy floss and so much more. What a magical morning for them all.

A huge thank you to the PTA for organising such a special treat and to parents for helping fund such a magical day.

We have arranged for all children to have FREE access to the RocketLearn Online Christmas Camp – usual cost £20/child. The camp runs over the holidays and includes a variety of online broadcast lessons and activities covering Maths, English, Skills, PE and Wellbeing all aimed at children aged 7-13.

If you would like to sign up please visit https://bit.ly/RLchristmascamp and enter the code CRACKLEY on checkout to reserve a free place.

You can find additional information also on the attached pdf. We hope your children enjoy the activities and it would be wonderful to see our pupils enter the Creative Writing Competition that is also taking place at the camp

Camp Information

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Burley's class is Oscar and Hector 

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes class is all of J3H 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Wildey's group is Sebastian

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Lammas group last week was Kate

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Lammas group this week is Theo

Well done all!

Tuesday 18 January 2022 - 10.00am to 3.00pm

Please share news of our January Open Day. It is an opportunity to look around Crackley Hall School and Little Crackers Nursery and to meet staff and pupils on a normal working day.

This will give prospective families an insight into the many aspects of school life at Crackley Hall and Little Crackers and the firm foundation we give children for their future learning.

The day will be split into three sessions. The visit will start with a talk from Mr Duigan, followed by a tour of the school. To book your place please click here

For more information please contact the Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or by email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk

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

This week in Junior 6, the children had fun in their French lessons learning about some of the different Christmas traditions from around the world. They learned about what people in different countries might have on the dinner table at Christmas time and tried to learn how to say them all in French!  This brought to a culmination the work they have done over the last few weeks about their likes and dislikes relating to school and meal choices. They shared what their favourite food is on their own Christmas tables and tried not to argue about whose choice was the best! Linking to this, in Science the children considered what keeps them healthy and the need to make healthy food choices. They learned about how food is labelled and how to have a balanced diet.

In Junior 5 this week, it has been a pleasure to experience the extraordinary writing talent and dramatic flair of our pupils as they work towards their Christmas writing piece. With a little help from our friendly neighbourhood DADWAVERS, the children have been writing about their own personal superheroes as well as creating their own caped crusaders! Meanwhile, as the weather outside is frightening, the children have been heads down, writing letters telling us all about their perfect Christmas present. We can’t wait to read them Junior 5 – don’t stop now!

Junior 4 have had an amazing week and this review has to start with their wonderful Advent service, which they performed with enthusiasm and expertise. It was an absolute delight having the opportunity to watch them all and we were delighted to have parents there too. In preparation for Christmas, J4 have also been busy taking part in festive crafts and creating lovely cards for family and friends. This included decorating multiple baubles and class Christmas trees – elves on the shelves are loving the new, shiny hiding spots! The children have made sure that the festive fun hasn’t disrupted their hard work and it has been a pleasure reading all of their imaginative and descriptive Christmas letters. Well done J4, for a truly splendid first term. We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Junior 3 have had an extremely busy week working very hard towards their assessments and thinking about the magic of Christmas morning and a much-wanted gift appearing under the tree. All things ‘festive’ have been happening in both classrooms, Christmas smells (orange, pine, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg), Christmas trees, baubles, gifts and cards in preparation for their Christmas write – The Gift. We are so excited to see how their ‘letter’ challenge plays out! To extend the pupil’s learning Christmas reading has been a must, with The Nutcracker, Pussycat’s Christmas and The Little Matchgirl our favourites.

The whole year group had practised really hard for their performance on Wednesday evening. Ms Holmes and Mrs van Zyl and the team were delighted with how the children conducted themselves throughout, with less than the usual practise time. Well done one and all! Parents were able to watch the show and so many kind messages came in after the event. Lovely to have so much support as we move through into the busiest and most exciting time of the school year.

As our work on Kenya draws to a close, the pupils have been creating wonderful Maasai necklaces, we hope you enjoy seeing them once they get home.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Junior 2 have had a wonderful end to the Michaelmas term. The beginning of the week saw Edward and Jess playing their guitars to the Junior 2 classes – what a beautiful start to the week! On Tuesday we performed our Nativity and we all had a fantastic afternoon. We are sure that our audience enjoyed it and we are looking forward to watching our performance on the video that Mr Kefalas kindly took for us. The rest of the week has been filled with making Christmas cards, decorations, and other Christmas surprises. We would also like to say a big thank you to the Parents’ Association for the Christmas Fair on Monday; it was so much fun, and we really appreciated all the time and hard work which went into organising this.

Wow! A brilliant performance of A Little Bird Told Me was put on this week for the parents to watch and enjoy. Everybody remembered their lines, sang the songs with enthusiasm and added the right actions to the words. There were numerous rounds of applause and laughter from the audience throughout the show and it was a fantastic way to start the Christmas season. After our nativity, we still had work to do in the classroom! We have re-told the Christmas story in a special booklet, found out about food that is grown in other countries and learnt who St. Nicholas was and how he became known as Santa Claus. We then finished the week off with making our own Christmas cards, decorations and a calendar for next year.

It has been another very busy week in Reception! We had great fun performing our Nativity play, Busy, Busy, Bethlehem to our families, who enjoyed watching us sing, act and dance. All our teachers were proud of us and think that after such a stellar performance, that the West End beckons soon! Writing letters to Father Christmas, putting the finishing touches to our Christmas crafts and learning about squares and rectangles in Maths has certainly ensured that it has been another productive week. Our classroom elves have been keeping an eye on us and have been up to lots of mischief too, one even hid in a Christmas tree – how cheeky!

Bevan in Reception is one of the RE stars this week. His picture and superb independent writing captures the five different Nativities and Advent Services held in the Gables. The enjoyment by the children was evident in their smiles: the magic and wonder was in their songs and readings and the appreciation of parents was in the rapturous applause. Thank you for this super illustration and amazing independent writing, Bevan!

Bevans Picture

Thank you to J3 and J4 this week for their wonderful Advent Service, they are all RE Stars!  The heartfelt Christmas Carols and eloquent and well-delivered news reports reminded us of the true message of love at Christmas.

Both Junior 4 classes have been exploring the theme of jealously, highlighted in the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers.

Junior 4S have been busy producing some wonderful independent written work. Junior 4R demonstrated their understanding of the story through drama. In the next few RE lessons we will be looking at our feelings of jealousy in our own lives and how we can overcome them.

Please find information below:

Childrens Liturgy - Third Sunday of Advent

Activity Sheet - Third Sunday of Advent

Childrens Liturgy - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Activity Sheet - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Christmas Card Template

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

Weekly Mission

Please find details from Complete Cricket attached below:

J1 and J2

J3 and J4

01.12.21 U11 Boys Rugby v Bablake (Home)

Off the back of coming 2nd in the previous week’s ISA National Rugby Tournament, the Crackley A Team had their local derby against Bablake.

The boys started strongly, putting points on the board within minutes. Bablake’s resolve to the constant pressure from Crackley stood firm and they increasingly pressured our boys as the match progressed. The telling improvements in Crackley’s skills at rucking and mauling paid dividends in dominating possession. Plus, the total commitment in tackling, and progression in keeping a defensive line, coupled with increasingly tactical attacking running lines, resulted in a clean sheet and a very convincing score line for this consistently developing team.

Captain: George (J6V)

Vice: George (J6H)

Player of the match: double-hat-trick scoring Sidney (J6H)

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08.12.21 U11 Mixed Football match v Crescent (Away)

This Wednesday saw Crackley take an U11 mixed football team over to our sister-school Crescent, for what turned out to be a nail-biting end-to-end match. Both teams had multiple opportunities and near misses on goal – making for a very exciting and entertaining fixture - but Crackley had the fortune of getting two in the net, despite Crescent’s excellent defence and goal-keeping. Our thanks to Crescent for being such great hosts.

Captain: Henry (J6V)

Vice: Jack (J6V)

Player of the match: (as voted by the opposition) Henry (J6V)

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08.12.21 U10 Mixed Football match v Crescent (Away)

This Wednesday Crackley faced our sister-school Crescent in a very entertaining and closely fought away fixture. Both teams showed good individual skills and team work in what turned out to be a very closely fought match. Crackley had the upper hand in the first half, which was whittled away in the second by Crescent. Crackley, through their team efforts, saw super goals from Rayane, Georgie, James and Leo, and their brilliant coach/manger Mr Cottrill, saw them hang-on to their lead and win 4 – 2. The whole team was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ and our thanks go to Crescent for hosting the fixture, and as always in such a welcoming fashion.

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09.12.21 U8 Boys Tag Rugby v Warwick (Home)

This Thursday Crackley hosted Warwick School for an U8 Tag Rugby match. Crackley scored first, with Warwick answering from the restart – and the game continued with end-to-end action. Warwick led at half-time, but not for long, as Crackley came storming back with some excellent support play. Warwick went one up with just a minute to play, but Crackley turned over the ball, and as our number of tags was running out, Jacob (J3V) went over to get the 8-8 draw. A fabulous game played in a very good spirit, rounding off this term’s rugby season in good fashion.

Captain: Josh (J3V)

Vice: Felix (J3V)

Player of the match: (as voted by the opposition) Theo (J3H)

‘Tis the season to Lego build and what a season it has been in Lego Club!  With Christmas just around the corner, the excitement of what Lego we would be building on Christmas Day was exhilarating to say the least!  We were full of Christmas cheer, especially when we had an unexpected visit from Santa on his Lego sleigh with reindeer figures helping to speed up Santa with hasty acceleration!  Loaded with gifts galore including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel and Vet City, we excelled in opening up the remainder of our Advent calendar.  Behind each of its 24 doors was a fun Christmas gift, including minifigures and we just loved recreating our very own Christmas scene. Happy Christmas Lego building everyone and please do send me your pics of Lego to clarehill@crackleyhall.co.uk and I will endeavour to feature them in the New Year’s Chronicle!

Giant Christmas Tree in Legoland!

A giant Christmas tree has landed in Legoland Windsor and is made of nearly 400,000 Lego bricks and stands at nearly 33ft tall!  Check out the Photo Gallery!

Build a star. Make a difference

This year LEGO is asking fans and families around the world to grab their buckets and build that most sparkly of Christmas ornaments – a star!  If you share it on social media with #BuildToGive, LEGO will donate a LEGO set to a child in need.  They are aiming to bring the joy of LEGO to up to 1.5 million children worldwide in need.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to the children and parents in nursery, for performing, and supporting the performers so well!  Everyone did a fantastic job and we are super proud of everyone.  The children made a huge effort learning songs, practising lines and managing themselves on a big scary stage – it was brilliant and enjoyed by all.  I hope you have all had a chance to watch it again with the video link you received, and looked through the photos.  It certainly kicked off our Christmas week in a big way and we have been getting ever more festive as the week went on.  The children have all worked hard producing cards, calendars and decorations to share with you, and when you receive the Christmas bags, we hope the sparkles make you smile.  Please can I take this opportunity to wish you all, children and families, a very happy Christmas.  Please look after yourselves, stay safe and enjoy the opportunity to spend time with families, and rest.  Merry Christmas from all of us at Little Crackers!

Newsletter

We wanted to thank all the volunteers, parents and PTA members for being back in school and helping put a smile on all the children’s faces!

We are excited to give the children the opportunity to watch a Christmas Panto at school on Dec 14th, which will be a free event organised by the PTA for all to enjoy. 

The Big PTA Christmas Raffle is still open!

For every ticket purchased, you will have 12 chances to win up to £5,000! At the same time, we will raise 50% from every ticket sold supporting our PTA. 

We have a goal of 500 tickets sold... So get involved if you haven't already!

https://www.bigptaraffle.co.uk/support/crackley-hall-pta-cv8

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.

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Kian (6V) has lost his school backpack

Jessie (5L) has lost her named sports fleece

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 the Foundation's website - www.princethorpe.co.uk/join-us

• Foundation Director of Estates
• Estates Administrator - Princethorpe College
• Teacher of Spanish (Maternity Cover) - Princethorpe College
• Head of Boys’ Games – Princethorpe College
• Caretaker - Full Time - Crackley Hall School
• Caretaker - Part Time - Princethorpe College
• Cleaner - Saturdays - Princethorpe College
• Examinations Invigilator - Princethorpe College
• Lead Examinations Invigilator - Princethorpe College
• Early Years Assistant - Crackley Hall School