The Chronicle

Dear Parents

It has been heart-warming to witness the kindness, care and generosity of the Crackley Hall community this week with the continuation of charitable donations to both the Ukraine Appeal and for Mary’s Meals.  The Ukraine Appeal was launched last week and within hours donations were being collected ready to be transported to Poland.  During the course of last weekend, Georgie and Julia rallied volunteers to help bake over 300 cakes to be sold on Tuesday this week and Mrs Burley set up the online donation page.  I am hugely proud of the efforts of everyone, particularly the Junior 5 girls (and Molly in Junior 4) who have managed to raise over £477 in the cake sale alone which brings the total raised so far to over £1,400.

Mrs Simmonds has also worked incredibly hard organising the Skipathon this week and I am told that, this year, we hope to be able to provide Mary’s Meals with a donation that will make an enormous difference to the young people in the communities they support.  All year groups have been learning about Mary’s Meals and how a donation of £15.90 can feed a child in Africa for one year.

On Monday, I accompanied Junior 3 and Mrs Simmonds to St Augustine’s Church for First Reconciliation.  It was a pleasure to be involved in this event and to be with the children at this important milestone in their faith journey.  My thanks go to Mrs Jackson-Mayne for preparing the pupils and to Father Kevin for leading the service and celebrating the sacrament.

Parent consultation evening appointments were held this week and I hope that all families were able to attend an online meeting at a convenient time.  We intend to return to some face-to-face meetings in the new school year.  Please do make contact with the respective teacher f you encountered technical, or other, problems and we will look to re-arrange or to have a follow-up meeting.

Junior 5 and 6 children have been involved in LAMDA examinations this week and I look forward to receiving the results of their performances soon.  Well done to everyone who performed and my thanks to Mrs Wildey for organising and helping prepare the children.

There have been several important sporting events this week starting with the ISA Midlands U10 Netball competition on Monday.  Mrs Roberts and Mrs Duigan accompanied the girls to Stafford Prep where they played well in a challenging tournament. On Wednesday we hosted the U10 girls triangular football fixture which resulted in over 100 children playing football on our school fields.  Well done to all the girls for their super performances and my thanks are extended to the staff for their organisation.   This morning, Mr Cottrill and Mr Stedeford accompanied the boys U11A football team to the ISA national finals at St George’s Park.  I have been kept up to date with the results throughout the day and they are doing very well indeed.  They made it through to the Plate Final, where they won 1-0. A fantastic achievement!  We will look to provide a more comprehensive report next week.

During assembly this week I congratulated our Stars of the Week: Clement, Elliott, Oscar, Poppy, Beatrice, Francesca, Jessie, Felix, Austin, Darcey, Isabella, Carter, Elsie and Carolina.  There was also another impressive collection of Junior Da Vinci’s awarded this week, as well as merit awards (linked to the Crackley Compass) and certificates from outside of school. Kate, Evie and the Junior 5 Chamber Choir all performed superbly well indeed. Congratulations to everyone!

We have begun to return to larger assembly groups on a Monday and it is hoped to continue to increase numbers in Celebration Assembly.  Next week, Junior 3 and 4 will be invited to the Hall.  This week Junior 5 attended and, as mentioned, children, staff and parents were treated to an outstanding violin performance from Kate, super singing by Evie and also from the J5 Chamber Choir.

There will be several events to look forward to next week including the Scholastic Book Fair and National Science Week. Junior 5 will be participating in the Tudor Day, there is an orchestral day at Crescent School for our Junior 5 and 6 orchestra members and on Friday we will end the week with our St Joseph’s Mass.  We also recognise our school feast day on Saturday with a Mass and open house for past pupils and members of staff. Thank you very much to the pupils who are coming in to participate and help and to all the members of staff who have helped to prepare for the events and who will also be in attendance next Saturday.

I hope that all families have an enjoyable and restful weekend.  There is certainly some interesting sport to follow.

God bless,

Mr Duigan

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Two of our Year 5 girls came to me with the idea of holding a bake sale to raise money for the people of Ukraine. A week later, with help from their friends, they have managed to raise the staggering amount of £477.41. We are so very proud of them. They have been humbled by people's generosity and are so grateful for all of the contributions. Well done girls, you have made a significant contribution that will help many people and have shown us all how we can make a difference in our world. 

Over half term pupils had the opportunity to complete a Junior da Vinci challenge. The challenge, set by Junior Da Vinci coordinator Mrs Cowlishaw, was to design a park. Lots of pupils took up the challenge and the wonderful parks that were created are on display in the school hall. We had an amazing response from pupils as young as Reception all the way up to J6. There are dog walking parks, skate parks, Lego parks, nature parks as well as those with wild and wacky swings and slides.

All pupils who took up the challenge will receive a creativity Junior Da Vinci strand, some outstanding parks will be awarded full Junior Da Vincis.

Well done again to all who took part, look out for more opportunities like this in the coming months!

The latest editions of the Minnacle and Pinnacle magazines have just been published and will be distributed to parents next week. They showcase exceptional work by pupils from across the Foundation and are an inspiring read.

The Minnacle focuses on work from pupils at Crackley Hall School while the Pinnacle focuses on the work of pupils at Princethorpe College.

Why not sit down and have a read of the latest celebration of their superb work. Click here to read online editions of the magazine: The Minnacle and The Pinnacle.

On Tuesday 8 March Crackley Hall’s pupils took it in turn to hop, skip or jump in a charity skipathon, an annual fund-raising event organised by Crackley’s Mini Vinnies.

Mini Vinnies’ Co-ordinator, Mrs Dolores Simmonds explains, “This year the children are skipping to support Mary’s Meals, a charity that provides school meals to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries. The promise of a good meal attracts these hungry children into the classroom, giving them the energy to learn and hope for a better future.”

The children at Crackley Hall pledged to raise as much money as possible for the charity and have been collecting sponsors over the last few weeks.  In the skipathon the children took it in turns, to skip, hop or jump for one minute each.  Supervised by Mrs Simmonds, wave after wave of eager skippers bounced and jumped outside on the grass.

Well done to all the skippers who took part and a big thank you to those who have generously donated to the skipathon. Pledges are still coming in and we'll keep you updated as to the final amount raised. Please do send in any outstanding sponsorship money as soon as possible.

Holiday club will run from Wednesday 6 until Friday 22 April 2022 (excluding the 14 (TBC), 15 and 18 April).

More details to follow in the next couple of weeks.

Just a reminder that we have Scholastic Book Fair coming into school next week. All children will be visiting the book fair with their forms during an allocated time slot.  

Payment for the books will be made by vouchers. Please click on the link if you would still like to buy a voucher for your child to spend in school. 

Children may bring in a small amount of loose change if they would also like to purchase stationery.

For your diaries…..

Please look out for our forthcoming ‘Art Exhibition’ which will be held in our hall on Wednesday 18 May.

Pupils will be working on their art designs over the coming weeks.  Then the children’s work will be framed and put on display for purchasing.

Invitations and booking slots will be available nearer the time.

I teach violin and viola lessons on Wednesday in school. Lessons are 30 minutes. The children work towards LCM or ABRSM exams and take part in the school orchestra when they have played for at least a year and can read notes. I am happy to give a free trial lesson during the summer term and start children who are old enough and ready (from Year 2 upwards). There are a few school instruments available for hire.

Please complete the attached form if you are interested in your child attending classes.  

Katrin Gilbert
Peripatetic Teacher

As part of the school’s 75th Anniversary celebrations, we are holding a Diamond Anniversary Gala Ball on the evening of Saturday 14 May 2022 at Crackley Hall.
 
This event was originally scheduled for March 2020 but due to the outbreak of COVID-19, it was postponed. Two years later we are pleased to be able to host the event to celebrate this milestone. The event will give past pupils, current and former parents and staff the perfect opportunity to celebrate the school’s success and rich history.
 
The Gables will be transformed into a party venue for the occasion and guests will enjoy a red-carpet welcome, champagne and canapes, a delicious hot gala buffet, with a choice of desserts, cheese and tea and coffee, followed by speeches and live music and dancing. There will be a pay bar with the facility to pre-order drinks. The fun will kick off with a reception at 7.00pm and carriages will be at midnight.
 
Heading up the evening’s entertainment will be Revolver, a versatile five piece Midlands-based band who perform classic rock and pop covers from the 50s to the present day.
 
Tickets cost £40 per head, with a maximum of two tickets available per person and online payment will be taken at time of booking. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Please note, there is a finite limit to the number of tickets available. Once capacity is reached, if you would like to be notified of any returned tickets, please email jennyvaughan@crackleyhall.co.uk and state how many tickets you are looking for. You will then be added to a waiting list, on a first come, first served basis.

The dress code for the evening will be black tie and the equivalent for ladies.

To book your tickets please click here

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Glen-Root's class are Angelica and Tristan 

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Burley's class is Alexander

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes' class is Henry

Mathlete of the week for Mr Stedeford's class is Ivy 

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

Well done all!

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

This week in Junior 6, we have begun to look at the story of Romeo and Juliet. We began by researching the author and playwright, William Shakespeare, his life, family and plays. We learnt some interesting facts about him – he was born and died on the same day and in his will he left his second best bed to his wife, Anne Hathaway! We then looked at the prologue to Romeo and Juliet and thought about the rivalry and hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. We wrote introductions about the two families trying to show their despise of each other and the fact that although they thought they were very different, they were in fact very similar. Next week, we are going to have fun using Shakespearean insults – we wonder whose will be the worst?!

In preparation for Science Week, Junior 5 explored the effects of air resistance. Air resistance is a type of friction that occurs between air and another object. It is the opposing force that the object experiences as it passes through the air. Air resistance and gravity are the two fixed forces of nature which move on any object lifted from the earth and move through the air. To investigate this, we noted the resistance we could feel when running with a piece of paper stretched out in front of us. As curious learners we investigated the effects of dropped cupcake cases and we folded and cut the cases to measure these differences.

This week, Junior 4 have enjoyed learning about the ancient story of Beowulf and they have completed some excellent descriptive writing. After being introduced to the story and learning about its importance in the history of literature, the children then started to write about the fearsome beast, the Grendel. Using ambitious vocabulary and varied sentence openers, they each wrote wonderful character descriptions, using words like sinister and barbaric. We were all so impressed with their creative writing; some children even earned a creativity Junior Da Vinci for the quality of their writing. Everyone continues to work so hard and they should all be very proud of what they continue to achieve. They are superstars!

This week the super scientists of Junior 3 have been investigating the properties of different rocks in more detail. We conducted our own investigation into which rocks were permeable and which were impermeable. Not only did we discover what these tricky new words meant, but we also explored ideas about why it might be useful to know which rocks were permeable or impermeable, before deciding how to use these amazing natural resources. There was also much delight at getting to use a pipette for the first time... and only a few spills!

Junior 3 have also been getting to grips with ‘Measuring’ this week in Maths. They have learned how to convert millimetres, centimetres and metres which took a lot of mental strength, with children using rulers and metre-sticks to aid their learning.

Year 2 have had a very egg-citing week! The start of the week saw us creating some egg-cellent cycle helmets for eggs. We were thinking about what would make an effective helmet. We had great fun testing out our designs - we definitely have some budding designers and scientists among us! In English, we have been writing our very own diaries about the Great Fire of London, just like Samuel Pepys did. We made sure that we described what we would hear, feel, see and smell if we had actually been there. We finished our shape topic in Maths and are ready to immerse ourselves in fractions for the rest of this half term. Year 2 are busy creating masterpieces in art for the art exhibition in May and we know that you will love our paintings. In addition, we managed to squeeze in a skipathon to help raise money for Mary's Meals. Another fun, productive week in Year 2. 

Junior 1 learnt how to hold and use a ruler to measure in cm and draw lines with this week in Maths. They then went on to solve measuring problems and develop their problem-solving skills. In Geography we had a taste of Scotland and tried some Irn Bru and shortbread. The shortbread was popular but the Irn Bru had a mixed response! After thinking back to our trip to the Transport Museum, we looked at bicycles in more detail in History comparing old with new, drawing examples and explaining how they have changed over the years. In English we have begun to look at Where the Wild Things Are and, after sequencing the story, we each cleverly made a wonderful story map to help us remember the story in the right order.

This week. Reception have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. They have been doing some close observational drawings of the caterpillars that arrived in class, and have been applying their measuring skills that they have been learning in Maths. They have sequenced and written the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Literacy. Reception have also produced some beautiful butterflies in Art, and even managed to use different pasta to represent each stage of the butterfly life cycle.  

Please find information below:

Childrens Liturgy

Activity Sheet

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

Weekly Mission

This week Reception have been writing prayers for Lent to help them understand and discover move about, and feel involved in, one of the most significant Christian festivals of the year. You can see in the Gallery some of the prayers which the children have written in groups. They also made a beautiful Lenten prayer box for the prayers to go in.

Year 2 became more familiar with the ways the church celebrates the major seasons of the Liturgical year and we shared the parable of the Lost Sheep. We learnt just how much God cares greatly for each and every one of us, enough to seek us out so that we don’t become lost as we place all our trust in His love and care. We wrote our own story as the shepherd or the lost sheep. Some of us even made a shepherd’s crook with pipe cleaners and cheerios!   

In Year 5 we discussed our Lenten journey as a class. We spoke about the different steps on the journey to Easter and the different things we do to prepare ourselves during Lent. We listened to the story of Zacchaeus and discussed the importance of saying sorry during Lent and the difference of experience versus possessions, culminating in how God can call each of us in different ways.

Walk With Me Clendar

Each class have the Walk With Me Calendar for Lent 2022, which is a prayer journey from Shrove Tuesday all the way through to Easter Sunday. The children are invited to take up the Lord’s invitation to Walk With Me and journey along the road to Easter with Him with a reflection or thought for each day. Some of the thoughts include helping to carry someone’s burden for a day; respect for those from different cultures – they enrich our own, or pray for those who are suffering in any way.  Please email Mrs Hill if you would like your own copy (clarehill@crackleyhall.co.uk).

Junior 5 and Junior 6 girls took part in a triangular football tournament against Crescent School and Repton Prep on Wednesday 9 March. The event coincided with England Football's #LetGirlsPlay Biggest Ever Football Session and involved over 120 girls all delighted to put on their boots and head out to the fields to show off their footballing prowess, an initiative Crackley Hall School was delighted to support to help champion equal access for girls in football. #GirlsFootballinSchools

Everyone had a fantastic afternoon – a huge well done to all the girls who took part, it was super to see everyone getting fully involved and giving it their all.

On Wednesday 9 March, Crackley Hall Under 11s travelled to Repton School for the ISFA Midlands 7 a-side tournament. In blustery conditions, the boys soon settled and maintained an excellent standard of football throughout their matches, only losing once. They played excellently as a team, with all ten children contributing, regardless of which position they played. The boys finished 3rd in their group, having won three, drawn two and lost one; narrowly missing out on the top two positions, which would have taken them to the semi-finals. Well done everyone!

On Monday 7 March the U10 ISA Netball squad travelled to Stratford Prep for the ISA Midlands Netball tournament with Mrs Roberts and Mrs Duigan. Playing with the new rules of 5-a-side Bee Netball, where players change positions each half and each game, it all felt rather unfamiliar but the girls remained optimistic.

The team made a great start and won their first match 11-0. All the girls showed both great skills and flexibility, as they swapped from position to position. They then went on to win another three matches, 7-0 and 6-0 and 6-0. Up to this point the team had both shot and defended skilfully, and no one had had the chance to score against them. Our toughest match was against Tettenhall College, who beat us 4-2. We were delighted to come second place in our group.

The girls then played Tettenhall College again, to see who would come third and fourth. They started off really well and at half time we were drawing 1-1. It was a close match and both teams dug deep and played their hardest. At the final whistle, Tettenhall College just pipped us to a medal by winning 3-1.

All the girls represented their school extremely well, and they were a delight to coach, as they were real team players!

Well done, girls! Thanks for coming with us Mrs Duigan, and for the fabulous parent support.

The ISA Under 10 Netball squad were: Georgie S, Georgie R, Penny, Esme, Kate, Olivia and Emily D.

Well played to our U9s who took on Balsall Common on Thursday 3 March.

Our House football matches have been exciting us all this week. The results for the J3/4 matches are below:

• Jupiter v Venus 0-0
• Jupiter v Mars 4-0
• Jupiter v Saturn 3-0
• Saturn v Mars 2-0
• Saturn v Venus 1-0
• Venus v Mars 1-0

Final places and poits for the Houses are:

• 1st Jupiter 8
• 2nd Saturn 7
• 3rd Mars 5
• 4th Venus 4

Thanks to Mr Stedeford and Mr Kefalas for refereeing the matches.

Trains and planes were the thrill of Lego Club this week as we hurtled through the skies and cities with endless fired-up imaginations. We climbed aboard an awesome passenger train featuring a 10-speed control, a driver’s cabin with opening window, seats and tables and a train track which rotated between curved and straight tracks – improvised with sticks for effect! We decided to make extra carriages to deal with the queue of minifigures which were slowly building up on the platforms! With level crossings, stops and switches we made our journey to Legoland with ease. That was until we glanced up and saw planes whizzing overhead having a supersonic air race with each other in mid-air! Coming in for a safe landing, we all breathed a sigh of relief when everyone touched down safely.

Please click on the link for this week's newsletter.

Here’s Kayla, a Year 2 parent, collecting her £75 winnings from February’s draw of the 200 club!

Don’t worry, she gets a smaller cheque instead of this giant one!

We had two other winners winning £100 and £50.

You can still get involved - just complete the form in the gallery and return it to school!

Crackley Hall PTA - Kenilworth needs your help!

Sign up to easyfundraising & raise FREE donations every time you shop online with over 6,000 retailers. John Lewis, Argos, Uswitch, eBay and many more are waiting to give a free donation.

Plus once you’ve signed up and raised £5 in donations, easyfundraising will give us an extra £5 bonus donation!

Sign up to support us here – https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/invite/5UA5P2/

This takes place on Fridays between 8:30-10:00am (before and during the Celebration Assembly) and outside the hall entrance. 

It is important to know we can only accommodate one year group at a time, so please continue to use the uniform@pta.crackleyhall.co.uk email to submit your requests if you haven’t been invited to the assembly for your child’s year group. 

We are able to take cards, cash or cheque. 

We are also always looking for donations of items your child has outgrown, please drop these in the box labelled ‘PTA uniform’, located on the front porch of the school. We are in dire need of any sports track bottoms at the moment. 

As always we thank you for your support and couldn’t run the second hand shop without your generous donations. 

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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We regularly recruit for a variety of roles, please do share news of the vacancies with interested friends and family.

Further information and application forms on all roles are available on the Foundation's website - www.princethorpe.co.uk/join-us

• Nursery Manager - Little Crackers, Crackley Hall School 
• Library Assistant - Princethorpe College
• Archivist - Princethorpe College