The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I trust that you all enjoyed a relaxing half term break and were able to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee with family and friends.  You may have noticed the progress of the garden area in the lower playground and this will be officially unveiled as our Jubilee Garden next week.  This area, which will grow and develop during the next few years, has been set aside as a wildflower, bird and insect haven which children can also experience.  I am grateful to our Grounds Team, particularly Mr Robertson, who has helped co-ordinate this special garden.

We welcomed the Affixus film crew into school this week as they captured the essence of Crackley Hall and Little Crackers.  Children worked very well with the team and calls of ‘action’ made them feel like they were all part of an exciting project.  We hope that the final film will be available at the start of the next academic year and this will be shared with all families.

During this week we have also held LAMDA exams, sports and leavers photographs and rehearsals have been continuing for our end of year production.  I know many parents have enquired about the arrangements for the production and I can confirm that the school office has sent some information out this afternoon.  On Monday further details will be sent to individual year groups, please take time to read this information as there will be different requirements for rehearsal days and the final performance. 

We are awaiting key details from the Leamington Spa Centre as to when tickets will be on sale and, as soon as they are available, we will send you the link to the box office.  There will be two shows taking place on Friday 24 June; 5.00pm and 6.30pm.  Due to the performance times, school will close early on 24 June to allow for children to rest and have an early supper before returning to the Spa Centre.  It promises to be another outstanding show and I am so pleased that the children can return to the Centre and perform to a large audience once again.

During assembly this morning I was able to congratulate Junior 3 and Junior 4 on their certificates and achievements.  There was quite a collection of Junior Da Vinci’s, Crackley Compass merit awards and a varied array of medals or trophies marking achievements outside of school.  Our Stars of the Week were: Tobias, Daya, Thomas, Chace, Rory, William, Jacob, Rohan, Blythe, Finley, Alex, Georgie, Summer and Sid.  Well done to everyone! We were treated to some love music from our guitar ensemble of Josh, Gwen and Evie and, on piano, Daiya. They really did perform very well.

Next week will see several sporting events taking place including the ISA National Athletics finals which will be held in Manchester on Monday, the ISA Midlands Cricket Festival which will be held on our sports field and, to end the week, there will be a colour run which has been organised by the PTA.  There are still many events scheduled to take place before the end of this term, one of which will be the Parishioner’s and Grandparents’ Cream Tea which will be held on Tuesday 28 June, please keep a look out for further details.  It is hoped to open holiday club for the majority of the summer break if there is sufficient need but we will not be opening on 7 and 8 July or 31 August as these are essential training days for all staff.

I would like to finish by wishing ‘the very best’ to our pupils who are taking place in tomorrow’s Leamington Festival of Arts, all of whom have recently performed exceptionally well in their recent LAMDA examinations.  I look forward to hearing all about the day.

I would like to wish everyone a restful and happy weekend.

God bless,

Mr Duigan

Please can parents provide sun-cream for their children for Games lessons on hot days.

Please can children take their anti-histamine medication in the morning if they suffer from hay-fever.

Thank you

Please follow the links below for more information:

Reception - J5

J6

Costumes should be handed in by Wednesday 15 June.

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Congratulations to them all!

Following on from the last edition of the Chronicle, we have now had confirmed the team results from the Midlands Regional ISA Athletics.

Many of the children put in amazing performances and the school was delighted that a record number of athletes were placed in both track and field events. Together the children’s outstanding efforts helped Crackley Hall secure the overall team title for the Midlands region, an amazing achievement.

In terms of year group placings Crackley’s Year 6 Boys and Year 5 Girls both took 1st place, while the Year 6 Girls took 2nd place and the Year 4 Girls 3rd place.

Director of Sport, Mrs Kat Vaughan praised the outstanding attitude adopted by the Crackley team. “It was a long and exciting day,” commented Mrs Vaughan. “The children were outstanding; it was fantastic to see them on the track. The atmosphere was amazing. The Crackley children really stepped up with team spirit second to none, with every child supporting their peers, regardless of event or year group. It was our most successful outing ever and I am very proud that so many children have qualified for the National Championships.”

Crackley’s highlights included, for the boys: Isaac Fox qualifying in the U10 600m, Leonardo Pavli qualifying in the U12 150m Sprint, George Moreton qualifying in the U12 600m, Dexter Robinson qualifying in the U12 High Jump and Olly Moore qualifying in the U12 Cricket Ball Throw. Then for the girls: Sienna Lenton qualified for the U10 Long Jump, Emily Divers qualified for the U11 70m Sprint and the U11 150m Sprint, Julia Kozhan qualified for the U11 Rounders Ball Throw, Issey Cleary qualified for the 80m Sprint and the Long Jump and Elle Weir qualified for the 600m.

On the day, nearly every Crackley relay team qualified for the finals and the Year 6 Boys, Sid Penn, Leonardo Pavli, Dexter Robinson and George Knott won the Year 6 Boys Relay and qualified for the Nationals.

The ISA National Track and Field Championships take place on Monday. We wish all who have qualified the very best of luck.

Have a look in the gallery for photos from the regional event.

Award-winning Affixxius Films have been in school this week working with the children and staff to produce a brand-new promotional film for Crackley Hall School.

Over four days the film crew of four have worked with classes across the school showcasing the facilities and opportunities on offer here at Crackley Hall. From Nursery and Reception to the Science Lab, the Sports Field, Forest School, the Art Room, out on the Playground and in the School Hall, Affixxius have set up their lights, screens, microphones and cameras to capture exactly what makes Crackley such a special place to learn.

Our stars in the making took to their new roles like ducks to water, following direction naturally, with their best smiles on show and the crew were able to wrap up yesterday after finishing the filming.

Headmaster, Mr Duigan, commented, "We have had a great week with Affixius Films. The children have been responsive, following directions and all involved seemed to have enjoyed the experience. Sometimes we had several takes, but the children were patient and did their best, some children even showed their potential to be directors as they came up with ideas for the film."

All the scenes they shot will now be taken back to Affixxius’ studios and edited. We can’t wait to see the finished film and to share it with you all later this year.

We held our much-anticipated Key Stage 1 Sports Day on Wednesday 8 June and the children all enjoyed a super morning out on the ‘big field’.

Crackley’s sports stars of the future jumped, sprinted and threw their way through a jam-packed morning of sporting fun, enthusiastically taking on the carousel of different activities.

Proudly wearing their House colours and with big, enormous smiles, the children clearly all had a super time.

Reception had their own designated area and had soon mastered the challenges of running, throwing and hurdling. Whilst over on the Key Stage One pitch the children powered their way through athletics events such as the sprint, long jump, throw and hurdles, as well as enjoying traditional sports day favourites. The morning finished with the traditional relay race.

In every event the children earned points for their houses and the final results were very close:

1st - Saturn (190 pts)
2nd - Jupiter (181 pts)
3rd - Mars (178 pts)
4th - Venus (174 pts)

It was lovely to see so many parents out on the field cheering their youngsters on. Many thanks to Junior 6 for organising all the activities this year and a huge well done to everyone who took part.

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

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

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Holmes' class is Jessie

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

Mathlete of the week for Mrs Wildey group is Sebastian

Well done all!

Please click on 'View Gallery' to scroll through a few photos from Celebration Assembly this morning.

Junior 6 were able to demonstrate their fantastic leadership skills on Wednesday morning during Key Stage 1 Sports Day. The children rose to the challenge of running the events for the younger children, showing the true spirit and ethos of Crackley Hall in their maturity, kindness, and patience with their younger peers. The Junior 6 children were almost as excited as the younger children to be part of this special day and both KS1 competitors and Junior 6 helpers were an absolute credit to their school and families, demonstrating the spirit of taking part in the fun competition. The Junior 6 children were tired at the end of the morning and, following a couple of hiccups on the activity rotations, we are told that they have a newfound respect for their teachers!

Junior 5 have loved finding more about the layout of the world this week! We found out how much more accurate our knowledge of the world is when we use a globe rather than a flat map. Our miniature globes were well used and inspired so much discovery and learning. It was fascinating to find out places that were the antipodes of any place on earth using the globes. We then checked our observations using a brilliant website which showed us the antipodal point of any country down to their geographical coordinates. What was wonderful was the number of further questions this lesson provoked. We certainly earnt our Sherlock the Meerkat stickers for curiosity this week!

This week Junior 4 have had the opportunity to enjoy learning outside within the natural environment. Junior 4 have been learning about and focussing on the topic of Trees in their English lessons and they have ventured on various learning walks, where they have been able to observe, identify (through leaf shape) and even hug an array of trees. We have also designed our very own, unique tress and have read a variety of tree poetry. What a super week!

This week we were treated to an in-class performance by our very own resident guitar group. Evelyn, Josh, and Gwen delighted their friends, with not just one, but three songs played in beautiful harmony. We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful opportunities in our school and the chance to share our talents with each other. Junior 3 have also been discovering all about ‘angles and lines’ this week in Maths! To inspire us, we have explored the work of Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian abstract artist, who, we found out, loved art, maths, and music, and used his love of these subjects to create wonderful pictures. The pupils had a great time finding out about and creating ‘angle and line’ pictures, using the terms right angle, obtuse, acute and reflex. We loved the use of coloured shapes cut into geometrical patterns to add to our new-found skills. What an inspiration!

Junior 2 have had an exceptionally busy start to this half-term. What with sports day, LAMDA exams and keeping up with their class studies, we recognise that they are nearly ready for Junior 3! We have started our Science topic on plants, and we followed instructions to plant sunflower seeds this week. We know what to do to help them grow into mature plants, so watch this space for some incredibly tall plants! We are studying Anthony Browne books in English, and we have started writing our own version of Silly Billy. We were particularly impressed with the children's ability to use and understand contractions - they love using technical vocabulary. A great week Junior 2 and well done to all who sat their LAMDA exams.

Junior 1 were very busy this week, especially in Design and Technology where they were making their own football game from a box, pegs, sticks and a ping pong ball!! This linked in nicely with our History topic where we found out about toys from the past this week, including toys from the 50s, 60s and 70s. In Science we learnt about birds and what makes them different from other creatures. Did you know that birds are related to dinosaurs? In Computing we have begun to develop our computer skills and we are now learning how to type and change how words look using different fonts and size of letters. We were also busy this week taking our LAMDA exams, where we had to recite a poem and talk about a favourite toy to an examiner. We now must wait to see how well we all got on!

This week Reception have been planning and then writing their own ‘Under the Sea’ story. They have produced some fantastic stories and writing to be very proud of. In Maths this week they have been learning ways to solve subtraction problems and have even been making up some of their own problems for their friends to solve.

During Monday’s Mission Assembly, pupils walked into the hall listening to the sound of Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder. Mrs McAloon led the Assembly and asked the school community whose birthday it was today, reminding everyone that this special time also coincided with the birthday of the Church and the Feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter, when Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to the disciples.

To coincide with the school going to St Francis of Assisi church in Kenilworth to celebrate pupils making their First Holy Communion before half-term, Junior 2 discussed the school mass – what do we do, what do we say and why do we sing?  What does the Priest use? We learnt what a pall and a paten is and what goes inside the tabernacle and why the sanctuary lamp is lit, and we realised that there is a difference between a chalice and a ciborium. We visited the school Oratory and had a very respectful discussion about the objects used and we enjoyed learning about the Eucharist and relating this to what Jesus did at the Last Supper.

Continuing the theme of Pentecost, pupils in Junior 4 thought about the different symbols that they could identified as the Holy Spirit. Finley thought of a small suction toy, which you press down and then suddenly gains energy and flies in the air while Ding explained his image of  veins and arteries pumping blood to keep him alive was like the Holy Spirit giving energy we also thought how the Holy Spirit is like a charged battery.

Junior 3 linked Art with RE and created images of doves and fire on stained glass windows to show their understanding of the symbols of Pentecost.

Please find information below:

Children's Liturgy

Activity Sheet

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

Weekly Mission - 12 June

Weekly Mission - 13 June

Please follow the link for more information. 

The Platinum Jubilee celebrations were in full swing in all shapes and sizes in Lego Club this week, including a miniature version of the royal family, a Red Arrows flyover, and a street party in front of Windsor Castle. We even had the Queen waving to the crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony with the iconic Corgi dogs causing mischief and mayhem whilst trying to eat Paddington Bear’s marmalade sandwiches - how very regal of them! With the majestic Royal Guards reporting for duty suitably attired in their traditional red uniforms and bearskin hats, we compared our display to the official royal exhibit at Legoland Windsor and we learnt that the team there spent 282 hours and 18,000 Lego bricks on their Jubilee scene. Loveable Paddington Bear divulged that it took 15 hours for the Queen to be built. I expect the Corgis had a thing or two to say about that whilst waiting for their dinner!

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

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Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership are delighted to be able to offer free child car seat safety checks at Elliotts Field Retail Park in Rugby from 9am to 4pm on Friday 17 June.

Getting your child car seat checked is so important as checks conducted by Warwickshire Police in November 2021 found that 69% of child car seats were not correctly fitted. The most common issues found related to headrests, seat belt twists, the front seat being too close to a rear facing child seat, the isofix not being installed correctly, and coats being worn in vehicles.  

When they point these issues out, most families are shocked to discover they have inadvertently put their child at risk by not having them seated correctly.

That’s why they are encouraging as many parents, grandparents, and those responsible for safely transporting children and young people as possible to come along and get their child car seat checked on 17 June.  It is much easier to get these issues checked in person for your own peace of mind and to speak to someone who is trained to nationally accredited standards who can help you get it right.

For more information please follow the link. 

https://warksroadsafety.org/2022/06/06/warwickshire-road-safety-partnership-offers-free-child-car-seat-safety-checks/

It's June... it's summer... it's raining and it's cold. Grab your kids a bargain coat from the PTA uniform shop, because you never know when they are going to need one!

Usually £17.50, all old style coats are now reduced to just £8. These coats look the same as the new ones currently being sold in the Princethorpe uniform shop, but are not reversible and the lining is black rather than maroon. Please get in touch via email to place your order.

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The second hand uniform sale takes place on Fridays between 8:30 to 8.45am (before the Celebration Assembly) and outside the hall entrance. 

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. 

We would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to our PTA members in charge of the second hand uniform shop who work so hard for us all!

Did you know we have a Noticeboard?

Our NEW recently published Newsletter can be found on the PTA Noticeboard at the entrance of the school as well as details of other events and information. Make sure to have a look for the latest PTA news!

Please follow the link for the PTA Newsletter. 

Friday 17 June

There will be live music, activities, face painting, ice cream, fire engine and much much more. 

All runners must purchase a ticket (this includes all Crackley Hall pupils, siblings under the age of 16 and parents).

Each ticket is £7.50 per runner and will include an engraved medal, obstacle run, sunglasses and a personal packet of colour powder for the all school powder toss.

All runners encouraged to wear a plain white t-shirt for the best colour results.

All runners must complete a waiver before running and hand in on the day or to your child's teacher (runners will not be able to participate without a signed waiver) - please see below for the wording.

I understand that participating in the Crackley Hall Fun Run is a potentially hazardous activity where coloured powder will be thrown at and around my child/me during the course of the event. However, I understand that the powder is organic, made of corn starch and is not harmful to people, animals or plant life. The paint will wash out of clothes and skin.

The distance is variable based on KS1, KS2 and beyond and participants are encouraged to have fun and enjoy the course, not race right to the end. 

Entrance to the picnic is FREE and we hope you are able to either join in the run or cheer on your family as they complete the obstacle course full of colour and smiles. 

As always we need parent volunteers to help make this event a success.  Please consider helping to make this event possible, you will see the slots in the ticket link below.  If you are not running, we have slots that may suit you. 

For more information and to register your runners, please click on the link below - we have a limited amount of slots and once they are gone the run is sold-out. This helps us to make sure we have enough powder for the registered runners. 

PTA Colour Run

Non Uniform day - Friday 17 June 

We are encouraging all children to come to school in a white t-shirt with brightly coloured accessories, leggings, shorts, socks, etc.  The brighter the better!

Cookbook Information

We aim to have the cookbook available for sale as well, we apologise for the delay. 

Reusable Crackley Hall School mugs are now available to purchase through the PTA! We ordered a limited supply to start with. They are £10 each and once payment is confirmed in the bank, they will be sent home with your child. Thank you and enjoy.

Link to order

If you join this month you will be placed in a draw each month for six months! We still have a lot of tickets to sell and really need support from our generous school community. 100% of money raised will go to the school fields and changing rooms so children will not be walking back and forth to school wet and cold. Any support is so appreciated and we want to give back to you! All family members (aunts, cousins, uncles, grandparents, etc) are eligible to join.     

To enter: Please email your details (name, email and phone number) to kategreevy@yahoo.co.uk. Please submit one form for each person's entry. Please pay £10 into the CH PTA sort code: 30-94-93 account: 02023477 Lloyds Bank. Good luck! 

It was lovely to meet some of you at our coffee meeting on Wednesday 11 May!

Our next coffee morning will be on June 13 at the Almanack at 9.00am. 

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

• Teacher of PE and Girls' Games- Princethorpe College
• Estates Assistant (zero hours) - Princethorpe Foundation 
• Nursery Practitioner - Little Crackers
• Learning Support Assistant - Crackley Hall
• Evening Caretaker - Princethorpe Foundation
• Weekend Painter and Decorator - Princethorpe Foundation