The Chronicle

I am writing this week’s 'Last Word' from the IAPS Conference in Edinburgh where I am pleased to report that I met with some inspiring speakers from different areas of the education sector and I hope to share some of these new ideas with our school community very soon. 

Crackley Hall has been in the capable hands of the Senior Management team during my absence and I am pleased to announce that an additional member will be joining the team at the start of the Lent Term.  Mr Charles Lamprecht will be taking up the position of Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Co-curricular Activities.  You will be able to read more information about Mr Lamprecht in the 2017-18 Information Booklet which has been sent home with children today and I will update you further as to when Mr Lamprecht will be visiting the school prior to his start date.

Mr Cottrill has told me all about our Stars of the Week and I have also heard about the wonderful performance of the Choral Group during this morning’s World’s Greatest Coffee Morning hosted by our superb PTA.  I look forward to hearing how much was raised and hope that there might be a cake left over on Monday.

Unfortunately, I am aware that there were some difficulties caused to local residents this morning whilst they were trying to leave their homes.  May I ask that parents and staff please respect our neighbours and take care to avoid the drive ways and exit routes and park with due care and attention when coming to school; the avenue leading to school should not be used for parking as it disrupts the flow of traffic.  I appreciate that during peak times it can be difficult but I am sure we can improve the situation if cars park in Littleton Close or move swiftly around the school roundabout.

I hope that you are all able to enjoy a restful weekend.

God bless,

Robert Duigan

We have the great pleasure to include the above for your attention. These sheets will detail what your children will be studying during the Michaelmas Term. To find out more please click on your child's year group.

Junior 1 Michaelmas Term 2017

Junior 2 Michaelmas Term 2017

Junior 3 Michaelmas Term 2017

Junior 4 Michaelmas Term 2017

Junior 5 Michaelmas Term 2017

Junior 6 Michaelmas Term 2017

If you love musicals but don't want to pay West End prices, pop along to the Royal Spa Centre on Sunday 1 October 5:30pm for a night of entertainment, as Tania Goode one of our peri teachers with her step up singers present "SING". You will see some familiar faces from both Crackley Hall and Princethorpe College taking part in this musical extravaganza. Tickets are available from the Royal Spa Centre by clicking on this link or by typing the following into your browser: https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/royalspacentre/events/event/853/step_up_to_the_mic_2017

We have a number of trips coming up over the next few weeks. Please see the relevant letters below. This information is also available in the Trips and Important Dates section. 

J6 Victorian Day 23.11.17 

J4 & J5 Young Voices in Concert Info Letter 26.01.18

J4 & J5 Young Voices T-Shirt Order Form 26.01.18

J4 & J5 Young Voices Ticket Order Form 26.01.18

J2 Great Fire of London Trip 30.01.18

Parents who require either permanent or occasional after care for the new Michaelmas term are requested to download and complete the attached booking form. This form should be handed into the front office on completion.

Thursday 5 October - 10.00am to 3.00pm

Please do spread the word that Crackley Hall and Little Crackers Nursery are opening their doors for an Open Day on Thursday 5 October from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

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

Those that can't make the Open Day but would like to look around the school, should call our Admissions Secretary, Mrs Angela Barnard on 01926 514444, we welcome visitors on most days.

For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk

We have a number of trips coming up over the next few weeks. Please see the relevant letters below:

J4 Visit to Kingswood Activity Centre 9.10.17

J2 MAD Museum & River Cruise 12.10.17

J3 Ancient Egyptian History Day 12.10.17

J6 Victorian Day 14.12.17

Please note the change of date for this visit, happily it will now have a Christmas theme.

J2 Great Fire of London Trip 30.01.18

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Crackley Hall School in Kenilworth has increased the number of places it has available for pupils in Year 5.

Traditionally Crackley has had two forms at the top end of the school with classes capped at 24 pupils, however with interest at an all-time high, the independent school for boys and girls aged four to eleven, has decided to move with immediate effect to three Year 5 classes of between 16-18 pupils.

Headmaster, Rob Duigan, commented “Crackley Hall has always been a popular choice for parents. Adding this extra capacity in Year 5 is an exciting development, which will enable more children to benefit from a Crackley Hall education and the school’s success in getting children into their first choice of secondary school, whether independent or local grammars. We’re confident that there will be a lot of interest.”

The move is good news for current pupils too, who will benefit from the smaller class sizes, with a particular focus on streamed English and Mathematics, in what is a key school year as the children prepare for 11+ and entrance examinations.

Parents who are interested in a place for their child should contact Angela Barnard, Admissions Secretary on 01926 514410 or by email angelabarnard@crackleyhall or come along to the school’s next Open Day on Thursday 5 October 2017 from 10.00am to 3.00pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the school’s facilities and meet pupils and staff. All are most welcome.

Crackley Hall School also has a dedicated Nursery and Reception Open Evening later in the Autumn on Wednesday 22 November 2017 from 7.00pm to 8.00pm.

Pupils and staff at Crackley Hall will be welcoming a new member to the school’s leadership team after October half term. Mrs Jayne Geran, an experienced teacher and senior leader, has been appointed Assistant Head of Academic and Key Stage 2 for the Kenilworth independent junior school.

Mrs Geran has worked at schools across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, most recently as an Assistant Head at St Matthew’s Bloxam CE Primary in Rugby. She brings a wealth of experience to her new role having played a significant part in the development of a wide range of schools.

As a member of the senior management team at Crackley Hall, she will work closely with the Headmaster and colleagues to ensure that pupils achieve to the very best of their abilities.

Explaining her approach to learning, Jayne Geran comments, “I believe that a happy school is a successful school, where a ‘can-do’ culture is nurtured both within the classroom and across the school and where praise and encouragement prevail, so self-esteem is high. I am delighted that I have been given this opportunity to lead on Academic and Key Stage 2 at Crackley Hall. I look forward to working with all of the parents and staff, but my main aim will be to light up a hunger for learning amongst the pupils.

Rob Duigan, Headmaster at Crackley Hall, comments, “We are delighted that Jayne has accepted the position of Assistant Head, Academic and Key Stage 2. When interviewing her for the role I was impressed with how her passion for the curriculum was balanced with her philosophy that achievement sits alongside shared values, an ethos which is echoed here at Crackley. She will be a key figure in the future of our teaching provision at Crackley Hall and the education of the children here. I wish her well in her new role.”

Crackley Hall was very excited to welcome, children’s songwriter and performer, Nick Cope to school on Wednesday 27 September.  Nick treated Key Stage 1, Reception and Nursery and Stay ‘n’ Play children to his own brand of acoustic folk-rock, with three special performances of his most popular songs.

Nick, who gets his inspiration for his creative renditions from the children themselves, was at his best and had everyone, including teachers, up and moving with fingers, ears, mouths and bodies engaged.  He treated the children to favourites such as Grow, Grow, Grow, Round of Applause For The Dinosaurs and Clap Your Hands.

The children had a great time and sang and danced along enthusiastically and a lucky few got to join Nick up at the front with glasses and guitars at the ready for a special song.

Nick who very much enjoys his school shows says, “Performing to children is very much the same as performing to adults, only the people jumping around and screaming at the front are a little bit smaller."

Our thanks to Nick for entertaining us all so well.

Once again Crackley's peerless PTA proved where there's cake there's cash - as the third edition of the Michaelmas' Term favourite in aid of the Macmillan Coffee Morning delighted one and all.

School drop off began with an informal grab and go drive-through coffee tent in Crackley’s carpark. PTA volunteers offered hot drinks to busy parents on the hoof, whilst also persuading those on foot to donate and swig back another [literally] hot cup of kindness. The best bakes were on sale after Good Work Assembly; so impressive were the culinary skills on show that even new judge Prue Leith would have been hard pressed to have chosen her star baker for the morning!

The bake-off thrum continued as the clock ticked towards break-time. Metres of Macmillan themed green table cloths unfurled outside The Gables, where donated cakes from Junior 2, 4 and 6 were displayed ready to be sold for 50 pence each. It’s fair to say that Mr. Harris was pretty much first in line swiftly followed by many little hands tossing over the cash and happily going to playtime with a beautiful cake to eat. Cakes will also be on sale at car line tonight and children please do remember to collect your cake containers from school tonight.

None of this morning’s efforts would had been possible had we not had the PTA to rally us all into action. Crackley Hall thrives on its ‘ collaboremus’ ethos and once again it has shown that when everyone works together, the results can be simply outstanding.

Crackley Hall Chair of the PTA Mrs Kara Wasley left us with a final word as Friday afternoon came to a close,'Thank you to everyone who helped and participated in the event this morning and throughout the day. We are still counting up the money but already we are close to the £900 mark which is fantastic and it's not too late to donate - just text JAM DYC4 to 70550 to donate £5.

Junior 4 travelled the relatively short distance to Hatton Locks this week, where they had the chance to visit the Heritage Canal Centre.

Volunteers from the Waterways Trust explained through demonstration the enormous human effort required by the navigtors or 'navies' needed to build these feats of Victorian engineering and the cramped dangerous life experienced by those who made their living on the flat water.

Life aboard a 'butty' as it traversed the 'cut' was not however all bad, as these industrious folk filled their lives with folk art decoration - a talent that our Junior 4's quickly mastered prior to helping the pleasure boaters ascend the lock system towards Birmingham. The system's knickname, namely the 'Stairway to Heaven' neatly summerized our day; in that the childrens' obvious thrill at a job well done neatly mirrored the elation of the original canal workmen, given their efforts on the very same locks came as a prelude to a windfall payday in Birmingham.

Despite the torrential rain last Monday an eager Junior 1 boarded the bus for a wonderful day out at Warwick Castle. There the mists cleared and they travelled back to a time of myths and legends, when knights were brave and fought fearlessly for right. The children got to meet a knight, tried on his armour and helmet, visited the birds of prey, helped a real princess solve a problem in the Tower and even had a chance to play in a real maze garden.

Junior 1’s visit links to their curriculum topics this term in English and History where they are exploring Fairy Tales. J1PG teacher Mrs George said, “What a truly magical day we have had, this trip is one of the highlights of the year and it never falls to impress!”

No doubt Junior 1 will enjoy doing battle with their story telling now.

It has been a fantastic first few weeks at Crackley Hall School for our brand new Reception class. They have been making friends, playing outside, sitting down for lunch together, getting changed for PE, hanging up their blazers on the right peg and of course – enjoying plenty of fabulous new lessons. Already the eight boys and twelve girls in this class of bubbly, bright youngsters are becoming familiar with their daily routine and whilst it might be tiring at first, it is clearly so much fun.

Under the ever present care of Mrs Susan Glen-Roots and Mrs Kamal Verma, the girls and boys have settled in well and have happy smiles on their faces. What an exciting adventure they have ahead of them over the next few years.

It’s wonderful to see our older pupils taking such good care of our new little ones out on the playground and making them truly believe, as so many have before, that Crackley Hall is ‘the next best place to home.’

Last week they had yet one more momentous event – their first school photo – and don’t they all look adorable, so smart in their uniform and wonderfully behaved.  What a perfect addition they all are to our wonderful school community.

The House Point scores for this week are as follows:

1st: Saturn

2nd: Mars

3rd: Venus

4th: Jupiter

A photographic 'walk through' the week's events.

Henry Fox is the recipient of this Friday's RE Book of the Week for the critical thinking skills he displayed in his RE lesson. Henry demonstrated the ability to think about how God’s love impacts on us all and how we should all try to behave. Mrs Jackson-Mayne is full of admiration about the time Henry took when he reflected on his own beliefs.  

Thank you to the Mini Vinnies for their excellent assembly to mark the Feast Day of St Vincent de Paul on Wednesday. It was inspiring to hear about all the excellent work they have been doing. Their next venture is to collect any foreign coins so that we can pass them on to the St Vincent de Paul Society in the Parish. With this in mind, we would like you to turn out any pockets and push your hands to the back of your cupboards to seek out those unwanted or unused foreign coins.

Tuesday 3 October

As October is one of the months where we think about’  Our Lady’, Father Kevin will be leading an assembly on the Rosary. Pupils are very welcome to bring in their own rosary  beads if they have them at home, for the assembly and the month of October. Rosary beads will be on sale very soon, Mrs Jackson-Mayne will keep you posted.

Pupils in Junior 3 or above who are Catholic and would like to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Communion next year should please contact Mrs Jackson-Mayne in the next couple of weeks. A link to her email can be found by clicking here.  

Harvest Mass, Tuesday 10 October

This year we are pleased to reaffirm our support for the Warwickshire Food Bank, so Mrs Jackson-Mayne would be very grateful if pupils could bring in a small item of food – either a packet or tin please, as this will be then passed on to those in our community who are in need of it most.

Feast of St Francis of Assis, Wednesday 4 October

Wednesday 4 October is the Feast of St Francis of Assis. The pupils will find out a little bit more about the Saint whom our local parish church is named after during the assembly on Monday 10 October.

U9 'A' Netball vs Crescent 2 - 4 (loss)

Player of the Match - Isabella Ward

U9 'B' Netball vs Crescent 3 - 0 (win)

Player of the Match  - Daisymay McMurdo

U9 'C' Netball vs Crescent 0 - 4 (loss)

Player of the Match - Emily Currie

U9 'A' Football Triangular Tournament

Match 1: Crackley vs Crescent 2 - 1 (win)

Match 2: Crackley vs Warwick 2 - 2 (draw)

Player of the Tournament - Oliver Carmargo-Jones

U9 'B' Football Triangular Tournament

Match 1: Crackley vs Crescent 0 - 2 (loss)

Match 2: Crackley vs Warwick 0 - 5 (loss)

Player of the Tournament - Harvey Hollier

U9 'C' Football Coaching Game vs Crescent 4 - 4 (draw)

Player of the Match - Lucas Summers

U10 'A' Rugby vs The Croft 10 - 35 (loss)

Player of the Match - Toby Lucas

U10 'A' Netball vs Croft (loss) further details to follow

U10 'B' Netball vs Croft (loss) further details to follow

U11 'A' Rugby vs The Croft 20 - 50 (loss)

Player of the Match - Jethro Wilkinson

Match Report by Oliver Farquharson: The first half was excellent. We got to score two tries and went in just trailing five tries to two. During the second half we just got better and better. In the end we played amazingly, with all of us working hard to retain our focus. Unfortunately, The Croft pulled out in front to make the final score 50 points to 20.

U11 'B' Rugby vs The Croft 25 - 45 (loss)

Player of the Match - Ashton Jones

Match Report by Isaac Leng: Today we showed some excellent tackling and defence. Sadly, we met a good team in great form, so we sadly lost. That said, we played our best rugby of the year so far. Well done boys!

Choral Group is cancelled on Tuesday.

Chamber Choir will be held on Tuesday at 8:00am and not Wednesday.

Irish Dancing – All Years.  Unfortunately, Mrs McCourt has had to cancel Irish Dancing Club on Monday, 2 October as she is out of the country.  She will let you know when she will make up Monday’s classes.

It has really started to feel like Autumn is upon us! We kick started our conversations with a wonderful walk in Crackley woods last Friday afternoon. A group of us went on our own bear hunt to see what we could find… sadly no bears,but plenty of falling leaves, acorns, conkers and twigs. We collected our treasures in a bag and brought them back to nursery. 

Thank you so much to those of you who sent in your own Autumn treasures, especially to Charlie who produced a fantastic ‘mixed media’ painting on canvas to add to our display. Please send in a named pair if you have not already done so… it is so important for the children to be able to fully explore the outside area, mud and all, so wellies and easy clean clothes are much appreciated! 

Have a great weekend.

Further details of the fun planned for next week's Nursery can be found by clicking here.

Friday 6 October at 7:30pm

 Last Few Spaces Remaining! - Tickets are now available for sale online using this link. You can enter as part of a team or as a couple or individual and the PTA can assign you a team - see the attached poster for further details. The sooner you buy your tickets, the easier it is for us to plan so we do hope you can join us - its always great fun and it would be really good if we could stop the teachers winning again this year!

The Crackley Hall PTA are creating a fabulous school cookbook and they need your help in this exciting project. Each pupil has the opportunity to contribute their favourite tasty recipe. It could be a starter, a quick bite, a main course or a dessert. Parents are also welcome to contribute too. 

You can log onto a specially designed site and send us your recipe online. Just follow the onscreen instructions – it’s really quick and simple to use. Please click here to access the website and use the following access code: f26994ed17

The deadline for recipes is 1 November 2017, so if you haven’t submitted a recipe yet please do so. Once we have everyone’s recipe we will be sending them off to be printed. An example of the finished cookbook is shown. Hopefully your child bought home a chef's hat with all the details on before summer and all new pupils were given one this week too. You can add a photo along with the recipe, so it would be lovely to see your child posing with the hat on! There will then be plenty of opportunities to purchase copies of the recipe book in time for Christmas!

We look forward to receiving your recipes and thanks again for your support.    

Preetam Sidhu (J5R) has lost his named rugby boots.

Harry Turvey (J3V) has lost his school shoes. His are a 'G' fitting, but sadly he has come back home with an identical pair in an 'H' fitting.

Francesca Voisey (J3V) has lost her locker key, numbered 125.

Erin King (J6H) has lost her PE skort.