The Chronicle

Dear Parents

I hope you have all been able to enjoy the unseasonably mild weather this week.  After assembly today, I was lucky enough to join the J6 children and teachers on their bracing walk to Costa where we all enjoyed a ‘coffee morning’ together.  This brought their ‘creative curricular’ activities to a relaxed end and hopefully they are all keen to return to full core curriculum on Monday.

We were treated to excellent musical performances at this morning’s assembly – well done and thank you to the Junior 2 classes, Rosie, Elsie and Alice.  I hope that we can all keep reminding the children of the three challenges set for them at this morning’s assembly: manners, respect and expectations.  Our pupils achieve very highly in all areas of school life, as confirmed in our inspection, and we will now look to maintain and build on this in the years to come.

This week has seen numerous sporting achievements of which the whole school should be very proud.  On Tuesday, Mrs Vaughan and Miss Jones took a group of swimmers to the ISA Midlands swimming gala in Walsall where we were placed 5th out of 27 schools.  This event, organised by Mrs Vaughan, resulted in two of our swimmers going forward to the National competition which will take place at the Olympic pool in London next year.  All of our children performed well but I would like to especially congratulate Eva Plevin and Lily Carroll on qualifying for the nationals and J6 and J4 for achieving 3rd place in their category.  Another ISA event was held on Thursday where we took a group of our hockey players to the Lee Valley Stadium in London.  Although it was a very long day, I am happy to report that we were placed 5th overall and only suffered 1 loss out of 16 matches.  Well done to all involved in both the swimming and hockey. 

You will have probably noticed that the mountain of shoe boxes have now been collected and are awaiting distribution by Operation Christmas Child.  There were over 200 boxes collected this year which is a magnificent achievement and I know that they will be gratefully received by children overseas.

I hope that you have all had the opportunity to read the ISI report which is a reflection on everyone involved in Crackley Hall School.  If you would like a paper copy of this document, please let me know and I will be happy to supply one.

Can I please draw your attention to certain pieces of the Chronicle titled: ‘Trips and Important Dates’, ‘Key Information’, ‘Letters Attached’ and Calendar as important information is included within these sections that might relate to your child. This will ensure that you are aware of any forthcoming events.

The first Ashes cricket test is ebbing and flowing at the moment and it promises to be an interesting series in Australia.  I look forward to the rugby on Saturday, even though the Springboks are not at their best.  England should find it easier than Wales who take on the All Backs.  If Scotland are at their best they might be able to give the Australians a good game – let’s hope they are on top form!

Next week will be another busy week at school when there will be a non-uniform day on Tuesday, music examinations, entrance examination results received, the Kenilworth lights switch on and the PTA Christmas Fayre on Saturday, not to mention nativity rehearsals.  If you have enough energy left on the Sunday, the Princethorpe Christmas Fayre will take place on Sunday 3 December.  I hope that you will be able to enjoy a relaxing weekend.

God Bless

Robert Duigan

Christmas Holiday Club will run from Wednesday 20 - Friday 22 December. 

Besides all our regular activities, we will be making Christmas crafts and having lots of Christmas themed fun. 

Places are limited however so please fill in the attached form and return by Friday 8 December 2017.

A meeting will be held in school on Thursday 30 November at 4.00pm.  This is an opportunity for parents to learn more about the trip and to ask questions. Further information including a reply slip can be found within this attached letter.

All children have been sent home with the letters below to choose their meals for the Lent Term.  Please return these by Monday 27 November.

Lunch Menu Choices for Lent Term Letter

Week 1 Menu

Week 2 Menu

Week 3 Menu

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. 

One World Week: J3 trip to Singers Hill Synagogue 15.02.18

One World Week: J4 trip to Buddhist Peace Pagoda 13.02.18

One World Week: J5 trip to Birmingham Mosque 13.02.18

One World Week: J6 trip to Gurdwara Sahib 12.02.18

J4 Anglo Saxon History Day 08.03.18

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

Year 6 French Trip 20-25.05.18

Scholastic Book Fair and author visit 27.11.17

J5 & 6 Trip to London for The Lion King 10.01.18

Our Stars of the Week this week are:

Crackley Hall School Celebrates ISI Inspection Report

Crackley Hall School in Kenilworth has received the highest possible ratings across all criteria from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) following an inspection in October 2017.  The report, published today on the ISI website, consists of two elements, a focused compliance inspection, encompassing statutory standards, and an educational quality inspection evaluating pupils’ achievement, including their academic and personal development.

Headmaster, Robert Duigan, comments “We are thrilled with the report which is a real vote of confidence for everything we do at Crackley Hall.  I am delighted that the hard work of pupils, teachers, support staff, parents and the wider school community has been so resoundingly acknowledged and the positive impact that a Crackley education has on our children’s lives has been recognised.”

Mr Duigan continues, “Being rated as ‘excellent’ in terms of both pupil achievement and personal development shows we are a leading prep school and demonstrates the incredible talent, commitment and professionalism of our staff and the outstanding attitude and approach of our pupils.”

During the inspection, the ISI inspectors observed that, ‘Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exceptionally positive. They are enthusiastic, curious and very supportive of each other’. The report also comments that, ‘Pupils from the Nursery onwards make excellent progress’, and ‘Pupils achieve excellent results’ in entrance exams for senior schools and ‘a high proportion gain scholarships for academic success, music, drama and sport’.

The contribution of a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular provision was also recognised with the inspectors impressed that, ‘Pupils achieve at a high level in sport, music, drama and art as a result of making the most of the very rich range of opportunities available to them.’

Pupils’ personal development was also judged as ‘excellent’ with inspectors recognising that ‘From an early age, pupils demonstrate a strong sense of right and wrong’. They judged that, ’The pupils’ social skills are exceptionally strong’, ‘behaviour in the school is exemplary’ and ‘At all levels they display genuine care and concern for each other’.

The ISI Inspectors also noted that, ‘As pupils leave the school, they are well-prepared for the next stage of their education and ready to take on their future challenges as capable, resilient and confident young people’.

Mr Duigan concludes, “At Crackley Hall we are committed to providing our pupils with an outstanding all-round education, instilling in our children life-long learning skills in addition to offering them excellent academic, sporting and creative opportunities.  I am very proud that ISI Inspectors have so comprehensively recognised what we do.”

The ISI is the Government-approved body responsible for the inspection of independent schools and they consider every aspect of the provision.  A copy of the full report is available from the ISI and the school websites.

A team of 34 swimmers from Crackley Hall School made the journey to Walsall Baths on Tuesday 21 November to compete in the Independent Schools’ Association’s Midlands Swimming Gala. Success at the Regional event would qualify pupils for the ISA National Championships due to take place in January 2018 at the London Olympic Aquatics Centre.

The children swam 25m in the pool and the races included both individual events and exciting team relays. For some of the children, it was their very first experience of competitive galas, whilst for others, it was all about times and positions, but for all of Crackley Hall’s pupils it was about encouraging each other, right from the start through to the finish of every race.

Overall Crackley finished 5th out of the 27 schools that took part with two pupils qualifying for five events in the Nationals. Junior 6’s Eva Plevin swam strongly to qualify in the Butterfly, Freestyle and Freestyle Relay and Junior 4’s Lily Carroll qualified for the Backstroke and Freestyle Relay. In terms of team placings both the Year 6 Girls and the Year 4 Boys came 3rd a very creditable result for the school.

Crackley Hall PE teacher, Mrs Kat Vaughan, was delighted and commented, “There was a fabulous atmosphere poolside with the whole team willing each other on. There were some excellent swims and tight finishes, all going to show that Crackley has some very determined children. It is marvellous that this year once again we have children qualifying for the prestigious National competition in London.”

Crackley Hall’s U11 Girls’ Hockey Team travelled to the Lee Valley Hockey Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Thursday 23 November to take part in the ISA National U11 Junior Girls competition.

The team of nine had an early start and a full day of competition. Taking part were 16 schools from across the country, some familiar some not so familiar, and all keen to bring home the Cup. The teams were split into four pools and Crackley’s eager J6 and J5 girls donned their pads and mouth guards and picked up their sticks before eagerly taking to the pitch. 

The team drew all of their pool matches so finished overall second in the pool thus qualifying for the Cup semi-finals. In the round-robin matches of the semi-finals they had their only loss of the tournament to Ballard House, the eventual overall winners. The girls finished the competition in 5th position overall.

PE Teacher Kat Vaughan, commented, “The girls played brilliantly, they are an inexperienced team with only a couple of matches played this year. They were enthusiastic and worked hard and I was delighted they qualified for the Cup competition.”

Players’ player was Harriet Boyd who was playing in goal for the first time. Coach’s player was Emily Hennegan for her constant work rate.

Playing in the team were: Junior 6 Eva Plevin (Captain), Abigail Gillard (Vice Captain), Emily Hennegan, Honor-Mae Minshull, Alice Minshull, Harriet Boyd, Kaena Wasley, Megan Shipton and Junior 5 Francesca Kelly.

Crackley Hall’s Mini Vinnies and Student Council have been busily reminding everyone of the need to fill a Christmas Box for the charity, Samaritan’s Purse. This simple initiative involves filling a shoe box with gifts for a child in one of the many impoverished countries around the world, including Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

This year’s donations have been spectacular both in number and generosity. Anyone who has recently visited the school couldn’t help but notice the increasing tower of smart, red boxes accumulating in the foyer. It has been a fantastic effort and Mrs Jackson-Mayne confirmed that we have received 200 boxes. If you would still like to bring in a box, please don't delay as Mrs Jackson-Mayne will be happy to take it to the warehouse as she is volunteering to help there this year.

Mrs Jackson-Mayne, who coordinated the shoe-box effort, is delighted with the results. “This simple act of kindness when reproduced on such a large scale has the power to create a huge impact on the lives of children less fortunate than ourselves. Our children have once again demonstrated what thoughtful, caring young people they are'.

Thank you for all your donations.

On Wednesday 22 November Crackley Hall School and Little Crackers Nursery held a dedicated Nursery and Reception Open Evening. It was an opportunity for families to visit the school, listen to a presentation, view children’s work and talk to members of the Nursery, Reception and Early Years Team.

Crackley Hall and Little Crackers staff were delightled to welcome families and help them get a feel for what makes Crackley feel like 'the next best place to home' and share news of our recent ISI inspection success.

Parents are reminded that the deadline for Early Bird applications for places in the Reception class next year is Monday 27 November 2017.  Offers to Early Bird applicants will be posted first class on Wednesday 6 December, with an acceptance deadline of Monday 8 January.

For those who missed this week’s Open Evening there is one further opportunity to visit the school before the final deadline for Reception applications closes as the school will be holding an Open Day on Tuesday 16 January from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

It is said that a picture paints a thousand words, so we are delighted to report the arrival of eight swanky new cameras courtesy of our wonderful PTA. These little bundles of tech will be arriving at each class soon, and they will enable Crackley's class teachers and assistants to capture, print and stick pupil's work in their books.

Crackley's radio communications have taken a step forward too. The robust yellow Motorola units, which are being held aloft by Isabella and Henry in the picture, have a range of four miles. Happily, we at the Chronicle are reliably informed that the journey from the playground to lunch queue is considerably shorter!

Mars - 246 House Points

Jupiter - 263 House Points

Venus - 334 House Points

Saturn - 230 House Points

Required for September 2018 a dynamic, innovative and well-qualified graduate to lead Mathematics in this flourishing school.

Candidates should have strong leadership and management skills, be visionary in their approach, have a proven track record of success in the classroom and be effective team players. An enthusiasm to become involved with the co-curricular life of the school is essential.

Single accommodation may be available. Princethorpe has its own pay scale which is above national scales.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the fast growing Foundation that values its staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Princethorpe College application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing your personal qualities, experience and how you meet the person specification for the role. Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Monday 11 December 2017, at 9.00am and interviews are likely to be held on Thursday 14 December at Princethorpe.

Further details and an application form are available from the Princethorpe College website: www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment-opportunities

Required to start as soon as possible, Princethorpe College is recruiting a full-time Administrator\Receptionist to work all year round, within its busy reception area, the successful candidate will have good organisational skills; will be articulate, friendly, professional and well presented.

The position involves a mixture of administrative support, reception duties, and liaising with pupils and parents; the post holder will need to balance general duties with providing comprehensive administrative support to members of senior management.

Interested candidates should ideally have experience in a similar position and will have excellent communication skills, good organisational skills, excellent customer service skills and the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines. Strong IT skills, particularly in Microsoft Office, are essential.

Interested candidates should ideally have experience in a similar position and will have excellent communication skills, good organisational skills, excellent customer service skills and the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.  Strong IT skills, particularly in Microsoft Office, are essential.

The working hours are Monday to Friday 8.00am – 4.30pm, with an hour for lunch.

Early applications are highly recommended as candidates may be invited for interview prior to the closing date, which could be brought forward.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the fast growing Foundation that values its staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, 25 holiday per annum plus bank holidays, to be taken during school holidays, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Princethorpe College application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing your personal qualities, experience and how you meet the person specification for the role. Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Tuesday 5 December 2017, at 9.00am. Candidates are advised to apply immediately as applications will be reviewed as they are received and the closing date may be brought forward.

Further details and an application form are available from the College website www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment-opportunities

Ideally starting in January 2018, we are recruiting Estates Assistants to work as part of the Estates team, providing support services to all of the Foundation schools - Princethorpe College, Crescent School in Rugby and Crackley Hall School in Kenilworth.

The duties will primarily involve maintenance work internally and externally, security, traffic management, porterage and some cleaning. Applicants with some carpentry, plumbing or decorating skills would be most welcome. This is a ‘hands-on’ role facilitating the proper functioning of the schools to ensure a safe and satisfactory working, learning and recreational environment.

The successful applicant will need to be able to provide a high quality service to staff, pupils and visitors and be enthusiastic as well as honest, trustworthy and reliable, able to lift and to work on his/her own as well as part of a team.

Working hours: We have a variety of part-time shifts available, from as little as two hours and up to eight hours, in the afternoons and evenings or on Saturday and Sundays.  We would be happy to consider applications for working evenings and weekends only or with other shifts on a rota basis.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a fast growing foundation that values its staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

To discuss the post in more detail please contact Michael Small, Foundation Estates Manager - 01926 634267 or Pete Wilkes, Estates Manager – 01926 634200.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Princethorpe College application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing your personal qualities, experience and how you meet the person specification for the role. Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Monday 4 December 2017 at 9.00am and interviews are likely to be held on Thursday 7 December 2017, at Princethorpe.

Further details and an application form are available from the School website.

www.crackleyhall.co.uk/employment-opportunities

Ideally starting in January 2018, we have an exciting role within the IT Infrastructure Team for an experienced IT professional as a Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer (Windows Server, Active Directory, SCCM, Hyper-V, AV & Backup Solutions, Cloud, Office 365 and Azure). Working as part of a team you will be responsible for the design, development, testing, implementation, documentation and high-level support of a variety of network and server infrastructure products and solutions internally.

The successful candidate will also be expected to help design tailored solutions to meet the needs of internal projects including sourcing and introducing new products and services where required.

This is a Foundation wide role, based at Princethorpe College with duties at The Crescent and Crackley Hall Schools.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a fast growing Foundation that values its staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Princethorpe College application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing your personal qualities, experience and how you meet the person specification for the role. Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Monday 27 November 2017 at 9.00am, and interviews are likely to be held on Thursday 30 November at Princethorpe.

Further details and an application form are available from the School website or by using the following web address:

www.crackleyhall.co.uk/employment-opportunities

Sunday 3 December 2.00pm - 4.30pm

All are very welcome at Princethorpe College's PTA Christmas Fayre next weekend. Taking place on Sunday 3 December from 2.00pm - 4.30pm, entry to the Christmas Fayre is just £2 per car. Princethorpe's PTA are very excited to reveal that Santa and his special guest Thunder the reindeer have been able to take time out of their busy schedules and will be joining the PTA for the afternoon.  

There will be an excellent array of artisan products and gifts for the discerning shopper and plenty of activities for all ages, including the ever popular bottle tombola and a children’s Christmas craft room. Visit our Beer and Bratwurst or Mulled Wine stalls to keep your energy levels up while you browse and there’ll be plenty of cake and hot drinks to keep you warm. There will also be some magical performances by Bilton Silver Band throughout the afternoon. 

As always, the PTA raffle offers a great selection of prizes including the the main cash prize of £250. 

Make a date in your diary now so you don’t miss this special Christmas treat for all the family.

Judith McCoy
PTA Secretary
Princethorpe College

Thank you to all the Mini Vinnies for preparing a lovely Mass for Key Stage 1 this week on the theme of Helping Hands. The pupils used their creative skills to produce a superb PowerPoint, wrote prayers, decided on gifts to be brought up for the offertory and read beautifully. The Mass was a credit to you all and you should be very proud of the good work you have done.

The next Mass will be the Advent Mass. This will be led by Junior 3 pupils and held on Tuesday 19 December, our last day of term. Please note all members of the school community are welcome to attend.  

The RE Book of Week is awarded to Edward Hunter for writing a beautiful canticle of creation in the style of St Francis. Edward used religious knowledge, literacy and computing skills to produce a super creation prayer which celebrates the awe and wonder of nature.

Final Call for your completed Christmas Decorations please, as they need to be with Mrs. Jackson-Mayne by next Monday for judging. She has been amazed at the quality and individuality of the ones that she has seen so far.

Do look out for the Christmas tree that will arrive in the school foyer, as it will be adorned with all your wonderful One World decorations.

Best of luck one and all!

U10 'A' Hockey vs Bilton Grange 0 - 2 (loss)

Player of the Match - Carys Warrener

U11 'A' Hockey vs Bilton Grange 0 -7 (loss)

Player of the Match - Honnor-Mae Minshull

U11 'B' Hockey vs Bilton Grange 0 - 0 (draw)

Player of the Match - Hattie Underhill

U11 House Rugby Competition

Saturn 1st

Jupiter 2nd

Venus 3rd

Mars 4th

U10 House Rugby Competition

Jupiter 1st

Saturn 2nd

Mars & Venus 3rd (joint)

Joint U9 & U8 House Rugby Competition

Jupiter 1st

Venus 2nd

Mars 3rd

Saturn 4th

All clubs are due to run next week apart from:

Karate Club (all year groups) is cancelled next Friday.

In French this week Miss Nicola helped us all to remember how to say our colours. We really enjoy singing ‘Bonjour!” with her each week, and then took turns to have a race with the ‘bleu’ and ‘vert’ coloured tops. Then she made a fabulous coloured sandwich, waiting for us to tell her what colour to choose next. 

We were also lucky to have another visitor this week; thank you Mr Duigan! He came to see us to talk about his job, and what he does every day, he then invited us into his office. We tiptoed through the main office, visiting the lovely ladies on our way, then made ourselves at home in his office, watching as Mr Duigan answered the phone and worked at his desk. We were all keen to have a go, but maybe it was for the best that we left him in peace to get on! Please can you check out the newsletter for a message from Mrs Bird about increasing sessions, and have a great weekend. Stay warm and dry if you are out and about, and maybe send us some pictures of the fun you have!

For further details of the 'fun and goings-on' with Nursery please click on the attached link.

We hope you enjoyed seeing the beautiful sample Christmas cards designed by the children. The deadline for getting the order forms back to school was today but if you forgot to send the orders in, we can still process your order as long as you email your requirements to ptafundraising@crackleyhall.co.uk by 11am on Sunday at the absolute latest. (Please make sure that payment is sent into school on Monday, cheques payable to Crackley Hall PTA).

We have been advised that there is a 5-6 day turnaround for printing the cards, whilst mugs, tea towels etc will take around 14 days.

Hopefully you will agree that the Christmas cards are a fantastic way to show off our children's artistic talents and friends and family are always delighted to receive them.

Saturday 2 December 1-4pm

There will be a non uniform day on Tuesday 28 November (please note the change of date) for all the children. In return we are asking for specific donations for the Christmas Fayre:

Little Crackers, Reception & J1 children: we kindly request that each child donates a box of chocolates for the hugely popular chocolate tombola stall.

J2, J3 & J4 children:  we ask each child to donate a glass jar filled with Christmas-related treats for the ‘Goodies in a Jar’ tombola stall. Suggested fillings include:  christmas chocolates, stationary items, small toys, craft items, etc  (unisex where possible please).

J5 & J6 children:  we would love every child to donate a bottle for the bottle tombola stall, such as a bottle of wine or spirits.

Please bring your donations into school on Tuesday 28 November. Donations can be left at either the main school entrance or the Gables entrance.

In addition we are also holding a teddy tombola, which is always a favourite with the children, so have a look and see if you have any unwanted teddies at home in good condition that you can donate. There will be a box out in the Gable’s entrance hall for donations in the run up to the Fayre.

We are still short of a few helpers on the day too, so if you can spare a couple of hours to help on the day then please let a member of the PTA know or email ptachair@crackleyhall.co.uk - thank you!

Saturday 3 February 2018 7.30pm-1.00am

We are holding a Winter Ball at Woodside Hotel in Kenilworth and we really hope you can join us. We will be selling tickets at the Christmas Fayre. Please see the poster for further details. 

Nikhil Modhi (J2H) has lost his named cap.

Tom Hannig (J4H) has lost two named long sleeve shirts.

Lucas Summers (J4J) has lost his named rugby shirt.

Martha Harris (J5R) has lost her doggy shaped lunchbox in blue.

Isabella Price (J5R) has lost her coat & hat.