The Chronicle

Dear Parents 

I am pleased to see blue sky as I write this, giving us a break from the very grey weather. Spirits here at school have not been dampened over a fantastic week, with the usual Crackley Hall activities plus some wonderful sporting achievements to celebrate.

We start with football results which we are delighted to share. Last Friday our U10 Girls Football Team were representing Crackley Hall at the Midlands ISA tournament. The girls excelled throughout the tournament and made their way to the final match of the day. Here they acquitted themselves admirably, both in defence and attack, until the match went to extra time, when we scored! The team all were awarded Junior da Vincis for their teamwork, skills, conduct and behaviour – what a super performance! It was lovely to see four of the J4 girls being called up to represent this very strong team. Well done and thanks to Mr Stedeford who coached the girls!

Our U11 Girls Football team represented Crackley Hall at the ISA Midlands Tournament on Monday. The team progressed to the Plate play-offs, where in the semis they drew 1-1. The match proceeded to penalties, which we won, the girls then went on to the final which they also won and were awarded gold medals. Well, done to our talented J6 players and thank you to Mrs Vaughan for coaching them.

Four of our Junior 5 pupils took part in a Primary School Maths Challenge at Princethorpe earlier this week. We competed against 28 other schools, in which the participants navigated fast-paced conundrums and tasks where they needed to apply their problem-solving skills under pressure.  They also needed to work collectively as a team!  It was a wonderful event to be part of. Well done to all four pupils. 

Junior 1 visited St Johns Museum on Wednesday and, by all accounts, really enjoyed the day. It was a lovely chance for the children to see how life was like back then. Many thanks to Mrs Hardwick and the team who accompanied the pupils and for organising and planning the trip.

Father Kevin led a most informative and important Rosary Assembly on Thursday where he explained what this special prayer means and how it came about. He kindly showed us some of his own collection of rosaries, gathered over the years from pilgrimages or received as gifts. We all then said a decade of the rosary for the intention of world peace. We should all unite in prayer more often in this time of global need. We sincerely appreciate the very generous support that we receive from Fr Kevin. 

A Youth Engagement officer, PC Darren Lund, visited us on Thursday where he presented to our Junior 6 pupils on matters relating to online safety. We appreciate him coming in and advising us on this topic. Children nowadays have access to online devices and so this important talk was well received. Thanks to Mrs Lammas who arranged for this talk to take place, and to PC Lund for his time.

With a week to go for our Reception and Junior 3 early bird application deadline, this is a gentle reminder that if you are considering Crackley Hall as your primary school choice, to submit applications as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact our Registrar, Jenny Vaughan who can assist you and to advise you with respect to the application process! She can be contacted on 01926 514444.

Hopefully by now you will have received our Parental Questionnaire, sent out earlier today.  Your feedback is important to us, so please take time to complete it in order to help us. It is always so important to garner the opinions and experiences of our parents. We need to know what we are doing well and what works, as well as have thoughts on those areas that need development and improvement. We are blessed with a wonderful school community, but all schools can certainly develop and grow, and we will always try to improve and do our very best to offer a first-class education for our pupils.

I was also delighted with the outstanding rugby results from our U10 teams over two days this week. It was wonderful to hear that the A, B and C teams were victorious against Warwick, King Henry’s and Bablake on Tuesday and that they continued on winning ways on Thursday at the Bilton Grange festival.  Thank you and well done to all the coaches.

I might see some families at the St Francis Church Autumn Fair on Saturday morning – please do support our parish church if you are able.

Have a lovely weekend of rest and relaxation with family and friends.

God bless, 
Rob Duigan 

'Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemetaries. Peace is not the silent revolt of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty'. - Bishop Oscar Romero

Unfortunately Gym club has been cancelled Thursday 17 October. 

Due to the parents' evening, unfortunately there will be no STEAM club on Monday 14 October for Junior 4 children. 

Monday 14 and Wednesday 16 October 2024

Online Parents' Evening Meetings will be taking place on Monday 14 and Wednesday 16 October 2024 and we look forward to seeing you on the day.

Unfortunately bookings are now closed. 

October Half Term Holiday club will be running from Monday 21 October to Friday 1 November 2024.

Timings and prices are as follows: 

• Daily rate (9:00am – 5:00pm, including hot lunch): £30.00 per child
• Breakfast club (8:00am – 9:00am, including breakfast): £5.00 per child
• Teatime club (5:00pm – 6:00pm, including hot tea): £5.00 per child

Click here to see and book our jam-packed programme of some of  fun activities, including some exciting trips out of school (additional charges will apply).

Please see detailed below events for the first half of the Michaelmas Term.

On Monday 7 October, Crackley Hall School took part in Princethorpe’s Year 5 Maths Challenge. Hosted and organised by the College, it’s an exciting maths competition for primary school aged children. Crackley Hall took two teams of two to compete alongside 52 pairs of enthusiastic and very talented mathematicians from 28 local schools. Our Junior 5 pupils took part in a series of puzzles against the clock. In five eight-minute rounds the children tackled Tangrams, the 24 Game, Shape Arithmetic, Number Detectives and Matchstick Puzzles. Ably supported and marked by a team of Princethorpe’s Year 8 pupils, the competition stretched and challenged our pupils with mathematical activities that required both reasoning skills and mathematical knowledge. Well done to Remy, Hector, Beatrice and Sophie who represented Crackley Hall with pride. Mrs Cowlishaw, who accompanied the teams, said, “The children had a great time and really enjoyed putting their maths skills to the test. There were some very talented mathematicians taking part and our pupils made Crackley Hall School proud.”

Crackley Hall’s U11 Girls played in the ISA Girls’ National Football Festival at Dixie Grammar on Monday 7 October.

In the group stage, the girls won their first pool game 2-0. They then narrowly lost the next two pool games, against the strongest teams in the tournament. That put them third in their group, and they went forward to the Plate play-offs.

They first faced Old Vicarage School in the semis. OVS scored first but, after a tightly contested few minutes, Crackley responded. The final score of a well-matched game was 1-1. That meant a penalty shoot-out! Eleanor, Milly and Jessie stepped up to take the penalties (Jessie was also in goal!) That was a truly nail-biting affair. Eleanor scored in the top right corner, then Jessie saved OVS’ first attempt. Milly’s shot was saved by the OVS keeper and then OVS scored. So, it was all down to the last penalty, Jessie scored Crackley’s final penalty and then saved the OVS shot, taking Crackley through.

In the Plate final, the girls faced Birchfield School. They went out confident and determined and managed to score quickly. A few minutes later, they took the score to 2-0 and then held off the Birchfield attack until the end.

The team earned themselves gold medals and a lovely shield. Well done to them all.

Crackley’s squad included: Eleanor, Milly, Jessie, Grace, Mahnoor, Ella, Evie, Morgan, Charlotte and Scarlett (who was unable to play due to dislocated elbow).

On Wednesday, we welcomed lots of lovely little ones all kitted out in their bright wellies and puddle suits to Stay 'n' Play Forest Fun. After the recent downpours, it was a free play session with the children allowed to wander and explore. There was lots of skill building though, as the youngsters developed their physical walking and balancing skills on the damp, uneven forest floor. Everyone made the most of the unstructured session, negotiating the different obstacles, exploring the slides and the swings, the mud kitchen and just getting stuck in and muddy. It was fabulous to see their growing confidence, independence and sense of accomplishment as they made the most of all the woods has to offer. And best of all, the rain held off all morning.

Don't forget that Stay ‘n’ Play is back in the school hall next Wednesday morning from 10.30am and our next activity session takes place on Wednesday 13 November when Stay ‘n’ Play will be hosted in our school nursery to give parents and youngsters the chance to play and explore.

Mrs Lammas and Junior 6 welcomed PC Darren Lund into school this week for a session on how to stay safe online and on our online presence. As in precious years, Darren discussed the issues that we might face online such as cyberbullying and cybercrime. He then moved on to question the pupils on the legal ages for apps and games.

Did you know, most apps have an age recommendation of 13+?

Pupils watched a dramatization about a girl who doesn’t have her privacy settings on, leaving her vulnerable for anyone to contact her online. As always, the pupils came away from the session feeling empowered to leave a positive digital footprint.

Our thanks go to the Warwickshire Police Youth Engagement Team for their superb knowledge and skills in this area.

The latest issue of The Old Princethorpian, the Princethorpe Foundation’s termly e-newsletter for past pupils, staff and parents, old and new, is out now!

Visit: www.oldprincethorpian.co.uk to have a read.

The newsletter aims to keep our alumni in touch with each other and news, developments and events across the Foundation. It includes the latest Foundation and College news, and plenty of news and updates from OPs across the decades.

It includes a shout out from Gill Pittock, who attended St Joseph's from 1967 to 1981, and would like to reconnect with her former classmates.

If you have any comments on the e-newsletter or news to please do get in touch, email us at oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

The next events in the OP calendar include our Prize Giving Drinks Reception for last year's Upper Sixth on Friday 22 November and the College PTA Christmas Fair on Sunday 1 December.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

October is Black History Month in the UK. This year, we have decided to move away from termly and half termly JDV challenges and are using a monthly theme to suggest activities to challenge and interest pupils.

Each month different activities will be suggested. Pupils do not have to complete all, or any of these activities. They are available to all pupils in all years, so pupils can choose to investigate something that they are interested in.  

Please bring any examples of activities that have been completed to Mrs Cowlishaw to share with the whole school.

Black History Month – October

In the UK, Black History Month is a national celebration that aims to promote and celebrate the contributions Black people have made to society. It’s also an opportunity to promote an understanding of Black history more widely and gives everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.

2024’s theme is 'Reclaiming Narratives'. This is about recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.

Here are some activities to try:

Art

Investigate the life of famous artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Alma Thomas, can you create your own piece in their style?

The Brilliance of Basquiat

How to create an Alma Thomas collage for kids

Music

Here is an example of a listening calendar for October. Songs from 20 amazing, influential musicians. Which one is your favourite? Did this inspire you to listen to more music by any of these artists?

Sport

Find out about the lives of these famous sports people. What makes them so inspirational? How have they used their fame to change lives of others? Can you find any others that are just as inspirational to add to our list?

• Marcus Rashford
• Lewis Hamilton
• Tessa Sanderson

Historical Figures

These people have all been influential and have made history by doing something amazing. What can you find out about them? Can you find out about other historical figures to celebrate Black History Month?

• Walter Tull
• Mary Seacole
• Samuel Coleridge Taylor
• Diane Abbott
• Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Poetry

This week we celebrated National Poetry Day. Benjamin Zephaniah was a pioneer of dub poetry and one of the most influential and outspoken voices in contemporary British literature, and he was from Birmingham.

Here is his poem about Christmas Turkey. Do you like his style? What do you think his poem is about? Can you create two lines of poetry that rhyme, from the Christmas Turkey perspective? Write your own poem in Benjamin Zephaniah’s style.

"Talking Turkeys" Kinetic Text

Recommended reads – have a look at some of these books to expand you reading horizons.

• Race to the Frozen North – Catherine Johnson (The story of Matthew Henson and Captain Peary and the race to the North Pole)
• Respect – Michaela Morgan (Based on the amazing true story of Walter Tull)
• Hidden Figures – Margot Shetterly & Laura Freeman (A picture book of the incredible true story of the four women who helped NASA launch men into space)
• Counting on Katherine – Helaine Becker (A non-fiction book celebrating the life of Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who played a crucial role in the Apollo 11 mission to put a man on the moon)

I hope you enjoy these activities – please let me know how you get on, and bring in some examples of things you have found out!

Mrs Cowlishaw

Junior 5, pupil, Patrick has come up with a lovely fundraising suggestion that we just could not let pass us by.

From Monday 7 October, Patrick will be bringing in a limited daily supply of his homegrown pumpkins to sell here at school, there will be a variety on offer, the traditional orange ones, but also green and white varieties and maybe even different shapes too. They will be replenished daily.

Thank you to Patrick for this wonderful idea for raising money for charity, we will let you know how he gets on. 

If you would like your child to buy a pumpkin, please send in either £5, £3 or £2, and we will send your child home with one.

Once they`ve gone, they`ve gone! 

Our Stars of the Week this week are: 

Congratulations to them all!

We love to celebrate our pupils' talents, so every week in Celebration Assembly, we hear of the children's successes and achievements and we watch performances by some of our pupils.  Here are some photos from this morning.

A huge well done to all!

Junior 6 have been studying the trailblazer Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. In the first movement of Winter, Vivaldi brilliantly conveys the biting cold, gusting wind, trembling bodies, and chattering teeth on his beloved violin. In their Music and Drama lessons, Junior 6 explored the music, closed their eyes, and imagined cold winter scenes. The children discussed how the music was constructed. In Drama they moved to become trees that changed shape, size, and direction with every eight counts. The children then worked in small groups to create the same effect as Vivaldi; for example stamping their feet to represent teeth chattering in the cold. They filmed their performances, watched the videos, and analysed the performances, looking at what made each one effective.

Junior 5 took on the responsible role of leading the first children led Mass of the year, celebrating the Harvest Festival. Each and every one of the children read beautifully, and Father Kevin was extremely happy with their contribution to school life. As the first half-term of Junior 5 heads towards its end, these children have so much to be proud of. They are a wonderful group to teach and have earned a well-deserved two-week rest!

This week in Junior 4 we have been tackling tricky subtraction of two 4-digit numbers with more than one exchange. Mrs Cowlishaw's group used lots of manipulatives to see how the exchange from hundreds to tens, or tens to ones worked, and demonstrated this to each other. We have also been learning abut the interesting life of Lucius Septimius Severus, the first Black Roman emperor, as part of Black History Month. 

This week in Junior 3 we were introduced to Stonehenge. We drew parts of Stonehenge in our sketchbooks using different media to see how well each worked. Using inspiration from art books on Stonehenge, we used chalks, pencil, felt tips and oil pastels. We then used a step-by-step guide using chalks which were blended and smudged together, creating a sunset picture of Stonehenge, which was linked to our Stone Age topic in History. We will soon be looking at the artist Jean Michael Basquiat to link in with Black History Month, when we will be using pencil then oil pastels to create work inspired by the artist.

This week, Junior 2 have been working hard to compare and order numbers and perfect their number bonds, not only to 10, but extending this knowledge to bonds to 20 and 100! We have used tens frames, part whole models, numicon and the Rekenrek to represent our understanding and have loved spotting patterns. Our recording has been systematic and careful; two skills that we know are very important to our success in mathematics.

In our English lessons, we have had a writing focus this week, using all our knowledge of Rapunzel to write diary entries as though we were her, trapped in a gloomy tower. We have read so many different versions of Rapunzel this half-term, and this has inspired our most recent artwork which has seen us collaging a variety of different Rapunzel’s – each one unique and with her own story to tell. We just need to add her beautiful tresses, and they will be complete.

Saint John’s Museum was the place to be on Wednesday this week when Junior 1 had a day trip there. They had the most wonderful time in the Victorian classroom learning the 3 ‘R’s, using a slate to write on, chanting the alphabet and numbers and going outside for an exercise drill with ‘Miss Roach’ or Ma’am as they were taught to call her. In the kitchen they experienced life as a laundry maid with ’Charlotte’ who taught us how to grate the soap, pump for water, use a dolly in a dolly tub and a mangle to squeeze the water out of the clothes we had to wash. It was much harder work than we imagined and we were glad we didn’t have to spend all day doing it like they did in 1888. There was also a chance to look at how differently people lived by looking at two beautiful models of houses; one rich, one poorer and compared clothing of the Victorian times too. It was an amazing trip with memories that will last a lifetime.

This week Reception have been learning all about their bodies and senses. They were all good at naming parts of their body and so we then looked at using our five senses to explore a variety of fruit. They had a go at identifying fruit, by touch, smell, taste, and sound alone. This was harder than it looked! They were able to show empathy for people who might not have all five working senses. They developed their language to describe the fruit, using words such as 'bumpy,' 'sweet,' 'smooth,' 'soft' and 'sour.' They talked about their favourite things to smell, hear, taste, see and touch. Reception later went on to use their bodies and the fruit in class to help them in Maths, making patterns. They made active ABAB patterns such as clap hands, nod head. They also made some repeating patterns using apples, pears and potatoes to print patterns.

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, one of the best known of all Catholic devotions.  October also includes the Feast of Our Lady observed on 7 October.  To coincide with this, Fr Kevin visited the school on Thursday and talked about the Rosary and how to pray using the Rosary. He shared some of his own rosaries as we prayed for peace in the world whilst doing a decade of the Rosary together.

Mrs Glen-Roots led Monday's Mission assembly and focused on St Francis of Assisi, whose Feast Day was 4 October. Saint Francis is one of the world’s most popular saints, known for his love and care for creation, his help towards the poor, and his quest for peace. Mrs Glen-Roots spoke about how God called St Francis to 'rebuild His church' and all the many important lessons St Francis taught us:-

• He gave up everything to live simply and care for the poor. 
• He showed us how we should be kind to all living creatures and to take care of nature. 
• Most importantly, he believed that loving others, especially those in need, was the greatest way to show our love for God.

Pupils were asked to consider ways they could follow St Francis' example and the assembly concluded with Make me a Channel of your Peace - a hymn which reflected the spirit of St Francis.

Please click on the link below for this week's Weekly Mission:

Weekly Mission

Crackley Hall's U10 Girls travelled to Dixie Grammar last Friday 4 October for the ISA Midlands Football tournament.

In beautiful sunshine, Crackley got off to a winning start. Next, they faced Foundation rivals, Crescent School, but they proved a far tougher test and the team went down 7-0. The girls did not let that change their positive mentality and they went on to confidently win their next four games. That put the U10 Girls through to the final where, after a well-earned lunch (kindly provided for by generous hosts Dixie), the girls faced Crescent School again.

This time the team were ready for them. Crackley played strong, awesome football and were unlucky not to score. After normal time it was a 0-0 draw so the match went to extra time and ‘golden goal’. Just at the end of extra time Crescent scrambled the ball over the line.

Crackley Hall’s U10 Girls came away with an extremely well earned Silver medal and Mr Stedeford was so proud of his team that each pupil was awarded a Full Junior Da Vinci!

A huge well done to the Girls. Playing for Crackley were: Gabi, Isabell, Elouise, Gabriella, Emily, Sophie, Angelica, Thea, Sloane, Charley, Fiorella and Gracie.

Week Beginning Monday 14 October 2024

Please remember to check team sheets and find further fixture information on www.crackleyhallsport.co.uk or on SOCS.

Please can we remind all parents that whilst sports fixture information, once published, usually remains the same, parents should check www.crackleyhallsport.co.uk or SOCS on the day of the fixture for the most up to date information.

Tuesday 22 October, Thursday 19 and Friday 20 December 2024

Coventry Netball will be hosting Netball Performance Camps at Princethorpe in October Half Term and the Christmas Holidays. See graphic for details.

The camps are aimed at helping players improve their netball skills, whilst being coached to a high standard by Coventry Netball's very experienced coaching team. 

The coaching team includes England U23 Men's Netball coach Lesley Blair, who will be accompanied by former Saracens Mavericks player, now a current Birmingham Panthers player, Indya Masser. These days are filled with fun activities, tactical learning and in depth skill development.

The camp is available for players aged 7 to 16 and takes place at Princethorpe College on 22 October, and the 19 and 20 December. To book a place please contact community@coventryrugby.co.uk.

Information on our Michaelmas Clubs, including pick up location and times, can be found below:

Michaelmas 2024 Clubs Timetable

Reception and Key Stage 1

This half term’s House Art Competition is to create a wonderful superhero, please see the link below for the instructions.

Key Stage 2

For this competition we would like pupils to design your own comic strip, please see the link below for the instructions.

The winner of the KS2 competition will also get to design a new comic strip using the superhero from the winner of the Reception/KS1 entries.

Good Luck!

The instructions can be found here.

• 1st place - 25 house points
• 2nd place - 20 house points
• 3rd place - 10 house points
• All entries will receive 5 house points

Closing date is Tuesday 15 October.  Please hand your entries in to Ms Holmes.

This week in Dormice, we’ve been exploring the concepts of big and little. We examined the sizes of bricks and animals during our playtime. Sophia was delighted to find a big horse while playing with the farm set.

Despite the wet weather preventing us from going outside every day, we had a great time in the sandpit in the Garden Room, which all the children loved. We also enjoyed looking at the shells and comparing their different sizes as we played.

In Badgers and Hedgehogs, some of our focus this week has been upon keeping clean, so we have had lots of ‘scrubadub-dubbing’ activities. The children learned to handle slippery bars of soap in the water tray which had transformed into a bathtime bonanza for the dolls and action men.

We enjoyed giggles singing along to our topical action song, This is the way we wash our face…, using a showerhead as a microphone.

During one of our Maths sessions the children chose mystery washbags filled with all sorts of wash-time objects, such as flannels, tubes of toothpaste, tablets of soap, etc. Each child had to arrange their objects into a neat line for careful counting, then retrieve the corresponding digit and show the correct quantity on their fingers. They were also introduced to a ‘tens frame’ which is a simple visual aid that is used for a maths mastery approach to calculation.

We have completed our RE unit about God’s Creation and have begun thinking about how God the Father Cares for us. This year, our Catholic community focus is to serve others as a sign of our Christian love. Archbishop Bernard Longley recently wrote to all the parishes in our Birmingham Diocese, reminding us that the official term for this is ‘Caritas’ and so we have been noticing when children use their ‘helping hands’ in class to show care for each other, because as God cares for us, so we must care for others. We write the names of children who show spontaneous acts of kindness or thoughtfulness onto little Caritas hands on our recognition board. This might be something as simple as helping a friend to put on a painting overall or holding a friend’s hand to reassure them.

Badgers and Hedgehogs have also created a collaborative collage to hang on the wall. The children were tasked to take the glue bottle for a meandering dribble, then to decorate the curly, swirly path using their favourite colours and textures from our tub of recycled craft materials.

We shared our Forest School site with Stay and Play this week, so kits have been retained until next week. Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

We have scheduled two upcoming dates for informal parent meetings, for those children in Badgers and Hedgehogs (Dormice will be later in the term).

If you have not yet booked your appointment, please contact Clare Bird on clarebird@crackleyhall.co.uk

• Monday 14 October - 4.00pm to 5:30pm
• Friday 18 October - 4.00pm to 5:00pm

Wanted 

Any pre-loved Teddy's, Toy's and Games for our Christmas Fair  Please can you leave them in the reception area. 

Thank You 

Christmas Cheer

We are planning lots of goodies for Christmas! The children have worked incredibly hard to bring to life their Father Christmas designs, which will look fabulous on cards, gift tags, baubles and mugs as very special and unique presents for friends and family.

Look out for the proof card of their design before half term.

Save the date!

The Christmas Fair is set to be another child centred and fun filled extravaganza for our Crackley community. Lots of the old favourite stalls such as the bottle and chocolate tombolas and a few new ones too. 

Join us for an enchanting afternoon on Saturday 30 November. Mark your calendars!

You will notice that instead of a hard copy calendar, this year we have a new digital calendar. It includes an interactive contents pages and handy live links to emails, websites and phone numbers. All can be easily downloaded onto your device of choice and the calendar is designed to be mobile friendly for ease of reference.

All the schoool's publications can also be found on My School Portal under School Information and will be updated during the year as necessary.

This move to a ‘digital first’ approach for our publications, is part of the Foundation’s drive to be more sustainable, reducing paper use, printing and postage costs and providing a more user-friendly experience.

Michaelmas Calendar Card

School Day Timings

The school day commences at 8:30am promptly, and pupils should arrive at 8:20am for registration, to ensure that that they have plenty of time to get to their first lesson punctually.

Early Birds runs from 7:45am to 8:20am.

Any pupils arriving after 8:30am, must sign in at the School Office.

End of the day collection times and locations are as follows:

Registration

Pupils are electronically registered in the morning and after lunch. Registration closes at 8:30am and all children arriving after this time, will need to register with the School Office on arrival. Lateness is recorded and monitored closely. Persistent lateness and/or absence from school will clearly affect a pupil’s achievement and learning.

End of the day collection times and locations are as follows:

End of the day collection times and locations after Games Lessons (if not taking part in sports clubs) during the Michaelmas Term are as follows:

If you wish your child to have music tuition at school, then please complete the attached form and return it back to the school office. 

Reception are able to undertake Violin lessons only. Pupils in Junior 1 can access the full range of lessons available. 

Expression of Interest Form

Please see the attached menus for the Michaelmas Term. These rotate on a four weekly basis.

Menu Week 1

Menu Week 2

Menu Week 3

Menu Week 4

Please ensure that everything your child brings to school is clearly labelled.  This especially includes uniform and sports kit. Excellent personalised labels may be purchased from easy2name.com or ablelabels.co.uk. We ask for support from parents to ensure that their children take full responsibility for looking after their property carefully.

We discourage pupils from bringing valuable items into school.

Lost property will be displayed outside The Gables on a Friday for collecting.  At the end of each half term, any unclaimed items will be donated to charity or the PTA.

Individual Health and Medical Information

Further to the email that was sent out regarding your child's health notes on ISAMS, please do remember to check this for accuracy and update the School Office accordingly.

Diarrhoea and Vomiting 

Children must stay off school for 48 hours after the last instance of diarrhoea or vomiting.

Short-Term Medicines 

In general, most short-term medicines, e.g. antibiotics, cough medicine, seasonal hay fever medication etc should be managed so that it is not necessary for the medicines to come into school.

If this is not possible, the medication should be brought to the School Office by yourself, not your child, in it's original packaging, clearly named with your child’s name and class, and with a completed Administration of Medication Form. 

Long-Term Medicines

If your child suffers with a chronic medical condition and has been prescribed medication to take whilst at school, the medication should be brought to the School Office by yourself, not your child, in it’s original packaging, clearly named with your child’s name and class, and with a completed Administration of Medication Form. 

Further documentation may need to be completed, e.g. Inhaler Consent Form, Care Plan etc. Please discuss this with the School Office.

Administration of Medication Form

Individual Care Plan

Inhaler Consent Form

Asthma Individual HealthCare Plan

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

Crackley Hall School 

• Site Supervisor
• Nursery Practitioner
  
  

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

From September 2024 Aftercare needs to be booked through My School Portal. You are able to book the whole term in advance, and you are able to cancel this yourself, should you need to.

https://princethorpe.myschoolportal.co.uk/login 

The sessions available are:

Session 1 - 3:30pm to 4:30pm (includes drink and biscuit)

Session 2 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm (includes tea)

Both Sessions - 3:30pm to 6:00pm (includes drink, biscuit and tea)

The costs for Aftercare are £5.00 per hour, or part thereof. You will only be charged for the time that your child spends in Aftercare.

If you require tea, please ensure that you have booked by 12:00pm on the day.

Please ensure that you book Aftercare in good time, as the School Office will be unable to log in to book Aftercare on your behalf.

Should you need to Cancel Aftercare, please see the following Instructions...

Please note that you can’t cancel  Aftercare on the same day as the booking!

• Bookings (Clubs and Activities)
• Drop Down Menu – Upcoming Bookings
• Which will show this…….
• (CH After Care Michaelmas Term)– next date – Time etc.
• View Booking Details  
• Confirm cancellation of booking
• Cancellation type - Please Select from the dropdown menu ….
• 1) All sessions which can be cancelled –
• 2) Only cancel sessions between specific dates
• 3) Cancel specific sessions only
• Select the date you want to cancel
• Confirm

Informing the School of pupil absence

Parents must inform the school via the online absence form on My School Portal or telephone 01926 514444 and leave a voicemail on Option 1, as soon as possible, before 9:00am, if they know that their child will not be in school for either the whole day or any part thereof. For unplanned absence, parents must complete the Absence Form. This can be found on the dashboard or in the My Children section of My School Portal.

If a pupil has a pre-planned appointment, e.g. medical, please inform the school in advance on the Requesting Student Absence: Planned Form, which can be found within the My Children section of My School Portal. This can then be pre-coded on our attendance system. Having alerted the school for any reason of absence it is not necessary to follow up the absence with a written note.

We ask that, where possible, all pupil appointments (e.g. medical or dental) are made out of school hours, to avoid disruption to learning.

Holidays

Parents are strongly discouraged from taking their children out of school and family holidays should always be taken in the school holiday period which is published over a year in advance. Permission for leave of absence for valid reasons such as a family funeral, should be sought in writing and in advance via My School Portal, with as much notice as possible. Pupils with persistent absence may be asked to provide medical evidence.