We had an amazing Y10 awesomeness meeting this week, with lots of applause to celebrate the praises and appreciations from staff! It was also wonderful to hear lots of students appreciating fellow students and staff during this community meeting.
Big shoutout to Crew Obama (XP East) who are leading the way with the Top 5 praises… what a Crew! Meanwhile, over at XP, I wonder if anyone will come close to Hazel’s magnificent tally of 21 praises before the end of term?
Mrs Parker and Miss Cocliff x
As ever, we will be kicking off our first week back at school by regrouping and rebooting Crew.
On Thursday 1st September – our C26 students (new Y10) will be going on a coastal walk to Flamborough.
Students should arrive at school between 8am-8.15am so that we can leave at 8.30am. We are aiming to be back at school by 3.30pm, but will keep you updated on the day.
All students will be expected to bring the Outdoor Kit listed below:
For further information or questions please email your child’s crew leader.
Thanks!
Year 9’s current expedition ‘Hold Back the River’ has the guiding question, ‘how does water shape our world?’
During this expedition, our geography content is focusing on river characteristics from source to mouth, river processes, formation of landforms as well as the cause, impacts and responses of flooding. As part of this, we are applying the theory of river processes and characteristics to the field.
On Tuesday 21st June, students will visit Edale in the Peak District, they will work together to collect data regarding the width, depth, velocity and load of rivers. We will also be capturing the beauty of a river by completing artwork. This data collection will allow us to accept or reject our hypothesis once we have analysed our data in our maths lessons.
Students will need to arrive at school no later than 8:15am so that the register and kit check can be completed before leaving school.
It is also essential that all students bring all of the kit on the KIT LIST so that they are fully prepared for the fieldwork; this includes a packed lunch and water to drink. Students will need to ensure they have suitable walking boots/trainers as well as wellies or a pair of trainers they can get wet – we’ll be going in the river to collect the data! If there are any problems in getting the appropriate kit before this, please email your child’s Crew Leader.
Students will be returning to school for 3:15pm (if traffic allows). Please ensure that you complete the ‘Medical Form’ which will be given to students this week and return it to Crew Leaders/expedition teachers as soon as possible.
Many thanks in advance for your support with this!
Link to KIT LIST
As they are coming to the end of Year 9, crew has been reflecting on their year. When thinking about their journey throughout the year, here are some of their highlights.
They have finished their second expedition of the year called ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ by creating beautiful work. They looked at Islamic tiles and then used rotational symmetry to design their own patterns to paint with acrylic paint.
Here are some examples from Crew Kahlo:
Crew also chose their options for ‘Leading Our Own Learning’ that they will be studying next year. The crew has picked a range of options such as Engineering, Citizenship, Psychology, Further maths, ICT / Computing as well as some members of the crew decided to take up the opportunity to join the ‘pushing for 4’ group that will support them with Maths, English, and Science leading up to their exams.
They cant really believe that they are coming to the end of Year 9 and going into Year 10!
Students in C26/Year 9 will be visiting the Thackray Museum of Medicine in March.
We are venturing out on 2 separate days as part of their current expedition ‘You Give Me Fever’.
XP East – Tuesday 15th March 2022
XP – Wednesday 16th March 2022
The primary purpose of the visit is to explore the galleries which will help students get to grips with the science behind disease, and the state of public health when Victoria was on the throne. This opportunity to travel back through time and meet key figures in the fight against disease will support the learning on how its history can help us inform the very current issues we face today.
Oh wait there is more… Alongside this amazing experience, we are also booked on a workshop that looks at the following – Does history always move in a straight line? Is innovation always straightforward? This engaging talk uses events and changes throughout medical history to consider the past, present and future of medicine.
We will be departing at around 9:00 AM and returning at approximately 15:00 PM.
Students will need to bring a packed lunch unless they access free school meals, in which case school will provide one for them.
Students will need to dress appropriately and in line with the school dress code. As we will be walking around the museum, comfortable footwear is required.
Usual school rules will apply in terms of mobile phones and these should not be used by students on the bus. Students may wish to take devices such as iPads to take any photographs or to make notes.
If your child needs to take any medication, please inform their Crew Leader so that any necessary arrangements can be made.
All medication should be labelled with their name and passed to a member of staff.
If you have any questions about the day, feel free to contact me at ewatson@xpschool.
The museum building has a long and chequered history.
It first opened in 1861 as the purpose-built Leeds Union Workhouse, a harsh and unwelcoming home for poor and homeless people with nowhere else to go. Over the years, new buildings were gradually added to the workhouse complex, including a separate infirmary.
This week, crew Kahlo had a visit from Rufus. It was lovely to get some fresh air – what a lovely start to the day!
What a busy first couple of weeks crew Kahlo has had in Year 9!
There’s never a dull moment at XP, especially at the beginning of term. We kicked off the new year with an outward bound trip where we went abseiling off a bridge (80ft!) and caving:
On our second day of Year 9, crew took part in a number of fun challenges (working as a crew) in the morning and then played the other Year 9 crews in a bench ball tournament. We ended the day with a community meeting.
On our third day of Year 9 we walked to Potteric Carr nature reserve and then did a ‘Solo’.
When we got back to school, crew prepared for their POL to explain what they had done that week and what they had learnt from it. They worked well as a team to present to their peers and parents.
As you can see – we don’t mess about! We start as we mean to go on here at XP.
Cant quite believe that crew Kahlo are in Year 9 already – bring it on!
Hi X26 – just thought I would add another blog post to remind you all what the plan is for your first week in Year 9 (I can’t believe you’re going to be Year 9’s!!)
Your first day back is Wednesday 1st September and you need to be in school at 8 am (this is because you all need to do a covid test before we set off). You will be out of school all day so you need to come prepared with the following:
(All of these items will be used again throughout Year 9 – not just for this week).
We are expected to be back at school between 4.30 pm and 5.00 pm if you need to organise a lift home or plan which bus to catch.
On Thursday 2nd September you will be in school all day and need to be in for the normal time (8.20-8.30 for crew). You need to make sure you bring your usual school equipment with you (pen, pencil, ruler, and device). Make sure you wear sensible footwear as you will be doing some activities in the sports hall and outside. You will be able to have a school dinner if that’s what you usually do or bring your packed lunch with you.
School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm.
On Friday 3rd September you need to arrive at school at the normal time for crew (8.20-8.30am) but will be out of school in the morning. You need to bring the same things that you have been asked to bring on Wednesday (apart from wellies – you don’t need those). You also need to bring your equipment and device to use in the afternoon.
You also need to bring a packed lunch and a bottle of water as we will be out at lunchtime (this will be provided for students on FSM)
School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm.
I hope you have all had a lovely summer break and we will see you all next week!
Finally, we are allowed to go on fieldwork! We have managed to squeeze one in before the end of term!!
We are currently doing the expedition “Call the cops”, looking at crime and punishment through time. We will be looking at the introductions of police and prisons, having already looked at crime and how it was dealt with before this!
In order to support our work for the introductions and developments of our system, we have arranged a school trip to Shewsbury Prison. The prison was closed in 2013 and is used for educational purposes now, so rest assured students will not be walking around a working prison with inmates.
The students will take part in being booked in as prisoners, shown around, then participate in an escape room activity! It is an amazing experience and will be extremely beneficial to the expedition!
We will be leaving school at 7:30am on Wednesday 16th June in order to arrive at Shewsbury for 10:30. We are leaving the prison at 14:00 with the hope of arriving back at school between 16:30 – 17:00. This will be a long day for the students, but I am sure they will love it! Please make sure students wear comfortable clothes and take a jacket as it can become cold in the prison and sensible shoes. Students will also need a packed lunch and sufficient water for the day. Please don’t pack any products containing nuts in packed lunches as we are a nut-free school!
Any questions please feel free to email me on [email protected] or your child’s crew leader!
Thank you!
Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks in crew. We have been working hard and cracking on.
This week, crew Kahlo has been looking at ‘British Values’ as part of our crew curriculum. We have been learning about how British Values teach us tolerance and respect for others.
We even made a display in our crew room.
We then moved onto looking at the difference between weather and climate. Pupils carried out research into causes of climate change.
I wanted to highlight this beautiful work by Bryan and Jessy. For our current Y8 expedition ‘Wherever I Lay my Hat’ where we have been looking at the artist Luke Dixon for inspiration. Pupils have practiced adding lines and patterns to simplified copies of his work and also using a viewfinder to zoom in on details. I don’t know about you, but I think Jessy’s pencil-tone portrait is absolutely amazing! I only asked for a line drawing – but she went for it! We didn’t want to add any lines (like Luke Dixon does) over this drawing – so we have photocopied her work and she is adding lines to a copy so she has not one but two beautiful pieces of work!
On Thursdays, crew Kahlo has started to think about the HoWLs grades that they would give themselves for that week in each subject area and crew. Pupils critiqued each other’s grades and commented on whether they agreed with them or not. This led to loads of discussion about what ‘work hard’ looks like and how they could try and improve their own ‘get smart’ in lessons. It has been really great to have Mr. Challen in crew with us as he has been able to comment on pupils’ work in their maths lessons.
A very productive couple of weeks crew! Keep up the good work.
