“

We made it!

 

I just can’t say it enough about Crew Tubman, they continually blow me away with how resilient they are and have participated in all that has been thrown at them.

 

From taking part in off screen activities to writing and composing songs! this little bunch has been what has kept me sane and going through this incredibly challenging time. I honestly don’t think i could have done it without them. them and of course our honorary crew member Niamh who is 4 she has brought us a little ray of sunshine and joy to our crew check ins in the morning.

(more…)

— Across the Finish Line

We made it!

4th March 2021Emily Jones

So, we made it crew! A 9-week term online – WOWZER!

It’s been tough, but we have got through it.

There has been some wonderful work produced by crew Kahlo this term and they have worked so so hard and I’m really proud of them.

These last two weeks we have been able to log off lessons and have some time at the end of each school day to do something a little different.

The crew have been….

  • Building dens:
  • Taking time out to read.
  • Meditating and relaxing to music.
  • Creating their own perfect playlist of music.
  • Taking part in a rainbow photography challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • A world book day scavenger hunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been great to see the crew doing something a little bit different!

For our crew members that have been in school, they have been working off some of their energy by playing badminton, basketball, or busting out some shapes following ‘Just Dance’ routines with their friends. Look at Olivia go!!!

Have a relaxing 2 weeks off crew Kahlo and try to stay off those screens!

Crew Blessed – SLCs Complete!

By Marc Robins26th February 2021

With SLCs complete and the end of lockdown round the corner, we are also heading towards the end of term 3!

It’s been a challenging term and one that has really shown the power of us as individuals and as Crew. The strength students have shown to keep producing beautiful work and attending sessions so consistently has been incredible. Everyone should be really proud of themselves.

This was all encapsulated by their Student Led Conferences. Everyone spoke clearly about where they need to improve and equally about the work they are proud of. There were honest reflections that were discussed in a mature way that was often ahead of their years. This resulted in some very proud families and a very proud Crew Leader.

Here are some pictures from those meaningful SLC evenings…

Focus on checking in, communicating and connecting

By Emily Jones22nd February 2021

With everything that is going on around us at the moment, it can sometimes be difficult to remember the most important stuff…. connecting, interacting, and looking after one another.

If you ask any member of crew Kahlo they will probably say that I say the same things over and over again like a broken record – but hopefully, they listen when I say (almost every morning)

‘Email me if you need me, let me know if there is anything wrong’

I say it because I mean it. I always tell them that I can’t help them unless they let me know what is the matter. That goes for all pupils at XP. Every single member of our staff wants each pupil to be safe and happy and will always be there if and when needed.

This is one of the reasons why each morning during our crew sessions we have a ‘check-in’, where each pupil is asked to share their thoughts in some way. I don’t know about other crews, but our check-ins ALWAYS spark some kind of discussion, debate, or even just an opportunity for us to have a bit of a laugh.

Here are some examples of our crew check-ins during lockdown 3.0:

 

Some of our check-ins provoke insightful and interesting revelations and others just make it very clear that crew Kahlo is a special little bunch who I fit in with perfectly.

My crew knows how much I love a cat meme.

Stay safe

Miss Jones

Hahn’s Friday crew breakfast

By Mrs K apHarri21st February 2021

The amount of time staff and students are spending on screens because of covid is a lot and believe me it’s pretty exhausting. I don’t know why its more tiring but it really is. I really praise our students for how they are spending the day doing sessions online starting in crew every morning.

 

So I wanted to think of ways we can still be crew but actually get away from the screen and spend a bit of time looking after ourselves, slowing down and caring for and nurturing ourselves. What better way to encompass all those things than a nice big home cooked breakfast…. and what better time than during crew to do this together.

At the beginning of the week we each thought about a breakfast we’d like to prepare and cook for ourselves or someone else in our house. Some knew within seconds what they were mocking whereas it took others till Friday morning to decide. 

 

We checked in this morning (Friday) as normal to do the register and then discussed what each of us was cooking. James S must have been starving as he’d already started sending pics of him cooking his scrambled eggs!

Tom wasn’t feeling hungry so he lovingly cooked his mum beans on toast, brilliant!

James L even went to the trouble of making homemade hash browns, he said he’d over spiced them but i was still impressed.

Gracie prepared herself a beautiful healthy and colourful breakfast of crumpets, fried tomatoes and rocket, it looked so pretty!

Maddison continued the pancake day theme with chocolate chip pancakes that looked yummy!

Although Cara hadn’t a clue all week of what to cook she did a fab looking poached egg on toast, poaching an egg takes skill!

Sam did a classic egg & bacon sarnie on brown with his morning cup of coffee, our Sam does like his coffee!

Sophie also had an egg & bacon sarnie but in a bap with a perfectly fired egg, (she’s also partial to some butter on her bread by the looks of it ; )

James SK looked a natural in the kitchen and couldn’t wait to get started with his bacon and scrambled eggs which tempted me into cooking myself scrambled eggs with a couple of left over sausages.

 

We then rejoined the hangout and talked through how it had gone and I think everyone enjoyed themselves being off screen having some restful and much needed time looking after ourselves, I know I did!

Click here to have a look at these tasty pics!

Y9 Student of the Week

By Miss S Robinson16th February 2021

Year 9 student of the week goes to Luke in Crew Stan Lee.

Luke you have been nominated by myself and several of your teachers for working so hard this week and term in sessions and preparing for your Passage Presentation.

We have been really impressed with your contributions during online sessions, your improved attendance online compared to the previous lockdown and the mature manner in which you have prepared yourself for Passage.

Mrs Pullham has expressed how proud she is of you and how impressed she is with your attitude to learning. I am looking forward to being a part of your Passage Presentation and hearing you reflect on your journey through XP.

It won’t be long before we return to school. Let’s keep up this impressive attitude to learning when we return to school. It will have a significant impact on your HOWLS and academic grades if you continue the way you have started this term.

Very impressed young man! Well done. 🙂

X26 Student of the Week

By Miss S Robinson16th February 2021

Student of the week in Year 8 / X26 goes to Arthur…

Congratulations Arthur, you have been nominated by so many of your teachers for working so hard in your online lessons and producing beautiful work. I am really impressed with what I am seeing and hearing about Arthur. Keep up the hard work, it is not going unnoticed.

 

Here are some of the comments teachers made about you:

I am really impressed with Arthur. He always has his hand up answering or asking questions. He is working and trying really hard. He has been working hard since the start of the new lockdown and i think he needs appreciation 🙂 (Miss Haythorne)

I nominate Arthur. He is working really hard in all his sessions and getting good feedback from every teacher. Dedicated to having a good SLC and being prepared and creating some beautiful artwork. (Miss Jones)

It would have to be Arthur for me for student of the week. Absolutely smashing it!! Example of work – OMAM character analysis – finding quotes to support his inferences! Independently! Always answering questions! (Miss Ibbotson)
Miss O’Grady also commented on how impressed she was in the quality of the work you are producing in PE.
Well done Arthur! Let’s hope you have a happier face when you see this post than in your picture! 🙂

 

 

Super Successful SLC’s!

By Melissa Cocliff14th February 2021

Student Led Conferences are vital to our work. They put our students in charge of sharing information about their academic progress with their families. In the words of expeditionary learning guru Ron Berger, “Student Led Conferences require and empower students to take the lead role in communicating their learning” – in other words, our students know they have to be responsible for their learning and progress, and they must be able to explain to their families where they are at, and where they are heading!

SLC’s obviously looked a little different this year. They were online; students had 25 minutes to speak about a range of things, including their HoWLs data, Academic progress, how they have found working from home, and the pledges they made at the start of the year. Crew Macmillan continue to surprise me daily; and once again, they absolutely SMASHED it! They each spoke confidently and maturely, could analyse their own data in terms of GCSE grades (which is a vital skill as we head into Y11) and they were all able to share examples of beautiful work with their families. As such, i wanted to share some of the amazing work with you!

Firstly, Crew were asked to reflect on their attendance across the year. Although we haven’t physically been in school THAT much in Y10 (Thanks, COVID!) – online attendance is still absolutely vital, and it is still monitored. Some great reflections in crew; here is Imogen’s! Imogen spoke through how ‘blue’ means ‘Awesome’ – in terms of our narrative for success, this means Imo is exceeding expectations!

Students were then asked to reflect on their Work Hard, Get Smart, and Be Kind attributes in sessions. Archie and Joe provided really detailed analysis for each HoWL!

Continue reading →

Crew Attenborough smashing lockdown

By K Burns8th February 2021

Crew Attenborough had a check in today “What’s your  favourite memory from XP?”

“Wales!”

“Hatfield”

“Meeting my best friend “

“Acting in Macbeth”

”Christmas lectures”

”DofE”

“Just coming to XP”

“When I leave” (lots  of me too’s here)

When it came  to my turn I could have gone on forever. Charlie’s dancing, Michaela’s 360* on a rock face, Zack cycling for charity, Chandni’s football skills, gaining new crew members who fitted into our “family” perfectly. James’ and Harley’s  passage presentations, group dancing in crew christmas disco,letter from  SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH!!! ….. So many happy memories and such pride  in every  single one of my Attenborough. You brighten my life and I will miss you all so  much.

 

Praise postcards truly deserved

Crew Blessed SLCs… Up and Running!

By Marc Robins8th February 2021

We have had two excellent SLC evenings so far and it was fantastic to hear both Oscar and Ben speak so confidently about their strengths and weakness. They both knew what they needed to do to take their learning to the next level and equally, they could identify beautiful work that they were proud of.

A special mention has to go to Oscar, who has only been at XP a short time and this ‘online’ SLC was his first experience of this process. He coped really well and is quickly getting on board with how we do things. Well done young man!

It’s going to be a great week ahead, with lots more SLCs to come. I’m sure it will be a really positive experience for everyone!