We had the opportunity to hold a Y10 & Y11 community meeting this morning to celebrate all the amazing stuff going on in each year group!
Take a look at the sheer amount of praise postcards from staff for our wonderful Key Stage 4 students. They shared their notices, praises and wonders; and also their own apologies, appreciations and stands.
Some awesome work going on at this point – keep being amazing!!!
Miss Cocliff x
Please see this week’s Y11 Weekly planner.
It seems quite short this week; but that’s not to take away from the AMAZING work that’s been going on.
From Learning Labs to Extended study, Y11 have had a brilliant & focused week; keep it up, guys – we’re all super proud!
I’ve had the pleasure of spending a little more time in sessions this week with Y10 & Y11 – and I’ve seen some absolutely phenomenal work from X26 & X27!
X26 have had an amazing week across all sessions. Admiral smashed it out of the park in Miss Buckley’s English session – some incredible contributions from Max, and who knew Kolby could analyse poetry in so much detail?! Skipper have been brilliant this week too, especially in history – I’m hearing SO many positive comments about Y11 and their hard work!
We’ve launched Learning Labs this week, too – attendance at this has blown us away – I think for English, 80/100 students attended. These run on a 5 week cycle, so every session will help Y11 to get smart and achieve their potential. AMAZING!
In science this week, you could hear a pin drop as X27 Skipper focused so much with Mr Morrison on the work they were completing about atomic structure – not an easy topic – but every single student in there showed incredible respect – for each other and their learning environment! A special shout out this week to Noah, Billy and Nadia B – who have been absolutely brilliant in EVERY. SINGLE. SESSION. Keep it up!
With so much fantastic work going on, it’s no wonder X26 have earned a collective 226 praise points this term… but X27 are racing ahead with a collective 561 praise points. WOW!!!!
Keep showing everyone how wonderful we really are in Y10 & 11!!!
Miss Cocliff x
During crew at the beginning of the second week, I asked members of crew Kahlo to share a quote that meant something to them. We then discussed how each quote could relate to the year ahead of them – in the run up to their GCSE’s.
Here are the quotes that crew chose:
Harrison – ‘Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value‘ by Albert Einstein
We linked this to the character traits that we value here are XP – how its important to be successful academically but also really important to be a good (well rounded) person.
Arthur – ‘Believe in yourself and you’re half way there‘
We discussed how it is really important that you believe in your abilities in school and to stop doubting yourself. Saying that you can’t do something is not very helpful and its important that everyone tries their best – especially in Year 11!
Kearan – ‘Nothing is certain except death and taxes‘ by Benjamin Franklin
Kearan chose this to show that you can’t predict anything – nothing is certain in life (apart from death and taxes). Linking to the fact that GCSE’s are defiantly going to be happening for Y11 – but lots of twists and turns and ups and downs might happen in the run up to them – we just don’t know! (But that’s why crew is important)
Max – ‘Don’t exist, live‘
Max is a very positive person who likes to push himself (especially in the gym). He is determined to do well in his exams and wants to do well. Just existing and getting through each day isn’t enough for Max – he wants to live!
Tammy – ‘Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead‘ by Benjamin Franklin
This was a bit of a curve ball for crew – but interesting to talk about. We spoke about secrets and how some people aren’t very trustworthy. How sometimes it’s better to keep things to yourself.
Billie – ‘Whatever you are, be a good one‘ by Abraham Lincoln
Crew spoke about the fact that if you’re going to do something – you may as well do it properly and well. Don’t just coast through Y11 and your GCSE’s – go for it, try your best – then reap the rewards on results day!
Bryan – ‘Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find‘ The Greek Bible
Crew spoke about asking for help when and if they need it this year at school. If you don’t understand something or you need some extra clarification – ask! Don’t be embarrassed or nervous – its your year, its important and if you don’t ask – you don’t get!
Olivia – ‘Never give up‘
Olivia wasn’t the most enthusiastic for this task (I’m not sure she is a morning person). But this is a good one. Especially this year – don’t give up, keep going. Its going to be tough – there are going to be days that you really can’t be bothered and you’re sick of everyone telling you that’s its important (blah blah blah). But you owe it to yourself to keep going and never give up.
Nida – ‘You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water‘ by Rabindranath Tagore
This is a good one and brought up conversations about the effort you put in during Y11. You’re not going to get the best GCSE’s you can by just turning up to school. That’s just the first step – what you really need to do is graft! Get your head down and concentrate, revise at home, get feedback from teachers and act on it.
Alex – ‘Without training they lacked knowledge, without knowledge they lacked confidence, without confidence they lacked victory‘ by Julius Ceasar
Crew didn’t fully understand this quote at first, but after a little discussion we spoke about the fact that this year is all about being a bit of a sponge – taking in all the information that your teachers are giving you – all the advice and the knowledge about each subject. But the most important thing is what you do with this – you learn it, remember it and apply it. Hopefully, as the year progresses you become more confident going into your exams – then, victory! Amazing GCSEs on results day!
Miss Jones – ‘Keep calm and carry on‘
This has been something I have said to myself for years. As my crew know, I get worked up regularly – I overthink things and can sometimes get a little overwhelmed with all the things I have to do. So I repeat ‘Keep calm and carry on’ to help reduce the noise in my brain. It sounds silly but it really does work. Maybe this will help you during year 11 when things get a bit much.
We would like to invite all Y11 parents to our Y11 GCSE Information Evening at XP East on Tuesday, 12th September from 5:00-6:15pm.
This evening will focus on providing information about exam layout/content, exam dates, revision/work required for each exam and component. This was a really useful evening last year to ensure parents knew how to best support our wonderful Y11s throughout their GCSEs. Subject leads and teachers will also be around if you have any questions.
We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!
Mel & Angella
Our Year 11’s spent their first day back at Langsett Reservoir. This was a great way for pupils to have a reset and talk about their summer.
The second day was focussed on giving something back to our community. Crew Kahlo conducted a litter pick in the local area
We had the pleasure of holding Y10’s final celebratory community meeting of the year this morning!
TONNES of praises were shared, along with some tiny trophies for amazing praise points and attendance throughout Y10! 🏆
There was also a special mention of the phenomenal work completed around the Climate Conference – along with an email shared from one of the experts we invited in to take part!
Please see the slides below:
I cannot fully express how incredibly proud I am of X26 for the work they have put into Y10. They have been an absolute pleasure to work with and have developed and progressed so much throughout the year! I am really looking forward to seeing what X26 achieve over the next year and next (and final!) step in their XP journey! Thank you to all students, parents, and crew leaders for your support this year!
Miss Cocliff x
I was really proud in our Whole School Community Meeting today where Crew Blessed found we had risen to 2nd in this terms attendance table. This is a great achievement with only 5 weeks to go to see if we can take the top spot. I want to appreciate all of Crew for getting into school so consistently and let’s hope we all stay well and continue this until the end of the school year.
I also want to acknowledge the great support from the families of our crew members, it’s thanks to them our attendance figures are so good and I appreciate all the support from home with regards to maintaining our expectations and XP values.
A special mention this week goes to Kolby & Alana for being such great representatives of our community when they did ambassador tours for Year 6 students and parents and the following day when they led a crew session for some Welsh visitors. Miss Cocliff’s words some this up beautifully in an email she sent to me yesterday.
“They were phenomenal ambassadors of our school on Wednesday evening, and they were very informative – all of the Y6 students and parents learnt lots from them.”
“In addition, I asked Alana and Kolby to speak to a group of visitors with me today. They helped us to run a crew session with the visitors – hearing them speak about crew, and XP in general, their character growth and Mr Robins as their crew leader gave me goosebumps. They are able to articulate themselves so incredibly well, and they truly represent everything XP is about.“
Great work this week Crew!
On Monday, 19th June 2023, X26 Skipper and E26 Pioneer will be attending fieldwork to Bradford Literature Festival as part of their current expedition, Bad Romance – attending a day called ‘How did Hitler Happen?’.
X26 Admiral & E26 Explorer will be attending fieldwork on Wednesday, 21st June to Bradford Literature Festival – attending a day called ‘Shakespeare Day!’.
We will depart promptly at 8:45am, meaning students need to arrive at school NO LATER that 8:30am to be registered and briefed about the day.
Please see the attached letter for more information. If you have any questions or queries, please get in touch.
C27 have been raising money as part of their final product by hosting a tuck shop on Friday break times. This week is our final push and we have LOTS for sale including crisps, biscuits, sausage rolls, toast etc. Alongside this we have the “sponge a teacher event” where students will be able to throw sponges at teachers during lunch!
The money raised is for St Johns Hospice, a local palliative care hospital which is very dear to our hearts at XP. So please bring in a £1 or 2 to support the cause!
