Crew name display, crew pledges, analysing HoWLs and celebrating a birthday.

By Emily Jones15th November 2020

So, crew Kahlo is back to full strength. We have welcomed another new student to our crew…Alex. He has well and truly fit in with our crew

When speaking to his teachers, it has been lovely to hear such wonderful feedback about Alex and how he has hit the ground running at XP. He has been working really hard and getting smart in his sessions. Here are a few things that his teachers have said about him:

Mrs. Sprakes (Spanish) – Alex shows COURAGE, he’s never done Spanish before but he’s come into Y8 and he’s giving it a real go. Awesome!

Mrs. Ibbotson (Hums) – Alex is doing great in Hums. He is always getting involved and has lots to say and input to the sessions. 

We created a crew display with our name ‘Crew Kahlo’ by adding colour to mindful colouring pages and laminated them. I think it looks great! Every member of crew also wrote a pledge that they feel is important to them to work towards in the run up to Christmas. Some of the pledges were:

  • to concentrate in lessons (Tammy)
  • to be kind (Alex)
  • to use integrity all the time (Max)
  • to remember things (Arthur)
  • to remember to bring my water bottle and equipment (Bryan)
  • to be more organised and to concentrate more (Olivia)
  • to help other people (Kearan)
  • to speak more in class (Billie – Lou)
  • to get my homework in on time (Jessy)
  • to ask more questions in class (Harrison)
  • to be in school on time (Callum)
  • to answer and ask more questions in class (Nida)

We will be checking in on these pledges throughout the term to hold each other to account and make sure we fulfil them.

The crew has also started to analyse their HoWL’s data this week. Looking at the marks they have received for ‘Working Hard; Getting Smart and Being Kind’ for each subject

Next week, we will be making pledges on how to improve our HoWLs as the year progresses.

We will be looking at how we can support each other as a crew to do this by giving kind, specific, and helpful feedback to each other.

We also celebrated a birthday. Happy Birthday, Olivia! Now officially a teenager! (Oh dear. Haha)

Can You Help With Our Suffragette Commemorative Plaque?

By Joe Nixon11th October 2020

Part of the product for the Y8 expedition Fight the Power! is going to be a plaque that celebrates the work of Doncastrian Suffragettes. But we need YOUR help to make it happen….

From September to Christmas, the all Y8 students across XP and XP East are completing an expedition called Fight the Power! This expedition focuses upon the power of protest and rebellion, from the Peasants’ Revolt, through to the Suffragette Movement and beyond.

Fight the Power! is an ambitious study that bridges all subject, HUMAN, STEAM and the Expeditionary Arts. During this expedition students are paying particular attention to the amazing work of the Suffragette Movement, focusing specifically upon how the Suffragettes of Doncaster helped to build and improve the society we live in today.

To celebrate the work of these amazing women, all students in Y8 will be involved in raising money to produce a cast-iron plaque by a local artist that will be placed permanently in Doncaster town centre. For the rest of their lives, our Y8 students will be able to take family and friends to see how their work has positively impacted their local community by highlighting the incredible work of these unsung heroes.

Y8 would really appreciate it if you could take a look at their crowdfunding page for the project and donate anything you can:

https://www.spacehive.com/doncasters-suffragette-plaque?searchText=doncasterhttp://

Without your pledges, this won’t be able to happen!

It is really important that at this stage the crowdfunding page is NOT shared on social media -this will come a little further down the line.

If the students manage to raise enough funds for the plaque then, the crowdfunder will enter its second stage, where students will be able to raise funds to work with Sarah Smizz, another local artist. With Sarah, students will get the opportunity to help design and create trade union style banners that will immortalise the work they are currently undertaking on their expedition.

Thank you for your support with this important work.

Welcoming our new crew member, coping with the Coronavirus and appreciating each other

By Emily Jones26th September 2020

This week we have welcomed a new arrival to crew Kahlo. Introducing Kearan!

He fits in fantastically with our quirky little bunch and he has told crew that he is so so happy to be a student at XP and that really shines through!

Kearan’s teachers have been really impressed with his attitude and enthusiasm in sessions. He has just got stuck in and is thriving.  

Miss Ibbotson (Human) told me that Kearan is a superstar. She said that they have done an assessment this week and he just cracked on with it. He wasn’t worried at all. She said that he is awesome!

Miss Ridout (Science) said ‘Kearan has been amazing in my sessions!!! He is fab and should keep up the great work. He always gives amazing answers!’

What a cracking start! We are so happy to have you in crew Kahlo!

On another note…

I have noticed that this week has been especially difficult for a few members of crew Kahlo (and other pupils at XP) when it comes to their emotions and worries about the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, I would like to say that I really do feel for our students and I am super super proud of how they are handling our ‘new normal’ at school. 

The coronavirus has caused significant changes in our daily lives (at home and at school) and left us feeling stressed, anxious, and even afraid. The world has experienced pandemics before, but nothing quite like COVID-19. 

I have been trying my best to help my crew to stay positive and focus on the things we can control in order to make it through the coming days and months. 

We have had some really lovely crew discussions about how we can try to support each other when we are feeling a bit rubbish and worried about stuff. 

Here are some of the things that we thought were important:

  • We need to keep washing our hands while we are at school. 
  • We should be mindful when we are outside for break and dinnertime. There are still classes on so we shouldn’t be too loud and we should also be sensible and safe (not jumping on each other or playing silly games) 
  • Talk to each other about our feelings and worries. Especially in crew. 
  • Be understanding of other people’s feelings and realise that everyone’s circumstances are different. 
  • Remember that some things are out of our control and all we can do is be there for each other. 
  • Try to have fun… as we did in crew to blow off a little steam on Friday afternoon. We decided to have a bit of a dance-off and a giggle.
  • Focus on the positives. Remember to appreciate others and be kind to one another. Like crew did for their community meeting appreciations, which finished off our 5th week nicely.

Crew Kahlo are back!

By Emily Jones5th September 2020

It’s all go at XP after our time at home during the lockdown. It’s so good to have the crew back together again. I’m really proud of crew Kahlo for settling back into their school routine (even though they’re all a bit tired). Each and every member of crew has made a fantastic start to Year 8 and has received some lovely feedback from their teachers.

For our first day back we had a full day together to re-connect and catch up.

I was impressed with their mature attitudes towards the new rules that we have to follow to stay safe in school. They also let off a little steam by playing a few games outside to get some fresh air…

We discussed ideas for crew pledges to try and help each other when we need support

The crew has had some changes this week like our first whole school virtual community meeting:

We also had the introduction to ‘Wise Wednesdays’. For our first week, we were looking at ‘Understanding Identity’. We discussed how social and cultural factors help to shape our identity. It was a chance for the crew to explore who they were as people and think about how others see them. It was challenging for some members of the crew but they grappled with the tasks and supported each other. It was lovely to have the chance to speak to them all about ‘what makes them who they are’.

Well done for having a great start to Year 8!

X26 & X25 Coming Back Stronger!

By Miss S Robinson26th August 2020

It is wonderful to welcome back our students in Year 8 and 9 today, they have certainly returned with renewed energy and enthusiasm!

Today, is all about Crew.  Students have been spending their time today reflecting on the past few months, learning how to keep themselves safe whilst in school and most importantly reconnecting as a Crew.

I have had the pleasure of spending time in each of the Crew’s and it is great to see the students engaged, working collaboratively and happy!

What a way to start the year! #Comingbackstronger

 

Its official! We have a crew name!

By Emily Jones25th June 2020

So, crew EJN presented their crew name suggestions to Miss Robinson in last week’s crew hangout. They were prepared, confident, and articulated their reasons for each individual really well.

I was very impressed!

After almost an hour of presenting their slides, Miss Robinson decided that our new crew name was going to be…(drum roll please)…

This is after the famous Mexican artist ‘Frida Kahlo’. You may recognise some of her artwork below:

She created a number of self-portraits as well as paintings about her disabilities.

She had a really tough time and was in a lot of pain throughout her life.

 

Here are some of the pages that Arthur in our crew prepared to describe her:

 

So, as you can see from Arthurs slides – she didn’t have it easy. She had a lot of challenges to overcome in her life – but she was so determined and courageous!

Harrison read through most of the slides as Arthur had a few technical issues and was losing connection. Harrison read really well, he was clear and confident. He showed a lot of courage as I know he was not in his comfort zone whilst doing it. Well done Harrison.

For Arthur’s last page he described why he thought that we should name our crew after Frida Kahlo…

The reasons that he gave above absolutely blew me away and actually brought a tear to my eye – thinking about how far we have come as a crew and all that we have been through!

We have been through some hard times, some challenging times, some difficult times – but we are crew and we can get through it! We support each other and back each other up.

I am a very proud, emotional, embarrassing, and ‘cringy’ crew leader – but I don’t care!

I’ll leave you with this quote from Frida which I think is VERY true.

Our last week as crew EJN

By Emily Jones11th June 2020

This week, crew EJN have been working on their crew name presentations that they will be showing Miss Robinson next week during their weekly crew hangout.

Crew have a few ideas about who they would like to be named after and why:

Crew have also been busy completing their home learning, creating some beautiful work.

These are for the nature page for their visual diaries:

 

Arthur
Arthur
Arthur
Brandan
Max
Nida
Olivia
Tammy

Positive and motivational quotes for their visual diaries:

In other news, Olivia has been swimming in a river!!!

…and Jessy has a new dog called Callie.

Crew EJN making the most of the beautiful weather

By Emily Jones4th June 2020

We are back to school for a new term. Back to home learning and trying our best – having good days and bad days and just trying to get through and stay safe.

Crew EJN were ready for a break and a little time off last week. Luckily the weather was absolutely stunning!

This is what crew got up to:

Arthur went on lots of walks, met his grandad and took Dotty the dog for a walk and play. He had his first KFC in months (Its was delicious!) He went to Birkin fisheries for ice cream and a picnic and he saw lots and lots of ducklings. He also made a bug hotel for his garden by cutting lots of bamboo up and putting twigs around an old pop bottle in a plant pot. He also painted a pebble to say thankyou to the NHS. 

Arthurs bug hotel
Arthurs first KFC for months
Arthurs NHS painted pebble

Brandan went to Cleethorpes for the day (social distancing of course) and sat and played on the beach. He also went to his sisters for the day where they had a new pool and a 7ft dinosaur sprinkler called Dino.

Tammy built a bird table and found an old colouring book to colour in. 

As well as being out in the sunshine, crew were still keeping busy with their home learning tasks.

Max has created some lovely artwork based on the artist Kandinsky

Crew EJN have also made a cracking start on their Visual Dairies for their new expedition called ‘Above all, compassion’. Here are their front covers

Arthur
Brandan
Max
Nida
Tammy

Im really proud of crew EJN and all their hard work. They have enjoyed their holiday and have got back to working hard with their home learning!

Well done crew!

Surprising revelations made by crew

By Emily Jones9th May 2020

This week we went back to basics a little for our crew google hangout. We discussed a few protocols like ‘microphones to be on mute unless you have been directly asked to speak’ and to put your hand up and wait if you have a question. I decided to go through this because our previous hangouts have been a little rowdy and off topic. When everyone talks at the same time, it’s really difficult to hear anyone.

Once the new rules had been established, we did our check in which was ‘What is the worst thing you have ever eaten?’. Now, this is where I was really surprised! There were some very unexpected answers. For example:

Broccoli, olives, ketchup (who doesn’t like ketchup!?), garlic, asparagus, shepherds pie, instant mash, coleslaw, tuna, Harry Potter dog food flavoured jelly bean and finally – a caterpillar and a worm!!

After those revelations, we looked at our crew tracker. This is where I have been keeping tabs on crew and their progress with their home learning tasks. I have shared this document with parents as well so they can see the work that is being completed and what needs to be done.

By talking about work that some members of crew have completed  – it really helps the other students understand the tasks and help each other (which has been really lovely to see)

We then moved onto a quiz which was made up of four rounds; general knowledge, films, music and capital cities. Jessy won with a massive 24 out of 25, with Arthur coming second with 21 and Tammy third with 20. Olivia has volunteered to prepare a quiz for next week and be the quizmaster. I wonder how many questions I will be able to answer!

REMEMBER – our crew hangout is every Tuesday at 12 noon and is compulsory. 

All but one crew member attended the last one, it would be SO good if we had every member of crew joining next week (and every week that we are in lockdown).

I would also like to say a big well done to Olivia, Arthur, Harrison and Max for joining Miss Vayro’s google hangout session for Hums on Mondays at 1.30 and also Nida for joining one.

Can ALL crew please ensure that they join Miss Vayro’s hangout EVERY MONDAY at 1.30 please.

This will help you with your expedition and also give you an opportunity to stay in contact with your classmates (which I think is really important).

Lastly for this week, I wanted to share some emails that I received from Mrs Collinson. She wanted to let me know that some members of crew EJN have been working really hard on their Spanish work:

Massive well done! Keep it up.

 

Crew EJN being creative!

By Emily Jones1st May 2020

Crew EJN have produced some beautiful work based on the artwork of Wassily Kandinsky during lockdown.

By Nida

By Tammy

By Bryan

By Arthur

By Jessy

By Olivia

They have also started their new expedition ‘Above all, compassion’ off with a bang by designing a storyboard to show the environmental changes during ‘The Lorax’.

By Harrison

By Arthur

By Jessy

There is a website that has been created especially for this expedition to help pupils find the tasks that they need to complete and to give them extra guidance. The link for the website is here.

Keep up the good work crew and remember that I want you to concentrate on the most recently set tasks on google classroom and try to meet your deadlines. If you fell behind with the work from the beginning of lock down – that needs to be done after you finish the new work.

Take care and stay safe!