Crew Bronte: Twenty Ways to Be XP!

By Mr A Sprakes16th September 2018

At the start of term crews in X22 (Y10) engaged in a number of activities linked to our Character Traits and Habits of Work and Learning to allow them to reflect on what it means to be part of XP. The activities included: service learning at Sandall Beat Woods; visiting the elderly at an Age UK Centre; leading crew activities; acts of kindness and just having fun as a crew!

Below are Bronte’s thoughts about crew and some of the things we did in the first week back.

At XP we learn about teamwork and show acts of kindness, for us it’s important to go to a school where we can be ourselves and try to make our work significant. We call this our ‘crew’,

In crew we can share ideas and be creative, for example, every week we share what we have done on the weekend to our crew and show acts of kindness by doing greetings; this happens every Monday.

In crew we all feel like we can share things with each other without getting embarrassed or scared.

We read on Wednesdays to allow us to build our knowledge of vocabulary, punctuation, grammar and sentence structure. On Thursdays we (sometimes!) have an activity day, it’s a day where we all come together and have fun which makes us succeed in team work. We also work hard by focussing on academic work to better prepare us for our upcoming GCSE’s.

On Fridays we participate in a whole school community meeting. This is an opportunity to show integrity and apologise for our mistakes, we also appreciate others that have shown us compassion and respect and we hold each other to account by making stands. This relates to our character traits of ‘Courage, Respect, Craftsmanship and Quality, Compassion and Integrity’.

To show compassion and kindness, every year our crew choses a charity to support. The charity we chose as a crew in Year 9 was Cancer Research UK. They are a non profit charity that provide money for research into cancer suppressant or curing treatment, also they fund the treatments to some degree. We organised 2 fundraising events. The first was a bag pack in Asda and the other was a sweet sale in school. In total we raised £341.09. We were really proud that we had helped others.

Below are some thoughts from us about the visit to the Goldsmith’s Centre at Sprotborough:

Noah

On the 29th of August, as part of ‘Twenty Ways to be XP!’, we went to see the elderly visitors at the Goldsmith’s Centre at Sprotbrough. We asked them questions about their life, played games with them and other activities. At first it felt daunting to meet and talk to people who you have never met but when we got to talk to them we found it enjoyable and fascinating. When we were there we played dominoes and talked to people who told us about the mines and their past lives.

Ben

On our table, there was me and 5 other elderly visitors. At first it was hard to start a conversation but after we had it was fine and we began playing dominoes. Some of them got a bit confused at first but after a few games it was fine. I got speaking to Jim who was from Scotland and had moved to Doncaster to work in the mines. He was nice and happy to talk to me. Everybody there was different and was born in many different places. All of them were happy and seemed to be enjoying their time at age UK.

C22 Preparation for Y10

By Mr R Campbell20th July 2018

I do appreciate there will be weeks where Tassomai can not be done and that the most important thing for students is that they have a rest this holiday, however if Tassomai can be kept ticking over it would be highly beneficial to students. 

I would be really grateful your support with this.

To both students and families, please have a wonderful summer and enjoy the deserved rest.

Mr Campbell

C22 POL

By Mrs C Smith14th June 2018

I’m delighted to announce that the C22 POL performance of An Inspector Calls will be on Wednesday the 4th July for SKIPPER and Thursday the 5th July for ADMIRAL, from 6pm.

We’d really appreciate if you could help your child to learn his/her lines from their scripts in the meantime. The sooner students learn these the better the performances will be!

Thanks, as always, for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you all there!

C22 Bronze DofE Award Crew Nightingale and Bronte

By B Batty11th June 2018

Just a quick reminder for parents of the key dates for C22 students in Crew Nightingale and Bronte. Students will have their final kit check in Crew time on Thursday 14th June and will be bag packing on Thursday 21st June; as a result, students will have a later finish at school of around 5pm. Finally, the Friday the 22nd and 23rd June students will be completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh walk. Students need to arrive at school on Friday the 22nd at 7.15am. We would ask that parents please remind students of the need to take care while out on expedition and that mobile phones are not allowed, unless the group have decided that a specific phone is to be used as the emergency contact or it is part of their aim to use them at which point we will remove the SIM card which will be kept safe for the weekend.

Please watch the website during the Saturday afternoon, the expected time back at school is between 5 and 6pm, but this may change due to traffic or any vital de-gunging that may need to take place before students leave.

Mrs Sprakes and Mrs Batty

C21/C22 Parents: Tassomai

By Mr M Voltaire17th April 2018

Students in Years C21 and C22 have the ongoing compulsory extended study of 10 minutes of daily quizzing on the Tassomai science learning programme. This system works to develop students retention and recall of key science facts and concepts by daily quizzing and interleaved retrieval practice. Tassomai done for a least 10 minutes per day will be massively important in ensuring students are GCSE ready. It is only effective when done little and often over the time until GCSE examinations. It is ineffective when not done and left until before exams.

We have been using Tassomai with students in since Christmas and have an expectation that it is done on a daily basis. However, there have been perhaps a significant number of students who have not used the program for many days and continue to do this sporadically despite reminders from members of staff.

We have therefore decided that students who have missed two days or more of quizzing in a week will attend a compulsory extended study session to catch up. Progress will be checked on a Friday and those students who need to then attend compulsory extended study will then do so on the following Thursday. We would greatly appreciate it if parents could give students a nudge to check whether Tassomai has been completed.

Thank you for your continued support in ensuring our students develop strong habits of work and learning and in our aim of becoming exam ready.

Crew Bronte – Bronze Expedition Practice Walk 9 February 2018

By Mr A Sprakes11th February 2018

What a brilliant way to end a week! Crew Bronte, along with other crews from C22, set out on their first practice walk in preparation for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition later this year. Under the guidance of expedition supervisor Kate apHarri Bronte enjoyed a cold, muddy but fun-packed walk around Chatsworth Park. Crew learned how to orientate a map and how to use map symbols and grid references to work out location. In addition, Crew Bronte applied their knowledge of the Countryside Code to respect the environment they were walking in. On top of all they they got absolutely covered in mud!!!

Well done, Bronte!

C22 Fieldwork to Sheffield Hallam University

By Mr M Said15th January 2018

All Year 9 students will be taking part in fieldwork at Sheffield Hallam University next week on Tuesday 23rd January.

Pupils will learn about globalisation, international economies and country evaluation techniques, and apply these to their business client and country of interest. They will produce a 1 page summary report for a business client, with the support of first year university students studying international business. They will also gain an insight into what it’s like to study business at degree level, by working with students studying the subject.

We will be leaving school at 8am by coach. So all Year 9 students will need to be in school ready to be registered at 7.50am.

We will arrive back in school at 12.30 so there is no need to provide a pack-up lunch unless you usually do so.

Well done, Ben and Alisha!

By Mr A Sprakes24th April 2016

IMG_0999Congratulations to Ben Wheatcroft and Alisha Kaur for agreeing to come with me to the Doncaster Business Conference, organised by Doncaster Chamber, at the Legacy Centre on Friday 22nd of April. The event was attended by over 200 business leaders, and politicians from across the borough to focus on how Doncaster can continue to grow. We were invited by the Doncaster company, and XP partner, Rejus to attend as guests.

The first session was concerning “Skills and Aspirations for Doncaster’. Ben and Alisha asked the first question to the panel which included Ed Miliband, MP for Doncaster North and Damian Allen, the Director of Learning Opportunities and Skills at DMBC. The question from our students was, ‘We have a creative curriculum at XP. How can business support us?’ The panel were extremely complimentary that students in Year 7 were prepared to ask such a challenging question, in a formal setting, in front of so many professionals! To be honest, they struggled to answer the question, too!! Also, Ben and Alisha, before the event started and during the break, lobbied businesses in pursuit of sponsorship for an upcoming expedition; they made a startling impact on all present!

At XP we want to connect with the world to enhance the learning of our students. As Grace Sellers in Year 8, who attended the event last year, commented in our Community Meeting, ‘I know how nerve-wracking it is to ask a question in such a formal, adult setting but Year 7 have raised the bar. Well done, Ben and Alisha!’

I couldn’t have said it better myself.